240 THE BRITISH ISLES. 



of Oiron, but the secret of which had been lost. Wedgwood and Minton bestowed 

 equal atteution upon form and decoration, and the ware produced by them, with 

 the aid of artists of high repute, far surpasses in taste the articles ordinarily 

 made by English manufacturers. We almost marvel that these smoky towns 

 should have turned out such beautiful majolicas, and porcelain so tastefully 

 decorated. Recently a school of art adapted to ceramic manufacture, and known as 

 the "Wedgwood Institute, has been opened at Burslera, the birthplace of Wedgwood. 

 This building is decorated with terra-cotta, which bears witness to the high state of 

 perfection attained by the local manufacture. The population concentrated around 

 Stoke-upon-Trent already approaches 300,000 souls, and it increases rapidly, for 

 the coal basin of North Staffordshire, despite its small extent, possesses inestimable 

 advantages in its alternation of coal seams and beds of iron ore. The remaining 

 towns of the Pottery District are Ilcoih'i/, half-way between Stoke and Burslem, 

 which is as much dependent upon iron works as upon potteries ; Tunstall, Small- 

 f/iorne, and K'uhfjrore, the latter a mining town, close to the northern boundary of 

 the county. Foifon and Longton (with Dresden), which have potteries and earthen 

 works, lie to the south-east, whilst Neiccastle-under-Lyme, which carries on a great 

 trade in hats and shoes, and near which are the Silverdale Iron Works, lies to the 

 west. 



Leaving the district of the Potteries behind us, we enter the agricultural 

 portion of the county, and soon find ourselves in the midst of fields and woods, 

 and able to breathe a pure atmosphere. The towns are few and far between. 

 Stoke, on the banks of the Trent, is dependent upon its breweries and the manu- 

 facture of boots and shoes. Stafford, the county town, on the Sow, a tributary of 

 the Trent, has several ancient timbered houses, two interesting churches, and a shire- 

 hall. The castle, on a hill, commands a view of the Welsh hills. Izaak Walton, 

 the celebrated English angler, was born here. Rugeley, on the Trent, is noted for 

 its horse fairs. It adjoins Cannock Chase, an upland tract, in which a little coal, 

 remarkably fine in quality, is found. Lichfield lies away from the river on a 

 navigable canal. Tamworth, on the Tame, which flows past Birmingham and pays 

 tribute to the Trent, is the centre of a rich grazing district. Several of the towns 

 named are seats of industry, but in their general aspects and mediaeval buildings they 

 contrast strikingly with the great manufacturing district which lies farther west. 

 Lichfield, an episcopal see, boasts a cathedral which, though small, is exquisitely 

 beautiful. It was built 1128 — 53. St. John's Hospital is a curious specimen of 

 the domestic architecture of the fifteenth century, whilst the grammar school has 

 acquired fame through Addison, Garrick, Bishop Newton, Dr. Johnson, and other 

 celebrated pupils who attended it. Dr. Johnson was born at Lichfield, and a 

 statue has been raised in his memory. 



Below the confluence of the Trent and Tame there rises the important town of 

 Biirto>i-Hpon- Trent, famous throughout the world for its bitter ale, said to owe its 

 peculiar qualities to the carbonate of lime contained in the water used by its 

 brewers. There are six large and about twenty-four small firms at Burton, 

 annually producing between them about a million and a half barrels of beer. 



