1U1 



WORCESTERSHIRE. 



WORM& 



1164 



Mifeb church, a chapel of cue, tad National aud Infant schools. 

 JltmAun population 339. U pleasantly situated on the right bank 

 of the Avon, 5 mile* 8.8. W. from Pershore. The Tillage ii chiefly 

 known M tho birth-place of tba author of Hudibna. The house in 

 which Butler waa bora U it ill standing, about a quarter of a mile from 

 UM churcli. It U a low rude timber-frame and thatoh cottage, and in 

 known M Butler 1 ! Cot. Strenabam church U a handsome edifice, con- 

 tuning tome fine monument! and brasses. Strenaham possesses a 

 free school and MOM almahousee. WolrerUy, population 2141, about 

 J mile* N. from Kidderminster, on the right bank of the river Stour, 

 ha* a neat parish church, erected in 1722; a well-endowed Free school ; 

 and a National school. 



/Jirmoiu for Kcclttiattical, legal, and Parliamentary Purpout. 

 WoroMterahire U in the province of Canterbury, and for the most 

 part in the diocete of Worcester ; a few parishes are in the diocese of 

 Hereford. The county is in the Oxford circuit: the assizes and 

 quarter aetaiona for the couuty and city are held at Worcester. 

 County court* are held at Hromsgrove, Droitwich, Dudley, Evesham, 

 Kidderminster. Penbore, Red.iitch, Stourbridge, Tenbury, Upton-on- 

 Serern, and Worcester. By the Poor-Law Commissioners the county 

 is divided into 13 Unions : Bromsgrove, Droitwich, Dudley, Kvesham, 

 Kidderminster, King's Norton, Hartley, Pershore, Shipston, Stour- 

 briilge, Tenbury, Upton-on-Severn, nnd Worcester. These Unions 

 contain 267 parishes and townships, with an area of S27,797 acres, 

 and a population in 1851 of 334,325. Before the Reform Act Wor- 

 cestershire sent nine members to the House of Commons; namely, 

 two for the county, two each for the city of Worcester and the 

 borough* of Droitwich and Evesham, and one for the borough of 

 Bewdley. By the Reform Act the number WAS increased to 12 r ; 

 namely, two each for the East and West divisions of the county, two 

 for the city of Worcester, two for the borough of Evesham, and one 

 each for Bewdley, Droitwicb, Dudley, and Kidderminster. 



JJutory and A nliquitiet, <tc. The etymology of ' Worcester ' is with 

 some plausibility adduced from ' Wyre-Cestre,' the Camp or Castle of 

 W yre, under which name a considerable forest still exists in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Bewdley. Of the early history of the county little is 

 accurately known : there are however many evidences of its occupation 

 by the Romans. During the Heptarchy, Worcester was the principal 

 Mercian see, and the inhabitants of the district were under ecclesias- 

 tical government. After the Conquest the form of government was 

 changed. Earls of Worcester were created, and had the civil power 

 confided to them. During the war between Stephen and the Empress 

 Matilda, and subsequently during the resistance of the barons to King 

 John, the possessions of the Earls of Worcester frequently changed 

 master*. Some of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot retreated 

 to and were apprehended at Hendlip, an old house, of a curious con- 

 struction, well fitted for concealment, situated between Droitwich and 

 Worcester. During the contest between the king and the parliament, 

 Worcestershire was on several occasions overrun by the contending 

 parties. [WORCESTER.] 



The antiquities of this county are not remarkable. Three Roman 

 roads have been traced Icknield-street, which ran from Alcester 

 northward to Staffordshire ; a second road, which passed from 

 Tewkesbnry to Upton, Worcestershire, and so to Shropshire; and 

 the Ridgeway, which U the boundary of the county for some distance 

 on it* eastern frontier. Ancient encampments may be traced at 

 Uslvern, at Bredon, and on the hills at Woodbury and Witchbury. 

 There are many remains of ecclesiastical houses ; the chief are St. 

 Wulstan'i at Worcester, and the abbeys of Malvern, Bordesley, and 

 Evrsham. The most remarkable churches are the cathedral at Wor- 

 cester, the churches at Evesham, Malvern, Droitwich, Eastham, 

 Naunton, Beauchamp, Stockton, and Church Leach. 



The principal gentlemen's seats are Croome, belonging to Lord 

 Coventry ; Hagley Park, tho residence of _ord Lyttleton ; Witley, the 

 property of Lord Ward; Hewell Grange, belonging to the Hon. Robert 

 Ulive ; Hartlebury Castle, the episcopal residence of the bishop of the 

 diooeee ; OmUnley, belonging to Lord Sandys ; Westwood Park, 

 Madreefield, Bordesley Park, Standford Court, Pull Court, Overbury 

 Park, Hanley Court, Kyre, and Hanbury Halt 



Manufacture* and Commerce. Iron is largely manufactured at 



rtley, in the neighbourhood of which there are likewise extensive 



coal-mines. In the northern part of the couuty a very large quautity 



aik U made, and there are likewise factories for fish-hooks and 



. car P* t f many descriptions and qualities nro made at 



dderminster; glass is manufactured at Stourbridge; a declining 

 is earned on at Worcester; and porcelain is manufactured 

 eonaiderable extent The population of the outhern and eastern 

 * county i. wholly occupied with agriculture. 



Wortlup and Education. According to the Returns of the 

 151, it appears that there were then in the county 489 



iocs of worship, of winch 244 belonged to the Established Church, 



7 to five section, of Methodist., 4 to Baptists, 24 to Independents, 



?, ,,^ >U1 ! C * thollc *- Tlle total """br of sittings provided 



41,512. The number of Sunday schools waa 341, of which 198 



were connected with the Church of England, 82 with Methodists 



27 with Baptista, and 20 with Independents. The total number of 



Sunday scholars was 85,221. Of day schools there were 701, of which 



J3 were public achools with 21,27 scholars, and 488 were private 



schools with 9278 scholars. There were 19 evening schools for adults, 

 with 379 scholars; and 21 literary and scientific institutes, with 1541 

 members, and libraries containing 15,776 volumes. 



Saving! Bank*. In 1 853 the county possessed ten savings banks, at 

 Bewdley, Bromsgrove, Droitwicb, Evesham, Kidderminster, Shipston- 

 on-Stour, Stourport, Teubury, Upton-upon-Severn, and Worcester. 

 The total amount owing to depositors on November 20th 1853 was 

 463,2042. S>. 5d. 



WORKINGTON, Cumberland, a market-town and sea-port, in the 

 parish of Workington, is situated on the left bank of the river 

 Derwent, about a mile from its entrance into the sea in St. George's 

 Channel, in 54 39' N. lat., 3 33' W. long., distant 32 miles S.W. 

 from Carlisle, 306 miles N.N.W. from London by road, and 330 miles 

 by the London and North- Western and connected railways via Carlisle. 

 The population of the town of Workington in 1851 was 6837. The 

 living ia a rectory in the archdeaconry of Richmond and diocese of 

 Chester. 



Workington is indebted for its prosperity chiefly to the collieries in 

 ita neighbourhood, which furnish the principal article of export. 

 Timber and flax are imported to a considerable amount. Ship- 

 building, rope- and sail-making, and block-making employ some of the 

 inhabitants. The manufacture of straw-plait in imitation of Leghorn 

 is carried on. There are extensive iron-foundries, hat-works, brew- 

 eries, malt-kilns, dye-works, chemical-works, timber-yards, nail-works, 

 and flour-mills. The river Derwent is here crossed by a stone bridge 

 of three arches, built in 1763. Workington possesses a safe and capa- 

 cious harbour, with a breakwater and extensive quays. The custom- 

 house and commodious warehouses are situated on the quays. The 

 number of vessels registered as belonging to the port on December 31st 

 1854, was, under 50 tons 3, tonnage 83 ; above 50 tons 92, tonnage 

 18,466; with one steam-vessel of 18 tons. The number aud tonnage 

 of vessels entered and cleared at the port during 1 854 were : Inwards, 

 126, tonnage 8625 ; outwards, 1210, tonnage 103,116. 



St. Michael's, the parish church, was rebuilt about 1780 in a semi- 

 gothic style; St. John's chapel, erected in 1825, is in the Tuscan order 

 of architecture. There are chapels for Wesleyan Methodists, Inde- 

 pendents, English Presbyterians, and Roman Catholics ; National, 

 British, Infant, and Roman Catholic schools ; a School of Industry 

 for girls; a savings bank; a mechanics institute, a subscription library 

 and news-room ; a theatre ; assembly-rooms ; and a dispensary. A 

 lock-up and juatice-room has been recently built. The principal 

 market, for corn and provisions, is held on Wednesday, and a less 

 important market on Saturday. Fairs, held in May aud October, 

 have lately been revived. Races are held annually. From Workington 

 there is a branch railway to Cockermouth, of which the terminus U 

 situated near the new quay. 



WORKSOP, Nottinghamshire, a market-town and the seat of a 

 Poor-Law Union, in the parish of Worksop, is pleasantly situated on 

 the banks of the river Ryton, in 53 17' N. lat., 1 7' W. long., distant 

 26 miles N. by E. from Nottingham, and 146 miles N.N.W. from 

 London by road, and by the Great Northern and Sheffield and Lincoln- 

 shire railways. The population of the town in 1851 was 6058. The 

 living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Nottingham aud diocese of 

 Lincoln. Worksop Poor-Law Union contains 26 parishes and town- 

 ships, with an area of 78,050 acres, and a population in 1851 of 18,990. 



Worksop contains numerous well-built houses, and the streets are 

 well paved and lighted with gas. An ancient building, called the 

 Moot-Hall, is used for public business. A corn-exchange, erected in 

 1851, contains a large hall fitted up with an orchestra, &c., for 

 assemblies and concerts; the building contains also corn, butchers' 

 meat, fruit, vegetable, and fish markets. The parish church is a large 

 building, originally cruciform, and of Norman arehitecture ; but the 

 exterior shows considerable admixtures of later styles. The Wesleyan 

 aud Primitive Methodists, Independents, and Roman Catholics have 

 places of worship. There are National -schools, a savings bank, and 

 some parochial charities. Wednesday is the market-day. Three 

 cattle-fairs and a statute fair are held in the course of the year. The 

 Chesterfield Canal, which passes the town, is carried over the river 

 Kyton by an aqueduct. Of an Augustinian priory, which formerly 

 existed here, the principal gateway is still standing, and part of the 

 priory church now forms the parish church. Several noblemen's seats 

 are in the vicinity. Many Roman coins and other antiquities have at 

 different times been found near Worksop. 



WORMHOUDT. [NoRD.] 



WORMS, an ancient city, in the province of Rheinhessen, in the 

 grand-duchy of Hesse- Darmstadt, is situated in 49 37' N. lat, 8 22' 

 E. long., near the left bauk of the Rhine, in a beautiful country, 28 

 miles S. from Mayence by railway, and has a population of about 9000 

 exclusive of the garrison. The city occupies the site of the Roman 

 Borbeiomagut, which subsequently took the name of Augusta, Vangio- 

 num, from the Vangiones, in whose territory it was. The name 

 Wor-matia (from which the modern name is taken) was in use in the 

 middle ages, corrupted according to D'Anville from Borbetomagus. 

 After its destruction by the Vandals and Huns, it was rebuilt by the 

 Franks about 475, and became the seat of a count, and subsequently 

 of the dukes of Franconia, who styled themselves Counts of Worms. 

 It was for a time the residence of Charlemagne, who held in its vicinity 

 those primitive legislative assemblies which, meeting in May, were 



