Statistics. 



fountie* 

 1'alatine. 



Isle of Ely. 



Counties 

 corporate. 



Btnrick- 



upon- 



Tveed. 



enf Man 



Cardiganshire ; and on its eastern side, where it joins 

 Caermarthenshire. It contains one city, one county- 

 town, seven hundreds, nine market-towns, and 45 pa- 

 rishes. Its principal towns are, Pembroke, St David's, 

 Tenby, and Haverford West. Caermarthenshire is 

 bounded on the north by Cardiganshire ; on the east 

 by Brecknockshire ; on the west by Pembrokeshire ; 

 and on the south by Glamorganshire and the sea. It 

 contains one county-town, eight hundreds, six market- 

 towns, and 87 parishes. The only town of consequence 

 in this county is Caermarthen. Brecknockshire is 

 bounded on the south-east, and partly on the south by 

 Monmouthshire ; on the rest of the south by Glamor- 

 ganshire ; on the west by Caermarthenshire and Car- 

 diganshire ; on the east by a small part of Hereford- 

 shire ; and on the north-east by Radnorshire. It con- 

 tains one county-town, six hundreds, four market- 

 towns, and 59 parishes. Its principal towns are Breck- 

 nock and Crickhowell. Glamorganshire is bounded on 

 the south and west by the Bristol Channel ; on the 

 north by Caermarthenshire and Brecknockshire ; and 

 on the east by Monmouthshire. It contains one' city, 

 one county-town, 10 hundreds, eight market-towns,' 

 and 118 parishes. The principal towns in this county 

 are, Caerdiff, Landaff, Swansea, and Myrthyr-Tedvil 



Three of the counties in England are called counties 

 Palatine, viz. Cheshire, Durham, and Lancashire : they 

 are so called a pa/al-'o, because formerly the owners of 

 them had the same rights, powers, and privileges, with- 

 in them respectively, as the king himself possessed in 

 his palace. These privileges appear to have been grant- 

 ed to the counties of Chester and Durham, because they 

 bordered on an enemy's country ; and for the same rea- 

 son, Pembrokeshire and Hexhamshire, (the latter of 

 which is now united to Northumberland,) were for- 

 merly counties palatine. Of those which yet remain so 

 Durham is the only one now in the possession of a sub- 

 the earldom of Chester was united to the crown 

 by Henry III. and has ever since that period .riven i 

 title to the eldest son of the king; and by various acts 

 of parliament, the inheritance to the whole lands of the 

 Dncfay of Lancaster is vested in the crown. The Isle 

 of Ely, though not strictly speaking a county palatine 

 ^csjura regalia as a royal franchise; the bishop 

 of Ely, by a grant of Henry I. exercising, within the 

 isle, a jurisdiction over all causes, as well criminal as 

 civil. 



Counties corporate, are certain cities and towns, some 

 ith more, some with less territory annexed to them 

 to which has been cranted, by the special favour of the 



em. ountis corpo- 

 rate as well as corporate towns, are not included in 

 any hundred : most of the cities of England, as well as 

 the five towns of Kingstoti-upon-IIull, Nottingham 

 -upon-Tyne, Poole, and Southampton, are 

 counties corporate. 



The town of Berwick-upon-Tweed originally formed 

 part of Scotland ; but it was reduced under the posses- 

 sion of the crown of England, by Edward I. by whom 

 a charter, bertcrwine upon it certain privileges, was 

 granted to it : this charter was confirmed by Edward 

 \ .and James I. It is specially named in all acts of 

 Parliament. 



The Isle of Man is a distinct territory from England 

 and not governed by its laws, nor by any act of Par- 



VOL. Vlll. PART II. 



ENGLAND. 



liament, unless it is 

 The islands of 



-673 





were united to i 



ces of the Norman line. They are bound by their* 

 laws ; but an appeal lies from their courts to the king 

 in council. Unless particularly named in acts of Parlia- 

 ment they do not extend to them. Each of these 

 islands is divided into parishes, whicli are again subdi- 

 vided into what are called vintons. 



CHAP. II. 



Face of the Country. 



THE most extensive or highly favoured tracts on the Seaeral d^ 

 lace ot the globe, can scarcely exhibit a greater variety scription. 

 of features than England displays. In some parts, 

 verdant plains extend as far as the eye can reach wa- 

 i by copious streams, and covered by innumerable 

 c ? l . tle - In others, the pleasing vicissitudes of gentlv 

 rising hills and bending vales, fertile in corn, waving 

 with wood and interspersed with meadows, offer the 

 most delightful landscapes of rural opulence and beauty 

 Some tracts abound with prospects of the more roman- 

 : kind; lofty mountains, craggy rocks, deep narrow 

 dells, and tumbling torrents ; nor are there wantin- as 

 a contrast to so many agreeable scenes, the gloomy fea- 

 tures of black barren moors, and wide uncultivated 

 heaths." Such is the general description of the face of 

 the country of England, given by a writer who, both 

 from the powers of his pen, and his acquaintance with 

 the country he was describing, was capable of drawing 

 a just and striking picture: but it will be proper and 

 instructive, as well as interesting, to enter into a more 

 detailed description of the physiognomy, as it has been 

 termed, of the country of England. The chief features Chief fea- 

 o any country are its vales, hills, rivers, and lakes ; and tares of 

 n a maritime state, its sea coast. We shall first de- whst ma f 

 scribe the vales and hills of England, and afterw-irds at becaUe<1 the 

 tend to its hydrography ; under this head comprehend- i*^"? 

 ing a description of its sea coast, and its rivers and "ami 8 ' 

 lakes. 



In the English language, the words vale, valley, and Definitions 

 lie, have very appropriate and distinct meanings : of vale, 

 vale, which corresponds in meaning with the word vall y. nl 

 strath in Scotland, signifies an extent of low country dalc> 



^onu 1 iii;u-v iti -\i-ultli li.ii.,.. 1, ..*,.. ,. i * 



SBf Si ^:iife'S*5F ^r 9^ s JEasrXsj? 

 C;;,b',r ; i ; H? "^ffitt^3&sj% 



>rpo- dale is used in the same acceptation, and in the Hioh- 

 lands of Scotland the word glen. In a valley, the 

 lower grounds are narrow, as from half a mile to a'mik- 

 or two in width, generally with a high steep bank 

 rising on each side. The dell of the south of England 

 corresponds to the groin or gill of the north of 

 England, and the cleugh of the south of Scotland is 

 the diminutive of dale or valley, and generally signifies 

 the branch of a valley, or a short or otherwise inferior 

 valley : dingle is the diminutive of dell. 



Of these we mean to confine ourselves entirely to a Vale lands 

 description of the vales of England; the vallies, dells, <lcribed. 

 and dingles, are too numerous; and most of 'them,' 

 though beautiful or striking in tlit-ir scenery and fea- 

 tures, too unimportant to be particularly noticed. 

 4 g 



