fpacious bay, with a good harbour, where they build large 
lliips. Lat. 55.6. N. Ion. 9. 14. E. 
ABENSBERG, a finall town of Germany, in the circle 
and duchy of Bavaria, and in the government of Mu¬ 
nich. It is feated on the river Abentz, near the Danube. 
E. Ion. 11. 38. lat. 48. 45. 
ABERAVON, a borough-town of Glamorganftiire, in 
Wales, governed by a portreeve. It had a market, which 
is now difcontinued. The vicarage is difcharged, and is 
worth 45I. clear yearly value. It is feated at the mouth 
of the river Avon, 194 miles weft of London. W. Ion. 
3.21. lat. 51.40. 
ABERBROTHWICK, or Arbroath, one of the 
royal boroughs of Scotland, lituated in the county of 
Angus, about forty miles N. N. E. of Edinburgh; itsW. 
Ion. being 2. 29. andN. lat. 56. 36. It is feated on the 
difcharge of the little river Brothic into the fea, as the 
name imports, Aber in the Britifh implying fuch a litua- 
tion. It is a fmall but flourifliing place, well built, and 
frill increafing.—The glory of this place was the abbey, 
whofe very ruins give fome idea of its former magnifi¬ 
cence. It was founded by William the Lion in 1178, and 
dedicated to our celebrated primate Thomas a Becket. 
ABERCONWAY, or Conway, Caernarvonfliire, 
North Wales; fo called from its fituation at the mouth of 
the river Conway. It is a handfome town, pleafantly fi- 
tuated on the fide of a hill, and has many conveniences 
for trade; notwithftanding which it is the pooreft town in 
the county. It was built by Edward I. and had not only 
walls, but a ftrong caftle which is now in ruins. Here is 
an infcription on the tomb of one Nicholas Hooker, im¬ 
porting that he was the one-and-fortieth child of his fa¬ 
ther, and had twenty-feven children himfelf. It is 235 
miles from London. W. Ion. 3. 47. N. lat. 53. 20. 
ABERCORN, a town of Weft Lothian, near the 
Edinburgh Frith; here began the Roman wall, faid to 
have been built by Severus, which ran weft acrol's the 
country to the Frith of Clyde. 
Abercorn, a fmall town of Georgia, North America, 
thirteen miles north-weft of Savannah. 
ABERDEEN, the name of two cities in Scotland, call¬ 
ed the Old and New Town, lituated on the German ocean, 
in W. Ion. 1. 40. and N. lat. 57. 19.—Aberdeen is a 
place of great antiquity. According to tradition, it was 
of note in the reign of Gregory, who conferred on it fome 
privileges about the year 893. In 1004, Malcolm II. 
founded a bifhopric at a place called Mortlich in BanfF- 
fhire, in memory of a lignal vidtory which he there gained 
over the Danes: which bifhopric was tranflated to Old 
Aberdeen by David I. and in 1163, the then bifliop of 
Aberdeen obtained a new charter from Malcolm IV. 
There is extarlt a charter of Alexander II. by which, in 
1217, the king grants to Aberdeen the fame privileges he 
had granted to his town of Perth. 
The Old Town lies about a mile to the north of the New, 
at the mouth of the river Don, over which is a fine Go¬ 
thic bridge, of a fingle arch, greatly admired, which refts 
at both tides on two rocks. The Old Town was formerly 
the feat of the bifliop, and had a large cathedral com¬ 
monly called St. Macher’s. Two very antique fpires, and 
one aille, which is ufed as a church, are now the only re¬ 
mains of it. The bifhopric was founded in the time of 
David I. as above-mentioned. The cathedral had anci¬ 
ently two rows of ftone pillars acrofs the church, and 
three turrets; the fteeple, which was the largeft of thefe 
turrets, refted upon an arch, fupported by four pillars. 
In this cathedral there was a fine library; but, about the 
year 1560, it wasalmoft totally deftroyed. But the capi¬ 
tal building is the King’s College on the fouth fide of the 
-town, which is a large and ftately fabric. It is built 
round a fquare, with cloifters on the fouth fide. The 
chapel is very ruinous within; but there ftill remains fome 
wood-work of exquifite workmanfhip, which was pre- 
ferved by the fpirit of the principal at the time of the re¬ 
formation, who armed his people and checked the blind 
ABE 
zeal of the barons of the Mearns; who, after ftripping 
the cathedral ol its roof, and robbing it of the bells, 
were going to violate this feat of learning. They Hupped 
their facrilegious booty, with an intention of expofing it to 
fale in Holland: but the vefiel had fcarcely gone out of 
port, when it perifhedin a ftorm with all its ill-gained la.- 
ding. The fteeple is vaulted with a double crofs arch ; 
above which is an imperial crown, fupported by eight 
ftone pillars, and clofed with a globe and two gilded crof- 
fes. In the year 1631 this fteeple was thrown down by a 
ftorm, but was foon after rebuilt in a more ftately form. 
This college was founded in 1494, by William Elphin- 
fton bifliop of this place, lord chancellor of Scotland in 
the reign of James III. and lord privy feal in that of 
James IV. But James V. claimed the patronage of it, 
and it has fince been called the King’s College. This col¬ 
lege, and the Marifchal-college in the New Town, form 
one univerfity, called the Univerfity of King Charles. 
The library is large, but not remarkable for many curio- 
fities. Hedor Boethius was the firft principal of the col¬ 
lege; and fent for from Paris for that purpofe, on an an¬ 
nual falary of forty merks Scots, at thirteen-pence each. 
The fquare tower on the fide of the college was built by 
contributions from General Monk and the officers under 
him then quartered at Aberdeen, for the reception of 
ftudents; of which there are about a hundred belonging to 
the college, who lie in it. 
The New Town is the capital of the Afire of Aber¬ 
deen. For largenefs, trade, and beauty, it greatly ex¬ 
ceeds any town in the north of Scotland. It is built on 
a riling ground, and lies on a fmall bay formed by the 
Dee, deep enough for a fliip of 200 tons, and above two 
miles in circumference. The buildings (which are of 
granite from the neighbouring quarries) are generally 
four ftories high; and have, for the molt part, gardens 
behind them, which gives it a beautiful appearance. In 
the High-ftreet is a large church which formerly belonged 
to the Francifcans. This church was begun by Bifliop 
William Elphinfton; and finiftied by Gavinus Dunbar, 
bifliop of Aberdeen, about the year 1500. Bifliop Dun¬ 
bar is faid likewife to have built the bridge over the Dee, 
which confifts of feven arches. In the middle of Caftle- 
ftreet is an odagon building, with neat bafs-relievos of 
the kings of Scotland from James I. to James VII. The 
town-houfe makes a good figure, and has a handfome fpire 
in the centre. The grammar-fchool is a low, but neat 
building. Gordon’s hofpital is handfome; in front is a 
good ftatue of the founder, and it maintains forty boys, 
who are apprenticed at proper ages. The infirmary is a 
large plain building, and fends out between eight and nine 
hundred cured patients annually. But the chief public 
building in the New Town is the Marifchal-college, 
founded by George Keith earl of Marifchal, in the year 
1593, but fince greatly augmented by additional buildings, 
which has about 140 ftudents belonging to it. In both the 
Marifchal and King’s colleges, the languages, mathema¬ 
tics, natural philofophy, divinity, &c. are taught by very 
able profeffors. The convents in Aberdeen were: One 
of Mathurines, or of the order of the Trinity, founded 
by William the Lion, who died in 1214; another of Do¬ 
minicans, by Alexander II. a third of Obfervantines, a 
building of great length in the middle of the city, found¬ 
ed by the citizens and Mr. Richard Vans, &c. and a 
fourth of Carmelites, or White Friars, founded by Philip 
de Arbuthnot in 13.50.—Aberdeen, including the Old 
Town, is fuppofed to contain 25,000 people. Its trade is 
confiderable, but might be greatly extended by an attention 
to the white fiflieries. 
The harbour was long a great detriment'to its trade, and 
occafioned the lofs of many lives and much property. A 
ftranger could never depend upon finding it as he left it; 
while veffels lay at anchor in the road till the tide ftiould 
make, they have often been wrecked by ftorms which 
fuddenly arofe. It was very narrow at the mouth, having 
the eafterly rocky point of the Grampian mountains on 
