PONTYPOOL. 



PORTADOWN. 



208 



Pontua was first erected into a separate kingdom by Ariobarzanea I., 

 about the beginning of the 4th century before the Christian era. In 

 the troubles which followed the death of Alexander the Great, Mithri- 

 dates II., one of his lineal successors, was enabled to extend greatly 

 his paternal dominions, whence he is frequently called the founder of 

 the kingdom of Pontus. Under Mithridates VI. a fierce war was 

 maintained for a considerable time with the Romaus, which was ended 

 B.C. 63 by the conquest of Pontus and the death of Mithridates. A 

 son of Mithridates however, Pharnaces II., was suffered to hold, as an 

 ally of the Romans, the kingdom of Bosporus, while the remainder of 

 the kingdom was annexed to the provinces of Bithynia and Galatia. 

 In the civil war Pharnaces sided with Pompey, was defeated by Caesar, 

 and murdered after his escape from the battle in B.C. 47. Pontus ws 

 subsequently reduced to the form of a province, and afterwards sub- 

 jected to various divisions into districts. The history of the kings of 

 Pontus is given in an Appendix to the third volume of Clinton's 

 Hellenic!.' 



chief towns on the coast of Pontus, proceeding from east to 

 west, were Trapezus [TREBIZOND], a colony of the Greek colony Sinope; 

 Ce'rasus (Kheresoun), afterwards called Pharnacia, from Pharnaces, 

 who was one of the kings of Pontus. Pbaraacia is said to be the 

 place from which L. Lucullus brought the cherry to Europe ; Coty<5ra, 

 also a colony of Sin6pe ; Themiscyra, and Amisus (Samsoun), a Greek 

 colony and a flourishing city when it was besieged by L. Lucullus. 

 In the interior the chief towns were Amasia [AMASIEH], the birth- 

 place of Strabo ; and G'onidna, called Pontiea, to distinguish it from a 

 town of the same name in Cappadocia. Coinana had a great temple 

 dedicated to the goddess Ma, supposed to be an equivalent of the 

 Roman Bellona, to which were attached several thousand slaves, most 

 of whom were females : the office of high-priest of this temple was a 

 place of honour and emolument. (Strabo, pp. 557-559, ed. Casaubon.) 

 Zela and Neocawarea were also considerable places ; at Zela waa an 

 ancient temple to the goddess Anaitis, the chief-priest of which was 

 also sovereign of the town. 



PONTYPOOL. [PONT-Y-POOL.] 



PONZA, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Naples, 

 20 miles 8. by W. of Mount Circeo, and 35 miles S.W. of Gacta. It is 

 about 5 miles long, from 1 to 2 miles wide, and in shape like a cres- 

 cent, the concave side of which faces the mainland of Italy. On the 

 same si'le is the harbour, which is a natural basin with a narrow 

 entrance, surrounded by high ground, and perfectly safe in all weathers. 

 The inland is one continuous rock, mostly barren, but affording some 

 pasture for cattle. Round the harbour are ranged some buildings, 

 consisting of a castle, which is used as a state prison by the govern- 

 ment of Naples, some other buildings, house*, and huts occupied by 

 person* attached to the garrison and by fishermen. The Roman name 

 of the island was Pontia. About 4 miles west of Ponza is the smaller 

 island of Palmanla, or Palm/trio, and 2 miles north-east of Ponza is 

 an uninhabited rock called Zannorte. About 24 miles south-east of 

 Ponza, and halfway between it and the island of Ischia, is the island 

 of Vnndottne, the ancient Panda/aria, whither Julia, the daughter of 

 Augustus, and afterwards Octavia, the wife of Nero, were banished. 

 Yandotene is about 2 miles long, and is inhabited by sailors and 

 fishermen. East of Vandotene, and separated from it by a narrow 

 channel, is the smaller island of Santo Slrfano. The whole group of 

 these islands is of volcanic formation. 



POOL, or WELSHPOOL, Montgomeryshire, a market-town, and 

 municipal and parliamentary borough, in the parish of Pool, and con- 

 jointly with MOXTCOMKRT the seat of a Poor-Law Union, is situated 

 in a hollow near the left bank of the river Severn, in 52 39' X. lat., 

 9' 8' W. long., 10 miles N. from Montgomery, and 171 miles N.W. by 

 W. from London. The population of the parliamentary borough of 

 Welshpool in 1851 was 4484 ; of the municipal borough, 8564. The 

 borough is governed by 4 aldermen and 1 2 councillors, one of whom 

 is mayor, and i* contributory to the Montgomery district of boroughs 

 in returning one member to the Imperial Parliament. Tim living is a 

 vicarage in the archdeaconry of Montgomery and diocese of St. Asaph. 



Welsbpool (so called to distinguish it from the town of Poole in 

 Dorsetshire) derives it* name from a pool or lake called Llyn Du, near 

 which it is situated. Cadwgan, a powerful chieftain of the district of 

 Powys, built a castle here in 1109, which was dismantled in 1223 by 

 the Prince of North Wale*. It wag afterwards restored, and received 

 ft present name of Powys Castle. 



The town is watered by two brooks, which flow into the Severn ; it 

 Is partially paved and lighted with gas. It consists of two parts, Pool 

 Town and Welsh Town. The town- and county-hall has a space 

 beneath for a corn-market. The church, which is spacious, was 

 rebuilt, with the exception of the chancel and the tower, in the latter 

 half of the last century, and hat been since enlarged. A new church 

 of Anglo-Norman character, erected by subscription, is on high ground 

 close to Powys Park. Independents, Baptists, and other Dissenters 

 have places of worship, and there are National schools and a savings 

 bank. Some flannel is manufactured. Monday is the weekly market- 

 day \nt, provisions ; the market for Welsh flannels is held on alternate 

 Mondaj. Seven bin are held in the course of the year. The nssizes 

 and a county court are held in Welshpool. The Severn is navigable 

 for barges to within a mile of the town. The Montgomeryshire 

 I on the eastern side. 



Powys Castle, the seat of the Clive family, stands on a rooky 

 elevation in a spacious and well-wooded park, on the south side of 

 Welshpool towu. It has of late years been to a considerable extent 

 improved and its different parts made to harmonise. lu a gallery, 117 

 feet long by 90 feet broad, is a collection of about 70 paintings by 

 the first masters. 



POOLE, Dorsetshire, a sea-port, a market-town, a municipal and 

 parliamentary borough, a couuty in itself, and the seat of a Poor-Law 

 Union, is situated on the south coast, in 50 42' N. lat., 1 59' W. long., 

 distant 31 miles E. from Dorchester, 106 miles S.W. from London by 

 road, and 123 miles by the South-Western railway. The population 

 of the borough of Poole in 1851 was 9255. The borough is governed 

 by 6 aldermen and 18 councillors, one of whom ia mayor ; and returns 

 two members to the Imperial Parliament. The living ia a perpetual 

 curacy in the archdeaconry of Dorset and diocese of Salisbury. Poole 

 Poor-Law Union contains 8 parishes and townships, with an area of 

 27,023 acres, and a population in 1851 of 12,890. 



Poole is supposed to have been a port in the time of the Romaus, 

 as traces of one of their roads appear between it and Winchester. Its 

 earliest charter is of the time of Richard I. Edward III. made 

 it a magazine for his wars in France. Elizabeth constituted the 

 town a county in itself. During the civil war it was held for the 

 Parliament. In the reign of Charles II. the fortifications were 

 destroyed. 



The town occupies a peninsula on the north side of Poole Harbour, 

 which is noticed under DORSETSHIRE. The modern part of the town 

 is well built. The streets are lighted with gas aud paved, and tha 

 town is well supplied with water. It contains the parish church of 

 St. James, which was rebuilt of Purbeck stone in 1812; a chapel of 

 ease ; places of worship for Independents, Baptists, Wealeyan and 

 Primitive Methodists, Roman Catholics, Unitarians, and Quakers ; a 

 Free Grammar school ; a British and a National school ; a public 

 library, erected in 1830 by the members for the borough; a savings 

 bank ; and two or three well-endowed almshouses. The other public 

 buildings are the custom-house ; the guildhall, which waa built in tha 

 middle of the last century ; the town-hall ; the king's hall, or wool- 

 house, an edifice of some antiquity ; the jail ; and the Union work- 

 house. The peninsula is lined with wide quays and extensive 

 warehouses, close to which vessels of light burden lie afloat at low 

 water. Ship-building is carried on, particularly the construction of 

 sailing yachts. Sail-cloth, ropes, and twines are extensively manu- 

 factured. From a bank near the mouth of the harbour large quantities 

 of oysters are taken to be fattened ia the creeks of Essex and Kent. 

 There is an important fishery of plaice and herrings. Corn is largely 

 exported to London, and considerable quantities of Purbeck clay are 

 shipped for use in the Staffordshire potteries. The number aud 

 tonnage of vessels registered as belonging to the port of Poole on 

 December 31st 1853, were as follows: Under 50 tons, 33 sailing 

 vessels of 871 tons, and one steam-vessel of 22 tons ; above 50 tons, 

 75 sailing vessels, of 13,429 tons. During 1853 there entered the port, 

 in the coasting trade, 620 vessels of 48,383 tout*, and there cleared 

 797, of 33,284 tons ; in the colonial and foreign trade there entered 

 149 vessels of 15,418 tons, and cleared 123 vessels of 14,592 tons. 

 Quarter-sessions and a county court are held in the town. Fairs, 

 continuing eight days each, are held commencing May 1st and 

 November 2nd. Monday and Thursday are the market-days. The 

 neighbourhood of Poole is remarkable for earthworks, barrows, and 

 other primeval or early antiquities. 



POONA. [HiMDnsTAN.] 



POPAYAN. [NEW GRANADA.] 



POPERINGEN. [FLANDERS, We*.] 



POPLAR. [LONDON.] 



POPOLI. [ABRUZZO.] 



PORCHESTKR. [HAMPSHIRE.] 



POREGA. [CROATIA.] 



PORENTRUI. [BERN.] 



PORLOCK. [SOMERSETSHIRE.! 



PORNIC. [LoiRE-lNFfeRIEURE.] 



PORT ADELAIDE. [ADELAIDE.] 



PORT-AU-PRINCE. [HISPANIOLA.] 



PORT ELIZABETH. [ALOOA BAY ; CAFE OF GOOD HOPE.] 



PORT GLASGOW. [RENFREWSHIRE.] 



PORT HOPE. [CANADA.] 



PORT LINCOLN. [SOUTH AUSTRALIA.] 



PORT LOUIS. [MAURITIUS; MORBIHAN.] 



PORT MAGEE. [KERRY.] 



PORT MAHON. [MENORCA.] 



PORT NATAL. [NATAL.] 



PORT NICHOLSON. [ZEALAND, NKW.] 



PORT-OF-SPAIN. [TRINIDAD.] 



PORT PHILIP. [VICTORIA.] 



PORT ROYAL. [JAMAICA.] 



PORT-ROYAL-DES-CHAM re. [SEINK-ET-OISE.] 



POUT STEWART. [LONDONDERRY.] 



PORTADOWN, County Armagh, Ireland, a market-town, is situ- 

 ated on the Upper Bann River, in 54 26' N. lat, 6 27' W. long., 

 distant 10 miles N.E. by E. from Armagh, 84 miles N. by W. from 

 Dublin by road, and 89 miles by the Dublin and Drogheda and Dublin 



