Boundaries. N.E. Warwick. N.W. Worcester. East, Oxford and Berks. South, Wilts and Somerset. West, Hereford and Monmouth. Pla Greatest length 70, greatest breadth 40, circumference 160, square 1718 miles. Province, Canterbury. Diocese, Gloucester; excepting the city of Bristol, in its own diocese, and the chapelries of Iccomb and Cowhoneyborn, in Worcester. Circuit, Oxford. ANTIENT STATE AND REMAINS. British Inhabitants. Dobuni. Roman Province. Flavia Cæsariensis. Stations. Glevum, Gloucester: Durocornovium, Cirencester: Abone, Clifton or Aust: Trajectus, Oldbury. Saxon Heptarchy. Mercia. Antiquities. Woodchester and Cirencester Roman Remains. Norbury and Amberley Encampments. GLOUCESTER and Bristol Cathedrals. ST. MARY REDCLIEF in Bristol, TEWKESBURY, CIRENCESTER, FAIRFORD, Quenington, Stroud, Campden, and Elkstone Churches. Hales Abbey. Lantony Priory. Berkeley, Beverstone, St. Briavels, Sudeley, and Thornbury Castles. Southam House. There were four Mitred Abbeys in this county; viz. St. Peter's at Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Winchcombe, aud Cirencester; no other county had more than two whence perhaps was derived the proverb "As sure as God's in Gloucestershire," being considered as pre-eminently there. St. Peter's, in Gloucester, was founded in 680 by Wolphere, the first Christian King of Mercia. Within the walls of its church, the present cathedral, were interred Osric, King of Northumberland; Ethelred Duke of Mercia; and his wife, Ethelfleda, the heroic daughter of Alfred; Robert Duke of Normandy, eldest son of the Conqueror; and Edward II. The East window is the largest in England, the glass being 78 feet 10 in. by 35 feet 6 in. Here is a curious Whispering gallery. The great bell weighs 6500lbs. Tewkesbury Abbey was founded in 715, by two brothers, Odo and Dodo, Mercian earls. In its stately church had sepulture, Brictric, King of Westsex; Robert Fitzhamon, Earl of Gloucester, the conqueror of Glamorgan; Edward, son of Henry VI.; George Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV. and his wife Isabel, daughter of the "King-making" Earl of Warwick. The West window is inserted under a most beautiful circular receding arch. Winchcombe Abbey, now wholly destroyed, was founded in 798, by Kenulf, King of Mercia, who, with his son and successor Kenelm (murdered by his sister Quendrida), was buried there. Cirencester Abbey was founded in 1117, by Henry I. The famous Alexander Nequam, or Neckham, was its 7th abbot, and died there 1217. The beautifully painted windows of Fairford Church were placed there by its founder, John Tame, a merchant of London, one of whose vessels captured them in 1492, on board a Flemish ship bound for Italy. In Hales Abbey lie the remains of its founder, Richard, King of the Romans, and Earl of Cornwall, with his wife Senchia, sister to Eleanor, queen of Henry III. and his son Edmund Earl of Cornwall. At Sudeley, Sept. 5, 1548, died and was buried Queen Catharine Parr. In Bristol were buried St. Jordanus, sent by Pope Gregory with Augustin to convert the Saxons; Gildas, our most ancient English historian; and Robert Earl of Gloucester, general and brother to the Empress Maud. The Cathedral was founded in 1140, by Robert Fitzharding, younger son of the King of Denmark, who had sepulture therein. The beautiful Church of St. Mary Redcliff was founded in 1292, by Robert de Burton, six times Mayor of Bristol, and rebuilt in 1456 by William Canynges, the Bristol Gresham, celebrated in the Poems said by Chatterton to have been found in an old chest in this church, and written by a monk named Rowley. GENT. MAG. May, 1817. PRESENT PRESENT STATE AND APPEARANCE. Rivers. Upper or Warwickshire Avon; Lower or Bristol Avon; Little or Berkeley Avon; Badgworth; Caron; Chilt; Churne; Colne; Evenlode; Frome; Isborne; Isis; Lech; Leden; SEVERN; Stour; Stroud; Switiate; Thames, whose source is near Cotes; Windrush; Wye. Inland Navigation. Thames and Severn canal, which passes through a tunnel near Saperton, 2 miles and 5 furlongs long, and terminates near Lechlade, where, Nov. 19, 1789, a vessel for the first time passed from the Severn into the Thames. Hereford and Gloucester canal, which at Oxenhall enters a tunnel of 2170 yards long. Thames and Isis, Stroudwater, Berkeley, Lydney canals. Severn, Wye, Frome, and Isis rivers. Eminences and Views. Cotswold and Stroudwater hills. Kymin naval temple. Churchdown and Newnham churches. Tower of Gloucester ca thedral. Cleeve Cloud. Iccombe and Willersley camps. Beacon, Birdlip, Breedon, Broadway, Crickley, Frocester, Fryson, Kinsborow, King's Weston, Matson, May, Mæon or Meen, Rodborough, Sodbury, Spouebed, Stanway, Stinchcomb, and Tog hills. Natural Curiosities. The Buckstone near the Kymin. Penpark Hole. St. Vincent's rocks. Cheltenham, Clifton, and Gloucester medicinal waters. Vales of Evesham, Gloucester, and Berkeley. Forest of Dean. Nume rous extraneous fossils, particularly Cornua Ammonis, Concha Rugosa, Asteriæ, Astroites, Belemnites, Coralloids, Auomiæ, and Cochleæ. Public Edifices. Gloucester Shire Hall, Infirmary, County Gaol on Mr. Howard's plan. Bristol Exchange and Commercial Rooms. Lydney Park, Right. Hon. Charles Bragge Bathurst. Matson House, William Fendall, esq. Seats. Badminton and Stoke, Duke of Beaufort, Lord Lieut. of the County. Dyrham, William Blaythwaite, esq. Gatcomb Park, Edward Sheppard, esq. High Meadow House, Viscount Gage. King's Weston, Lord de Clifford. Oakley Grove, Earl Bathurst. Seizincote, Sir Charles Cockerell, bart. Stowell Park, T. Penrice, esq. Tortworth Court, Lord Ducie. Members to Parliament. For the County, 2; Gloucester 2; Bristol, 2; Cireucester, 2; Tewkesbury, 2: total 10. Produce. Cheese, Cider, Butter, Corn, Turnips, Fish, Sheep, Pigs, Timber, Freestone, Iron, Coal, Gypsum, Limestone, Tophus or Puff-stone, Pyrites, Crystals called Bristol Diamonds. Manufactures. Woollen Cloth, Rugs, Carpets, Blankets, Stockings, Bar Iron, Wire, Edge Tools, Pins, Nails, Brass, Vitriol, Minium or Red Lead, Sal Ammoniac, Zinc, Glass, Hats, Refined Sugar, Souff, Soap. POPULATION.ˆ Grand Divisions, 4; Hundreds, 28, and the County of the City of Bristol; Parishes, 320; Market-towns, 28; Houses, 54,040. Inhabitants. Males, 133,192. Females, 152,322: total 285,514. Families Little e Families employed in Agriculture, 20,782; in Trade, 29,988; in neither, Baptisms. Males, 3,860; Females, 3,768. — Marriages, 2,330.— Burials, Towns having not less than 1000 Inhabitants; viz. Total, Towns, 22; Houses, 25,955; Inhabitants, 141,920. HISTORY. A. D. 577 at Dyrham, Britons defeated and three of their Princes slain by 687, at Campden, the Saxon Kings met to consult on the best mode of car- 940, at Gloucester, October 26, Athelstan died. 948, at Pucklechurch, May 26, Edmund I. mortally stabbed at a feast by Leolf, a robber. 1016, on the Isle of Alney, single combat between Edmund Ironside and Canute terminated by an offer from Canute to divide the kingdom. 1093, to Gloucester came Malcolm Ill. of Scolland, to treat with William Rufus. 1141, in Bristol Castle Stephen confined for 9 months, till exchanged for the Earl of Gloucester, brother of the Empress Maud. 1216, at Gloucester, October 28, Henry Iil. crowned. 1241, in Bristol Castle, died the Princess Eleanor, commonly called the Damsel of Brittany, after a confinement of 40 years. 1263, Gloucester, under Sir Macé de Besile, governor for Henry III. taken by the Barons. 1279, at Gloucester, were enacted by Parliament those laws connected with 1327, at Berkeley Castle, Sept. 22, Edward II. most cruelly murdered. 1461, at Bristol, Edward IV. saw Sir Baldwin Fulford pass to execution: the subject of The Bristowe Tragedie" by Chatterton, in "Rowley's Poems." 1471, at Tewkesbury, May 4, Lancastrians totally defeated, Marquess of Dorset, Earl of Devon, Lord Wenlock, and 3000 men slain; Margaret of Anjou, her son Prince Edward, and the general the Duke of Somerset taken prisoners by Edward IV. After the battle Prince Edward murdered by the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester, and the Duke of Somerset beheaded. 1497, from Bristol sailed the expedition under Sebastian Cabot (fitted out by the inhabitants), which discovered America. 1555, at Gloucester, Feb. 9, John Hooper, the second Bp. of Gloucester, burnt. 1642-8, Cirencester, under Colonel Fettiplace, Feb. 2, stormed by Prince Rupert, who took 1200 prisoners. 1642-3, at Highnam, March 19, Major-general Brett, Lord John Somerset, and nearly 2000 Royalists, surprised and taken by Sir William Waller. 1643, Bristol, under Colonel Fiennes, July 27, surrendered to Prince Rupert. 1643, Gloucester successfully defended by Colonel Massie against Charles I. and Prince Rupert, until relieved, August 26, by the Earl of Essex. 1645, Bristol, under Prince Rupert, Sept. 10, after a feeble defence, surrendered to Sir William Fairfax. 1648, at Bristol, William Cann, its Mayor, the first who proclaimed “that there was no king in England, and that the successors of Charles 1. were traitors." BIOGRAPHY. Atkins, Richard, typographical writer, 1615. Atkins, Sir Robert, Lord Chief Baron, 1621. Atkins, Sir Robert, historian of the county, Saperton, 1646. Ballard, George, antiquary, Campden, 1715. Bedford, Arthur, divine, Tiddenham, 1668. Benefield, Sebastian, Calvinistic divine, Prestonbury, 1559. Biddle, John, Unitarian, Wotton under Edge, 1615. Bisse, Philip, Bp. of Hereford, Oldbury, 1670. Boteler, Sir Ralph, founder of Sudeley Castle, Lord Treasurer to Henry VI. Bradley, James, astronomer royal, Sherborn, 1692. Bristol, John de, converted Jew, 1st Hebrew Lecturer at Oxford, flor. temp. Edw. III. Bristol, Ralph de, Bishop of Kildare, biographer, (died 1232.) CABOT, SEBASTIAN, discoverer of America, Bristol, 1467. Cantelupe, Nicholas, Prior of Northampton, historian, Gloucester, flor. temp. Hen. VI. Canton, John, natural philosopher, Stroud, 1718. Canyngs, William, benefactor, Bristol, 1405. Capell, Richard, author of “Temptations,” Gloucester, (died 1655.) Cartwright, William, poet and dramatic writer, Northway, 1611. Chamberlayne, Edward, author of "Angliæ Notitia," Odington, 1616. CHATTERTON, THOMAS, poet, Bristol, 1752. Chedworth, John, Bp. of Lincoln, (died 1471.) Child, William, musician, Bristol, 1705. CIRENCESTER, RICHARD OF, compiler of "Roman Itinerary," (died 1400.) Claudianus, Osbernus, commentator on the Pentateuch, Gloucester, (flourished 1140.) Clutterbuck, Richard, blind mechanic, Rodborough, 1638. Codrington, Robert, parliamentarian, voluminous writer, 1601. COLSTON, EDWARD, benefactor, Bristol, 1636. Corbet, John, nonconformist divine and historian, Gloucester, (died 1680.) Coxeter, Thomas, collector, Lechlade, 1689. Draper, Sir William, conqueror of Manilla, antagonist of Junius, Bristol, (died 1787.) Eliot, Hugh, in 1527 discovered Newfoundland, Bristol. Estcourt, Richard, actor and dramatic writer, Tewkesbury, 1668. Fowler, John, learned printer, Bristol, (died 1579.) Fox, Edward, Bp. of Hereford, statesman, Dursley, (died 1538.) Graves, Richard, author of " The Spiritual Quixote," Mickleton, 1715. Guise, Rachel, Lady Bradshaigh, Richardson's correspondent, (died 1743.) Gwinnett, Richard, poet, Great Shurdington, (died 1717.) Hales, Alexander of, "Doctor Irrefragabilis," author of Sum of Divinity, (died 1245.) Hales, Thomas of, schoolman, (flor. temp. Edw. III.) Harris, Harris, Robert, parliamentarian divine, Campden. Harris, Walter, physician, Gloucester, 1651. Hele, Thomas, writer of French plays, 1740. Huntingdon, Robert, Bp. of Raphoe, orientalist, Deerhurst, 1636. Merret, Christopher, physician and naturalist, Winchcombe, 1614. Neale, Thomas, Hebrew professor, chaplain to Bp. Bonner, Yale, 1540. Oldham, John, satirical poet, "The English Juvenal," Shipton, 1663. 1581. Penn, Sir William, admiral, Bristol, 1621. Philipps, Fabian, antiquary, Prestbury, 1601. Powell, Sir John, patriotic judge, Gloucester, (died 1713.) Powle, Henry, Speaker of the House of Commons, Williamstrop, (died 1692.) Ramsey, Lady Mary, benefactor, Bristol, (died 1596.) Reynolds, Richard, philanthropist, Bristol, (died 1816.) Roberts, William Isaac, poet, Bristol, 1796. Robinson, Mary, actress and poet, Bristol, 1758. Rudder, Samuel, historian of the county, Stouts Hill. Ruthal, Thomas, Bp. of Durham, Cirencester, (died 1523.) Sprint, John, author of "Cassander Anglicanus," (died 1631.) Stephens, Robert, antiquary, historiographer royal, Eastington (died 1732.) Taylor, John," The Water Poet," Gloucester, 1580. Tewkesbury, Alan of, friend of Becket, (flourished anno 1200.) Thorne, Nicholas, founder of Bristol grammar-school, Bristol, 1496. Trotman, Edward, abridger of Coke's Reports, Cam, (died 1648.) White, Joseph, divine, orientalist, and critic, Bampton Lecturer, 1751. White, Thomas, founder of Sion College, Bristol, (died 1623.) Winchcombe, Tideman of, Bp. of Worcester, physician to Richard II. (died 1400.) Wintle, Thomas, divine, Gloucester, 1737. Worcester, William of, author of Itinerary, Bristol, 1415. Worgan, John Dawes, poet, Bristol, 1791. Workman, John, nonconformist divine and author, Lasborough, (died 1636.) MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS. At Alderley, was buried, Chief Justice Sir Matthew Hale, and at Great Barrington, Lord Chancellor Talbot. At Berkeley was born Dr. Edward Jenner (now resident at Cheltenham), the first introducer of Vaccine inoculation.—In the Castle is preserved the cabin furniture of the circumnavigator, Sir Francis Drake.-The murder of Edward II. is most poetically alluded to in "The Bard" of Gray. In the church-yard is Swift's epitaph "On Dickey Pearce, the Earl of Suffolk's fool." In Bristol Cathedral are monuments of Mrs. Elizabeth Draper, Sterne's "Eliza;" of Powel the actor, with an epitaph by Colman of Dame Harriet Hesketh, the friend and correspondent of Cowper; of the Rev. Samuel Love, |