10U 



BEltKSHIKK. 



BKHLIN. 



were defeated, but in the second they reputed their assailants. 

 days afterward* at j&oesdnn (that ia, Ann tree I 



(Four 

 Hill), a more import- 

 ant battle wai fought, in which both Ethelred and Alfred were 

 present, and in which the Dane* were defeated with great slaughter. 

 The lite of this .-r:c<dun has been much disputed. Mr. Turner 

 (' Hi*tory of the Anglo-Saxons') inclines to the opinion that Moran- 

 tune (where shortly afterward* the Saxons sustained a severe defeat, 

 in which Ethelred wa* mortally wounded) wa* Moreton, near Wai- 

 linpford. 



As the White Hone ia a work of Saxon origin, or of still higher 

 antiquity, it seems not out of place to give a brief account of it here. 

 The White Home is the figure of a horse cut in the turf on the north- 

 west face of the range of chalk downs which croasea this county, at a 

 part where the declivity ia at once lofty and steep. It is a very rude 

 figure of a horse in the act of galloping, and is about 374 feet in 

 length. When the afternoon sun shines upon it, it may be seen at a 

 considerable distance 10, 12, or even 15 miles; and from its immense 

 size it form* a remarkable object. It has given name to the hill on 

 which it is carved and to the vale above which that hill rises. The 

 peasantry of the neighbourhood have an old custom of assembling ' to 

 scour the horse,' that is, to clear away the turf where it has encroached 

 upon it. On such occasions a rural festival is held, and they are 

 regaled by the lord of the manor. The festival, which has been 

 recently revived, is now a triennial one. Mr. Thorns has endeavoured 

 to show that the White Horse had probably a religious origin ; in fact 

 was a representation of the Sacred Horse of the Celts. (' Archteologia,' 

 vol. xxxi.) Nearly above the White Horse on the summit of the hill 

 is the ancient camp or earthwork called Uffington Castle ; and in its 

 vicinity ore the antiquities Hardwell Camp, Alfred's Castle, Dragon 

 Hill, the Seven Barrows, and Wayhuul Smith, already described. 



In the war with the Danes during the reign of Ethelred II., 1006, 

 Berkshire was laid waste with fire and sword. The barbarous 

 invaders burnt Reading, Wallingford, and other places. At the time 

 of the Norman invasion, William the Conqueror received at Walling- 

 ford the submission of the archbishop Stigand and of the principal 

 barons before he marched to London ; ami shortly afterwards a strong 

 castle was built at Wallingford by Robert D'Oyley, one of the followers 

 of the conqueror. 



In the civil war consequent upon the usurpation of Stephen, Berk- 

 shire was again the seat of war. Brian Fitzcourt, who had come by 

 marriage into possession of Wallingford Castle, early took the side of 

 the Empress Maud ; and hi- "'led her a secure retreat when 



she fled from " .istle, which was erected by 



Robert earl of Glouce.-' ; the Empress, was taken 



by Stephen and comylstely ,. . When John rebelled against 



his brother, Richard L, he I aud Windsor Castles. 



but they were t he barons in the king's 



interest, and pi a. mds of the queen dowager. Thestrcngth 



of these two fortress*) rend, mportant a mil 



in the trouble* 



John, and during th> III. In 1 _ 



was taken rt. During this of our 



history, the palace at Old Windsor, or tin: castle at New Windsor. 

 was the frequent resilience of the king. 



Of toe osfttlas of this period there arc few remains except at 

 Windsor. The ancient castlo there, still the ul...,!,- ,if royalty, will be 

 described under the article WIKDSOR. Of Wallingford Castle, the 

 ditches and earthworks, which are of great extent, and a fragment of 

 a wall, are the only remains. Donuington Castle, near Newbury, is 

 said to have been founded in or near the time of Richard II. Camdou, 

 who calls it Dennington or Dunnington, describes it a* a small but 

 tlsgant castle, on the top of a woody hill, commanding a pleasant 

 prospect, and lighted by window* on every side. It suffered so much 

 however during the civil war, that only a gateway with two towers 

 is now remaining. The very sites of the castles at Reading, Newbury, 

 Faringdon, and Brightwell near WaUiugford, are almost unknown. 

 Aldworth Ca*tle, about 6 mile* south-east of East Ilsley, has scarcely 

 a vestige left : some foundations of wall* built with flints have been 

 lately dug up. 



There i* an old manor-house at Appletnn, not far from Oxford, 

 opposed to be of the time of Henry II. ; and there an other ancient 

 manor or other dwelling-houses, some of which have been already 

 mentioned, at WHhams and Cumnor, near Oxford ; Little or East 

 Sheffwd, between Newbury and Lambourn ; Button Courtney, near 

 Abingdon ; and Ockholt manor-house, at Bray and Aldcrirui 



Daring the prevalence of the Roman Catholic faith, many religious 

 houses were built and endowed in Berkshire. Tanner's ' 

 Monastic*.' contain* a list of thirty-five religious eitablishments of 

 all kinds ; three of which were numbered at the Reformation among 

 'greater monasteries.' The most important by far of these 



th, 



. 







j the Benedictine abbey* at Abingdon and Reading 

 Tb abbot of each of these abbey* was mitred. The yearly i 

 of Abuurdon at the time of the suppression was 2042*. 2i. Sd. gross, 

 or W. 10. 9d clear. Heading Abbey at the suppression had 

 8* M. gross, or l38l 14* 3d. clear jf.,< 



remain, of both these great establishments 



li .' 



Abbey at the soppwi.Jon had a gross revenue of 327*. 4,. 6rf. 

 Of toe minor esUbUehaents there are some remains. Of the 



church of the Gray Friars (Franciscans) at Reading, there are con- 

 siderable remains; there are also some ruins of the Bfiu>dictine 

 monastery at Hurley, between Maidenhead and Honl.-y -upon-Thames, 

 and of collegiate buildings at Wallingford. The pariah church at 

 Shottesbrooke near Maidenhead once belonged to the college 

 John the Baptist there. St Oeorge's Chapel, at Windsor, will be 

 Mitioncd in the article WINDSOR. 



Berkshire is not rich in ecclesiastical architecture. The churches 

 are generally small, aud from the scarcity of building-stone in the 

 county, they are frequently constructed of flint and chalk. " > 

 heless Berkshire contains some very fine examples of each ' 

 styles, as Lambourn for Norman, Uffington for early English, Shottes- 

 brooke for decorated, and St. George's Chapel, Windsor, forperpcndi- 

 cular. The smaller churches are frequently very interesting ; there 

 are a great number of the period between the middle of the I'Jth, 

 and the middle of the 13th century." ('Ecclesiastical and Architec- 

 tural Topography of Berkshire,' 1849.) 



A few other churches of ancient date, in addition to those already 

 spoken of, deserve mention. Avington exhibits some remarkable 

 specimens of Norman architecture. The arch which divides the 

 chancel from the nave is a portion of two arches, and each ]> 

 oeiug more than a quadrant, the arch has a depending point in the 

 middle. Portions of the Norman style may be observed in St. 

 Nicholas church at Abingdon, and in other places. Welford church, 

 between Newbury and Lambourn, has a very fine Norman round 

 bower, surmounted by a portion in the early English style, and a spire 

 in the decorated English. Great Shefford church, not far from Wclford, 

 bas a round tower, surmounted by an octangular story. Shottesbrogke 

 church is a beautiful and perfect miniature cruciform church, of the 

 decorated style, with a tower and spire at the intersection of the cross. 

 St. Lawrence's church at Reading has a fine tower of chequered 

 flint-work in the perpendicular style. Aldworth church may be 

 noticed for its series of ancient tombs of the De la Beche family, said 

 to be " probably the finest in the kingdom in a mere parish church." 



In the civil war between Charles I. and the Parliament, Berkshire 

 became the scene of several remarkable contests. Windsor was 

 garrisoned by the Parliament, and continued in their' possession 

 throughout the war. WaUiugford was garrisoned by the king, and 

 continued in the hands of the Royalists as long as they were capable 

 of making any resistance. In 1642, the first year of the war, the 

 king's army gained possession of Reading, aud the county, with the 

 exception of the parts round Windsor, came into the power of the 

 Royalists; but in April, 1643, the parliamentary forces retook Heading 

 by capitulation. In the latter part of the same year wax fought the 

 first battle of Newbury, between the Parliamentarians under the earl 

 of Essex, and the Royalists commanded by the king in person. The- 

 victory was doubtful, but the action has been i 1 >le by 



the death of the accomplished Lord Falkland. Several other import- 

 ant military operations took place in the county in 111 II 45-46. 



A slight skirmish occurred at Reading in 1688, and a trifling affair 

 at Twyford L.-twci-n Reading and Maidenhead. These w. 

 actions which occurred during the revolution by which that year was 

 distinguished. 



Berkshire is essentially an agricultural county. There are no manu- 

 factures in it of any consequence. 



r.KKLIN, a city, the capital of the province of Brandenburg, the 

 metropolis of the Prussian monarchy, and next to Vienna, the largest 

 and finest' town in Germany, is situated in a sandy plain on both banks 

 of the Spree, in 62' 80' N. lat., 13" 24' E. long., distant about 160 

 miles E.S.E. from Hamburg and 100 miles N. by W. from Dresden. 

 The river Spree, which is 200 feet broad in this part of its course, 

 winds through Berlin from south-east to north-west, and divides it 

 into two nearly equal portions. 



1: Hin derives its name from ' Berle,' a word implying 'uncultivated 

 land ' in the language of the Slavonian Vends, who were the earliest 

 settlers in this quarter. The city occupies a surface of about 7000 

 acres, at an elevation of about 125 feet above the level of the sea, 

 and its walls arc about 12 mi! t. It is the seat of govern- 



ment and of the supreme courts of judicature. The < 



island formed by a canal which issues from and Hows again into the 

 Spree; the Friedrichswerder, whii-li lies to the south-east of New 

 Cologne; Dorothoen-stadt, or the New Town, likewise on tli 

 bank of the Spree, between tlr <he cclcliratwl Brandenburg 



Gate, on that part of the Spree which separates the Pleasure-garden 

 (Lust-garten) from the square next the arsenal ; and Frederick's 

 Town (Friedrichs-stodt), the most south-western aud the handsomest 

 part of Berlin. Connected with these six quarters there are four 

 Torstadte. or suburbs, within the walls : Spandau, Konigliche, Strolau, 

 and Louise; ami one beyond the wnl' 'igtlnnd, or the 



Oranienburg nburb. These several quarters of Berlin, with the 

 exception of Voigtland, are closely connected with each other, and 

 surrounded by n wall 16 feet high, in which ore 14 land-gates aud 2 

 water-gates, besides 4 minor outlets. 



The principal rtreets of Berlin are lighted with gas : they are in 

 general very wide, but they are only partially paved. The twttoirn, 



