the capital of Worcestershire (and a city and county in itself, with separate assizes and quarter sessions), stands on the east bank of the Severn, about 26 miles from Birmingham, and 111 from London by road, and 139 by railway. It is governed by a mayor, 12 aldermen, and 36 councillors, is the seat of the bishopric of Worcester, returns two members to parliament, and gives the title of marquis to the Duke of Beaufort. The population in 1851 was 27,528. Worcester is one of the most ancient cities in the kingdom. Roman remains have been found there, and a city and bishopric were founded in 680 by the Saxons, who also built a cathedral there which was destroyed, but rebuilt in 983 by St Oswald; but being again destroyed, was reconstructed by St Wulstan in 1084. Examples of Norman architecture are still visible in parts Worcester, of the cathedral, and the crypt beneath the choir is a most exquisite Norman structure; but the present building is chiefly of the early English and decorated periods. The exterior, however, has been so patched and altered, as to present in many parts a very unsightly appearance. The interior is remarkable for its chaste simplicity; the nave, especially, will bear comparison with that of almost any other cathedral in England. The plan of the church is a double cross, with a heavy square tower (without a spire) rising from the centre to a height of 167 feet. The length of the church is 514 feet, breadth of transepts 78 feet, and height of nave 68 feet. The cathedral contains numerous monuments, of which the principal is that of King John, which stands in the middle of the choir, bearing a recumbent effigy of the king, flanked on either hand by St Wulstan and St Oswald. The body of the king was supposed to lie under a stone at the east end of the church; but in 1797, on opening the tomb, the royal remains were found within it, but showing traces of removal at an earlier period. In the transepts there are several beautiful mortuary chapels, the most remarkable of which is that erected in honour of Prince Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII. This chapel is richly decorated with sculptured effigies, representing virgins, bishops, kings, confessors, and martyrs. In the choir stalls are many very curious carvings on the under-side of the stall seats or misereres; some of the designs are not commendable for decency. The cloisters are very perfect, and are noticeable for their groining and for a series of lychesopic openings in the buttresses. The cathedral was much defaced and injured in the civil war by Cromwell's troops, who stabled their horses there, and used the church as a barrack. Near the cathedral is a grammar school, formerly the refectory of the canons; and close to the school is a noble pile of buildings known as the Guesten Hall, now almost in ruins. The close surrounding the cathedral is occupied by the houses of the canons, of whom there are six, besides minor canons, and other ecclesiastical officers. The ancient Episcopal palace, now the deanery, stands close to the cathedral, and, like it, overlooks the Severn, which spreads out here into a broad stream, crossed by a handsome stone bridge of five arches, erected in 1781, at a cost of £30,000. There are twelve parish churches in Worcester, but few of them are of great note. There are also numerous charitable foundations, enjoying in the aggregate a large annual revenue from endowments. The see enjoys the rare distinction of having numbered not fewer than four saints amongst its bishops. Egwin, Dunstan, Oswald, and Wulstan. Since the Reformation the bishops of Worcester have included the martyrs Latimer and Hooper, and Bishops Hough, Prideaux, Stillingfleet, and Hurd.

Besides the cathedral, Worcester contains many other objects of interest, such as remains of religious houses, curious half-timbered buildings, and public edifices. Amongst the latter is the Guildhall, a quaint building, standing in the Foregate. Its front, which is of brick, is adorned with stone quoins, with stone mouldings and tablets to the windows. The principal entrance is ornamented with columns of the composite order, highly enriched, and crowned with an indented cornice and open pediment, in which are the city arms. On each side of this entrance are statues of the Kings Charles the First and Second in niches; and over the doorway a statue of Queen Anne. There are also a handsome market hall, county hall or assize court, museum, music hall, school of art, an hospital, and an arboretum or public pleasure-ground. The county jail is situated near the city, and there are also lodgings for the judges. The principal streets of Worcester are broad, and lined with lofty houses, chiefly of brick. The city is well supplied with water, and is lighted with gas. The immediate neighbourhood is singularly beautiful, and within easy reach by coach and Worcester railway is the town of Malvern, the mineral springs of which, and its lovely situation at the foot of the Malvern Hills, have brought it into great repute as a fashionable watering-place or "spa."

Worcester was anciently of necessity strongly fortified, as it had to resist frequent attacks from the Welsh, and in turbulent periods of English history was often the object of assault by contending parties. In the civil war the final great battle between the puritans and the cavaliers took place there. This battle, which Cromwell called his "crowning mercy," was fought on September 3, 1651, between the parliamentary troops, commanded by Cromwell in person, and the Scotch army of Charles the Second. The battle lasted several hours, and at its close the Scotch were utterly routed, nearly the whole of them being killed or made prisoners. The latter were sold as slaves to settlers in the Virginian plantations. The king escaped from the battle with great difficulty, and afterwards remained in various hiding-places in the neighbourhood, until he obtained the means of passing over to the continent. The city was heavily fined by the parliamentarians, and at the Restoration it received from Charles the honourable motto—

"Civitas in bello et in pace fidelis."

This appellation of "the faithful city" it continues popularly to bear to the present day. Worcester is connected with London, Birmingham, Stratford, Hereford, Malvern, and other places by railways, canals, and excellent roads. The manufactures of the city are porcelain and glovemaking.

(W. T. N.)

WORCESTERSHIRE, an inland county, forming part of the west midland division; bounded on the north by Staffordshire, east by Shropshire and Herefordshire, south by Gloucestershire, and west by Warwickshire. The county is very irregular in shape, and several portions of it lie detached and surrounded by other counties, while in its turn Worcestershire comprises isolated parts of other counties. Its greatest length is about 34 miles, and greatest breadth 30 miles. Its surface measures 738 miles or 472,165 statute acres. In 1851 it contained 55,639 inhabited houses, 2723 uninhabited, and 337 building. The population was in 1801, 146,441; 1811, 168,982; 1821, 194,074; 1831, 222,655; 1841, 248,460; 1851, 276,926, of whom 136,956 were males, and 139,970 females. The increase for the fifty years from 1801 to 1851 was 89 per cent. The last census gave an average density of 375 persons and 75 inhabited houses to a square mile, 1.7 acre to a person, and 5 persons to a house. The religious census in 1851 gave the following results. Total places of worship 489; sittings, 141,612. Church of England, 244 places, 85,155 sittings; Roman Catholics, 12 places, 2834 sittings; Independents, 24 places, 7404 sittings; Methodists (various sects) 127 places, 16,926 sittings; Baptists, 46 places, 9949 sittings; Unitarians, 9 places, 2461 sittings; Mormons, 3 places, Quakers 7, Jews 1, Presbyterians 1, miscellaneous sects 6. The statistics of education, obtained at the census of 1851 were—total day schools 701; scholars 30,567—males, 16,694; females, 13,863. Of these there were public schools 233, with 21,279 scholars; private schools 468, with 9278 scholars. 180 of the public schools are supported by religious bodies, and of these 108, with 8053 scholars, belonged to the Church of England. There were also in the county 15 collegiate and grammar schools, and 70 other endowed schools. The Sunday schools numbered 341, with 35,221 scholars (17,540 males and 17,681 females), with 3603 unpaid and 262 paid teachers. Of these schools 193 (with 17,922 scholars) belonged to the Church of England. The Wesleyans stood next on the list with 87 schools and 9846 scholars. There were also 19 evening schools (with 379 scholars) and 21 literary The criminal returns for 1859 show that in that year the police force for the whole county (including boroughs) numbered 217 men, maintained at a cost of L.14,682. The crimes committed during 1859 were 782, and the number of persons apprehended 536. The number of known thieves, or persons living wholly or chiefly by crime, was 3181—namely, 2209 males and 972 females.

The vital statistics of the county for 1858 (the last year yet issued of the registrar-general's corrected returns) were—births 9616, deaths 5855; excess of births over deaths, 3761. The illegitimate births were 656, or 1 in 14½. The average rate of mortality for the ten years from 1841 to 1851 was 21 in the thousand. The marriages in 1858 were 2392, of which 2208 were solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England.

The county is included within the diocese of Worcester, and the archdeaconry of the same name. The archdeaconry includes the rural deaneries of Blockley, Droitwich, Evesham, Kidderminster, Pershore, Powick, Worcester, Kington, and Warwick. (The two last-named places are in the county of Warwick.) For legal purposes, the county is within the Oxford circuit. The assizes are held at the city of Worcester, which is also a county in itself with separate assize. The quarter-sessions are likewise held at Worcester, where the county jail is situated. The lunatic asylum is at Powick, near the city. The parliamentary divisions of Worcestershire are into east and west—the former containing the divisions of Stourbridge, Dudley, Droitwich, Northfield, Blockley, Pershore, and Evesham; and the latter the divisions of Upton, Worcester, Hundred House, and Kidderminster. County courts are held at ten places, and the county includes thirteen poor-law unions.

Worcestershire sends twelve members to parliament, two from each division of the county; two each from Worcester and Evesham, and one each from Kidderminster, Dudley, Droitwich, and Bewdley. For police purposes Dudley was transferred to Staffordshire by an act of parliament passed in 1859.

The manufacturing portions of Worcestershire are situated principally in the north and north-eastern districts. At Stourbridge the glass manufacture is carried on to a large extent; Dudley is the centre of a great iron and coal district, which also includes Stourbridge, Rowley Regis, Oldbury, and many other adjacent places. Vast quantities of limestone are also obtained from the bases of the hills at the southern extremity of which Dudley is situated. Redditch is occupied in the manufacture of needles and fish-hooks; the annual produce of the former, from this town alone, is between three and four thousand millions. Nails are made at Bromsgrove, and at Kidderminster there are numerous carpet factories. In connection with this town it is a curious fact that the so-called Kidderminster carpets are not made there at all, the looms being occupied exclusively in producing Brussels, velvet-pile, and the more valuable kinds of carpets. A great impetus has within the last few years been given to this trade by the introduction of steam-power and improved machinery. At Worcester a considerable manufacture of porcelain is carried on, and the city still retains the glove trade as an important branch of industry, though of late years the extent and value of its production have sensibly declined.

The salt made at Droitwich supplies nearly one half of England with that indispensable article. The duty collected there before the abatement of the tax amounted to more than L.1000 per day. The water from which the salt is made by evaporation is more highly saturated than any other that has been discovered. Researches in the bowels of the earth have shown that a river of salt water, about 22 inches in depth, runs about 250 feet below the surface. Immediately above this subterranean stream is a bed of gypsum 130 feet thick. When this stratum is penetrated by the borers, the spring rises to the surface, and Worcestershire yields a never-failing supply of water, so fully saturated that no more salt can be dissolved in it. The springs at Droitwich hold in solution about one fourth of their weight in salt; and no other in England holds more than a ninth. The subterraneous river runs over a bed of rock-salt, whose thickness has not yet been ascertained. Besides the springs at Droitwich, other mineral springs are found at Malvern which are resorted to for their healing properties, as well as for the pure air of the district. The combinations of the wells are carbonate of soda, carbonate of lime, carbonate of magnesia, carbonate of iron, sulphate of soda, and muriate of soda.

The new red sandstone occupies nearly the whole vale of Severn, and the lias formation the vale of Avon, in which the Evesham district is situated. In the north-west are beds of coal and ironstone, the Dudley district also includes limestone; quartz is in the Lickey hills, and the Malvern hills are chiefly composed of granite. The principal chains of hills are the Clent and Lickey to the north and east; and the Abberley and Martley hills to the west, running southwards to the Malvern chain, the loftiest heights in the midland counties. The Malverns attain a height of 1300 feet; there are no other hills of greater altitude than 900 feet. There are several detached hills of some importance, such as Bredon Hill and Broadway Hill. The chief rivers of Worcestershire are the Severn, the Avon, the Tame, the Salwarpe, the Leddon, and the Rea. The Avon and Severn are navigable: the latter for a distance of 200 miles from its mouth. Great labour and vast sums of money have been expended in improving the navigation of this river, and at Worcester an important series of locks and basins has been formed during the last few years. Lamprey, shad, and salmon are found in the Severn, but the take of the latter is rapidly diminishing, although at one period it was so plentiful that when boys were apprenticed in Worcester it was formally stipulated in the indentures that they should not be obliged to eat salmon more than twice a week.

Independently of the advantage of navigable rivers, Worcestershire is well supplied with good roads, canals, and railways. The principal canals are the Birmingham and Worcester, the Trent and Severn, the Droitwich, the Dudley and Leominster, and their various branches, which reach nearly every town of note in the county, and afford means of easy and direct communication with Warwickshire and Staffordshire. The Dudley canal, which proceeds from the Worcester and Birmingham canal, about four miles below the latter town, and joins the Stourport canal near Stourbridge, is remarkable for the stupendous character of the engineering difficulties overcome in its construction. Some idea of these may be formed from the fact that during its course of 13 miles it passes through three tunnels of an aggregate length of four miles. The railways are the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton, which enters the county at Evesham, runs to Worcester, and thence by way of Droitwich and Kidderminster to Dudley, and thence to Birmingham. This line has a branch to Stratford-upon-Avon. The Gloucester and Birmingham line runs right across Worcestershire, starting from Birmingham, and traversing the county from north-east to south-west. A line of railway likewise runs from Worcester to Malvern, and a line is in course of construction to connect Worcester with Hereford.

Worcestershire is on the whole a fertile county, although it contains many patches of poor intractable land. To the north the soil is a loamy sand, mixed with gravel; towards the east it is a strong clay, with occasional patches of sand and peat earth; clay and red marl prevail between Worcester and Evesham. In the vale of Evesham the soil is a peculiarly rich and deep dark earth resting on clay; and on Worcester, the southern boundary of the county the soil is partly lime- stone and partly a rich loam. Wheat is grown in large breadths, and barley and beans are likewise extensively cultivated. Hops form a staple of agricultural produce; but the chief glory of the county consists in its orchards of apples and pears, which are most abundant and of fine quality. The making of cider and perry constitutes an important portion of agricultural industry, and these beve- rages are in common use in the country districts. Wor- cestershire has no peculiar breeds of either cattle or sheep. The aspect of the county, as seen from the various ranges of hills, is extremely pleasing: it presents the appearance of a richly cultivated plain, well wooded, and watered by innumerable streams. The farms are usually small in size, varying from 40 to 300 acres; but there is at present a tendency to increase their acreage.

The early history of Worcestershire cannot be deter- mined with accuracy. There are traces of Roman occu- pation, in camps on the Malvern, Bredon, and Woodbury hills, and in the Ikenfield Street and the Ridgeway, which traversed part of the county. Under the Saxons the county was included in the kingdom of Mercia. Soon after the Conquest the dignity of earl of Worcester was created, and the nobles who governed the county under this title were also frequently engaged in keeping the peace on the Welsh borders. The dignity did not long remain in one family, but at last settled in that of Somerset, which was raised successively to the marquise of Worcester, and the dukedom of Beaufort, in which title the marquise is now merged. The county has shared in all the great civil wars of England. It was frequently the scene of contests between the Saxons and Danes; the great battle which decided the fate of Simon de Montfort was fought in the valle of Evesham; and during the civil war Worcestershire was disturbed by frequent skirmishes. The battle which settled Cromwell in possession of the government was fought under the walls of the chief city (see Worcester). There were numerous abbeys, monasteries, and other re- ligious houses in the county before the dissolution, and several of those which remain are now converted into churches. Amongst these are Malvern and Evesham Abbeys.

The principal seats in the county are Hagley, Lord Lyttelton; Witley, Lord Ward; Hartlebury Castle, Bishop of Worcester; Madresfield, Earl Beauchamp; Westwood, Sir J. Pakington, Bart., M.P.; Ombersley, Lord Sandys; Hewell Grange, Lady Windsor; Daylesford (formerly the property of the famous Warren Hastings) Croome, Earl of Coventry; and the Rhydd, Sir E. Lechmere, Bart.—In his Noble and Gentle Men of England, Mr Evelyn Shirley (see Warwickshire) gives the following as the only existing "knighthly" and "gentle" families who were settled in Worcestershire before the beginning of the sixteenth century. Knightly,—Acton of Wolverton, Lyttelton of Frankley (Lord Lyttelton), Talbot of Grafton (Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot), Hanford of Wollashill, and Win- nington of Stanford.—Gentle,—Noel of Bell Hall, Lech- mere of Hanley, Sebright of Besford, and Boughton of Rouse Leach. The towns having populations of 3000 and upwards in 1851 were Bromsgrove, 4426; Bewdley, 3124; Droitwich, 3125; Evesham, 4605; Kidderminster, 18,462; Dudley, 37,962; Oldbury, 5114; and Worcester, 27,528.

Florence of, one of the earliest historians of the twelfth century. His work is entitled The Chronicle of Chronicles, from the Beginning of the World to the Year 1117. The early part seems to have been compiled from Gildas, Bede, Marianus Scotus, and the Saxon Chronicle; the latter part is curious, as it gives a great deal of local information not to be found elsewhere. Higden says he died 1118. The work has been continued to 1163 by a monk of the same abbey. The best old edi- tion is that affixed to the Flores Historiarum of Matthew of Westminster, folio, Frankfort, 1601.

Worcester, William of, another of the ancient chroni- clers, whose name is said to be Botoner, was born of noble parents. His principal work is the Annales Anglica- rum rerum, which commence at the year 1324, and go down to 1491, and which contain much curious matter, particularly as regards the city of London. Affixed to these is a book which he calls Arexologia, a collection of miscellaneous historical information. An itinerary is also extant, chiefly relating to the west of England and city of Bristol. This last has latterly excited much interest, in consequence of the notices of the architecture of Redcliff church therein. He is also said to have written several works on astrology, and Polyandrium Oxoniensis, a list of the worthies of Oxford. Little is known of his history, except that he was a great friend of the Fastolf's of Nor- folk. Bale and Pitts both speak very highly of him. The last edition of the Annales is that affixed to the Liber Niger Scaccarii, Hearne, Oxford, 1728; of the Itinerary, Nasmith, Cambridge, 1778.