a town of Gloucestershire in England, seated on the Cotswold hills, and had formerly a nunnery. W. Long. 2. 15. N. Lat. 51. 38.

a town of Middlesex in England, seated on the river Thames, 15 miles west of London, and two from Richmond and Kingston. It is chiefly famous for the royal palace there, which is the finest in Britain. It was built by Cardinal Wolsey, who had 280 silk beds for strangers only, and furnished it richly with gold and silver plate. The buildings, gardens, and the two parks, to which William III. made considerable additions, are about four miles in circumference, and are watered on three sides by the Thames. The inward court, built by King William, forms a piazza, the pillars of which are so low, that it looks more like a cloister than a palace; however, the apart- ments make ample amends, being extremely magnificent, and more exactly disposed than in any other palace in the world, and adorned with most elegant furniture. Since the accession of his present majesty, however, this palace hath been much neglected, as the king has generally made choice of Windsor for his summer retreat. Those inimitable paintings of Raphael Urbin, called the cartoons, which were placed there by King William, have been removed to the queen's palace at Westminster. For these pieces Louis XV. is said to have offered 100,000l.