: p 



BINCH. 



nwnnuM. 



Coarse pottery is made with the clsy which in found in the neighbour- 

 ln""l in much abundance. There ia also here a deep orange-coloured 

 and aluuwt impalpable mid, which ia much used in the canting of 

 mi-tale ; the neighbourhood ia likewise noted for a (tone-quarry. 

 iw's StqfonUiire ; Communication from Biltton.) 



H1NCH. [llAIXAl'LT.] 



BIHDBABUHD, a large ancient town near the south-western 

 frontier of British India, is situated on the right bank of the river 

 Jumna, in 27 37' N. lat, 77 42' E. long., and about 35 miles X. N.\V. 

 from the city of Agra. 



The superstition of the Hindoos has invested Bindrabund with a 

 high degree of sanctity, in consequence of its having been, according 

 to their traditions, the residence of Krishna during his youth. Several 

 places are pointed out as the scenes of various exploits of the god, 

 and many pilgrims annually visit the town to wash away their sin* 

 iu the sacred pools. The ancient Hindoo name for Bindrabund 

 (Yrindavana) signifies a grove of Tulsi-trees. Such a grove still 

 exists, and has now become the resort of numerous religious mendi- 

 cant*, who waste their lives there in filth and indolence. The town 

 contains many temples, all of which are dedicated to Krishna : the 

 largest, distinguished from the rest as the great cruciform pagoda, is 

 remarkable for its size and the elaborate style of its architecture. 



HI N< JEN, a town in Hesse-Darmstadt, situated in the fork formed 

 by the Nahe and the Rhine, at their junction near 49 50' N. lat., 

 7 52' E. long. The town is built along the right bank of the Nahe 

 and the left bank of the Rhine, at a distance of 17 miles W. by S. 

 from Hayence, and at the entrance of the narroK vale of the Rhine 

 between the Taunus and the Hundsriick Mountains. The bridge of 

 (tone leading across the Nahe into Bingen is generally supposed to 

 have been constructed by Drusus the Roman general, and the ruins 

 of the old fort of Klopp, upon an eminence near the town, stand 

 upon the site of the castle known to have been built by the same 

 commander. This fort was destroyed by the French in 1 639, with 

 nearly the whole of the town. The 'Bingerloch' that adjoins it is a 

 portion of the bed of the Rhine, which in former times was an object 

 of great dread to navigators, from the sunken rocks that lay across 

 it ; there was then no other channel for the passage of vessels but a 

 very narrow one, through which the pent-up waters were furiously 

 whirled, with a roar so loud as to be heard at several miles' distance. 

 The rocks were removed by blasting, and the passage of the Binger- 

 loch is now accompanied with no danger. On a little island not far 

 from this spot stands the Mausethurm, a tower or ancient toll-house, 

 which is rapidly falling to decay. Bingen contains about 5000 inha- 

 bitant*. It is the place of sale for the wines produced in its vicinity. 

 Woollen-stuffs and leather are manufactured. The Rhine steamers 

 call at Bingen, which is much resorted to by tourists on account of 

 the beautiful scenery of the Rhine and the Nahe. The average 

 breadth of the Rhine between Bingen and Coblenz is 1600 feet; its 

 depth between Bingen and Caub, which lies opposite to Bacharach, 

 varies from 6 to 20 feet ; and at Bingen its surface is at an elevation 

 of 235 feet above the level of the sea. Its whole line from Bingen 

 towards Coblenz abounds in the most varied and romantic scenery. 



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

 Poor-Law Union, in the pariah of Bingham and wapcntake of 

 North Bingham, is situated in the fertile vale of Belvoir, in 52 57' 

 N. lat., 57' W. long. ; distant 1 miles E. from Nottingham, 118 miles 

 X.N.W. from London by road, and 119 miles by the Great Northern 

 and Boston and Nottingham Junction railways. The living is a 

 rectory in the archdeaconry of Nottingham and diocese of Lincoln : 

 the population of the pariah in 1851 was 2054. Bingham Poor-Law 

 Union contains forty parishes and townships, with an area of 67,735 

 ere*, and a population in 1851 of 16,227. 



Bingham was a place of some importance at a very early period. 

 Itti religious establishment and collegiate church belong to a date not 

 long subsequent to the Conquest. Foundations of buildings have 

 been frequently dug up in the town and its vicinity. The situation 

 of Bingham is rather low, but being surrounded with high grounds, 

 all in a state of rich cultivation, the views in the vicinity are pleasant 

 and extensive. The town consists chiefly of two parallel streets, at 

 the end of one of which ia a spacious market-place, which has been 

 considerably enlarged of late years, and has commodious shambles. 

 The houses generally have been erected with little attention to regu- 

 larity ; they are however usually neat, and some of them are hand- 

 some. The town is well paved. 



The church, dedicated to All Saint*, ia a massive structure, consist- 

 ing of a nave and two aisles. The tower, which is of early English 

 character, U remarkable ; the belfry story and spire are of later date. 

 In 1848 the chancel was newly roofed in the decorated style, ami tin- 

 original chancel-arch was restored. The church will accommodate 

 800 persona. The Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists have places of 

 worahip in the town. There are an endowed Charity school, an Infant 

 school, a church library, and a temperance-hall. The prosperity of 

 the town depends chiefly on the tun, which are held hi February, 

 Kay, and November. The market is held weekly on Thursday. In 

 or near Bingham were born Archbishop Cranmer, Colonel Hutcbinson, 

 Lord Howe, and Thoroton, the author of the ' Antiquities of Not- 

 ' 



BINOLEY, West Riding of Yorkshire, a market-town in the pariah 



of Bingley and wapentake of skyrack. is situated in 53 51' :- 

 1 51' W. long. ; distant 36 miles \V>.\V. from Y.. r ', N.\V. 



from I 'iid, and 201 miles by the Great Northern and M.I 



land railways. The population of the town of Bingley in 1851 was 

 5109. The living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Craven and 

 diocese of Ripon. 



The name Biugley signifies 'the Field of Bingel or Bing,' the original 

 proprietor in Saxon times. In Domesday Book it is called ' Bingheleia,' 

 mid it had then six hamlets belonging to it The manor wax ulti- 

 mately bought in 1668 by Robert Benson, Esq., whose son was by 

 Queen Anne created Lord Bingley, whose descendant in the female 

 line is the present proprietor. The town is pleasantly situate*! 

 eminence between the river Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. 

 It is tolerably well built, partly of brick and partly of stone, and 

 consists chiefly of one long street, in which the market is held. Tin- 

 liberty to hold a market was obtained from King John. Tin- church, 

 a small plain building, dedicated to All Souls, was given to the priory 

 of Drax by William Pagouell, the founder, in t! Anlil.islnip 



Thurstan, who held the see of York from 1119to 1147. It up 

 to have been restored in the reign of Henry VIII. TK \\ , 

 Methodists, Independents, and Baptists have places of worship. Tho 

 Grammar school has an income from endowment of 250/. a year, with 

 a good house and garden for the headmaster, unil<<r whom are a 

 second and an assistant master ; the number of scholars in 1852 was 

 50. There are also a National school, several ahn.-0iou.ses, and some 

 parochial charities. 



BIR, the ancient Birlha, and the Turkish Btrehjik, a town of 

 Asiatic Turkey, hi the pashalic of Orfah, ia situated on the left Kmk 

 of the Euphrates, in 36 59' N. lat., 38 7' 15" E. loug., 144 milee 

 N.E. from Aleppo, and 125 miles S.W. from Diyar-Bckr. It stands, on the 

 side of a very steep hill above the river, which in In ; .diovr 



the level of the sea, and about as wide as the Thames at Blackfriars 

 Bridge ; but the width varies greatly in the course of the seasons. 

 Bir has long been the point where caravans and travellers from Aleppo 

 to Orfah, Diyar-Bekr, Baghdad, and Persia cross the Euphrates, the 

 passage being effected in large boats, about 40 feet in length by 10 

 feet broad, not more than 2 feet high at the stern, but not leas than 

 15 feet at the prow. There was formerly some trade carried on by 

 the river between this place and Baghdad, but it has long been discon- 

 tinued by this channel Colonel Chesney has shown the feasibility 

 of making the Euphrates navigable for small steamers all the way 

 from Bir to Basrah, a distance of 1143 miles. [ErrmiATES.] 



There are perpendicular cliffs within and around the town in dif- 

 fereut directions. They are composed of a hard chalky stone, and 

 have furnished the material with which the town is built Thua the 

 houses and the rocky slope on which they stand present to tin 

 tator on the opposite side of the river a mass of glaring white which 

 greatly distresses the eye when the sun shines, while tin- fine impal- 

 pable powder U no less annoying when the wind blows. The environs are 

 however very pleasant The town contains from 1800 to 2000 houses. 

 There are five mosques with tall minarets, a public bath, a caravanserai, 

 a few coffee-houses, and a small but ill-supplied bazaar. The streets 

 are narrow, steep, and clean. Except on the side towards the river 

 the town is surrounded by a wall of excellent masonry, with towers 

 at the angles, and pierced with loop-holes throughout There JH an 

 old ruined fortification in the centre of the town on a height < 

 rock ; and all along the north end of the town, where a perpcni 1 

 cliff faces the water, are the walls and towers of an ancient castle, 

 which though a ruin still presents an imposing appearance. 



(Pococke's Detcription of the Eatt; Nicbuhr, Reincbetchrcibung ; 

 Thevenot, Voyage au Levant ; Buckingham's Trareb in Metopotanua ; 

 Rennell's Treatite on the Comparative Geography "f \\\tern Aria; 

 Chesney's Expedition to the Euphrata and Tiyrit.) 



BIRBHU'M (VirnUiumi, signifying in Sanscrit 'the Lan.l of 

 Heroes') is a district in the north-western extremity of the province 

 of Bengal, bounded N. by the district of Boglipore. E. by Ifiij 

 S 1'V liurdwan and the Jungle Mahals, ami W. l,y Bogliporo and the 

 Jungle Mahals. The district of Birbhum is hilly and in great part 

 occupied by jungles : its area is estimated at about 3300 square miles, 

 and its population at 1,500,000 Hindoo mimedaus, in tliu 



proportion of thirty of the former to one of the latter. 



The principal productions of the country are sugar, rice, and silk. 

 Mines of coal are profitably worked for the supply ..f Calcutta 

 and for the use of shipping. Iron-ore of considerable richness is 

 found in strata mixed with clay ; it is smelted with wood fuel. The 

 forests in the neighbourhood of the smclting-works are of great 

 extent, and so rapid is the power of reproduction in that climate, that 

 the consumption of fuel is very speedily compensated. 



Soory, the modern capital of the district, is in 28 64' N. lat, 87 32' 

 E. long. ; 50 miles S.W. from Moorshedabad. This town stands on 

 high ground, and the country around it is open and undulating. Tho 

 jungles to the westward offer great facilities for depredations 

 part of several petty chiefs. Tho principal sufferers from these marau- 

 ders are Hindoo pilgrims, who proceed in great numbers to the 

 temple at Ueoghur. The amount of pro| i-t v of winch these devotees 

 are robbed is not great, but is novnili. 1. , important. t<> tlnau on 

 account of their poverty. These depredations are frequently occuni 

 panicd by personal violence. 



