CAN 



387 



CAN 



Canttrtm- entrance- of the choir, 36 feet; the breadth of the 

 ,i 1 1 it- leu v th of the east transept, from 



- ~""' north m south, is 151- feet ; the length of the west 

 transept, 124 feet ; the breadth of the nave and its 

 aisles, 71 feet ; the height from the pavement to the 

 vaulting of Trinity chapel, 58 feet ; height of the 

 choir, 71 feet ; height of the nave, 80 feet; height of 

 the great tower, ISO feet; extreme height of the 

 great tower, 235 feet ; height of the south-west tower, 

 1MO feet ; height of the north-west tower, 100 feet. 

 At a little distance from the cathedral, in the east- 

 ern part of the city, are the remains of St Augustine's 

 abbey, which was the first Christian establishment in 

 this kingdom. It was founded in 598, and at one pe- 

 riod it almost vied in magnificence with the cathedral 

 itself. The precincts of the abbey included a space 

 of about sixteen acres ; and the surrounding walls are 

 in a great measure entire. The west front was '->.;() 

 feet long, with a gate at each extremity, which still 

 remain. St Augustine's gate, which formed the 

 principal entrance, is an elegant building ; but it is 

 now much dilapidated, and has been converted into 

 a brewery. The other entrance, called the cemetery 

 gate, has been recently altered into a modern dwell- 

 ing. The remains of the abbey church afford a beau- 

 tiful specimen of Norman architecture. The west 

 end, called St Ethelbert's tower, is a lofty and ele- 

 gant ruin, which displays various ranges of semicir- 

 cular arches, beautifully ornamented with mouldings 

 and sculpture. 



The principal churches in Canterbury, are Holy 

 Cross church, a low but spacious edifice, built in the 

 reign of Richard II. ; St Alphage church, a spa- 

 cious and respectable building containing many se- 

 pulchral monuments ; St Margaret's; St Andrew's, 

 which was built of brick in the year 1764 ; St 

 Mary Breding, a small but ancient structure; St 

 Mary Magdalen's church ; St Mildred's church, 

 which is spacious and well built ; St Dunstan's 

 church, situated on the London road, near the en- 

 trance of the city ; St Paul's church, which stands 

 without Burgate, in the eastern suburb ; and St Mar- 

 tin's church, which stands on a rising ground a lit- 

 tle beyond the precincts of St Augustine's abbey. 



The town-hall, which was partly rebuilt in form- 

 ing a new street, is a respectable building, and con- 

 tains some good portraits. The public assembly 

 rooms, in the high street, were erected by the gen- 

 try of East Kent. The ball room is a spacious and 

 legant apartment, and beneath it is a public bank. 

 The theatre, which is a handsome building, stands 

 in Orange- street, and was opened in the year 1790. 

 The royal cavalry barracks, built of brick, were erec- 

 ted in 1794-, and in 1798 additional barracks for 2000 

 infantry were constructed. New buildings, for a 

 similar purpose, have been lately raised on the 

 ground formerly belonging to St Gregory's Priory. 

 On the eastern branch of the river Stour, is a lofty 

 and spacious flour mill, called Abbot's Mill, erected 

 from the design of the celebrated engineer Mr Smea- 

 ton. It is capable of grinding and dressing inio 

 flour 500 quarters of corn weekly. Besides these 

 buildings, there are numerous hospitals and other 

 charitable establishments ; two libraries, a free gram- 

 mar school, &c. An agricultural society was esta- 

 blished here in the year 1793, under the name of 

 the " Kent Society for the Encouragement of Agri- 

 culture and Industry," and upwards of L.700 have 



already been diitributed -as premium* for promoting C& 

 the objects of the ii.btitutun. 



The manufacture of silk goodi was first eublii. 

 ed in Canterbury by the French refugees, who Milled * 

 in this town after the revocation of the edi 

 Nantes, and the labouring classes found full en 

 ployment in the fabrication of lustrings, brocades, 

 satins, &c. From the rapid extension of the cotton 

 trade, however, and other causes, the silk trade gra- 

 dually declined ; and, in the year 1789, Mr John 

 Callaway introduced the manufacture of cottons, and 

 discovered the method of fabricating the piece goods 

 called Canterbury and Chamberry muslins, damasks, 

 &c. in which silk and cotton twist arc united in 

 the same fabric. Though this manufacture is car- 

 ried on in other parts of England, it still flourishes 

 in Canterbury. According to Hasted, about 1000 

 individuals are employed in the different branches of 

 the silk, cotton, and wool trades. Many of the in- 

 habitants of Canterbury derive their suppert from 

 the hop plantations round the town, which cover 

 about 2000 acres of ground. 



Number of houses in 1800, 174-1. Population 

 9000, of whom 5195 were females, and 3805 males; 

 and those employed in trade and manufactures a- 

 mounted to 1325. Population in 1811, 10,200. For 

 a full account of this interesting town, see Somner's 

 Antiquities of Canterbury, 164-0 ; Gosling's Walk 

 in and about the City of Canterbury, 177^; Burn- 

 by's Historical Description of the Metrojioli: 

 Church of Christ, Canterbury, 1783; Hasted's His- 

 tory and Topographical Survey of the Count i/ u; 

 Kent, 12 vo!s. 8vo, 17971801 ; The Canterbury 

 Guide, 1805 ; but particularly Brayley and Brittou'.- 

 Beauties of England and Wales, vol. viii. p. 75", 

 where a full account of the ancient and modern his- 

 tory of this town will be found. (*) 



CANTHA RIDES, in the Materia Medica, is the 

 name given to the Meloe vesicatoriits, commonly cal- 

 led the Spanish fly, which is found in Spain, Italy, 

 and the South of France. A new substance, called 

 the blistering principle, has been recently discovered 

 in cantharides, by M. Robiquet. See ENTOMOLOGY, 

 MATERIA MEDICA, &c. (w) 



CANTON, orQuANG-TCHE-FOo, a large and mari- 

 time city of China, and capital of the province of 

 Quang-tong, lies on the north-eastern bank of the river 

 Pe-Kiang, or Bocca-Tigris, as it is called by Euro- 

 peans, from a supposed resemblance of this animal seen 

 upon approaching the entrance of one of the branches 

 of it at the first fort. It is fortified by a strong 

 rampart, about six or seven miles iu circumference, 

 and consists of three divisions, separated from each 

 other by lofty walls, which, together with the ram- 

 part, are built of hewn sand-stones., and covered with 

 all sorts of little trees and plants. Not above one 

 third of the ground within the walls, however, is 

 filled with buildings, the rest being chiefly appropri- 

 ated to pleasure-grounds and fish-ponds ; and the 

 back part of the city is almost entirely occupied by 

 two hills of considerable height, which are beauti- 

 fully wooded, and cultivated with great care. But 

 as no European is allowed to enter within the gates, 

 we have no particular account of its interior ; and 

 all the accounts of the city of Canton are confined 

 principally to its suburbs, which are indeed much 

 more extensive and populous than the fortified part. 

 The streets are in general long, but narrow and ir- 



