11-7 



III \\TYRK. 



BLOW. 



1118 



4 market Tillages, and 23 village* and hamlets, with a population of 

 about 20,000. 



lUankrnlxuru, the chief town, is situated on the Harz, at an elevation 

 of 732 feet above the level of the sea, 37 miles S.S.K from Brunswick, 

 about 14 miles E. from the summit of the Bracken, in 51 47' K. 

 lat, 10" 57' K. long., and has about 3500 inhabitants. The principal 

 public buildings are a gymnasium, three churches, a town-hall, an 

 hospital, and a storehouse for the deposit of the iron, marble, and 

 dye-earths raised in the surrounding districts. Upon the Blaukeu' 

 stein, a rocky height 1038 feet above the level of the sea and close to 

 the town, is situated the ducal palace of Luisenburg, in which there 

 are 270 apartments, a large collection of paintings, and other objects 

 of note. Immediately below lies a long and almost unbroken line of 

 sandstone cliffs, which is called Teufelsmauer, of the wildest and 

 most grotesque forms; it runs from north-west to south-east, and 

 spreads as far as Ballenstiidt in Anhalt-Bcruburg. About half a mile 

 from the town also stands the lofty and romantic Regeustein, on the 

 summit of which are the ruins of a spacious castle, entirely hewn out 

 of the rock, besides a number of caverns, and the splendid colossal 

 rock called the Rosstrappe. Blankenburg was the residence of Louis 

 afterwards the XVIII. from 1796 to 1798. Much mining is carried 

 on in its neighbourhood ; at Kiibelaud on the Bode there are iron- 

 works and mills for sawing porphyry, marble. 4c. 

 BLANTYRE. [LANARKSHIRE.] 

 BLARNEY. [Conic.] 

 BLASENDORF. [TRANSYLVANIA.] 

 BLAVET. [MoRBiHA.N.] 

 BLAYE. [UiRONDE.] ' 



BLEAN, Kent, a scattered village and the seat of a Poor-Law 

 Union in the parish of Blean, hundred of Whitatable, and lathe of St. 

 Augustine, is situated in 51 18' N. lat, 1 2' E. long., 2 miles N. 

 from Canterbury, and 56 miles E.S.E. from London: the population 

 of the parish in 1851 was 660. The living is a vicarage, held with 

 St. Alphuge rectory, Canterbury, in the archdeaconry and diocese of 

 Canterbury. Blean Poor-Law Union contains 16 parishes and town- 

 KhijM, with an area of 26,547 acres, and a population in 1851 of 14,572. 

 Bluau is placed in the midst of rough wild woodland, which in only 

 in part laid out in coppices. The whole tract anciently formed the 

 Forest of Blean, but what is now called Blean Forest lies somewhat 

 to the west of the parish. The church, dedicated to St Cosmus and 

 St. Damian, U very small ; it contains several good monuments. 

 Blean is sometimes called in ecclesiastical and other official documents 

 St. Cosmus and Damian in the Blean. 



BLECHINGLEY, or BLETCHINGLEY, Surrey, a town in the 

 pariah of Blechingley and hundred of Tandridge, is situated in 51 12' 

 N. lat, 3' W. long., distant 20 miles S. from London ; Godstone 

 station of the South-Eastern railway, which is near Blechingley, is 27 

 miles from London. The entire parish, which includes the hamlet of 

 Ham Farm, contained in 1841 a population of 3546, including about 

 2000 labourers (with their families) then employed in the construction 

 of the South-Eastern railway. The population of the town in 1851 

 was 1553. The living is a rectory in the archdeaconry of Surrey and 

 diocese of Winchester. 



At the Domesday Survey the manor (called then Blachingelei) was 

 in possession of Richard de Tonbridge, earl of Clare. From the 23rd 

 of Edward III. the town sent members to the House of Commons 

 until it was disfranchised by the Reform Act of 1832. A weekly 

 market was formerly held here, but has long been discontinued 

 Two annual fairs are still held on June 22nd and November 2nd j to 

 the latter (granted by Edward I.) great numbers of horses, hogs, one 

 lean cattle are brought from Scotland and Wales. The inhabitants 

 are chiefly employed in agriculture. In the neighbourhood between 

 2000 and 3000 tons of fuller's earth are annually raised. 



A castle formerly existed at the western extremity of the town on 

 the brow of a hill The castle belonged to Gilbert de Clare, earl of 

 Gloucester, who joined the disaffected barons in the reign of llmrj 

 III., and commanded a division of their forces at the battle of Lewes 

 in 1264. The king's forces destroyed his castle at Blechingley in 

 revenge of the active part be had taken in this contest In the ancien 

 manor-house, called Blechingley Place, which stood in Brewer Street 

 resided Edward, duke of Buckingham, who was beheaded b; 

 Henry VIII 



The parish church, dedicated to St Mary, is a large and handsome 

 old building in the early English style. It consist** of a nave, \\ i'li a 

 south nixie ami a double chancel, and a north transept called Ham 

 Chapel, which contains an elegant monument to the memory of Sir 

 Richard Benslcy. The south chancel is entirely occupied by a magni- 

 ficent monument of the 6rst Sir Robert Clayton and his lady, with tlirir 

 whole-length figures in white marble. The low square embattled tower 

 contain* eight bells. It was formerly surmounted by a spire, which 

 was burnt down in 1806 and has not "been re-built There is a chapel 

 for Independents. Near the church is a Grammar school, founded in 

 1565 for 25 boys. The income from endowment is 231. a year, with 

 house and Igundcn for the master. The number of scholars in 1851 

 was 60. There are 11 alnishouaes at Blechiiigley, and some small 

 charities for the benefit of the poor. 



BLEIBERG, or IU.KYI!KK<;. <,n the Drove, a market-town in the 

 circle of Viliach (Upper Carinthin) in lllyria, and at the foot of the 



ileyberg, or Lead Mountain, to the south-west of the town of Viliach. 

 t is the seat of one of the Austrian mining deportment*, and its 

 neighbourhood contains valuable quarries of white and variegated 

 marbles, copper, and lead. The lead here r.. . pure and 



>t. in quality. The lead-mines yield annually between 17"" 

 and 2000 tons of metal. The copper-mines are also advantageously 

 worked ; and about 80 tons of red lead are annually produced. Tliu 

 work in the mines, and in the numerous establishments for brc 

 washing, and smelting the ores give constant employment to a great 

 number of hands. The town of Bleiberg being composed of five 

 villages spreads over a considerable surface: it contains a Catholic 

 church, a Lutheran chapel, about 600 houses, and about 3700 

 nhabitants. 



BLENHEIM (Bliudheim), a village on the Danube, not far from 

 the town of Hochsttidt, in the circle of Suabia in Bavaria. 1 1 v . 

 scene of Maryborough's great victory on the 13th of August 1704, 

 when at the head of the British troops, aided by Prince Eugene and 

 the Imperialists, he totally defeated the French and Bavarian forces 

 under Marshal Tallard, who was taken prisoner with li.niMi ,,f his 

 troops. At Blenheim alao the Austrians were defeated by the French 

 in the year 1800. 



BLENHEIM. [OXFORDSHIRE.] 

 BLESSINGTON. [WicKLow.J 

 BLIDAH. [AMF.IUE.] 

 BLISHXI ISLANDS. [AiKirux ISLANDS.] 



IM.ISWOKTH, [NollTHAJIITC.NSHmK.] 



BLOCKLEY. [WORCESTERSHIRE.] 



BLOFIELD, Norfolk, a village and the seat of a 1'oor-l.aw I'nion, 

 in the parish and hundred of Bloneld, is pleasantly situated on the. 

 left bank of the river Yare, in 52 37' N. lat, 1" 25' J-:. I..HL-.. 7 mile, 

 E. from Norwich, and 115 miles N.E. from London by road ; Brundall 

 station of the Norwich and Yarmouth railway, which i 

 from London, is a mile and a quarter from Blutield : the population 

 of the parish in 1851 was 1173. The living is a rectory in tl.. 

 deacoury and diocese of Norwich. Bloneld I'oor-Law Union contains 

 32 parishes and townships, with an area of 44,619 acres, and u popu- 

 lation in 1851 of 11,574. 



The inhabitants of Bloneld are chiefly agricultural. The church is 

 a neat building. There is an endowed Free school for 10 boj> 

 there aresorne parochial charities of no great importance. The 1'nioii 

 workhouse will contain 250 inmates. Petty se.-- 

 Blofield. An annual statute hiring fair is held a few days 1 

 Michaelmas. 



BLOIS, the capital of the department of Loir-et-Cher, in France, 

 stands on the right bank of the Loire, in 47 35' N. hit, 1 20' E. long., 

 and on the railway leading from Orleans to Tours, from each . .f whii-h 

 cities it is distant about 36 miles: the population is 16,156. The 

 situation of Blois, on the summit and slope of a hill, naturally . i 

 it into an upper and lower town. The upper town is ill built ; the 

 streets are very steep and narrow, but kept clean by water from the 

 public fountains, which are supplied by means of a fine aqu> 

 On the summit of the hill stands a castle, which was originally built 

 by the counts of Blois, and is now used iu a barrack. The present 

 structure was erected at different periods : the eastern front was 

 erected under Louis XII.; the northern front under Krai 

 the western by Gaston, duke of Orleans, brother of L. mi.-. XIII.. wh" 

 employed the architect Mansard upon it The castle of ]' 

 associated with many events in the history of France. Louis XII. 

 was born in it; andtranrois I ., Henri II., Charles IX., ami Henri III. 

 held their courts in it Within iU walls Valentine de Milan .-pt. tor 

 the lew of h. r husband Louis d'Orlcuiis. It served for a time as a 

 retreat to Isabelle of Bavaria, queen of Charles VI. Here, un<: 

 presidency of Henri III., met the States of Blois ; during their 

 ance on which the Duke of Guise and his brother the c. 

 murdered. The marriage of Charles, duke of Ale neon, with Marga- 

 ret, sister of Francois I., was celebrated hi the castle of Jiloi.t ; and 

 here Henri IV. was married to Margaret of Valois. 



The lower town contains good houses ; it is built along a quay of 

 considerable extent, and is joined by a fine stone bridge of 

 arches to the suburb of Vienne on the left bank of the Loire. Of the 

 other public buildings the bishop's palace is one oft!.. ! 

 from its terraced gardens there is one of the finest, richi 

 extensive views in France. The former church of the lemiitw, built 

 ' by Mansard, nd classed among the historical monument* of In 

 ' the public library, which contains 17,000 volumes, the residence of 

 the pi. I., t. the court-house, and the monument to I;, in 1'apin. a 

 native of r.loi.-. whom Mime of the French savants imagine to < 

 inventor of the steam-engine, are also worthy of notice. There are 

 also at Blois a college, two hospitals, a lunatic axyluin, a th. tt) 

 H cabinet of natural history. Bloil has two beautiful promenades : 

 the Mall, which runs along the l.oiiv : another, a mile and a quarter 

 long, on the north-weat of the town, which is formed by on avenue 

 of trees and abuts on an extensive forest 



Blois rives title to a bixhop, who.c diocese comprehends the depart- 

 ment uf Loir-ot-Cher. It contains tribunals of first instance ami of 

 commerce. The principal manufactures consist of gloves, vinegar, 

 line potter}*, and shoe and white leather ; there in a good ti 

 these articles, and in wine, brandy, cloth, paper, oak-staves, snd fire- 



