WILTSHIRE is chiefly agricultural, but the manufacture of woollen cloth is carried on in its westerly division. " SALISBURY (17), the capital of the county, and a cathedral city, is on the Avon. The manor-house of Clarendon, where the well-known statutes called "The Constitutions of Clarendon were drawn up in the reign of Henry II., is a few miles east of Salisbury. Stonchenge, a supposed Druidical remainamong the most ancient monuments of our island-is upon the high chalk tract of Salisbury Plain. At Bradford, Trowbridge, and Westbury, the famous "West of England" cloth is made. Devizes, Warminster, and Marlborough are among the other towns in this county. Roundway Down, near Devizes, was the scene of a skirmish between the Royalist and Parliamentary forces in 1643. DORSETSHIRE is an agricultural county, and has several small seaports on the shores of the Channel. DORCHESTER (9), the county town, is on the Frome. Weymouth (20) is a packet station for the Channel Islands and a fashionable watering-place. Poole and Bridport are among the other towns. The peninsular tracts known as the Isle of Purbeck and the Isle of Portland are both within this county. DEVONSHIRE, which is chiefly an agricultural county, includes the high tract of Dartmoor, and (in the north) part of an elevated region called Exmoor, on the borders of Somerset. It has numerous seaports, some on the shore of the English Channel, and others on the side of the Bristol Channel. EXETER (47), the capital, is a cathedral city, on the River Exe. Plymouth (108) and Devonport (70) are adjacent towns, situated on the fine estuary of Plymouth Sound, which is one of the chief stations of the British navy. The Sound is protected from heavy seas by a huge breakwater, and 14 miles out at sea, to the south-west, stands the famous Eddystone Lighthouse. The following, and numerous other smaller towns, are in this county: Barnstaple, on the northern coast; Bideford, the home scene of Kingsley's "Westward Ho!"; Tiverton and Tavistock, two small inland towns; Dartmouth, at the mouth of the "English Rhine"; Torquay, a beautiful seaside resort; Teignmouth, and Exmouth. CORNWALL is chiefly a mining county, but its mackerel and pilchard fisheries are also of considerable importance. Its tin mines have been worked from a very early age-some centuries before the Christian era. Its numerous copper mines are now virtually abandoned. BODMIN (5) is the county town, but Truro (12), a cathedral city, ranks as the capital of the mining district. Penzance, Falmouth, St. Austell, and Launceston are among the other towns. Stratton, near the northern extremity of the county, was the scene of a victory gained by the Royalists over the Parliamentary forces in 1643. The Scilly Islands lie off the coast of Cornwall, at the entrance of the English Channel. Hugh Town, the capital, is on St. Mary's, the largest of the six inhabited islands. V.-SIX NORTH MIDLAND COUNTIES.' STAFFORDSHIRE, a mining and manufacturing county, includes two coalfields-one (that of South Staffordshire) the seat of the iron and hardware manufacture; the other (in the northern part of the county) embracing the district of the Potteries. The county town is STAFFORD (21), on the River Sow, an affluent of the Trent. But Wolverhampton (94), West Bromwich, (65), Walsall, (86), Bilston, (24), and Wednesbury (27), within the coal and iron district of the south (and in the vicinity of Birmingham), are all of larger size. Stoke-upon-Trent (30), Hanley (62), and Etruria are in the Pottery district. Lichfield (8), towards the eastern border of the county, is a cathedral city. Burton-on-Trent (50) is famous for its ale and beer, which are exported in enormous quantities to all parts of the world. The site of the battle of Blore Heath (A.D. 1459) is within this county, about eleven miles to the north-west of Stafford, and close to the Shropshire border. DERBYSHIRE is partly a manufacturing county, but embraces the rugged and elevated district of The Peak, which forms its northerly division. It has numerous lead and iron mines, and includes part of an extensive coalfield, the larger portion of which is within the adjacent county of York. The chief town, DERBY (106), is on the River Derwent, which joins the Trent, and is a great seat of the silk, cotton, and lace manufactures, and is, besides, an important railway centre. Chesterfield, Belper, Wirksworth and Ashborne are among the other towns. Buxton and Matlock, in the Peak district, are famous for their mineral waters, and for the romantic beauties of the scenery in the neighbourhood. NOTTINGHAMSHIRE is partly manufacturing, but is more generally an agricultural district. The chief town, NOTTINGHAM (240), on the Trent, has extensive manufactures of lace, cotton stockings, &c. Newark, Mansfield, and Worksop are smaller towns. A few miles from Newark, and near the south bank of the Trent, is the village of Stoke, the scene of a battle fought (A.D. 1487) between the army of Henry VII. and the followers of the impostor Lambert Simnel. LEICESTERSHIRE has extensive manufactures, though a great portion of the county is agricultural, The county town, LEICESTER (212), on the River Soar, which joins the Trent, is noted for its extensive manufacture of woollen hosiery, and boots and shoes. Bosworth, near which the battle that terminated the Wars of the Roses was fought in 1483, is a few miles west of Leicester. Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in the north-west part of the country, has a small coalfield in its neighbourhood. The other towns are Loughborough, Hinckley, Melton Mowbray, Market Harborcugh, and Lutterworth. 1. The areas and population of the Six North-1 (3) Nottinghamshire, 824 sq. m., pop. 514.537. Midland Counties are as follows: (1) Staffordshire, 1,169 sq. m., pop. 1,234.382. (2) Derbyshire, 1,029 sq. m., pop. 620,196, (4) Leices ershire, 799 sq. in., pop. 433,994. WARWICKSHIRE is a manufacturing county. The county town, WARWICK (12), is on the banks of the Upper Avon. Adjoining it is Leamington, famous for its mineral waters. Birmingham (522) in the north-west part of the county, close to the Staffordshire border, is the fourth town in England in order of population, and the chief centre of the English iron trade, and the greatest hardware manufacturing town in the world. Coventry (70), further to the east, has a small coalfield in its vicinity, and was formerly noted for its manufacture of ribbons, but is now the principal seat of the cycle manufacture in the kingdom. Rugby (famous for its great public school), Nuneaton, and Stratford-on-Avon (the birthplace of Shakespeare), are in this county. The battle of Edgehill (A D. 1642) was fought on the rising ground of that name, within the southern extremity of Warwickshire. WORCESTERSHIRE has extensive iron and other manufactures in its northerly division, but is chiefly an agricultural county. Its capital, WORCESTER (47), on the Severn, is a cathedral city, and is noted for its porcelain and glass-works, as well as for many events of historical fame-the chief among them being the victory of Cromwell over the adherents of Charles II. in 1651. Kidderminster (25), on the Stour, has extensive carpet factories. Dudley (49), further to the north, though belonging to this county, is locally within the iron and coal district of South Staffordshire, and is a populous seat of the hardware trade. Bromsgrove, Stourbridge, Stourport, and Evesham are within this county. Evesham (within the fertile vale of that name, watered by the Avon) was the scene of a battle between Prince Edward and the barons under Simon de Montfort in A.D. 1265. VI.-EIGHT SOUTH-MIDLAND COUNTIES.1 OXFORDSHIRE is also an agricultural county. This county, often called Oxon, has for its county town the diocesan city of Oxford (49) seated at the junction of the Cherwell and the Thames. Oxford is a celebrated seat of learning, its famous university is the more ancient of the two great universities of England. Among the other towns are Banbury, Witney, Henley-on-Thames, and Woodstock. Chalgrove Field, the scene of a skirmish between the forces of Charles I. and the Parliament, in which Hampden was mortally wounded (1643), is in this county. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE is entirely an agricultural county. The town of Buckingham (3), lies on the Great Ouse, in the northern part of the county. AYLESBURY (9), the county town, is noted for the manufacture of condensed milk; Eton has a famous college. MIDDLESEX, before the creation of the County of London, contained by far the largest portion of London, and was, therefore, the most populous English county. The area of the present administrative county, however, is only 232 square miles, and the population 792,314. GREATER LONDON, or the district under the City and Metropolitan Police, covers an area of 693 square miles, and contains a population of nearly 7,000,000. The area under the London County Council contains over 44 millions (see page 136). For administrative purposes the County of London is now subdivided into 29 Metropolitan Boroughs (including the cities of London and Westminster), each with its own Mayor and Municipal Council. All the principal roads, railways and canals in England converge The areas and population of the Eight South- (1) Oxford, 755 sq. m, pop. 182.768. (4.) Hertfordshire, 633 sq. m., pop. 250,350. upon it, and the chief commercial highways of the world diverge from it. It is the chie banking town in the world, and the greatest market for all branches of industry. While being chiefly commercial, it is also an industrial and manufacturing city. As the metropolis of the British Empire, London is a centre of art, literature, and general refinement, while its public buildings are handsome and of great historic interest. Its principal buildings are Buckingham Palace, the Government Offices in Whitehall, Westminster Hall, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the High Courts of Justice, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, the Bank of England, the Royal Exchange, the Mansion House, and the Guildhall. The Port of London extends for nearly 30 miles, and terminates at Gravesend. The towns of Brentford (15), Uxbridge, and Staines are in this county; Brentford is the county town. At Enfield is a small-arms factory; at Harrowon-the-Hill is one of the great public schools. HERTFORDSHIRE is an agricultural county, and has no towns of large size. HERTFORD, the county town, on the River Lea, is not so large as St. Albans. Hitchin, Watford, Bishop Stortford, and Barnet are small places in this county. St. Albans, a cathedral city, was the scene of two of the battles fought (1455 and 1461) during the Wars of the Roses. Barnet, which lies on the borders of Hertford and Middlesex, witnessed a more important event belonging to the same disastrous period-the battle in which the famous Earl of Warwick was slain, A.D. 1471. BEDFORDSHIRE is a small agricultural county, with some manufacture of straw-plait. It has for its capital the town of BEDFORD (35); on the Great Ouse, the birthplace of John Bunyan. Among its other towns are Luton (36) and Dunstable (5), both noted for straw-plait and straw-hat manufacture. HUNTINGDONSHIRE is an agricultural county, partly within the district of the Fens. Its county town, HUNTINGDON (4), on the River Ouse, was the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell. St. Ives and St. Neots are small towns in this county. Stilton gives its name to the well-known Stilton cheese, now made chiefly in Leicestershire. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE is chiefly agricultural; the Northern portion, called the Soke of Peterborough, constitutes a separate administrative county. Its county town, NORTHAMPTON (87), on the River Nen, has, however, an extensive manufacture of boots and shoes. Peterborough (31), also on the Nen, is a cathedral city, and, being an important railway centre, has considerable trade. Wellingborough and Kettering are both engaged in the staple urban industry of the county-the boot and shoe manufacture. Naseby, the scene of the decisive victory gained by Cromwell over the army of Charles I. (A.D. 1645), is in this county, twelve miles north-west of Northampton. A battle was fought near the town of Northampton in 1460, during the Wars of the Roses. RUTLANDSHIRE, the smallest of the counties of England, is entirely agricultural. It contains the small towns of OAKHAM (2), the county town, and Upping. ham, famous for its public school. VII. SIX COUNTIES IN NORTH WALES.1 ANGLESEY is chiefly pastoral and agricultural, but has a small coalfield. Its formerly valuable deposits of copper ore are now worked out. BEAUMARIS, a much-frequented pleasure resort, finely situated at the entrance to the Menai Strait, is the county town; but Holyhead (10), the western terminus of the London and North-Western Railway and the principal packet station for Ireland, is much larger and more important. CARNARVONSHIRE, famous for its magnificent mountain and coast scenery, is also the centre of the slate industry. At CARNARVON (10), the county town, and Conway (5) are fine castles, both built by Edward I. Bangor (11) has an ancient cathedral, and is the chief slate port of North Wales. Llandudno is a beautifully situated watering. place at the foot of Great Orme's Head. Large passenger steamers run daily during the season between it and Liverpool. Beddgelert and Llanberis are tourist resorts on the slopes of Snowdon. DENBIGHSHIRE includes the far-famed Vale of Clwyd, and the even more beautiful Vale of Llangollen, and the charming River Dee. The coalfield in the north-east is largely worked, and there are also mines of lead, iron, and slate. Wrexham (15) and Ruabon (15) are the mining, and DENBIGH (6), the county town, in the Vale of Clwyd, and Llanrwst, on the banks of the Conway, are the agricultu al centres of the county. Abergele, Colwyn Bay, and Ruthin are favourite tourist resorts. FLINTSHIRE, the smallest of the Welsh counties, has valuable mines of coal and lead. MOLD (4), Flint (5), and Holywell are the chief towns on the rich coalfield of Flint, and of which Mostyn, on the Dee, is the port. Rhyl, a favourite pleasure resort, stands on the coast near the mouth of the Clwyd. A few miles higher up the river is the cathedral town of St. Asaph. MERIONETHSHIRE is wild and hilly, but well wooded and with some fine scenery. Its woollen manufactures and slate quarries are of considerable importance, and some gold has been obtained from the mines in the valley of the Mawddach. The slate quarries are at Festiniog, and the gold mines are near DOLGELLY (3), the county town, and also the centre of the Welsh flannel manufacture in the county. At Bala, on Bala Lake, is the chief theological college of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists. MONTGOMERYSHIRE is a wild and hilly county, but rich in lead, copper, and slate, and has important woollen manufactures. Montgomeryshire is noted for the manufacture of Wesh flannel at Welshpool (6), Newtown, Llanidloes, and other towns. MONTGOMERY is the county town. 1. The areas and population of the Six Counties of North Wales are as follows: (1) Anglesey, 302 sq. m., pop 50.590. (3) Denbighshire, 664 sq. m. pop. 129.935- |