AZETTEER 



provifions. A good deal of coaife woolen cloth 

 is made in the neighbourhood * 



Weyhill, (Hamp. E.) a village noted for its 

 annual fair, reckoned the greateft market in Eng» 

 land for hops, cheefe, and (heep. 



Weymouth and Melcomb Regis, (Dorf. 

 E.) though reprefented by four members in par- 

 liament, are but one town as a corporation, and as 

 a port, feparated only by a river, called the Wey. 

 The merchants are concerned in the Newfound- 

 land fifhery, and, in confequence of that, in a trade 

 to Portugal. Shipbuilding is the chief manufac- 

 ture of the place. 



Whitburn, (Linl. S.) an inland village, with 

 a fmall cotton manufaftory, and fome weaving and 

 flowering work for Glafgow. 



Whitby [J'ori, N. R.) was originally a fifh- 

 ing village at the mouth of the £(!<, and in the 

 reign of Henry VIII it was little more. [Z-i?/. 

 Itin. P''. i, p. 57.] Before the year 1700 it had 

 fome fhare of the coal trade, and then poffeffed 

 about 60 veffels of about 80 tuns burthen ; and 

 now it has become the feventh port in England in 

 quantity of Ihipping. The inhabitants are largely 

 concerned in the coal trade, and alfo in foreign 

 commerce, and the Greenland fifliery, in which 

 branch they have for many years been generally 

 next to London. The adjacent numerous alum 

 works furnilh cargoes for many vefTels 5 and great 

 quantities of the produce of the country are (hip- 

 ped here, and alfo of fifh, which are carried to the 

 Mediterranean, the Weft Indies, &c. The town, 

 though rather inconveniently plated on the fteep 

 banks of the river, is well built and populous. 

 The harbour is moftly artificial, being formed at 

 a great expenfe, by projefting piers, and is, not- 

 withftanding, much incommoded by fand at the 

 mouth of it. It is, however, capable of contain- 

 ing 500 veffels, which muft lie aground at low 

 water. Shipbuilding is a principal trade of the 

 place, and the veflels are remarkably ftrong, and 

 well adapted for the coal trade. There is alfo a 

 manufaflure of canvafs ; and fome kelp is made on 

 the fhore for the fcrvice of the alum vvnrks. 



Whitechurch, (Hamp. E.) a fmall inland 

 town, with fome manufaftures of light woolen fluffs. 

 Whitehaven, {Cumi. E.J a large, well-built, 

 and flourifhing, town, and the principal port on 

 the weft fide of England for coal, of which pro- 

 digious quantities are fent over to Ireland. The 

 coal mines here are faid to be the deepeft in Eng- 

 land, and fome of them penetrate a confideiable 

 way under the bed of the fea. Salt, an ufual at- 

 tendant upon coal, is made here to a great amount. 

 The merchants have fome concern in foreign trade ; 

 and Whitehaven is the fixth port in England for 

 quantity of (hipping, being next to Hull. Though 

 the exiftence of Whitehaven two centuries ago 



IS afcertaincd by its appearance in Camden's map 

 of Cumberland, yet it was not thought worthy of 

 being noticed in his work. It owes its import- 

 ance to the coal mines, and the fpirited exertions 

 of the family of Lowther. 



White HERN, (ll^ig. S.J an antient town, with 

 a pretty good harbour at the diflancc of three 

 miles, formed by a little illand, to wliich there be- 

 long a few fmall vefTcls, employed in coalllng. 

 There are fome cotton manufadtures, and fome 

 tan -yards. 



Whitney, (Oxf. E.) a long and populous town 

 on the River Windrufh, a branch of the Thames, 

 has fome manufaftures of fells and duffles : but 

 the chief bufinefs of the place, wherein about 3,000 

 people of both fexes and various ages are employ- 

 ed, is the manufafture of blankets, for which this 

 town has a great reputation. 



Whitstaple, (Kent, E.J a maritime village, 

 and a kind of harbour for Canterbury, whereby 

 it has fome coafting trade. The oyftors upon the 

 coaft give employment to many of the people. 



WiccoMB, [Buck. E.J an antient town with a 

 manufafture of paper, and a very great market for 

 corn. 



Wick, [Cain. S.) a fmall tovirn with an indlfTer- 

 ent harbour. Some herrings are pickled and fmok- 

 ed ; a fifliery for cod, &c. is carried on by a Lon- 

 don company ; and fome pickled falmon, brought 

 over4and from Thurfo, are flilppcd for London. 



WiCKLOw, the capital of an Irifh county of 

 the fame name, a pleafant town, with a fmall har- 

 bour and a few veffels. It has fome trade in ex- 

 porting corn, coafting, &c. and is noted for the 

 quality of its ale. 



WiGAN, (Lan. E.) a large and well-built town, 

 connefled with Liverpool by a canal. Placed in 

 the neighbourhood of Liverpool and Manchefter, 

 it partakes of their fpirit and induftry. Belides 

 its old-eftabllfhed iron forges and fonnderies, it has 

 thriving manufactures of fuftians, calicoes, and fev- 

 eral other articles of cotton, the great ftaple of 

 Lancafhire, and alfo hnen, and blankets, bed-cov- 

 erltts, &c. 



WiGTON, the capital of the moft foutherly (liire 

 in Scotland, which has the fame name, is a fmall 

 town with a harbour at the mouth of the River 

 Bladenoch, which is ranked as a port by the cuf- 

 tom-houfe. It has a few velTels, which arc employ- 

 ed in coafting. There is a pretty good falmon 

 fifhery, and a trifling fifhery for cod and herrings. 

 There are manufactures of plalding, flannel, and 

 cotton goods, all on a fmall Icale. 



WiLLENHALL. See WoLVERHAMPTCfN. 



WiLSONTOv/N IRON-WORKS, [Lan. S.) ere^cd 

 by MefTieurs Wllfons at Cleugh, in the midft of 

 iron-ftone, coal, fire-clay, liine-ftone, and freeftone ; 

 fo that every thing is at hand. 



* The country on the fouth "de of this town, called the harony of Forth, is ponelTed by a peculiar people, who appear 

 to be the unmixed progeny of an early Englifh colony, as they fpeak the antient Anglo-Saxon language, which, however 

 is now rapidly modernizing. Thcjr are diftinguilhcd by their induftry and the cleanlinefs of their habitations. 



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