. - ox THE HISTORY OF MECHANICS. 245 



for slitting iron were also first erected in the sixteenth century ; Birming- 

 ham and Sheifield were even at that time, according to Camden, celebrated 

 for their manufactures; and the machinery which has been since introduced 

 at different periods in those places, affords a facility and expedition which 

 astonisli every unexperienced spectator. The names of Watt and of Boulton 

 have acquired a just celebrity from their refined improvements, but many 

 other mechanics of inferior rank have exhibited a degree of ingenuity which 

 would have done honour to the most distinguished talents. The manufactures 

 of Manchester are also of considerable antiquity ; but they are very greatly 

 indebted to the inventions of Arkwright and his followers, which have also 

 been introduced in many other parts of the united kingdom. The import- 

 ance of these improvements may be estimated from the quantity of cotton 

 which is annually imported into Great Britain; in 1787, it amounted to 23 

 million pounds, and gave employment to 420 thousand manufacturers ; in 

 1791, it was increased to 32 millions: about one half is consumed in Avhite 

 goods, one fourth in fustians, and the remainder in hosiery, mixtures, and 

 candle wicks. But the woollen manufactory affords a subsistence to above a 

 million persons, who receive annually for their work about nine millions, 

 sterling, and employ as much wool as is worth about three. 



In architecture, the Anglonorman stile prevailed in this country from the 

 conquest to the beginning of the thirteenth century; the arch was frequently 

 employed, and its form was semicircular. The Gothic architecture, dis-" 

 tinguished by its pointed arches, which is said to have originated from the 

 Saracens, was first introduced into England about the year 1170, and was 

 more and more generally adopted fo^ about three centuries. Of the architects 

 of this school, two of the most celebrated were William of Sens, and Walter 

 of Coventry: the most elegant specimen of its performances is, perhaps, King's 

 College Chapel at Cambridge, which was founded by Henry the Sixth, and 

 begun in the year 1441. The Cathedral of Lincoln appears to have been one 

 of the earliest Gothic edifices; Westminster Abbey was finished about 1285, 

 the Minster of York was begun a few years afterwards; and it is difficult to 

 determine which of these three buildings most deserves the attention of the 

 antiquary and the architect, or whether the Cathedral at Canterbury may- 

 Hot be equal to either of them. 



