Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/394

Rh 370 A R W A K works of his brother-in-law, George Morland, and his mezzotints after Andrew Geddes, which include the full- lengths of Sir David Wilkie and of Patrick Brydone, are of great merit. His engravings are full of artistic spirit, and show fine feeling for colour; and they are excellently tender and expressive in their rendering of flesh. He died suddenly at Mornington Place, on December 1, 1826. WARDHA, or WURDA, a British district in the chief commissionership of the Central Provinces of India, with an area of 2401 square miles. It lies between 20 18 and 21 21 K lat. and 78 4 30&quot; and 79 15 E. long., and forms a triangle with its apex towards the north-west, the base resting on Chanda district ; on the east it is bounded by Nagpur, and on the west the Wardha river separates it from Berar. WardhA is hilly in the north, and intersected by spurs from the Satpura range. The central portion includes the three peaks of Malegaon (1726 feet), Nandgaon (1874 feet), and Jaitgarh (2086 feet). From this cluster of hills numerous small streams lead to the Wardhd river on the one side, while on the other the Dham, Bor, and AsodA ndld flow down the length of the district in a south-easterly direction. The Wardha, and its affluent the Wana, are the only rivers of any import ance. To the south the country spreads out in an undulating plain, intersected by watercourses, and broken here and there by isolated hills rising abruptly from the surface. In general the lowlands are well wooded. Leopards, hyaenas, wolves, jackals, and wild hogs abound in the district ; other animals found are the spotted deer, nilgai, wild goat, and antelopes. Among birds are the bustard, partridge, quail, and rock pigeon. There are numerous roads and 65 miles of railway. The district is subject to great variations of climate, and the rainfall at Wardha town averages nearly 40 inches. The census of 1881 disclosed a population of 387,221 (males 195,564, females 191,657), Hindus numbering 328,523, Moham medans 14,200, Christians 96, and aboriginals 41,933. The dis trict contains five towns with a population exceeding 5000. Wardha (5816), the chief town, has wide and regular streets, having been built in 1866. Of the total area 1500 square miles are cultivated; while of the portion lying waste 380 square miles are returned as cultivable. The chief crops are cotton, wheat, other food-grains, and oil-seeds. The only manufacture of any importance is cotton cloth, the greater part of which is exported to Berar and to the districts farther west. Cotton thread, blankets, gunny, and rope are also made, and since the completion of the railway a considerable trade has also sprung up in butter, which finds a ready sale in the Bombay market. But by far the most important article exported is the raw cotton known as &quot;Hingan- ghats,&quot; from the cotton mart of that name. The principal imports are salt, English piece goods, hardware, and spices. In 1886-87 the gross revenue of the district amounted to 99,955, of which the land yielded 51,494. The history of Wardha forms part of that of Nagpur district, from which it was separated in 1862 for administrative purposes. WARE, an ancient market-town of Herts, England, is situated in a valley en the north side of the river Lea, and on a branch of the Great Eastern Railway, 2 miles east-north-east of Hertford, and 22| north of London by rail. The principal street is the spacious High Street, running east and west by the river. The houses are chiefly modern, but there are a few of the old timber frame-houses. The Lea, by means of which there is good water communication, is crossed by an iron bridge erected in 1845. The New Pdver Head is half a mile distant. The parish church of St Mary is a large and handsome cruciform building of flint and stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel (built, it is supposed, by Lady Margaret Beaufort, countess of Richmond, and mother of Henry VII.), lady chapel to the south (about 1380), nave of five bays of the time of Richard II., transepts, aisles, south porch, and embattled tower of the time of Edward III. There is an elaborate font of the time of Henry IV., and a few old brasses and monuments. The church has undergone restoration in 1848, 1881, and 1885-86. The modern mansion of the Priory, to the west of the town, occupies the site of a priory of the order of St Francis, founded by Margaret, countess of Leicester, sister of Henry III., who was then lady of the manor of Ware. A con siderable portion of the original building is incorporated in the modern one. Among the modern public buildings are the corn exchange and the town-hall, which includes a literary institute and library. There is a recreation ground 6 acres in extent, and a cemetery of 4 acres. The famous &quot; great bed of Ware &quot; referred to in Shakespeare s Twelfth Night, which formerly was at the Saracen s Head, has been removed to Rye House, 2 miles distant. The town possesses breweries and brick-fields, and there is a large trade-in malt. The population of the urban sanitary district (area about 641 acres) in 1871 was 4917, and in 1881 it was 5277. Roman remains have been discovered at various times in the neighbourhood of Ware, and the Ermine Street crossed the Lea. valley just a little above it. At the time of the Domesday survey the town had 130 inhabitants, and belonged to Hugh do Grentemaisnil. In the reign of John it came into the possession of Saier do Quincy, earl of Winchester, who, by forcing the thoroughfare of the bridge by breaking the chain, and thus freeing the bridge of toll, greatly increased the trade of the town. The tolls were, however, again imposed. They were granted by Charles I. to William, earl of Salisbury, and they are still collected from non-resident traders. Robert de Quincy in 1254 received for the town the grant of a market and fair from Henry III. In the 15th century it came into the possession of the earl of Warwick, the king-maker. On the death of Richard, duke of Gloucester, it was settled by Henry VII. on his mother, the countess of Richmond. It was then granted to Margaret Plantageiiet, countess of Salisbury, on whose execution in 1541 it reverted to the crown. Queen Mary on her accession restored it to Catherine, countess of Huntingdon, granddaughter of the countess of Salisbury, who about 1570 sold it to Thomas Fanshawe, remembrancer in the exchequer. About 1700 the manor was sold to Sir Thomas Byde, a London brewer, in whose family it remained till 1846. Ware is the &quot;town of fame&quot; alluded to by Cowper in his &quot;John Gilpin.&quot; William Godwin was for some time minister of the Independent chapel there. William of Ware was the teacher of Duns Scotus. WARMINSTER, an ancient market-town of Wiltshire, England, is situated on elevated ground, at the western extremity of Salisbury Plain, near the Somerset border, on the river Wily, and on a branch of the Great Western Railway, 17 miles south-west of Devizes, 21 north-west of Salisbury, and 105 south-south-west of London by rail. It consists chiefly of one street about a mile in length. The parish church of St Denys is an ancient stone struc ture of various styles, the south porch and tower being of the time of Edward III., the chancel Perpendicular, and the nave of the 18th century. It is now (1888) under going complete restoration at a cost of 9000, the nave being in process of entire reconstruction. The town-hall was erected by the marquis of Bath in 1830. Among the benevolent institutions are the free school, established in 1707 by the first Viscount Weymouth, the missionary college of St Boniface (1860), the community of St Denys home (1866) for training young women to assist in mis sionary work, the Wilts reformatory for boys (1856), the cottage hospital (1866), the almshouses for four aged women (1873), and an orphanage. The town possesses a large silk mill, engineering and agricultural implement works, and malt- works. There is a considerable agricultural trade. The population of the urban sanitary district (area 6370 acres) in 1871 was 5786, and in 1881 it was 5640. Warminster is probably of ancient British origin, and the neighbourhood is remarkable for the number of its barrows. The old Roman road from Old Sarum to Bath skirted W arminster to the north. Camden supposes it to have been the Roman Vcrlucio, and, although this conjecture is probably wrong, there can be no doubt that it was a Roman station of importance. . The barrows within the entrenchments at Battlesbury camp, a little to the east, indicate an earlier than Roman occupation, but the entrenchments were probably themselves the work of the Romans. A great variety