WORCESTERSHIRE, a county (inland), bounded on the west by Herefordshire, on the south and southeast by Gloucestershire, on the east and north-east by Warwickshire, on the north by Staffordshire and a detached portion of Shropshire, and on the north-west by Shropshire. It extends from 52° 0' to 52° 30' (N. Lat.), and from 2° 14' to 3° 0' (W. Lon.), and, including the detached portions, comprises an area of upwards of seven hundred and eighty square miles, or about five hundred thousand statute acres. The population, in 1821, was 184,424. At the period of the Roman invasion of Britain, the district now included within the confines of Worcestershire is supposed to have been partly occupied by the ancient British tribe of the Cornavii, and partly by that of the. Dobuni. Under the Roman dominion it was included in the division called Flavia Casarientis, but being then for the most part low and woody, it received but little attention from these conquerors. On the complete establishment of the Saxon Octarchy, it was included in the kingdom of Mercia; and in the predatory invasions of the Danes it suffered, at a later period, in common with most other parts of the kingdom. In 1016, the Danish forces under Canute were defeated with great slaughter by Edmund Ironside, near Blockley. During the various internal dissensions which have disturbed the tranquillity of England, no event of importance has transpired within the limits of this county of which the city of Worcester has not been the scene; and as these are minutely narrated in the description of that place, it is unnecessary to recapitulate them here. This county is in the diocese of Worcester (excepting fifteen parishes and eight chapelries, which are in that of Hereford), and in the province of Canterbury: it forms an archdeaconry, including the deaneries of Blockley, Droitwich, Evesham, Kidderminster, Pershore, Powick, Kington, Warwick, Wich, and Worcester: the total number of parishes is one hundred and seventy- one, of which ninety-two are rectories, fifty-five vicarages, and twenty-four perpetual curacies. For purposes of civil government it is divided into the five hundreds of Blackenhurst, Doddingtree, Halfshire, Os- waldslow, and Pershore, each of which is divided into Upper and Lower, excepting Oswaldslow, which has also a middle division. It contains the city of Worcester the borough and market-towns of Bewdley, Droitwich, and Evesham; and the market-towns of Bromsgrove, Dudley, Kidderminster, Pershore, Shipston upon Stour, Stourbridge, Stourport, Tenbury, and Upton upon Severn. Two knights are returned to parliament, for the shire, two citizens for the city of Worcester, two burgesses for each of the boroughs of Droitwich and Evesham, and one for that of Bewdley; the county members are elected at Worcester. It is included in the Oxford circuit: the assizes and quarter sessions are held at Worcester, where stands the county gaol and house of correction. There are ninety acting magistrates. The rates raised in the county for the year ending March 25th, 1827, amounted to £93,685. 16., and the expenditure to £92,708. 19., of which £76,954. 6. was applied to the relief of the poor. The form of the county nearly approaches a parallelogram, two-thirds of the area of which lie to the east of the Severn; but its boundaries are extremely irregular, and its detached portions numerous. Its general appearance, when viewed from the heights bordering it in different parts, is that of a rich plain, the more gentle elevations being hardly discernible. The Vale of the Severn extending through it, from north to south, a distance of about thirty miles, varies in breadth from a quarter of a mile to a mile, and contains about ten thousand acres. The Vale of Evesham is an indefinite tract in the south-eastern part of the county, including the Valley of the Avon, the adjoining uplands to the north of that river, and the whole of the vale land in the southern part of the county and tiie adjoining parts of Gloucestershire. These vales, together with those of the Avon and the Teme, are but little elevated above the level of the tide in the Severn; and from their level the uplands rise gradually in gentle' slopes, swelling to the height of from fifty to two hundred feet. On these elevations there are few instances of extended plains, the country being broken by gentle vales and smoothly swelling hills, the latter of which, towards the north and north-east, and in one or two other directions, much increase in height. To the north-east of Bromsgrove is a ridge of hills, called the Lickey, which extends to Hagley, and has various branches eastward: some of its highest peaks rise to the height of nearly nine hundred feet. The Abberley hills, in the north-western part of the county, extend over the parish of Abberley, and are seen to a great distance, rising to about the same height as the last-mentioned: Witley hill is a little to the southward of these. Bredon hill is another remarkable elevation, to the south of Pershore, and on the south-eastern side of the Avon, rising to the height of nearly nine hundred feet. But by far the loftiest tract is the Malvern hills, a chain extending from north to south, upon a base about six miles in length arid from one to two in breadth: a line passing along the summit of this ridge separates Worcestershire from Herefordshire: the most, elevated point attains the height of one thousand three hundred and thirteen feet above the Severn. The views obtained from most of these eminences are remarkable for their beauty and extent, particularly those from the Malvern hills; and their rocky summits give a picturesque diversity to much of the scenery. The districts lying between Droitwich and Bromsgrove, and those extending from the latter town northward, possess, however, little of the richness and beauty of the general landscape; but peculiarly pleasing and extensive views are obtained from the Broadway hills, near the village of Broadway Stagbury hill, near Bewdley; the Witchbury hills, near Hagley; Woodbury hill, near the banks of the Teme; the rising ground to the east of Worcester; and various other points. The climate, more particularly in the middle, southern, and western parts of the county, is mild, salubrious, and favourable to every process of vegetation. The most elevated tracts, more particularly those lying to the north-east of Bromsgrove, are much colder, and have frequently a bleak aspect. The seasons here are much more early than in any of the surrounding counties, more particularly the northern ones, the common meadow flowers making their appearance a fortnight sooner than in Staffordshire. The soils are remarkable for their general fertility, and add a peculiarly rich verdure to a district presenting great beauty of outline, and enjoying an eminently fine climate. Those of the vallies traversed by the principal rivers consist of a deep rich sediment, which has been deposited by floods during a long series of ages; this sediment is in some places a pure clay, adapted to the making of bricks, but generally consists of a rich mould. The vallies of the Severn, the Avon, the Stour, the Salwarpe, and nearly all the smaller streams, consist of rich natural meadows and pastures; while that of the Teme abounds also with hop-plantations and orchards. In the valley of the Stpur some small tracts of peat bog are found; the extent of this kind of soil, bordering on the rivers, is estimated at about fifty thousand acres. Rich clay and loamy soils occupy nearly half the county in its middle, southern, and western dis- tricts, and, besides the ordinary crops of other counties, produce great quantities of hops and fruit. The substrata of the Vale of Evesham are various, being sometimes a yellowish gravel, and at others a clay, which is unfit for making bricks, as containing calcareous particles. About Kidderminster and Stourbridge light sandy soils prevail to a very great extent; some of them are poor and barren, as at MittOn and Wolverley; others rich and fertile: the sands of Wolverley are in many places of considerable depth, or terminate in a sandy rock of various depths. To the north-east of Bromsgrove, including the hilly cultivated tracts, a mixed gravel abounding in springs, and a gravelly loam, are found: in this north-eastern part of the county some of the hilly grounds have also a moist clay loam o a broken rocky substratum, and a lighter loam on clay, with a similar substratum: the lands on Bromsgrove Lickey have often a deep substratum of sand; but, on the higher parts of it, they frequently rest immediately upon an irregular granitic rock, or upon a soft pudding-stone. The waste lands in the eastern part of the county, which are but of small extent, have generally a deep black peaty soil. The Abberley hills and Witley hills have a strong wet clay, resting on limestone. The soil and climate being well adapted to the production of every kind of grain in abundance, the agriculture of the county is less subject to any characteristic system than that of almost any other: the drill husbandry is practised chiefly on the hills and lighter soils. The amount of arable land is estimated at three hundred and sixty thousand acres; the crops most generally cultivated are, wheat, barley, oats, beans, peas, vetches, turnips, and hops. Four varieties of wheat are commonly sown, and annually occupy about forty-three thousand five hundred acres. Nearly one thousand acres in the sandy parts of the county are annually sown with rye, much of the produce of which is sold to be sown as early spring food for sheep. Barley is sown after turnips on all lands where the latter crop is grown, in conjunction with clover and grass seeds, and is calculated to occupy about thirty-three thousand acres annually. Oats are grown on a much smaller scale, being seldom cultivated on the richer soils; beans are grown to a considerable extent on the strong soils, but peas only to a limited degree j vetches are in common cultivation in almost every part of the county, and are chiefly employed as green food for horses. Turnips are extensively and successfully grown on the more friable soils; the Swedish turnip is also cultivated, but only to a small extent: cabbages are sometimes an agricultural crop. The sands of Wolverley are famous for their produce of carrots and carrot seed; an average crop of the former is fifteen tons per acre; for the most part they are sold to persons who carry them to the markets of Birmingham, Stourbridge, or the populous parts of Staffordshire much of the seed is frequently sold to the London dealers. Potatoes are grown in great plenty, particularly in the neighbourhood of Bromsgrove, and large quantities are sent to Birmingham and the southern parts of Staffordshire. Worcestershire has long been famous for the culture of hops, which annually occupy about six thousand acres, in all cases upon a deep rich loam, or a peaty soil, plentifully manured; many hopgrounds on the banks of the Teme receive occasional irrigation from the overflow of that river, whose waters are of a peculiarly fertilizing quality. Three sorts of hops are here cultivated, distinguished as red, green, and white; the picking is performed, in September, by great numbers of women and children from the neighbouring populous counties and from Wales, some of whom come a distance of from thirty to forty miles; the produce, though varying extremely, is estimated to average about five hundred weight per acre. Flax and hemp are sometimes grown, though not very commonly, nor to a great extent. The principal artificial grasses are, red and white clover, trefoil, and ray-grass; and the seeds of the common grasses are also occasionally sown on the vale lands: much clover is annually seeded; chicory and burnet, though common native plants, are not cultivated. The extensive vales, particularly that of the Severn consist of meadows and pastures of a particxilarly rich quality, maintaining their verdure nearly all the year, and occupying an extent of about fifty thousand acres: almost any proportion of this land may be mown at pleasure, and a great quantity of hay is sent to the mining districts of Shropshire and Staffordshire. There are, besides, nearly fifty thousand acres of permanent upland pasture, including parks and pleasure grounds. Few instances of artificial irrigation occur, but the natural meadows derive nearly all their fertility from the periodical overflow of the rivers which traverse them. A part of the pastures is grazed by cows belonging to the dairies, the produce of which is chiefly butter, for home consumption and the supply of Birmingham, and cheese made of skimmed milk: in some dairies, however, cheese only, of a good quality, is made. Great numbers of sheep and cattle are fattened in the rich meadows, chiefly in the southern and western parts of the county; many cattle are also fattened in stalls during the winter, a very great proportion of them being driven to the London market. Lime is extensively used as a manure on the gravelly and sandy soils of the north-eastern part of the county, where marl is also occasionally employed; horn shavings, leather shreds, ashes, soot, and offal salt from the works at Droitwich, are in some places used for the same purpose to a small extent. The cattle are of various sorts, few being bred in the county: those most esteemed are the Hereford and long-horned breeds, the latter being chiefly bought at the fairs of Staffordshire and Shropshire: besides these, almost all the other surrounding counties furnish Worcestershire with various kinds of cattle, to be fattened in its rich vales; for which purpose also great numbers of Welch, Yorkshire, and even Scotch, cattle are imported. The only peculiar kind of sheep is the common, or waste-land, breed, occupying all the wastes, except those in the southern parts of the county: they are without horns, and are supposed to have sprung from the same stock as the South Down sheep, and the Cannock-heath sheep of Staffordshire. In the enclosures are found the Cotswold (which also occupy the southern wastes), the Ryeland, the Leicester, the South Down, and various other breeds and mixtures; besides which, many of the Somersetshire, Wiltshire, and Dorsetshire breeds are annually bought in, chiefly for the purpose of being fattened; folding is not coinmonly practised. The hogs are chiefly of a large white slouch-eared kind: much bacon is consumed in the county j the surplus assists in the supply of the adjoining manufacturing districts of Warwickshire, Staffordshire, &c. Few horses are. bred; the sort most commonly used is of a strong black breed. The extent of land applied to the raising of vegetables for human food is estimated at about five thousand acres, for, besides the gardens commonly attached to country houses, there are very considerable horticultural tracts near the principal towns, more particularly on the north-eastern side of Worcester, and on the northern side of the town of Evesham, in the vicinity of which latter place there are about three hundred acres of garden ground, which, besides producing all the other ordinary vegetables, supply the cities of Bath and Bristol, and the town of Birmingham, with considerable quantities of early peas and asparagus: great quantities of cucumbers and onions are exported from the same district, chiefly to the lastmentioned town; much onion seed is also produced there. This county has for many centuries been famous for its orchards, which flourish in a degree unknown to most other parts of the kingdom; they are situated chiefly around the towns, villages, and farm-houses, chiefly of the middle, southern, and western parts of the county, where the various kinds of fruit-trees are also frequently dispersed in the hedge-rows, and form an important source of profit, though their produce is very uncertain. The average quantity of cider and perry made is remarkably great, for, besides supplying the consumption of the county, which is very considerable, a large surplus, together with great quantities of raw fruit, is exported to other parts of the kingdom. Worcestershire is adorned with a plentiful store of timber; in many parts are oak coppices of different degrees of growth, and in some are small tracts of the finest oak and ash timber, particularly in the neighbourhood of the different seats; the most important produce of the underwoods is, poles for the hop-yards, and charcoal for the iron-works. The Forest of Wyre, on the north-western border of the county, near Bewdley, partly in this county and partly in that of Salop, is a great nursery for oak-poles and underwood, which are cut at stated periods, leaving trees foi timber at proper distances; the oak-poles, after being stripped of their bark, are sold, under the name of "black poles," for making rails, hurdles, laths, &c. Some parts possess beech timber of excellent quality, and many of the precipitous heights bordering on the Severn, and thehills in some other places, are ornamented with large plantations of fir. The hedge-rows, too, throughout a large portion of the most fertile districts, are well stocked with some of the most valuable elm timber in the kingdom, more particularly in the parishes of Hartlebury, Elmley-Lovett, Ombersley, &c.; great quantities of which are regularly cut down and sent to Birmingham, or exported by the Severn and the canals. On the borders of the rivers are many poplar and willow plantations, more particularly along the course of the Teme. The waste lands do not, at most, exceed twenty thousand acres, and consist of high hilly tracts, or of small commons, and wastes, dispersed in various quarters; at present they are in a state of nature, overrun with furze, heath, and fern, and affording only a scanty summer maintenance for a few sheep of an inferior kind, and for a still smaller number of cows" and horses. Of the hilly wastes, the principal are the upper parts of the Malvern hills, which are very rocky; of Bredon hill, near Pershore j and of the Abberley and Witley hills, together with some of the unenclosed parts of Bromsgrove Lickey. Wyre Forest, to the left of Bewdley, besides its woodlands, cbmprises also a considerable portion of open land. The fuel consumed is chiefly coal, a small portion of which is obtained from the mines in the county; but by far the greater quantity, which is also of excellent quality, is imported, by the canals and the Severn, from the rich mines of Staffordshire and Shropshire. The mineral productions are of minor importance. Coal is obtained in the north-western part of the county, particularly at Mamble, which place communicates, by means of. an iron railway, with the Leominster canal; and again at Pensax, where the small refuse is partly converted into coke, highly esteemed for the drying of hops, and is partly used for burning the limestone obtained at Witley hill; but the seam, is only from two feet to two feet six inches thick, and lies at the depth of about twenty yards, from which the water is raised in buckets. Common rock salt and a species of gypsurtf are found at Droitwich. Limestone of the lias formation forms the. substratum of nearly the whole south-eastern portion, of the county, and is worked at South Littleton and other places: the kind called by geologists "mountain limestone" is found in the hills of the north-western part, and is burned in several places, particularly at Witley and Huddington. The town of Dudley is situated at the southern extremity of a range of limestone hills, which extends northward into Staffordshire; and this, upon which stands the castle and part of the town, is completely undermined by stupendous quarries. Freestone for building is obtained in several places. The Malvern hills are formed chiefly of a kind of decomposed granite, with which, on their northern side, gneiss is connected, and on their eastern, sienite. The precipitous swells of Bromsgrove Lickey are composed chiefly of quartz, a siliceous stone, much resembling the granite of the Malvern hills: in the Broadway hills a reddish stone is quarried. In the Vale of Evesham, in the parishes of Badsey, the three Littletons, and Prior's Cleeve, are quarries of a calcareous flag-stone, about three inches thick, and of a very durable quality, some of it bearing a fine polish: considerable quantities are raised for gravestones, kitchen floors, barn floors, &c., and much of it is exported by means of the Avon navigation. Brick clay, gravel, sand, and marl, exist in numerous places. The most remarkable fossil production is that found in the limestone at Dudley, thence called the " Dudley locust." The manufactures are various, extensive, and important. Those of gloves and porcelain are carried on at Worcester. Stourbridge has an extensive manufacture of glass, which has long flourished both there and at Dudley; and at both places the iron manufacture is carried on to a very considerable extent. Nails, needles, and fish hooks, are made at Bromsgrove, also at Redditch, on the border of Warwickshire. Kidderminster is famous for its carpets; and the manufacture of bombazines is still carried on, but not so extensively as formerly. On the river Stour and its tributary streams are several very considerable iron-works, in which the pig-iron from the foundries of Shropshire, Staffordshire, and other mining districts, is rendered malleable, and worked into bars, rods, sheet-iron, &c. The manufacture of salt, at Droitwich, is known to have been practised so early as the year 816, when this county formed part of the Saxon kingdom of Mercia; it is here made from inexhaustible brine springs, which lie at the depth of about eighty feet, and, when bored into, immediately rise and fill the pit dug to receive their waters. The commerce of the county is greatly facilitated by its ex- tensive canal and river navigation. Worcester is the great mart for the hops, fruit, cider, and perry produced in this county and that of Hereford. The quantity of hops brought to market varies, according to the plentifulness of the crop, but is supposed to average about thirty-six thousand hundred-weight. An idea of the quantity of fruit exported may be formed from the fact, that the cargoes sent northward consisting chiefly of apples and pears, have, in some years, amounted to upwards of two thousand tons 5 besides which, considerable quantities are carried out of the county from the markets of Bewdley, Kidderminster, Bromsgrove, &c. The' cider annually exported amounts to about ten thousand hogsheads, of one hundred and ten gallons each; the perry to about a tenth part of that quantity. Of the wheat, barley, and beans, grown in the county, the surplus is very great, and finds ready carriage to Birmingham and the populous parts of Staffordshire and Shropshire, or down the Severn, to be conveyed coastwise. Fat cattle, sheep, and hogs, are supplied for the London market, and the manufacturing districts of Warwickshire and Staffordshire: about two thousand packs of wool, of two hundred and forty pounds each, are annually exported 5 as also are clover and grass seeds, hay, and timber. The principal rivers are the Severn, the Upper Avon, the Teme, and the Stour. The Severn enters on the northern border of the county, a little above Bewdley, and flows southward by that town, Stourport, Worcester, and Upton, to the vicinity of Tewkesbury, where it quits it for Gloucestershire, but forms the eastern border of a projecting portion of Worcestershire for a short distance below that town, in the vicinity of Chaseley. The channel of this noble river, in this part of its course, is generally from eighty to one hundred yards wide, though sometimes considerably more; its depth averages from five to six yards, and it has a fall of about a foot in a mile; shortly before it quits the county it meets the tide, and becomes deep and tranquil. It is navigable for vessels of eighty tons' burden as high as Worcester bridge, and for those of sixty in the higher part of its course through the county; but the navigation, though of great benefit and importance, is frequently impeded in the summer by sands and shoals. Salmon, chad, lamprey, and lampern, are the most remarkable fish in this part of its course, but are not so abundant as formerly. By the statute of the 30th of Charles II., c. ix., the conservancy of the Severn, within the limits of the county, is granted to the magistrates of Worcestershire. The Upper Avon enters the county from Warwickshire, a little above the village of Prior's Cleeve, whence it pursues an extremely devious course through the Vale of Evesham, by the towns of Evesham and Pershore, to that of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, where it enters the Severn, after forming, for several miles, the boundary between this county and a projecting portion of Gloucestershire. So early as the year 1637, this river was made navigable, with the aid of locks, in the whole of its course through Worcestershire, a distance of about twenty miles. The Teme, from the borders of Shropshire and Herefordshire, first touches this county at its north-western extremity, and, flowing eastward, enters it a little below Tenbury, then takes a bending south-easterly course until it becomes the western boundary between Hartley and Lulsley hence it flows east-south-eastward, and falls into the Severn about a mile and a half below Worcester: the channel of this river has too great a declivity, and its waters are too shallow, to admit of its being navigated higher than a small distance above Powick bridge: the scenery on its banks is particularly beautiful. The' Stour, rising in a detached portion of Staffordshire, nearly surrounded by the northern part of this county,1 flows northward by Hales-Owen, which is a detached part of Shropshire, and thence eastward to Stourbridge, in this county, which, however, it immediately quits for the southern part of Staffordshire, but re-enters it a little above Wolverley, whence it takes its' course southward by Kidderminster to the Severn at' Stourport: this stream is navigable for a short dis-' tance to some of the iron-works on its banks. Be- sides these, the stream called the Salwarpe descends from the Lickey, by Bromsgrove and Droitwich, to the Severn, about three miles above Worcester; the Ledden borders the county for a few miles at its southwestern extremity j and the Rhea, rising between Frankley and Chadwick, flows north-eastward to Birmingham; the smaller streams are particularly numerous, The Trent and Severn canal, or, as it is more commonly called, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire, enters the county from Staffordshire, near Wolverley, and thence proceeds down the valley of the Stour, and by the town of Kidderminster, to the navigable channel of the Severn, at Stourport, into which it opens through a spacious basin: the length of that part of its course included in Worcestershire is about nine miles, in which it has nine locks, and a fall of ninety feet: this canal, one of the works of the celebrated Brindley, is that branch of the Grand Trunk canal which unites the navigation of the Severn with the water communication between the rivers Trent and Mersey: the act for its formation was obtained in 1766, and it was completed about the year 1770. The Droitwich canal, from that town to the Severn, down the valley of the Salwarpe, was constructed soon after the above, and by the same engineer; it is five miles and a half long, with five locks and a fall of about sixty feet: the cost of its formation was £25,000. The noble canal from Birmingham to the Severn, immediately below Worcester, called the Birmingham and Worcester canal, for vessels of sixty tons' burden, commences with a short tunnel in the vicinity of the firstmentioned town, where it communicates with the Birmingham, Birmingham and Fazely, and Birmingham and Warwick canals, and proceeds nearly southward, across two valleys, over which it is conveyed by extensive embankments to a little beyond King's Norton, where it passes through another tunnel, upwards of a mile in length, and then, after completing its summit level of sixteen miles and three quarters from the wharfs at Birmingham, descends south-eastward from the towns of Bromsgrove and Droitwich, by a lockage of four hundred and fifty feet fall to the Severn; it has also other tunnels, of smaller extent than the last the act of parliament for its formation was obtained in 1791: its total length is twenty-nine miles. The Dudley Extension canal branches from it near Selly Oak, and thence proceeds westward, through a long tunnel to Hales-Owen, a short distance beyond which it is carried through another tunnel, and, on emerging, pursues a winding northerly course to Dudley, and there passes through a tunnel under the limestone hills, nearly two miles in length, into the county of Stafford, where it forms a junction with the Birmingham canal from that town to Wolverhampton; its total length is thirteen miles. The Stratford upon Avon canal branches from the Birmingham and Worcester canal near King's Norton, and thence proceeds eastward, through a small tunnel, into Warwickshire. The Kington, Leominster, and Stourport canal was projected towards the close of the last century, the first act of parliament for the execution of the design having been obtained in 1791 j but the expense was found far to exceed the sum at first computed, and only the part of its course between Leominster and Stourport has been completed: this enters the county on the northern bank of the Teme, a little below Tenbury. The turnpike roads are generally in good repair, being relieved from the wear of heavy carriage by the navigable rivers and canals. The road from London to Welchpool, enters from Gloucestershire, and passes through Pershore, Worcester, and Tenbury, to Ludlpw in Shropshire: the road from London to Aberystwith branches from this, near Worcester, on the opposite side of the Severn, directly westward to Bromyard in Herefordshire. Another road from London to Worcester enters from Chipping-Campden, and passes through Evesham. The road from London to Shrewsbury and Holywell, by Bridgenorth, enters from Alcester in Warwickshire, and passes through Bromsgrove and Kid- derminster, to Bridgenorth in Shropshire. The road from London to Kidderminster, by Birmingham, enters from Hales-Oweri, and passes through Stourbridge to Kidderminster. The road from London to Birmingham passes through Shipston upon Stour, and through the north-western extremity of the county, which is also crossed by the road from London to Birmingham, through Warwick. The Roman roads were, the Ik- nield-street, which passed northward, from Alcester in Warwickshire, through its north-western extremity, into Staffordshire; another, which passed from Worcester into Shropshire; a third, from Worcester, southward by Upton, to Tewkesbury, where it joined the Iknieldstreet; and the Ridge-way, which bounds the county for several miles, on the east. Numerous vestiges of them are still visible j as also of a fosse-way which passes through the detached parish of Blockley,and an ancient road which crossed Hagley common, now called the King's Head Land. Stukeley supposes Upton, on the banks of the Severn, to have been the Ypocessa of the Romans; and Worcester, from the termination of its name and other circumstances, appears to have been either a Roman station, or a fort. The remains of antiquity include few very remarkable objects. Near the Fourshire Stone, at a point where the counties of Worcester, Gloucester, Warwick and Oxford meet, there is a small earthwork, supposed by Gough to be of British construction; and there are traces of other ancient encampments in the vicinities of Bredon, Kempsey, and Malvern 3 as also on Witchbury hill, Woodbury hill, and Conderton hill, in the parish of Overbury. Various coins of the Lower Empire have been found in the vicinity of Hagley, particularly near the large camp on Witchbury hill 5 and on Clent heath, about half a mile from Witchbury, are five barrows, assigned by popular tradition to the Romans, which, on being opened, were found to contain burnt wood, ashes, and bones. The number of religious houses, including colleges and hospitals, was about twenty-eight. There yet exist remains of the abbeys of Bordesley, Evesham, and Pershore 5 of the Commandery of St. Wulstan at Worcester; of the priories of Dodford and Great Malvern j and of the nunnery of Cokehill, in the parish of Inkberrow. The most remarkable specimens of ecclesiastical architecture are, the cathedral of Worcester, and the c hurches of Church-Lench, Droitwich, Eastham, All Saints at Evesham, Great Malvern, Holt, Naunton-Beau champ, Pedmore, Rock, Stockton, and St. Alban, St. Andrew, and St. Clement at Worcester. The fonts most worthy of notice are those of Chaddesley-Corbett and Eastham; at several places are ancient chapels in different states of preservation. There are remains of the ancient castles of Dudley; Ham, near Clifton upon Teme; Hartlebury 5 and Holt. Worcestershire contains a considerable number of elegant mansions: among the principal are, Croome Park, the seat of the Earl of Coventry, the lord-lieutenant of the county; Hartlebury Castle, that of the Bishop of Worcester j Hewell Park, that of the Earl of Plymouth j Madresfield, that of Earl Beauchamp 5 Northwick Park, that of Lord Northwick; Ombersley Court, that of the Marchioness of Downshire; Witley Court, that of Lord Foleyj Hagley Park, that of LordLyttelton; Hanbury Hall, that of John Phillips, Esq. 5 and Stanford Court, that of Sir Thomas Winnington, Bart. The mineral springs are Very numerous: the most noted are the chalybeate waters of Bredon, Bromsgrove (which are also petrifying), Hallow Park near Worcester, Kidderminster, and Worcester) and those of other qualities at Abberton, near Naunton-Beauchamp, and at Churchill. But the Malvern wells, which possess various properties, are by far the most celebrated, and, in conjunction with the fine climate and scenery of the surrounding country, have rendered the town of Great Malvern a place of fashionable resort. The produce of the salt springs of Droitwich has been noticed above.