734 
W O R 
W OR 
hamlet in Gloucestershire, adjacent to the city of Gloucester. 
—4. A parish in Kent; 8| miles south-east of Canterbury. 
—5. A parish in Lincolnshire; 5 miles south-east of Barton- 
upon-Humber.—6. A parish in Northamptonshire; 2i miles 
south-bv-east of Northampton. Population 455.—7. A pa¬ 
rish in Oxfordshire; 2 miles north-by-west of Woodstock. 
Population 888.—8. A parish in Southamptonshire; 4 miles 
north-east of Newport.—9. A township in Staffordshire; 8 
miles north-by-east of Uttoxeter.—10. A parish in Surrey; 
3 miles west-by-south of Dorking. Population 488. 
WOOTTON-BASSET, an ancient borough and market- 
town of England, in the county of Wilts, consists chiefly of 
one street, about half a mile in length. Two representatives 
have been regularly deputed from this town to serve in par¬ 
liament, since the 25th year of the reign of Henry VI. They 
are elected by the inhabitant householders, legally settled 
there, and paying scot and lot. The corporation is com¬ 
posed of a mayor, two aldermen, and 12 burgesses. The 
market-day is Tuesday, weekly; and there are six annual 
fairs. In the centre of the town is a market-house and 
shambles; and near this stands the town-hall, in which a 
machine, called a “ cucking, or ducking stool,” formerly 
used for the punishment of female scolds, was preserved. 
In this parish are two free schools, and a Sunday school. 
The former were founded and endowed by the earl of Cla¬ 
rendon, one of them for 12 boys, and the other for 12 girls. 
This town is 89 miles west from London. About 3 miles 
north-east of the town is Lediard-Tregose, the seat of lord 
viscount Bolingbroke. The house contains some curious 
pictures; and in the adjoining church are several fine mo¬ 
numents to different branches of the St. John family. 
WOOTTON, Courtney, a parish of England, in So¬ 
mersetshire; 4 miles from Minehead. Population 372. 
WOOTTON-UNDER-EDGE, a borough and market- 
town of England, in the county of Gloucester, is seated at 
the foot of a ridge of woody hills, from which situation its 
name has undoubtedly been derived. The old town was 
burnt down in the reign of king John, and a place called 
the Brands is supposed to mark its original site. The town 
is well built, and has a handsome church, the tower of 
which is adorned with battlements and pinnacles: in it are 
several handsome monuments of the Berkley family. Here 
is a free school, founded in 1385, by lady Catherine Berk¬ 
ley. It has also alms-houses for six poor men, and as many 
women. In the town and neighbourhood are several cloth¬ 
ing manufactories, one of which often employs at least 200 
persons. The government of the town is vested in a mayor, 
who is chosen annually at the court leet of the earl of Berk¬ 
ley, and 12 aldermen. Market on Friday, and a fair on 
the 25th September. Population 1527 persons, occupying 
217 houses; 19 miles south-south-west of Gloucester, and 
108 west-by-north of London. 
WOOTTON FITZPAINE, a parish of England, in Dor¬ 
setshire; 4 miles from Lyme. Population 328. 
WOOTTON GLANVILLE, a parish of England, in 
Dorsetshire ; 7| miles south-south-east of Sherborne. 
WOOTTON ST. LAWRENCE, a parish of England, 
in Southamptonshire; 3 miles west-by-north of Basingstoke. 
Population 511. 
WOOTTON, North, three parishes of England, one in 
Dorsetshire, one in Norfolk, and one in Somersetshire. 
WOOTTON RIVERS, a parish of England, in Wilt¬ 
shire ; 3 miles north-east of Pewsey. 
WOOTTON, South, a parish of England, in Norfolk; 
2 miles south of Castle Rising. 
WOOTTON UNDERWOOD, a parish of England, in 
Berkshire; 8 miles from Aylesbury. 
WOOTTON, Wawen or Waven, a parish of England, 
in Warwickshire. Population 572. 
WORB, a large village in the west of Switzerland; 6 miles 
east-by south of Bern. 
WORBIS, or Stadt Wordis, a town of Prussian Sax¬ 
ony, in the Lower Eichsfeld, on the Wipper. Population 
1400. 
WORCESTER, an inland county of England, very near 
the centre of the kingdom, with Herefordshire separating it 
from Wales on the south-west; Shropshire lyin£ to the 
north-west; Staffordshire bounding it on the north; War¬ 
wickshirestretching to the east; and Gloucestershire on the 
south. In longitude it extends from 1. 30. to 2. 30. W.; 
and its latitude is from 52. to 52. 30. N. It is altogethef of 
a very irregular shape, having on every side detached parts 
surrounded by other counties, and in some instances, parts 
of other counties completely insulated within it: and though 
its circumference, not allowing for irregularities, cannot be 
estimated at more than 124 miles, yet, if the boundary line 
was to be precisely measured, it would be nearly twice that 
computation. The estimates of its superficial contents- by 
the different topographical writers, vary extremely. Its me¬ 
dium length is stated by some to be 36 miles, and its breadth 
34 miles. From this it is computed that the body of the 
county contains 936 square miles, equal to 599,040 acres; 
whilst the detached parts being estimated at 19,200, the 
whole is stated to amount to 618,240 acres. According to 
other estimates, again, the mean length is said to be 30, 
and the breadth 25 miles, giving a superficies of 480,000 
acres; but the official estimate laid before parliament re¬ 
duces its contents to 431,360 acres. Without deciding be¬ 
tween these different accounts, it may be stated that, at the 
present day, it contaius one city, 11 market towns, perhaps 
300 villages and hamlets (some accounts say 500), and 152 
parishes, including one bishopric and three boroughs: the 
whole being divided into five hundreds, viz. Oswaldeslowe, 
Halfshire, Blakenhurst, Pershore, and Doddingtree. Its 
towns, besides the city of Worcester, are, Evesham, Droit- 
wieb, and Bewdley, which return members to parliament; 
and the market towns of Upton, Tenbury, Kidderminster, 
Dudley, Stourbridge, Bromsgrove, Pershore, and Shipston- 
upon-Stour. 
The general aspect of the country is rich and beautiful. 
When viewed from any of the numerous eminences in the 
surrounding counties, it rather approaches to a plain, the 
gentle slopes and risings to the east and west of Worcester, 
remaining scarcely any longer discernible. 
The-air is generally pure and mild, though in some parts, 
as on the north-west range of the Broadway hills, there is a 
degree of wild bleakness that reminds the traveller very much 
of the mountainous tracts of Derbyshire. Bredon hill, and 
others in its vicinity, are also of considerable height, and 
are seen at a great distance. These are estimated to be 800 
or 900 feet above the level of the Avon, and are rather of a 
cold temperature. Amongst the inclement parts of the 
county, comparatively speaking, we ought also perhaps to 
include the Lickey, which rises to the north-east of Broms¬ 
grove, in a ridge of high hills, and runs towards Hagley, 
to the north, diverging also to the east; some of its peaks 
having an elevation of 800 or 900 feet above the general 
level. This district, however, is by no means so bleak as 
the Broadway hills, though farther to the northward. The 
Malvern hills, though nothing more than sheep-walks, have 
yet a most salubrious climate; and the north-western parts 
of the county, particularly about Abberley, though of equal' 
elevation to any other district, seem to have a much warmer 
aspect than either the Lickey or Broadway hills, which may 
perhaps, in a great degree, be owing to the shelter of the 
woods and other plantations which are so frequent there. 
In the middle, south, and western parts of the county, the 
climate is described as remarkably mild, soft, and salubrious. 
The vale of Severn, but little elevated above the level of the 
sea, and the valleys of the Avon and Teme, nearly upon 
the same level with the adjoining uplands, seldom rising 
above 100, or at most 150 feet above their level, have at 
this low elevation a warmth and softness which ripens the 
grain, and brings to perfection the produce of the earth, 
from a fortnight to a month earlier than in more elevated 
countries. 
The soil is various, consisting chiefly of rich loamy sand, 
in those districts immediately north of Worcester, mixed 
with a small proportion of gravel: this, however, relates 
principally to the central part of the county; for there is 
some 
