The River Tib is a minor tributary of the River Medlock

River Medlock

The River Medlock is a river of Greater Manchester in North West England. It rises near Oldham and flows, south and west, for ten miles to join the River Irwell in the extreme southwest of Manchester city centre.-Source:...

, in Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It has been culverted

Culvert

A culvert is a device used to channel water. It may be used to allow water to pass underneath a road, railway, or embankment. Culverts can be made of many different materials; steel, polyvinyl chloride and concrete are the most common...

 along its entire length since probably about 1820, and now runs beneath Manchester city centre

Manchester City Centre

Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...

. Tib Street and Tib Lane are named after the watercourse.

During the Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 period, the Tib marked the boundary of the vicus

Vicus (Rome)

In ancient Rome, the vicus was a neighborhood. During the Republican era, the four regiones of the city of Rome were subdivided into vici. In the 1st century BC, Augustus reorganized the city for administrative purposes into 14 regions, comprising 265 vici. Each vicus had its own board of...

or settlement of Mamucium; the river continued to mark Manchester's boundary until medieval times, as well as providing drinking water. The Tib is popularly believed to have been given its named by homesick Roman soldiers after the River Tiber, but with the word shortened to reflect the size difference between the two rivers. Alternatively, the name may derive from the Celtic word

Celtic languages

The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...

 for "watercourse".

The river's source is a spring in Miles Platting

Miles Platting

Miles Platting is an inner city district of Manchester, England. It is east-northeast of Manchester city centre, along the course of the Rochdale Canal and A62 road...

,53.49°N 2.21°W from where it flows underneath Oldham Road and the eponymous Tib Street to reach the city centre. After flowing underneath West Mosley Street, the Tib crosses Princess Street to flow underneath the Manchester Town Hall

Manchester Town Hall

Manchester Town Hall is a Victorian-era, Neo-gothic municipal building in Manchester, England. The building functions as the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local government departments....

 extension, the Central Library

Manchester Central Library

Manchester Central Library is a circular library south of the extended Town Hall in Manchester, England. It acts as the headquarters of the Manchester Library & Information Service, which also consists of 22 other community libraries.Designed by E...

 and the Midland Hotel

Midland Hotel (Manchester)

The Midland is a 312 bedroom grand hotel situated in Manchester city centre, in North West England. Opened in September 1903, it was built by the Midland Railway to serve the adjacent Manchester Central railway station...

's dining room, before joining the Medlock at Gaythorn, close to Deansgate railway station

Deansgate railway station

Deansgate is a railway station in Manchester city centre, England. It is situated approximately west of Manchester Piccadilly in the Castlefield area, at the junction of Deansgate and Whitworth Street West....

53.4740°N 2.2509°W.