BETWEEN MANCHESTER AND RIBCHESTER. 13 
fence, and with slight deviations from the line of 
the modern road, which here is nearly perfectly 
straight, it passes through Lower Darwen: where 
close by the houses as at Blacksnape, its remains 
are very conspicuous, and continues coinciding 
with the modern road to the next turn. This 
straight portion of the modern road is very evi- 
dent from the high ground at Blacksnape, corre- 
sponding exactly with the line, as in the instance 
before mentioned. At the angle in the road, the 
Roman road continues straight forward through 
the fields to the right, showing a moderate eleva- 
tion, and where drains had been recently cut 
through it, exhibiting its gravelly substratum in 
strong contrast with the clayey soil on each side 
of it. In other fields the levelling was going on 
at the time of our survey; modern improvements 
not yet being satisfied with what fourteen centuries 
have done to obliterate it. The line now crosses 
the quarries near the Blackburn and Bury road, 
and intersects Blackburn about forty yards to the 
east of St. John’s church. 
Having had a wearisome journey hitherto from 
Manchester to Blackburn on a line of road, over 
which though Roman Emperors and Generals for- 
merly deigned to march armies, few persons now- 
