216 



THE BRITISH ISLES. 



the town. Seven meetings tuke place annually — the Craven, on Easter Monday, 

 and the Houghton on the 3rd of October, being the most famous. There are 

 numerous stables belonffinjr to trainers in the outskirts of the town, and about 400 

 horses are kept in them during the greater part of the year. 



Norfolk, the country of the " North Folk," is occupied for the greater part by 

 the East Anglian heights, and most of its rivers wend their way eastward to the 

 "Ware, and, having been gathered in Broydon AVater, are discharged into the 

 German Ocean at Great Yarmouth. The western portion of the county, however, 

 forms part of the district of the Fens, and is drained by the sluggish Ouse. 



Noncich, the capital, is seated on the river Wensum, the chief feeder of the 

 Tare, and is one of the most interesting cities of England. The Norman keep of 



Fig. 107. — Norwich Cathedral. 



the castle, towering over a lofty mound, forms the most conspicuous feature of the 

 town. It is used now as a gaol. Near it stands the modern shire-hall, and at 

 its foot an extensive cattle market. The cathedral, in the main a Norman edifice, 

 the first stone of which was laid in 1096, stands on the low ground near the river, 

 which is here spanned by a venerable bridge constructed in 1395. In addition, 

 there are numerous churches dating back to the fourteenth century, and to a 

 stranger not deterred by the intricacy of its streets, Norwich presents many 

 other buildings full of interest. Foremost amongst these are the Guildhall in the 

 market-place, St. Andrew's Hall in an old monastery, the Bishop's palace within 



