WORON'ETSCH. 



WCRTEMBERQ. 



1188 



called Mai Lager, or Champs da Mai. Some of the Prankish and 

 Carlovingian kings also resided here. Several diets of the German 

 empire were held at Worms, among which was that of 1521, at which 

 Lather appeared before the emperor Charles V. Its industry, its 

 commerce, and iU great population (which in the time of the Hohen- 

 staufen amounted to 80,000, and even after the Thirty Years' War 

 was still 30,000) made it rich and powerful ; but in the two next 

 centuries its prosperity rapidly declined. In 1689 it was burnt by 

 order of Louis XIV., and only the fine old cathedral resisted the efforts 

 made to destroy it. Since that time it has never recovered ; some 

 portions have been indeed rebuilt, but within the ample circuit of its 

 decayed walls are large inclosures, some wast*, some converted into 

 vineyards and gardens, which were once covered with, populous streets 

 and fine buildings. Since the beginning of the 19th century improve- 

 ment has set in, and the population ia nearly double what it was in 1800. 

 The most remarkable edifice ii the venerable cathedral, which was 

 founded in the 8th century, but not completed till 1110. It is a plain 

 gothic building, with two towers at each end. The Leibfrauenkirche, 

 or Church of Our Lady, is also a fine building in the gothic style. Near 

 it formerly stood a Capuchin convent, the garden of which is now a 

 vineyard, famous for its wine called from it Liebfrauenmielch. Worms 

 i> the seat of the provincial tribunals and of the consistory : it has a 

 gymnasium and several schools ; and manufactories of sngar-of-lead and 

 tobacco, several tanneries, and a good trade in corn, cattle, and wine. 

 WOKONETSCH. [VoBOwrrz.] 



'IJSI.KY. [LiSCASHlBB.] 



WOKSTEAD. [NoBrouc.] 



WORTH [SO, Sussex, a market-town and watering-place, in the 

 parish of Broadwater, is situated on the shore of the English Channel, 

 in 60' 48' N. 1st, 0" 22' W. long., distant 12 miles W. from Brighton, 

 and 01 miles S.S. W. from London by road and by the London, Brighton, 

 and South-Coast railways. The population of the town of Worthing 

 in 1851 was 5370. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdea- 

 conry and diocese of Chichester. 



The situation of Worthing in low and flat, no part of the town being 

 more than 20 feet above the level of the sea, and it is foggy in winter. 

 It was originally an obscure fishing-station, but at the cloee of the last 

 century, when fashion caused the best poinU of the southern coast to 

 be resorted to for health and pleasure, this town sprung up, and in 

 MMueqarnce of its proximity to the Downs, and the richness of the 

 surrounding country, it has continued to increase. The esplanade 

 extends for three-quarters of a mile along the shore, and the bathing- 

 machines and the baths are of superior character. There are in the 

 town a church, erected in 1 3 ( 3 ; a chapel of ease ; a Wenleyan Methodist 

 and an Independent cliapel; National and Infant schools; a town-hall; 

 a market-house ; a theatre ; a dispensary ; and a literary institution. 

 The Sterne is an open space, of three acres in area. The market Is on 

 Saturday, and a corn-market is held on every alternate Wednesday. 

 There is an annual fair on July 20th, and races are run in September. 

 A county court and petty sessions are held here. In the neighbourhood 

 Roman remains have been found, and at Cisibury is a fortification or 

 earthwork of an irregular oval form, inclosing on area of nearly 80 

 acre*. The parish church of Broadwater, about a mile from the town, 

 is a fine specimen of Norman architecture, though some parts are of a 

 somewhat later date. 



WollTI.KV, \Vet Riding of Yorkshire, a village and the seat of a 

 Poor-f,w Union, in the parish of Leeds, is situated in 53 48' N. lat, 

 1* 80' W. long., distant about 3 miles W. by S. from Leeds, and 192 

 miles N.X.W. from London. The population of the chapelry of 

 Wortley, whicli forms part of the borough of LEEDS, was 7896 in 

 1851. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry of 

 Craven and diocese of Ripon. Wortley Poor-Law Union contains 

 four township*, with an area of 51,944 acres, and a population in 

 1851 of 18,798. Wortley possesses manufactures of woollen-cloth, 

 fire-bricks, pipes, and alum. There are flax-spinning, worsted-spin- 

 ning, and fulling-mills; iron-foundries, machine factories, malt-kilns, 

 eoru-milU, and dye-works. In the village are a neat modern chapel of 

 ease; chapels for Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, and Independ- 

 ents ; National and Kndowed Free schools, and a reading-room. 



Wi>TTON-UNDER-EDOE, Gloucestershire, a markeHown, in the 

 pariah of Wotton-under-K.lgn. is situated ia 51* 38' N. lat., 2* 21' W. 

 long., dixtant 18 miles S. by W. from Gloucester, and 107 miles W. by 

 N. from London. The population of the borough in 1851 was 1212. 

 The town hu a corporation with merely nominal functions. The 

 is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Gloucester and diocese 

 of Gloucester and Bristol 



The former town of Wotton-under-Edge was burnt down in the 

 reign of John ; a place called the Brands is supposed to mark tlie 

 original rite. The present town is well built and lighted with gas. 

 The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a handsome building of early 

 Knzli'h style and date. The Wesleyan Methodists, Independents, 

 and Baptists have places of worship. The Tabernacle meeting-house, 

 originally erected by Rowland Hill, has been rebuilt in the early 

 Knglinh style, with pinnacles, and a tower at the south-east angle. 

 There are a Free Grammar school, National, British, Infant, and Blue- 

 Coat schools ; a literary institution, with a small library and a news- 

 room; a general hospital, a hospital for twelve poor persons, and 

 almstinrm* for six poor persons. Wotton is one of the clothing 



towns, and has many cloth-mills; woollen cloth of a fine quality ia 

 manufactured. Dyeing ia carried on. Friday is the market-day. 

 Fairs are held on the Tuesday before March 25th and on Sept. 25th. 



WRAGBY. [LINCOLNSHIRE.] 



WREXHAM, Denbighshire, North Wales, a market-town, parlia- 

 mentary borough, and the seat of a Poor-Law Union, in the parish of 

 Wrexham, is situated on the Gwenfrwy Brook, a feeder of the Clywe- 

 dog, which is itself an affluent of the river Dee, in 53 2' N. lat., 

 2" 59' W. long., distant 23 miles S.E. from Denbigh, 179 miles N.W. 

 by W. from London, and 185 miles by the North- Western and Bir- 

 mingham, Shrewsbury, and Chester railways. The population of the 

 parliamentary borough in 1851 waa 6714. The living ia a vicarage, in 

 the archdeaconry and diocese of St. Asaph. Wrexham Poor-Law 

 Union contains 44 parishes and townships, with an area of 78,592 

 acres, and a population in 1851 of 40,078. 



Wrexham is advantageously situated in the mining district of 

 Denbighshire, and is one of the most important towns in North Wales. 

 The church is a handsome and spacious building, in the perpendicular 

 style. The tower, which has a very striking appearance, has an eleva- 

 tion of 135 feet, and has on three sides rows of saints in richly- 

 sculptured niches. The church was formerly collegiate. The English 

 and Welsh Independents, Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, Baptists, and 

 Roman Catholics have places of worship. There are a Grammar 

 school, National schools, and a Roman Catholic school. The town- 

 hall is a plain brick building : there are a county house of correction, 

 an infirmary, a new market, a literary institute, and a savings bank. 



Wrexham has a considerable flannel manufacture ; ami in the puris't 

 there are quarries, lead-mines, collieries, and iron-works. Brewing, 

 malting, and tanning are carried on, and there is a factory for making 

 patent flat and round rope. Markets are held on Thursday and 

 Saturday. Fairs are held eight times in the year. The fair held on 

 March 23rd is kept up for many days, and is one of the most import- 

 ant in North Wales: cattle and horses, Welsh flannels and other 

 woollens, Irish linens, Manchester cotton goods, Yorkshire woollens, 

 and especially hardwares from Birmingham and Sheffield, are sold at 

 this fair. By the Reform Act Wrexham was made a contributory 

 borough to Denbigh. A county court and petty sessions for the 

 hundreds of Kromfield and Yale, are held at Wrexham. 



WRIETZEN. [BBAWDESBUBO.] 



WRINGTON. tSonEasrrsHiBB.1 



WHITTLE. [EsBix.] 



WROCKAVARDINE. [SitBorsHiBE.] 



WROTHAM. [KENT.] 



WU-CHANG-FU. [CHINA.] 



WORTEMBERG, a kingdom in the south-west of Germany, lies 

 between 47* 35' and 49 85' N. lat., 8 15' and 10 30' E. long. It. ia 

 bounded N.E. and E. by Bavaria, N.W. and W. by Baden, and S. by 

 Switzerland and the Lake of Constant Its greatest length from south 

 to north is about 140 miles; and its greatest breadth from east to 

 west nearly 100 miles. The area is 7494 square miles. The popu- 

 lation in December 1852 numbered 1,733,263 namely 838,275 mal<-s 

 and 894,988 females. The principalities of Hohenzollern, altno-t 

 wholly surrounded by the kingdom of Wurtemberg, now belong to 

 Prussia, [HoHEMZOLLERV.] 



The area and population of Wurtemberg are distributed among the 

 four circles, or provinces, of the kingdom as follows : 



The surface ia for the most part mountainous ; on the east tlic 

 Swabian Alp enters the country, and the western border is covered 

 by the Schwarzwald (the Black Forest), both of which send out 

 branches in all directions. The Schwarzwald runs from south to 

 north, parallel to the Rhine, and to the Vosges Mountains on the 

 other side of that river. It begins between Eglisau and Basle, ami 

 extends to Dnrlach and Pforzheim ; its length is about 83 miles, and 

 its mean breadth 14 miles. On the west side its declivity is steep ; 

 on the east it slopes gradually towards the central part of Wurtem- 

 berg. It consists chiefly of granite and sandstone, and is intersected 

 by many well-watered valleys. The highest points of the Schwar/,- 

 wald in Wurtemberg are the Hornisgrinde, 3640 feet high, and the 

 Ronsbuhl, 2940 feet high : but the most elevated part of the range is 

 in Baden. The Alb, or Alp, is entirely in the kingdom of Wurtem- 

 berg (excepting a small part of it which is in Hohenzollern), and runs 

 from south-west to north-east. Its length ia between 80 and 90 miles, 

 and its breadth varies from 9 to 18 miles, between the Neckar and 

 the Danube. On the north-west side it is steep, but on the south-east 

 side gradually declines into undulating hills. Though not so el. 

 as the Schwarzwald, it is more bleak and inclement. There are several 

 large caverns in the limestone of the Alp. 



