GLOCESTERSHIRE, a county of England,
is bounded on the weſt by Monmouthſhire and Here-
fordſhire, on the north by Worceſterſhire, on the eaſt
by Oxfordſhire and Warwickſhire, and on the ſouth
by Wiltsſhire, and part of Somerſetſhire. It is ſixty
miles in length, twenty-fix in breadth, and one hun-
dred and ſixty in circumference; containing 1,100,000
acres, 26,760 houſes, 162,560 inhabitants, 290 pa-
riſhes, 140 are impropriations, 1229 villages, 2 cities,
and 28 market towns. It ſends only 8 members to
parliament, 6 for three towns; viz. Gloceſter, Tewkeſ-
bury, and Cirenceſter; and two for the county. Its
manufactures are woollen cloths of various kinds, men's
hats, leather, pens, paper, bar iron, edge tools, nails,
wire, tinned plates, braſs, &c.: and of the principal ar-
ticles of commerce of the county, it exports cheeſe
8000 tons; bacon, grain, cyder, 5000. worth; perry,
fiſh, 4000. worth, &c. It lies in the dioceſe that
takes its name from the capital, and in the Oxford
circuit. The air of the county is very wholeſome, but
the face of it is very different in different parts: for
the eaſtern part is hilly, and is called Cotteſwold; the
weſtern woody, and called the Forest of Dean; and the
reſt is a fruitful valley, through which runs the river
Severn. This river is in ſome places between two and
three miles broad; and its courſe through the country,
including its windings, is not leſs than ſeventy miles.
The tide of flood, called the Boar, riſes very high, and
is very impetuous. It is remarkable, that the greateſt
tides are one year at the full moon, and the other at
the new; one year the night tides, and the next the
day. This river affords a noble conveyance for goods
and merchandise of all ſorts to and from the county;
but it is watered by ſeveral others, as the Wye, the
Avon, the Iſſe, the Leyden, the Frome, the Stroud,
and Windruſh, beſides leſſer ſtreams, all abounding
with fiſh, the Severn in particular with ſalmon, con-
ger eels, and lampreys. The ſoil is in general very
fertile, though pretty much diverſified, yielding plen-
ty of corn, paſture, fruit, and wood. In the hilly
part of the county, or Cotteſwold, the air is ſharper
than in the lowlands; and the ſoil, though not ſo fit
for grain, produces excellent paſture for ſheep; ſo that
of the four hundred thouſand that are computed to be
kept in the county, the greater part are fed here. Of
theſe ſheep the wool is exceeding fine; and hence it is
that this ſhire is ſo eminent for its manufacture of
cloth, of which fifty thouſand pieces are ſaid to have
been made yearly, before the practice of clandestinely
exporting Engliſh wool became ſo common. In the
vale, or lower part of the county, through which the
Severn paſſes, the air and ſoil are very different from
thoſe of the Cotteſwold: for the former is much warmer,
and the latter richer, yielding the moſt luxuriant pa-
tures; in conſequence of which, numerous herds of
black cattle are kept, and great quantities of that ex-
cellent cheeſe, for which it is ſo much celebrated, made
in it. The remaining part of the county, called the
Glochidon Forest of Dean, was formerly almost entirely overrun with wood, and extended 20 miles in length, and 10 in breadth. It was then a nest of robbers, especially towards the Severn; but now it contains many towns and villages, consisting chiefly of miners, employed in the coal pits, or in digging for or forging iron ore, with both which the forest abounds. These miners have their particular laws, customs, courts, and judges: and the king, as in all royal forests, has a swain-mote for the preservation of the vert and venison. This forest was anciently, and is still noted for its oaks, which thrive here surprisingly; but as there is a prodigious consumption of wood in the forges, it is continually dwindling away. A navigable canal is made from Stroud to Framilode, forming a junction between the Severn and Thames. Its chalybeate springs are, St Anthony's well, in Abbenhall parish; at Barrow and Maredon, in Bodington parish; at Ash-church, near Tewkesbury; at Dumbleton, near Winchcombe; at Eastington, near Dursley; and at Cheltenham. Its ancient fortifications, attributed to the Romans, Saxons, or Danes, are Abston and Wick, and at Dointon, Dixton, Addlesthorp, Knole, Over Upton, Hanham Bodington, and Bourton on the Water.