SEVERN. 



SEVILLA. 



510 



the right bank, the Meole or Red-Brook, which enters at 

 Shrewsbury, the Cound, Mar-Brook, and Bore-Brook ; and on the left, 

 the Perry, Tern, Bell-Brook, and Worf. The Severn receives the 

 whole of the waters of the interior of Shropshire, and its course 

 through- that county is between 60 and 70 miles. From Bewdley the 

 river runs southward to Stourport, where it receives the Stour on the 

 left, and about 8 miles lower down the Salwarpe joins it on the same 

 side. Five miles farther it reaches Worcester. Two miles below this 

 city the, Severn receives a considerable accession of water from the 

 right bank by the junction of the river Teme, the principal part of 

 whose course is in Worcestershire, but which rises in Radnorshire, and 

 flows through portions of Herefordshire and Shropshire. Still flowing 

 nearly south, the Severn passes Upton, and quite Worcestershire at 

 Tewkesbury, where it receives the Avon, and enters Gloucestershire. 

 [A vox, Upper.] 



From Tewkesbury the river again changes ita direction, and 

 gradually inclines to the south-south-west, which direction it chiefly 

 follows for the remainder of ita course. A mile above the city of 

 Gloucester the stream divides into two channels, which unite a little 

 below Gloucester, forming the rich tract of land called Alney Island. 

 The Frome joins it before reaching Newnham. A short distance 

 below Newnhrun the channel widens considerably ; and although it 

 of river as far as the mouth of the 



retain* the name 



i Bristol, or Lower 



Avon, it is rather the actuary than the river. The total length of the 

 a in Mont*; 



Severn, from ita source 

 about 200 miles. 



iryshire to the Bristol Channel, is 



In the ancient division of Britain, the Severn appears to have formed 

 the boundary between the territories of the Sihires and the Ordovices 

 on the west, and the Dobuni on the east. In the subsequent divisions 

 of counties, it has scarcely anywhere been employed as a line of 

 separation. 



In the commencement of ita course, the valley of the Severn is 

 narrow, and supplies little pasturage ; below Llanidloes it gradually 

 opens, and h from one to two mile* wide, and tolerably productive. 

 The range of the Plinlimmon Hills, which, extending west, comprise* 

 the Long Mountain, and terminates in the Bnsddsn Hills, separates 

 the drainage of the Severn from that of the Wye, Teme, Clun, Ac. 

 By thU rang* also the course of the Severn is deflected to the north. 

 On the west and north-west the Berwyn Mountains separate the 

 tributaries of the Severn from those of the Dov*y and the Dee. 



In respect to navigation, the Severn ha* long ben of very gnat 

 importance. It supplies the means of transporting taw prodoee of 

 mines and manufactories of various descriptions lying in the vicinity 

 of the river to the sea, to North Wales, and the town* and remote 

 districts of the eountiee through which H Bow*. Along the greater 

 part of ita course the use of the Severn a* a navigable river ha* been 

 impeded by fords and shoal., and by the .lenciency of water in 

 drought, and the superabundance of it during rainy seasons. The 



wh ( ': S. 

 free from toll*. 



:. . !* DsW 'i' >r !- MM ( - 



The commercial importance of the Severn ha* been much increaesd 

 ith several canals, which are here enumerated : 



by ita connection 

 the Stroudwater C 



al, which commences at the Severn 



9m .. 



load, between Gloucester and Newnbam, and terminates in the Thames 

 and Severn Canal, thus uniting oar two great s*t navigable rivers ; the 

 Gloucester and Berkeley Canal which shorten* the navigation from 

 the Severn near Berkeley, to Gloucester ; the Gloneeeter and Ledborr 

 Canal ; the Worcester and Birmingham Canal; the Droitwich Canal, 

 which ran* along the valley of the Salwarpe; the Staffordshire and 

 Worcestershire Canal, which commences at Stonrport. on the Severn, 

 and, following the course of the Stour, join* the Birmingham and 

 Liverpool Junction Canal; the Shropshire Canal, which with ita 

 branche. is used for transporting the produce of the manufacturing 

 dietrict of Ooalbrookdal* to the Severn, which it join* at Coalport ; 

 the Shrewsbury Canal, originally formed to convey coal to that town 

 from Ketley in Shropshire, and since extended by a branch through 

 Newport to the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal before 

 menUuoed ; and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal The Mont- 

 gomeryshire Canal commence* in the Severn at Newtown, and passing 

 WeUhpool commnnlissis with a branch of the Ellesmere Canal, bat 

 a* the Severn is not navigable as high a* Newtown, this canal can 

 hardly be included as one of the BOMrting links in the Severn 

 ..... 



The fish found in the Severn are salmon, shad, lampreys, roaeb, 

 daee, gudgeon, bleak, flounders, eels, lamperns, elvers, chub, carp, 

 trout, grayling, tench, and perch. Salmon were formerly plentiful, 

 bat are now scarce, although then are no weir* upon the river to 

 impede the ascent of the fish. 



A short dtssann* above the point where the Severn merge* in the 



Bristol Channel, H receive* the Wye, which, although inferior in ita 

 sue and the length of H* course to the Severn, is much superior in 



point of pi 



of Miinsfiiinsi'jshLi, aad 



miles loath-west from the source of the Severn. 



The Wyt ha* Ha source on the border 

 on the mountain of Plinlimmon, about 2 

 Taking a Math-east 



ftiiislsn. It receives a number of little tributaries, and quits Mont- 

 gomeryihire and enters Radnorshire between the village of Llangerig 

 and the town of Rhayader, at the distance of 18 mile* from its source. 

 Its course through Radnorshire I* in a generally southern direction, 



and will be found described under that county. At GUubury 

 the river inclines to the north, but on entering HEREFORDSHIRE 

 flows south-east. The river is navigable from Hereford, and indeed 

 in the winter, and whenever there is n depth of water, barges ascend 

 to within a abort distance of Hay, for the conveyance of timber, Jto. 

 For a short distance the river divides Herefordshire first from Glouces- 

 tershire, and subsequently from MONMOUTHSHIRE, and then enters the 

 latter county, under which its further course will be found described. 

 The spring-tides at Chepstow rise to a great height [CHEPSTOW.] 

 The length of the course of the Wye is about 130 miles. Its scenery 

 throughout is almost without a rival among the rivers of Great 

 Britain. 



Owing to the isthmus or neck of land above the mouth of the Wye, 

 and the projection of Aust Cliff on the opposite shore, the width of 

 the Severn is here only ene mile, while higher up, as was before 

 stated, it expands to between two and three miles. At this narrow 

 part of the xstuary is the principal passage, called Aust Ferry, or 

 Old Passage, from Somersetshire to Monmouthshire and South 

 Wales. About four miles lower down is the New Passage, which is 

 considerably wider, and not so much frequented. 



The netuary of the Severn receives the drainage of about 900 

 square miles, namely : the Severn, 4500; the Wye, 1400. The 

 Severn is charged with a larger amount of turbid sediment than any 

 other river in Europe, the result of its own long course and the 

 courses of ita tributaries through tracts of marl and soft sandstone. 

 This fine sediment is in some places deposited on its banks towards 

 the mouth, and the quantity thus deposited ia increased by artificial 

 means. The mud is encouraged to accumulate upon lines of pile and 

 osier, which, as the tide retreats, retain the sediment. Upon these, 

 other lines of osier-fencing are placed, until new land is raised to a 

 considerable height. On the other hand, the sudden rising of the 

 tides has occasioned great damage to the low lands, to guard against 

 which sea-walls, piles, and other precautionary means have been 

 adopted. The inundations in the years 1606, 1687, 1703, and 1737, 

 are recorded to have produced great devastation. 



The Brutal CAannel, commencing with the icstuary of the Severn, 

 separates Monmouthshire and South Wales from the counties of 

 Somerset and Devon, and terminates in St. George's Channel Ita 

 width from King's Road, the mouth of the Lower Avon, to the 

 opposite coast, i* about 5 miles. It then rapidly widens to about 12 

 miles, but is again slightly contracted between the southern point of 

 Glamorganshire and the western part of Somersetshire. It again 

 expands, forming, on the Welth coast, Swansea and Caermarthen bays, 

 and, on the coast of Devonshire, Barnstaple, or Bideford Bay. The 

 width at its termination in St. George's Channel, taken from St Gowan's 

 Head on the coast of Pembrokeshire to Hartland Point in Devonshire, 

 is about 40 miles. The coast-line, both on the Welsh and Devon- 

 shire side*, is extremely irregular. Lundy Island [DEVONSHIRE], and 

 Caldy Island [PufBROKsraiM], are noticed elsewhere. From Hart- 

 land Point to King's Road is about 90 miles ; it appears that the 

 tide travel* over this distance in about an hour and a half. The tide 

 increases a* it advance*. At Chepstow the tide rises 43 feet higher 

 than at Lundy Island. 



The ' bore ' which enters the Severn is 9 feet high, and is produced, 

 a* in other places, by the depth and quantity of water on the inland 

 side not allowing the surface there to be immediately raised by means 

 of the transmitted pressure. The greatest velocity of the tidal 

 current through the 'shoots,' or New Passage, is 14 miles an hour. 

 This occurs lower down two hours after high-water, but as the Severn 

 is approached the difference of time is diminished, according to the 

 general observations on this subject; 



SE VILLA, an old province of Spain, included in the great territorial 

 division of Andalucia, is bounded N. by Estremadura, W. by Portugal, 

 8.W. and a by the Atlantic Ocean, E. by the province of Granada, and 

 N.E. by the province of Cordova. It is situated between 86 4' and 

 88' 18' N. lat, 4 20' and 7* 18' W. long. The greatest length from 

 north to south is about 150 miles; from east to west, about 180 miles. 

 The area i* 8989 square mile*. The population in 1849 was 931,908. 

 It is now divided into the three following modern provinces : 



A general description of the provinces comprised in Andalucia is 

 given under that head. [AKBALCCIA.] The modern province of 

 Sevilla occupies the inland portion of the old province ; Cadiz occu- 

 pies the portion adjacent to the coast south of the rostuary of the 

 Guadalquivir ; Huelva the portion adjacent to the coast north of that 

 Mtusry. Sevilla is flat in the centre, hilly in the south, and moun- 

 tainous in the north. Cadus is entirely hilly and mountainous. 

 Huelva Is flat and swampy on the south, but rises into the mountain- 

 ridge* of the Sierra Morena on the north-west. 



JUiw-The city of Serilla i* the capital of the province. 



