WITHINGTON, 4 miles N.W. from WOLVERLEY, in Wem parish, and popula. included therein. WOLLASTON, in Abberbury parish, and popula. included therein. 25 miles distant S.W. WOMBRIDGE, 4 miles E. from Wellington. Popula. 1,860. Here there was an Augustine Priory, founded in the reign of Hen. I., by William Fitz Alan; revenues at the dissolution, 721. 15s. 8d., now worth 1,455l. 13s. 4d.; granted, 31 Hen. VIII., to James Le veson. WOODCOTE, in Sheriff-Hales parish, Stafford, and popula. included therein. 14 mile distant N. Shrewsbury, and popula. included therein. WOOLFERTON, in Richard's-Castle parish, and popula. included therein. WOOLSTASTON,22 miles N. from ChurchStretton. Popula. 93. WOORE, in Muckleston parish, Stafford, and popula. included therein. 3 miles distant N. WOOTON.-See Hisland. 35 miles E. from Oswestry. WORFIELD, 3 miles N.E. from Bridgenorth. Popula. 1,582. WORTHEN, 8 miles N.E. from Montgomery. Popula. 2,116. WROCKWARDINE, 2 miles N.W. from Wellington. Popula. 2,240. WROXETER, 6 miles S.W. from Wellington. Popula. 659. WOODSIDE, in Shiffnall parish, and po- YOCKLETON, in Westbury parish, and pula. included therein. WOOLASCOTT, in St. Mary's parish, popula. included therein. 24 miles distant E.N.E. SOMERSETSHIRE. A MARITIME COUNTY, bounded on the North by Gloucestershire, the Irish sea, and the Severn; on the East by Wiltshire and Dorsetshire; on the South by Dorsetshire; and, on the West by Devonshire. It is 68 miles in length, and 47 in breadth. It is divided into 40 hundreds; namely, Abdick and Bulston, Andersfield, Bath Forum, Bempstone, Brent with Wrington, Bruton, Cannington, Carhampton, Catash, Chew and Chewton, Crewkerne, North-Currey, Ferris-Norton, Frome, Glaston-twelveHides, Hampton and Claverton, Hartcliffe and Bedminster, Horethorne,. Houndsborough, Huntspil and Puriton, Keynsham, Kilmersdon, Kingsbury (East and West), Martock, Mells and Leigh, Milverton, North-Petherton, South-Petherton, Pitney, Portbury, Somerton, Stone, Taunton and TauntonDean, Tintinhull, Wellow, Wells-Forum, Whitestone, Whitley, Williton and Free-Manners, Winterstoke. The rivers of this county are, the LowerAvon, the Brue, and the Parret. There are 32 market-towns; Axbridge, Bath, Bridgewater, Bristol, Bruton, CastleCary, Chard, Crewkerne, Dulverton, Dunster, Frome, Glastonbury, Ilchester, Ilminster, Keynsham, Langport, Milbourne-Port, Milverton, Minehead, North-Currey, North-Petherton, Pensford, South-Petherton, Shepton-Mallet, Somerton, Stowey, Watchet, Wellington, Wells, Wincanton, Wiveliscombe, Yeovil. It is in the PROVINCE OF CANTERBURY, in the DIOCESE OF BATH AND WELLS, and in the WESTERN CIRCUIT. This county sends altogether 18 members to parliament; two for the shire, and two each for the towns of Bath, Bridgewater, Bristol, Ilchester, Milbourne-Port, Minehead, Taunton, and Wells. It contains 1,642 square miles, or 1,050,880 acres, and 475 pa rishes. It had 47 monastic establishments, and 47 public charities; it has 16 parishes with no churches, 44 parishes with less than 100 inhabitants, 110 parishes with no parsonage-houses, 95 parishes with parsonage-houses unfit to live in the PooR-RATES were, in 1818, 250,8271. 3s. 34d.; the number of PAUPERS is 28,917; the rental of the county, according to a return made to parliament in 1818, was 1,900,651l.5s. 74d.; the population, according to a return laid before parliament in 1821, was 355,314; the number of inhabited houses in 1821 was 61,852; the number of un. inhabited houses at the same period, 1974; the poor-rates bear the proportion of oneseventh of the rental; the number of paupers, compared with the number of houses, is one to every three; the poorrates in 1776 were 49,181l.; the number of persons to every square mile of this county is 215; the number of acres to a person, 3; the number of acres to a house, 16; the male population, in 1821, was 170,199; the families employed in agriculture were in number 31,448; the families employed in handicraft were 27,132 in number; the number of other families was 14,957; the male agricultural population was 72,785; and the able labourers were in number 36,393; so that to every able-bodied labourer of this county there must be 26 acres of land. This is a billy county: the principal ranges of hills are, the Quantor, near Taunton; Lansdown, near Bath; Brendon, near Wiveliscombe; the White-down, near Chard; Poulden, near Bridgewater; and the Mendip-hills, lying in a direct line between Axbridge and Frome. The latter are by far the loftiest and most extensive. The ancient forests of the county are Selwood, near Frome; Petherton, near Bridgewater; Exmoor, consisting of the western extremity of the county. The largest half of Somersetshire is in pasture, and about one-eighth is given for woods, heaths, and roads. There is beside these, a good deal of marsh and moor land in Somersetshire; but to enumerate the moors and marshes, and denote their local situations, would take up more room than this short notice of the county will allow of. The soils are extremely various, most of the hills being of a rocky soil, mixed with limestone, or gravelly with limestone, or of freestone grit; with all the variations that usually accompany these. The soils of the low-lands are quite as various as those of the hills, but, for the greater part, very fertile; and the county is esteemed one of the richest of English counties. Wheat, barley, oats, peas, and beans, are the principal corn crops in the different districts; grazing steers and heifers is very much practised, but the pasture-land is chiefly employed in dairy farming, which is carried on to a very considerable extent. In the whole of the northern districts apple-orchards are very abundant; they are not scarce in the middle district of the county, and the cider of the south-western district is renowned for its excellence. The Devonshire breed of neat cattle is preferred by the Somersetshire graziers and dairy-farmers. The neighbourhood of Bath and the Mendip-hills have a breed of sheep of their own, large and hardy, but in other parts of the county an im proved Dorset is the sort mostly seen. The horses used in this county are sup plied from the north. There is a small native breed, found in Exmoor forest, very sure-footed and serviceable, but very small. The mines of Somersetshire are, of lead, in the vicinity of the Mendip-hills, particularly at Priddy and East-Harptree; of coal, in the whole of the northern district of the county, particularly about Stratton-onthe-Foss, and Kilweston. Something approaching to alabaster is found about Watchet, and at Bath and other places the free-stone is of excellent quality. The manufactures of the county are chiefly of woollens and knit stockings; but these have been on the decline for some years. The celebrated Cheddar cheese comes from Cheddar in this county. ABBAS and TEMPLE-COMBE, 34 miles S. from Wincaunton. Popula. 458. ABBOTS-LEIGH, 3 miles W. from Bristol. Popula. 317. AISHOLT, 2 miles S. from Nether Stowey. Popula. 176. ALLER, 54 miles W. from Somerton. Popula. 454. ALLERTON-CHAPEL, 3 miles S.S.W. from Axbridge. Popula. 335. ALFORD, 1 mile N.W. from Castle-Carey. Popula. 136. ALMSFORD, 1 mile N. from CastleCarey. Popula. 300. ANGERSLEIGH, 43 miles S.E. from Wellington. Popula. 64. ASHBRITTLE, 5 miles S.W. from Milverton. Popula. 579. Fairs, Feb. 25, Oct. 21, cattle. ASHCOMB, in Wayford parish, and popula. included therein. ASHCOMB, in Weston-super-Mare parish, and popula. included therein. ASHCOTT, 8 miles E. from Bridgewater. Popula. 712. ASHINGTON, 24 miles S.E. from Ilches.ter. Popula. 81. ASH-PRIORS, 3 miles N.E. from Milverton. Popula. 201. ASHTON (Long), 24 miles S.W. from Bristol. Popula. 1,168. ASHWICK, 4 miles N.N.E. from SheptonMallet. Popula. 829. Popula. 1,430. Fairs, Jan. 18, July 18, cattle, sheep, and cheese. BARRINGTON, 3 miles N.E. from Ilminster. Popula. 453. BARROW-GURNEY, 5 miles S.W. from Bristol. Popula. 285. Here there was a Benedictine Nunnery, founded in the year 1200, by Garney, Lord of Stoke Hamden; yearly value 291.6s. 8d., now worth 586l. 13s. 4d.; granted, 36 Hen. VIII., to William Clerke. BARROW (North), 24 miles S.W. from Castle-Carey. Popula. 142. BARROW (South), 3 miles S.W. from Castle-Carey. Popula. 155. BARROW, in Kingsbury-Episcopi parish, and popula. included therein. 14 mile distant S.W. ASTON-MORRIS, in Huntspill parish, BARTON (St. David), 3 miles N.E. from and popula. included therein. ASHILL, 3 miles N.W. from Ilminster. Popula. 378. Fairs, April 17, Sept. 11, cattle of all sorts and pedlery. ATHELNEY (Isle of), a little island, formed by the junction of the Tone with the Parrot, between Bridgewater and Langport. It is in the parish of Lyng, wherein the population is included. Here there was a Benedictine Abbey, founded, in the year 888, by King Alfred; yearly value 2091. Os. 3d., now worth 4,180l. 5s.; granted, 36 Hen. VIII., to John Clayton. AXBRIDGE, 131 miles W. from London. Popula. 988. Market, Fri.; fairs, Feb. 3, March 25, cattle, sheep, cheese, and toys. BABCAREY, 5 miles S.W. from Castle Carey. Popula. 442. BABINGTON, 4 miles N.W. from Frome. Popula. 156. BACKWELL, 6 miles S.W. from Bristol. Popula. 863. Fair, Sept. 21, cattle, sheep, and colts. BACKSHAW.-See Holwell. BALSTONSBOROUGH, 35 miles S.E. from Glastonbury. Popula. 671. BADGWORTH, 34 miles S.E. from Axbridge. Popula. 319. BAGBOROUGH (West), 5 miles S.W., from Nether-Stowey. Popula. 421. Fair, May 23. BAGBOROUGH (East), in Bishop'sLydeard parish, and popula. included therein. 2 miles distant N. BANWELL, 3 miles N.W. from Axbridge. Somerton. Popula. 368. BARWICK with STAFFORD, 14 mile S. from Yeovil. Popula. 400. BATCOMBE, 24 miles N. from Bruton. Popula. 792. BATCOMBE.-See Nyland. BATH, is the most popular city of the West of England. It is 32 miles N.E. by N. from Somerton, and 107 W. by S. from London. The diocese of Bath and Wells comprises all Somersetshire. It is seated in what was originally a dreary, arid wild, surrounded by hills on every side, but through an opening in which the Avon flows, and then winds nearly all round the city. It is said to have been indebted to its medicinal springs for its origin, and a romance is related as to the discovery of the springs; namely, that a British prince was cured of the leprosy from following the example of some pigs which were infected with this disorder, and which he observed to bathe in the springs and cure themselves. It was inhabited by the Romans about the middle of the first century; and evidences sufficient have been found of there having been once a wall round it of considerable height and thickness, having five towers and four principal gates. The springs were converted into magnificent baths by the Romans, who christened it Aqua Solis, or, Waters of the Sun. Agricola passed a winter there after his campaign in Wales, and Arian erected a college of armourers. About the year 208, Geta resided there, while his father, Septimus Severus, was quelling an insurrection in Caledonia. Y In 493, an army of Saxons, under the command of Ella, encamped on Lansdown, and laid siege to Bath. Arthur, however, gave them battle and repulsed them. In 577, the Saxons, Ceaulin and Cuthwin (the former being king of Wessex), led their armies to Dyrham, eight miles from Bath. Here they encountered the Britons under three kings, but, after a sanguinary battle, the Britons were completely defeated. The Roman name was now changed by the Saxons to Hat Bathun, hot baths. The Christian religion was now openly promulgated; and, in 676, a monastery was established by Osric, the Saxon king of the Huicii. The town was annexed to the kingdom of Wessex, and became a burgh, In 775, it was seized by Offa, king of Mercia, who added very much to its splendour: but, during the incursions of the Danes, it sunk into obscurity, and did not recover till the reign of Athelstan, who greatly endowed its monastery, and granted it some important privileges. During the reign of Edward the Confessor, Bath was held by his queen as part of her dower; and it remained annexed to the crown till the end of the Saxon dynasty. In the reign of William I., it was one of the royal demesnes; and, being plundered and burned during the insurrection of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and others who favoured the claims of Robert Earl of Normandy, it was bought, in 1090, of William Rufus, by John de Villula, of Tours, for the sum of 500 marks, who, obtaining permission to remove the pontifical seat of the diocese from Wells to Bath, rebuilt the monastery and church, restored public and private buildings, and became the founder of the city of Bath, and, in 1160, be conferred the whole property on the monastery of St. Peter, and was himself made Bishop of Bath. The city remained in the possession of the monastery till Savaric, in the year 1193, gave it to Richard I., in exchange for the Abbey of Glastonbury; but the prior still continued to hold a rental of 301. a year upon it. In the reign of Edw. III., Bath was celebrated for its manufacture of cloth, a branch of wanufactures introduced by the monks. At the reformation," the Abbey was granted to Humphrey Colles, and being sold by him, the purchaser, or his son, gave it to the mayor and corporation as a parish church. Queen Elizabeth granted it a charter of incorporation ; and, in 1794, a new charter was granted it with some extension of privileges. In the civil wars, Bath fortified for the king, but it was seized upon by the Earl of Bedford. It was retaken by the Royalists, who held it only two years, after which, and until the restoration, it was held by the parliament forces. The abbey church is of Gothic architecture, and it remains now in the same form as when founded in 1532. There are besides, four parish churches, and five chapels of ease in Bath, one Catholic chapel, and many Dissenters' meeting-houses. There are also five hospitals, one grammar, and several other charity schools. The city is renowned for the regularity and beauty of its buildings, and the order of its streets, the houses being almost all built with white brick, or with stone. Invalids resort to it for the sake of drinking the water of its springs, and a large building, eighty-five feet long, forty-five feet wide, and thirty-four feet high, called the pump-room, is provided for them to take exercise in without being exposed to the weather. The corporation consists of a mayor, aldermen, and commoncouncil, with inferior officers, and these (thirty in number) send two members to parliament. Bath contains the four parishes of St. James, St. Michael, St. Peter and St. Paul, and Walcott. The population 36,811. Market, Wed. and Sat.; fairs, Feb. 14, July 10, cattle. BATHAMPTON, 2 miles N.E. from Bath. Popula. 243. BATH-EASTON, 24 miles N.E. from Bath. Popula. 1,330. BATH FORD, 3 miles N.E. from Bath. Popula. 668. BATH-WICK, 1 mile N.N.E. from Bath. Popula. 4,009. BATHEALTON, 3 miles S.W, from Mil- BECKINGTON, 3 miles N.E. from Frome. BEER-CROCOMBE, 4 miles N.W. from BERKELEY, 14 mile N.E. from Frome. | BRENT (South), 6 miles S.W. from Ax Popula. 550. Here there was an Augustine Priory, built in the year 1199, by William of Edington, yearly value 6l. 5s. 24d,, now worth 125l. 4s. 2d.; granted, 7 Edw. VI., to John and James Bisse. BERROW, 74 miles W.S.W. from Ax bridge. Popula. 449. BICKENHALL, 44 miles S.E. from Taunton. Popula. 215. BICK NOLLER, 4 miles S.E. from Watch et. Popula. 251. BIDDESHAM, 2 miles W.S.W. from Ax bridge. Popula. 136. BINEGAR, 4 miles N. from SheptonMallet. Popula. 363. Fairs, Whit Mon., all sorts of cattle; Whit-Tues., cloth and horses; Whit-Wed., sheep; Whit-Thurs., horses. BISHOP'S-HULL, 1 mile W. from Taunton. Popula. 928. BISHOP'S-LYDEARD, 4 miles N.E. from Milverton. Popula. 1,016. Fairs, April 5, bullocks, horses, and sheep; Sept. 8, all sorts of toys. BISHOP-SUTTON, in Chew-Magna parish, and popula. included therein. BLACKFORD, 4 miles W. from Wincanton. Popula. 154. BLAGDON, 54 miles N.E. from Axbridge. Popula. 1,068. Fair, Aug. 30, bullocks, horses, sheep, and all sorts of toys.' BLAGDON, in Pitminster parish, and popula. included therein. 1 mile distant S. BLEADON, 5 miles W. from Axbridge. Popula. 518. BOROUGHBRIDGE, 8 miles N.E. from Taunton. Popula. included in the returns of Lyng, Middlezoy, Othery, and Weston-Zoyland. BRADFORD, 1 mile N. from Wellington. Popula. 525. BRADLEY (West), 3 miles S.E. from BREANE, 7 miles W. from Axbridge. BRENT (East), 5 miles S.W. from Axbridge. Popula. 820. Fair, Aug. 26, cattle, horses, and sheep. bridge. Popula. 764. Fair, Oct. 10, cattle, horses, and sheep. BREWHAM (North), 24 miles N.E. from Bruton. Popula. 389. BREWHAM (South), 2 miles E. from Bruton. Popula. 600. BRIDGEWATER, 138 miles W. by S. from London. Popula. 6,155. Market, Thurs.; fairs, March 7, June 24, Oct. 23, Dec. 28, cattle, and all sorts of goods. A corporate town, having a mayor, recorder, two aldermen, who are also justices, and twenty-four common-council! Sends two members to parliament: right of election in the inhabitants of the borough paying scot and lot number of voters, 400. Here there was St. John's Hospital, founded before 15 John, by William Bruer, for Secular Clergy, under condition of keeping hospitality for the poor natives, and for strange pilgrims; yearly value 120l. 19s. 1d., now worth 2,4191. 2s. 6d.; granted, 34 Hen. VIII., to Humphry Colles. BRIDGHAMPTON, in Yeovilton parish, and popula. included therein. BRIMPTON, 2 miles W. from Yeovil. Popula. 125. BRISLINGTON, 1 mile S.E. from Bristol. Popula. 1,216. BRISTOL, is at the distance of 35 miles S.W. by S. from Gloucester, and 113 W. from London. It is situated at about 8 miles from the mouth of the Avon, where that river discharges itself into the Bristol Channel. The diocese of Bristol comprises the city, part of Gloucestershire, and part of Dorsetsbire. The whole city stands on rising grounds, of which St. Michael's-Hill and Kingsdown are the two highest, the whole occupying a circumference of seven miles. According to ancient historians, this place was founded by Brennus, the supposed first king of the Britons, about 580 years before the Christian era. Gildas, a British monk, mentions Brito, a town in 430, but it makes no figure in the history of England till the year 1063, when Harold set sail for Bristow with a fleet to reduce Wales. In the reign of William I., there were mints established there, and, in 1696, William III. struck off half-crowns at Bristol. In Odo's conspiracy, 1087, the rebels made Bristol their head--quarters. In the beginning of the |