B I R 
city and diligence, that the archbiffiop, by his diploma, 
created him matter of arts in 1639 ; and in the year fol¬ 
lowing he was chofen probationer fellow of All-Soul’s 
College. This obliged him to refide conltantly at Oxford ; 
and on king Charles the Firft’s making that city his head¬ 
quarters during the civil war, he was made choice of to 
Write a journal in defence of the royal caufe, in the exe¬ 
cution of which he gained great reputation. By his 
majelty’s recornmedation, he was chofen reader in moral 
philofopby; which employment he enjoyed till 1648, when 
he was expelled by the parliament vilitors. He retired 
afterwards to London, where he wrote feveral poetical 
pieces ; and, having adhered keadily to his principles, he 
acquired the title of the loyal poet , and buffered feveral 
imprifonments. He publifhed, while he thus lived in ob- 
fcurity, fome very fatirical compofitions, moflly levelled 
againk the republican grandees, and written with great 
poignancy. Upon the rekoration of Charles II. he was 
rewarded for his loyalty. He was created, April 16, 
1661, do&or of the civil law by the univerllty of Oxford ; 
and in that quality, as an eminent civilian, he was con- 
fulted by the convocation on the qttekion, Whether bi- 
fhops ought to be prefent in capital cafes ? He was about 
the fame time elected to ferve in parliament for Wilton in 
the county of Wilts. He was knighted November 14, 
1662 ; and upon Sir Richard Fanfhaw’s going in a public 
charatfer to the court of Madrid, he was appointed to 
fucceed him as maker of Requeks. He lived afterwards 
in credit and ekeem, and received various favours from 
the court, which, however, drew upon him fome very 
fevere attacks from thofe who oppofed the court. Mr. 
Wood has treated him with great feverity ; but his me¬ 
mory has been tranfmitted with honour to pokerity by 
Dryden, Langbaine, and Winkanley. He died in Wek- 
minker December 4, 1679 ; and was interred in St. Mar¬ 
tin’s in the Fields. 
BIR'KESTORFF, a town of Germany, in the circle 
of Wekphalia, and duchy of Juliers : one mile north of 
Duren. 
BIR'KET EL HADSJI, or Lake of the Pilgrims, 
a lake of Egypt which has a communication with the 
Nile, near which the companies which form the caravan 
to Mecca affemble : ten miles eak-north-eaft of Cairo. 
BIR'KET IL KERUN, a like of Egypt, thirty miles 
long, and fix wide in the middle, but narrowing towards 
each end : forty miles fouth-wek of Cairo. 
BIR'KIN, a river of England, which runs into the 
Bollin, one mile fouth of Altringham, in the county of 
Cheker. 
BIRKOZOW'KA, a town of Poland, in the palatinate 
of Kiov : forty miles fouth-eak of Bialacerkiew. 
BIR'LAB, a town of Egypt: feventeen miles eak-north- 
eak of Catieh. 
BIR'LAT, a town of European Turkey, ktuared on a 
river of the fame name, in the province of Moldavia : 
iixty miles north-wek of Galatz, and n6 fouth-wek of 
Bender. 
BIR'LAT, a river of European Turkey, which runs 
into the Siret, at Dubravitza, in Moldavia. 
BIR'MINGHAM, a capital town in Warwickkiire, 
defervedly confidered the firk manufacturing place in Eu¬ 
rope. It is fixty-two miles from Oxford, twenty-three 
from Warwick, twenty-leven from Worceker, eighty-fix 
from Brikol, and one hundred and kxteen from London. 
It is nearly of an oval form, about three miles in length, 
taking in the hamlet of Deritend, and nearly two in 
breadth. It is built on an elevated ktuation, and ap¬ 
proached by a gentle afcent in every direction, except on 
the north-wek, fo as to appear a dignified object at the 
dikance of fome miles. The air is naturally pure ; and, 
notwithkanding the difadvantages which muk refult from 
its clofe population, the noxious effluvia of various me¬ 
tallic trades, and, above all, the continual fmoke arifing 
from the immenfe quantity of coals confumed, it is re¬ 
marked by the mok accurate obferver of the probability of 
B I R 59 
Imman exikence, (Dr. Price,) to be one of the healthiefl 
towns in England. The foundation being a dry reddifh 
fund, the loweh apartments are perfectly free from damp, 
and hence it follows, that agues, and the numerous train 
of dikempers incidental to moifi fituations, are here un¬ 
known : the inkances of longevity are krikingly nume¬ 
rous, and every means for the prefervation of health have 
been adopted in this great town, particularly bathing ; 
one of the mok extenfive and complete fet of baths in the 
kingdom being erected at I.ady Well, Almok every ar- 
tik occupying a feparate houfe, they are fpread oyer a 
greater extent of furface, and confequently free from the 
difadvantages fo remarkable in other great towns, where 
the habitations are larger, and every lloor occupied by 
one or more families : the dwellings, however, of the 
merchants and principal manufacturers, are'equal to thofe 
of the fame rank in any other part of the kingdom ; and 
Birmingham boaks of fome kreets which would even do 
honour to the capital. The place, though now celebrat¬ 
ed for population and extent, appears, by the accurate 
furvey of Sir Henry Spelman, not even to polfefs the cre¬ 
dit of being a market-town, fo late as in 1676. The fol¬ 
lowing comparifon will place in a very kriking light its 
rapid increafe within a century. In 1688, the fum dif- 
burled for the poor was only 308k 17s. qid. From Eaker 
1786 to Eaker 1787, it was 12,429k 9s. n^d. and nearly 
the fame for the preceding feven years. 
Its ancient manufactures were confined to coarfe iron¬ 
ware, nails, bits, and fome lacquered articles; (hortly 
after the revolution, one of its principal manufactures at 
prefent, fire-arms, got a degree of ehablifhment, which 
was exceedingly advanced by obtaining a contraCt for fur 
milling a fupply to government : and at the fame time, 
the prohibition of French commodities, although it could 
not dekroy a predilection for their fafhions, yet ekablifh- 
ing the necekity of deriving from ourfelves the materials 
of decoration, the profulion of buttons, with which drefs- 
clothes were then ornamented, became fupplied by Lon¬ 
don and Birmingham ; but, as the demand increaled, the 
latter obtained the pre-eminence, from her advantages in 
the price of labour, fuel, and the necelfaries of life. Forty 
years ago, there was not a lingle mercantile houfe, which 
correfponded direCUy with any foreign country, but fur- 
nifhed their products for the fupply of thofe markets 
through the medium of merchants in London : now the 
principal orders for foreign fupply come directly to mer¬ 
chants or manufacturers refident in the town. To enter 
into a detail of the feveral productions of this great af- 
femblage of manufactories, would be impoflible ; it will 
be diffident to remark, that whatever can be defired, ei¬ 
ther for utility or ornament, in the various branches of 
hardware, the endlefs variety of buttons, buckles, plated 
articles, toys, trinkets, and jewellery ; alfo fire-arms, and 
the ponderous productions of the caking-furnace, copper- 
works, rolling-mill, and fmelting-work, are abundantly 
fupplied by Birmingham. Here is alfo revived the lok 
art of painting upon glafs, with a glow of colouring equal 
to the brightek of the ancients, and with an execution of 
the pencil wholly unknown to them. Though there is 
now no appearance of that neceffary article, yet Birming¬ 
ham was once a famous market for leather. Large num¬ 
bers of hides arrived weekly for fale, where the whole 
country found a fupply. When the w'eather would allow, 
they were ranged in columns in the high-kreet, and at 
other times depofited in the leather-hall appropriated for 
their reception. This market was of great antiquity, per¬ 
haps not lefs than 700 years, and continued till the begin¬ 
ning of the prefent century. Birmingham at prefent pof- 
feffies not lefs than 60,000 inhabitants ; the amount of the 
houfes, rated and unrated, in the two parifhes of St. Mar¬ 
tin and St. Philip, and the hamlet of Deritend, being 
above 11,000. Yet this great town does not poffefs any 
chartered privileges, and is governed only by a high and 
low bailiff, and two conkables, chofen annually. The 
not poffeffmg chartered privileges may, however, be con- 
iidered 
