By 1816, when defeat of Napoleon had removed the threat of the militia, it was safe for him to return north, he had set up at Manchester as a "turner of plain and eccentric work at No 15 Deans Gate". The lathe was upstairs in a bedroom, driven by a big wheel in the basement turned by his wife. Nothing is known of her origins or even name. Roberts soon moved into New Market Buildings at Pool Fold, and was described as a "Lathe and Tool Maker".