104 TlIK IliaTISlI ISLKS. 



castle, wlicre Milton wrote the masque of Coni'is, and Samuel Butler his 

 " Iludibras." The town boasts a museum, rich in .Silurian fossils found in the 

 castle rock, and whilst tliese attract geologists, the picturesque environs are the 

 delight of all lovers of nature. Higher up on the Tome is Clan, a quiet place 

 with a ruined castle. In its neighbourhood small freehold properties, tilled by 

 the proprietors and their families, are numerous. 



WoiUKSTKKsHiKK occupics the Central portion of the fertile valley of the Severn, 

 here about 1-3 miles in width, and shut in on the west by the Abberley and 

 Malvern Hills (1,396 feet), and on the east by the Clent and Lickey (Hagley) 

 Hills. The Teme, which comes down from the Welsh hills, flows through a narrow 

 valley, wliilst the Avon irrigates the fertile vale of Evesbam. The north-eastern 

 portion of the county, beyond the Lickey Hills, is only in parb drained by the 

 Severn. Its soil, in many places, is poor and arid, but this is compensated for by 

 the existence of rich beds of coal and ironstone. Worcestershire, besides cattle 

 and dairy produce, yields fine w^ool, hops, apples, and excellent cider. There are 

 coal, iron, and salt mines, and the manufactures are of considerable importance. 



If we follow the Severnas it crosses from Shropshire into Worcestershire, the 

 first town we meet with is Beicdlei/, a quaint old place with many timbered houses, 

 close to the fine scenery of the Forest of Wyre. Lower down is Stourport, at the 

 mouth of the Stour, which exports the produce of Kidderminster and Stourbridge, 

 higher up on that tributary of the Severn. Kidderminster, a dingy town, is 

 famous for its carpet-weaving, whilst Stourbridge has glass manufactories, brick 

 works, collieries, and tin-plate works. The making of glass was here first intro- 

 duced in 1555. Resuming our journey down the Severn, we reach the mouth of 

 the Salwarpe, in the narrow valley of which is situate the old town of Droiticich, 

 known for its brine spring. Still lower on the same river, at Stohe Prior, there 

 are mines of rock-salt, and a couple of miles beyond we reach Brotnsgrove, a more 

 important town than either of those named, and remarkable for its curious houses 

 with ornamental gables. Xail-making and the manufacture of needles, fish-hooks, 

 buttons, and coarse linens are here carried on. 



Worcester, although the capital of the county, yields to Dudley in population, 

 but is infinitely superior to it in other respects. It is a place of the highest 

 antiquity, and when the Romans established one of their stations there it had 

 already attained some importance. Earthenware and other relics of the Roman 

 dominion have been placed in a museum built within the walls of the ancient 

 castle. In the Middle Ages Worcester played a leading part ; and during the 

 Revolution, Cromwell, in 1651, inflicted a decisive defeat upon the Royalists in its 

 neighbourhood. The cathedral, standing on rising ground, is the most conspicuous 

 building in the city. It presents specimens of all styles of architecture, from the 

 earliest Xorman to the latest perpendicular. Its central tower, completed in 

 1374, rises to a height of 192 feet. The town has lost its manufacture of carpets 

 and woollen stuffs, now carried on at Kidderminster, but is famous for its 

 leather gloves, its china, and potted lampreys. The Royal China Manufactory 

 was opened in 1755. Recently erected engine works add to the prosperity of the 



