106 THE BRITISH ISLES. 



basin of the Avon, only a small section of its extreme northern part being drained 

 by the Tame and other small rivers flowing northward to the Trent. The surface 

 is varied only by gentle undulations. Formerly nearly the whole of the county 

 was an extensive forest, and it still retains somewhat of this ancient character, small 

 patches of woodland and heath being by no means infrequent. The Avon is the 

 only navigable river, but canals and railways afford ready means of intercommuni- 

 cation. Coal is found in the north, and as a manufacturing county Warwickshire 

 takes a higli rank, for within its borders lies Birmingham, the centre of a huge 

 industrial district. 



The Avon, the principal eastern affluent of the Severn, rises nearer to the 

 German Ocean than to the Bristol Channel. Its springs lie in Northamptonshire, 

 near Xaseby Hill, rendered famous by the defeat of the Royalists in 1645. The 

 first town in Warwickshire which is reflected in its waters is Rughy, celebrated 

 for its grammar school, founded in 1567. The original endowment of this public 

 school consisted of 8 acres of land, near the city of London, yielding an annual 

 income of £8. In course of time these have become covered w^ith houses, and 

 produce now an annual revenue exceeding £6,000. The school occupies a fine 

 Gothic building, and is attended by five hundred pupils. 



Wancick, the capital of the county, occupies a central position. It has 

 played a great part in the history of the English people. Its castle, on a hill 

 washed by the waters of the Avon, and seated in the midst of a fine park, was one 

 of the most magnificent and extensive castles of the Middle Ages, and much of its 

 pristine beauty still survives. In 1871 a fire threatened destruction to this seat of 

 Warwick the King-maker, but the damage sustained has been repaired, and the 

 costly paintings and other treasures of art were fortunately saved. Foremost 

 amongst these is the celebrated Warwick Vase, recovered from the ruins of 

 the Emperor Adrian's villa at Tivoli. " Caesar's Tower " is probably as old 

 as the Conquest, but from Guy's Tower may be obtained a more magnificent view. 

 Looking northward, we catch a glimpse of another castle, almost equally famous, 

 namely, Kenilworih, where Dudley, Earl of Leicester, entertained Queen Elizabeth 

 for seventeen days (1575). Cromwell caused this stronghold to be dismantled, 

 and its extensive and picturesque ruins now form one of the great attractions 

 of the visitors to the neighbouring spa of Leamington. In 1811 this favourite 

 resort of invalids and pleasure- seekers was a humble and obscure village of five 

 hundred inhabitants. Since then the fame of its sulphureous, saline, and chalybeate 

 springs has gone on increasing, and with it the number of residents and visitors, and 

 now this new town far exceeds in population its venerable neighbour Warwick, 

 from which it is still separated by the Avon, here joined by the Leam, but which 

 its new streets are rapidly approach in <>■. 



Only a few miles below Warwick we reach another town rich in historical 

 associations. This is Stmtfonl-on-Avon, the birthplace of Shakspore. The 

 house in which the poet lived, and was probably born, still exists, and there are 

 few monuments held in higher veneration than this humble dwelling, now 

 converted into a museum. The last descendant of the family, having become 



