the capital of Gloucestershire, in England, 106 miles from London. It is an ancient city; and by Antoninus is called Clevum, or Glevum, which Camden thinks was formed from the British Caer-Glowe, signifying "a fair city." It was one of the 28 cities built by the Britons before the arrival of the Romans, who made it one of their colonies, and in the eighth century it was esteemed one of the noblest cities in the kingdom. It has suffered considerably by fire at different periods. It stands upon a hill; and from the middle of the city, where the four principal streets meet, there is a descent every way, which makes it not only clean and healthy, but adds to the beauty of the place. Forging of iron seems to have been its manufacture so early as the time of William the Conqueror. King Henry VIII. made it the see of a bishop, with a dean and fix prebends. Its castle, which was erected in the time of William the Conqueror, is very much decayed; part of it is leafed out by the crown; and the rest serves for a prison, one of the best in England. In its cathedral, which is an ancient but magnificent fabric, and has a tower reckoned GLO Gloucester, one of the most curious pieces of architecture in England, are the tombs of Robert duke of Normandy, son to William the Conqueror, and of Edward II, and there is a whispering place like that of St Paul's at London. In the chapter house lies Strongbow who conquered Ireland. There are 12 chapels in it, with the arms and monuments of many great persons. King John made it a borough to be governed by two bailiffs. Henry III, who was crowned here, made it a corporation. By its present charter from Charles I, it is governed by a steward, who is generally a nobleman; a mayor; a recorder; 12 aldermen, out of whom the mayor is chosen; a town clerk; two sheriffs, chosen yearly out of 26 common councilmen; a sword-bearer; and four sergeants at mace. Here are 12 incorporated trading companies, whose masters attend the mayor on all public occasions, &c. Besides the cathedral, there are five parish churches in this city; which is likewise well provided with hospitals, particularly an infirmary upon the plan of those at London, Winchester, Bath, &c. Here is a good stone bridge over the river Severn, with a quay, wharf, and customhouse; but most of its business is engrossed by Bristol. King Edward I held a parliament here in 1272, wherein some good laws were made, now called the Statutes of Gloucester; and he erected a gate on the south side of the abbey, still called by his name, though almost demolished in the civil wars. King Richard II also held a parliament here; and King Richard III, in consideration of his having (before his accession to the crown) borne the title of Duke of Gloucester, added the two adjacent hundreds of Dudston and King's Barton to it, gave it his sword and cap of maintenance, and made it a county of itself by the name of the county of the city of Gloucester. But after the Restoration the hundreds were taken away by act of parliament, and the walls pulled down; because the city shut the gates against Charles I, when he besieged it in 1643; by which, though the siege was raised by the earl of Essex, it had suffered 20,000l. damage, having 241 houses destroyed, which reduced it to much that it has scarce recovered its former size and grandeur. Before that time it had 11 parish churches, but fix of them were then demolished. Here are abundance of crofts, and statues of the English kings, some of whom kept their Christmas here; several market houses supported with pillars; and large remains of monasteries, which were once so numerous, that it gave occasion to the monkish proverb, As sure as God is in Gloucester. Here is a barley market; and a hall for the assizes, called the Booth Hall. Its chief manufacture is pins. Under the bridge is a water engine to supply the town, and it is served with it also from Robin Hood's well, to which is a fine walk from the city. Camden says, that the famous Roman way, called Ermin Street, which begins at St David's in Pembrokehire, and reaches to Southampton, passes through this city. Sudmead in the neighbourhood is noted for horse races. Here is a charity school for above 80 children, of whom above 70 are also clothed; and a well endowed blue coat school. The city sends two members to parliament. W. Long. 2. 13. N. Lat. 51. 48.

GLOCESTER is also the name of two counties and of several towns in America; such as the county of Gloucester in New Jersey, bounded on the north by Burlington, on the south by Salem and Cumberland, on the east by the Atlantic ocean, and on the west by the river Delaware. It contains 13,172 inhabitants, besides 191 slaves. Gloucester in Virginia is a well cultivated and fruitful county, about 55 miles long and 30 broad, with a population of 13,498 souls, among whom are included 766 slaves.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, a county of England, is bounded on the west by Monmouthshire and Herefordshire, on the north by Worcestershire, on the east by Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, and on the south by Wiltshire, and part of Somersetshire. It is sixty miles in length, twenty-fix in breadth, and one hundred and sixty in circumference; containing 1,100,000 acres, 26,760 houes, 162,560 inhabitants, 290 parishes, 140 are impropriations, 1229 villages, 2 cities, and 28 market towns. It lends only 8 members to parliament, 6 for three towns, viz. Gloucester, Tewkesbury, 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, brafs, &c.: and of the principal articles of commerce of the county, it exports cheese 8000 tons; bacon, grain, cyder, 5000l. worth; perry, fish, 4000l. 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 Cotswold; 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 county, 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 Ifs, the Leyden, the Frome, the Stroud, and Windrush, besides lesser streams, all abounding with fish, the Severn in particular with salmon, conger eels, and lampreys. The soil is in general very fertile, though pretty much diversified, yielding plenty of corn, pasture, fruit, and wood. In the hilly part of the county, or Cotswold, 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 Cotswold: for the former is much warmer, and the latter richer, yielding the most luxuriant pastures; in consequence of which, numerous herds of black cattle are kept, and great quantities of that excellent cheese, for which it is so much celebrated, made in it. The remaining part of the county, called the GLO

Gloucester 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 Tewkebury; at Dumbleton, near Winchcomb; at Easington, near Dursley; and at Cheltenham. Its ancient fortifications, attributed to the Romans, Saxons, or Danes, are Abston and Wick, and at Downton, Dixton, Addlethorp, Knole, Over Upton, Hanham Bodington, and Bourton on the Water.