916 B E R 
verfally known to require any recommendation. His lad 
publication is intitled, Firft Lines of the Theory and 
Praflice of Philofophical Chenriftry. Thefe, we believe, 
except a learned.preface to the tranflation of Dr. Pomme’s 
Treatife on Hyfteric Difeafes, are all Dr. Beikenhout’s 
writings in the line of his profeftion : but he is not lefs 
known as the author of other valuable works, particularly 
the Biographia Literaria, publifhed by Dodfley. Me died 
April 3, 1791, aged lixty. 
BERK'H AMPSTE A D, a market-town in Hertford- 
fltire, nine miles from St. Alban’s, and twenty-fix from 
London. It was anciently a Roman ftation, and Roman 
coins have often been dug up here. It was called Dujo- 
brivie by the Romans; and here are the ruins of an old 
caftle which was very large and (Irong, on the north fide 
of the town, v> here the kings of Mercia redded. The caf¬ 
tle was encompalfed by a moat that covers above four 
acres. The keep is on the north dde of the moat, and 
the remains of the bridge are ftill viiible. The caftle was 
rebuilt by Moreton earl of Cornwall, brother to William I. 
but razed for rebellion in his foil’s time, and Co, with the 
manor, fell to the crown. The caftle was again rebuilt 
in the reign of king John ; for the dauphin of France, in 
conjunftion with the barons, befieged it, and the garrifon 
furrendered not till they had the king’s orders for it. When 
the caftle was demolifhed, a large houfe was built out of 
its ruins, which is beautifully fituated. What now re¬ 
mains of it is but the third part, for the other two-thirds 
were deftroyed by fire, in the reign of Charles I. In the 
time of the rebellion, colonel Axtel, a parliamentary of¬ 
ficer, held it. 'At this place William the Conqueror (wore 
to the nobility to preferve the laws made by his prede- 
ce (Tors'. Henry II. kept his.court here, and granted it all 
the laws and liberties it had enjoyed under Edward the 
Confeftbr, particularly that no market Ihoultl be within 
feven miles of it ; that the inhabitants (liquid not be oblig¬ 
ed to attend any aflizes or fellions; and that their merchan¬ 
dize fltould pals free of toll or cuftorn through England, 
Normandy, Acjuitain, and Anjou. King James I. to 
whole children this place was a nurfery, made it a corpo¬ 
ration, by the name of bailiffs and burgcffes of Berkhampjlcad 
St. Peter, the burgeffes to be twelve, to choofe a recorder 
and town-clerk, &c. but the corporation was fo impove- 
riftted by the civil wars in the next reign, that the govern¬ 
ment dropped, and has not been (ince renewed. Its mar¬ 
ket, which is on Monday; is much decayed, though the 
town is pretty large. The church of St. Peter is a hand- 
fotne Gothic limiture, and has many chapels and oratories'. 
Mere is an alms-houfe for fix poor widows, and 50I. a- 
year for their maintenance-. Betides the charity-fchool, 
here is a free grammar-fchool, founded by dean lucent, 
.of St. Paul’s, and endowed with lands by Edward VI. to 
teach 144 boys. It has an alms-houfe endowed by Mr. 
John Saver and his wife with 1300I. The chief trade is 
bowl-turning, (hovel and fpoon making, with a pretty 
'large quantity of fraufe-la'ce made by women. Fairs on 
Shrove-Monday, Whit-Monday, and St. James’s-day ; 
and a ftatute fair the day after Old Michaemas-day, for 
hiring of fe.rvants. 
BER'KI, a town of Afiatic Turkey, in the province of 
Natolia : thirty-fix miles eaft of Smyrna. 
BERKELEY, a county of Virginia, in the Unifcd States 
of North Ameria, which furnilhed xioo men to the militia 
before the year 1780. 
Berkley, a town of the United States of America, 
in MalTV.cufets : twenty-four miles north of Bofton. 
BERKELEY SOUND, 'a,bay of the North Pacific Ocean, 
on the weft coaft of North America : leventy miles fouth- 
taft of Noorka Sound. 
BERK'-SHJRF., [of berrcc, a wood, and feire , Sax. a 
ftvire.] An inland comity of England, bounded on the 
north, bv the counties of Oxford and Buckingham, from 
both which it is divided by the river Thames, on the eaft 
by Surry, on the fimth by Hamplhire, and on the weft by 
Wthfhire. The (Itape is very irregular, efpeeially towards 
B E R 
the north, yielding every where to the winding of the 
Thames, which from Oxford to Reading takes a courfe 
about fouth-fouth-eaft, making the county at the latter 
town very narrow. After the Thames has palled by Read¬ 
ing it trends northerly, but ftill the eaflern part of the 
county is much narrower than the weftern. From eaft to 
weft its length is about fifty miles; from north tofouth, 
in its wideft parr, twenty-five, in its narrowed, little more 
than five. The number of fquare miles is computed to 
be 6S2, and the number of acres 438,977. It is divided 
into twenty hundreds, in which are twelve market-towns, 
and about 200 villages, and the number of inhabitants 
115,000. This county contained the whole of that Britifh 
principality inhabited by the Atrebatii, who are fuppofed 
to have been originally from Gaul. When Conftantine 
divided the if]and into Roman provinces in 310, this prin¬ 
cipality was included in Britannia Prima, the firft divifion, 
whole boundaries were the Englifli channel on the fdutli, 
and the Thames and Severn cm the north. On the Ro¬ 
mans quitting the illand, and civil diftentions enabling the 
Saxons to eftablilh the Heptarchy, this part of the country 
was included in- the kingdom of the Weft Saxons, which 
commenced in 519, and continued 1 tiil 828, when it be¬ 
came the only remaining fov’reigjrty, having conquered 
all the others, and they were incorporated by the name of 
England, under Egbert; whole grand foil, Alfred, a na¬ 
tive of Wantage, in 8S9, divided his kingdom into coun¬ 
ties, hundreds, and partlhes, and at that time this divifion 
firft received its appellation of Berkjliirc or Bcroc/hire. It 
is in the Oxford circuit, the province of Canterbury, and 
dtocele of Salifbury. Near Lambourne, is the rude figure 
ot an Itorfe, which takes np near an acre of ground on the 
fide of a green hill, faid to have been made by Alfred in 
Hie reign of his brother Ethelred, as a monument to per¬ 
petuate a victory over the Danes in 871, at Alhdown, 
now A fit bury Park. 
The Roman Warling-ftreet, from Dunftable, enters 
Berklhire at the village of Streatly, between Wallingford 
and Reading, and crofting this county proceeds to Marl¬ 
borough. Another Roman road from Hampftiire enters 
this county, leads to Reading and New bury, the Spinas of 
Cambden, where it divides: one branch extends to Marl¬ 
borough in Wilts, and the other to Cirencefter in Glou- 
ceflei (hire. A branch from the Icknield-ftreet proceeds 
from Wallingford to Wantage. There is a Roman camp 
near Wantage on the brow of a hill, of a quadrangular 
form ; there are other remains of encampments'at Eaft 
Hampftead, near Oakingham, near White-horfe-hill, near 
Pufey, and upon 1 Si nod ti n-hil 1 , near Wallingford. At 
Lawrence Waltham is a Roman fort, and-neaiq Dench- 
worrh is Cherbtiry caftle, a fortrefs of Canute. Ufnngton 
caftle, near White-horfe-hill, is fuppofed to be Danilh ; 
near it is Dragon-hill, fuppofed to be the burying-place 
of Uter Pendragon, a Brittfii prince. Near White-heffe- 
hill are the remains of-a funeral monument of a Danilh 
chief (lain at Alhdown by Alfred. In this county the fol¬ 
lowing antiquities are worthy tlie notice of travellers : 
Abingdon church and abbey; Aldvvorth caftle, near Eaft 
Ilfley ; By,'ham monaftery ; Dunnington caftle; Lambourne 
church; Reading abbey; Sunning chape!; Wallingford 
church and caftle ; Windier caftle, the molt perfect 'Nor¬ 
man Gothic ftru 61 ure of its kind in Eng’and, Berklhire 
is an earldom belonging fo a branch of.the Howard family, 
tire reprefentative being earl of Suffolk and Berklhire. 
The foil of this county is in general loamy, in feme parts 
mixed with gravel, in others with land. The weftern part 
contains fome land of a rich deep foil, particularly in the 
Vale of White Horfe, equal to the heft parrs of England. 
Of the quantities of land 170,000 acres are fuppofed to be 
contained in inclofed lands, parks, and woods; 220,000 
in common fields and downs; 40,000 in forefts, wades, 
and commons; and 8,977 in roads. The market-towns 
are Abingdon, Furringdon, Hungerford, Ilfley, Lam- 
bourn, Maidenhead, Newbury, Reading, Wallingford, 
Wantage, Windlor, and Wokingham. The principal 
