Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/839

Rh WILTSHIRE. 827 WILTSHIRE. WILTSHIRE, a south-western inland co. of Eng- land, bounded on the N. and N.W. by Gloucestershire, on the N.E. by Berkshire, on the E. and S.E. by Hamp- shire, on the S. by Dorsetshire, and on the V. and iS.AV. by Somersetshire. It lies between 50 55' and 51" 43' N. hit. and 1 30' and 2 22' W. long. Its shape is nearly quadrangular, rounded at the northern extremity ; its extreme length from N. to S. being 51 miles, and its greatest breadth 37 miles. Its area is about 1,350 square miles, or 865,092 acres. The original populations appear, from the names of the rivers and mountains, to have been Iberians, but they were supplanted at an early period by the Celtic Britons or Welsh, and these in their turn by the Teutonic tribes of the Belgao and Attrebatii, who occupied it at the time of the first Roman invasion. In the Roman divi- sion it was included in the province of Britannia frinia, and under Vespasian was brought into entire subjection, when the stations of Sorbiodunum, Old Sin-inn, Verlucio, near Heddington, and Cunetio, a little to the E. of Maryborough, were founded, and several military roads constructed, the lines of which may yet be traced in several places. The principal Roman road that traversed the county was a continuation of the Julia Strata, which, entering from Bath, proceeded north-eastward, by Medley and Spy Park, to the sta- tion of Verlucio, and thence by Colston, and across the river Kennet, to that of Cunetio, beyond which it stretched across the eastern confines of the county. The Fosse Way branched from the Julia Strata at Bath-Ford, and passed by Banner Down, Easton-Grey, and Malmesbury to Cirencester, in Gloucestershire ; another great road entered from Cirencester, and passed south-eastward, by Crickladc, to Wanborough ; and the Ridgeway is clearly visible on the chalk ridge extending north- eastward from Avebury into Berkshire. In the begin- ning of the 6th century the county was replanted by the West Saxons under Cerdic, who defeated the Britons in numerous engagements, but did not suc- ceed in entirely expelling them from the southern dis- tricts till about 577, when the county was finally incor- porated into the kingdom of Wessex, and received the name of Wiltscire, probably from Wilton, the town on the river Willey, or, perhaps, from the Wilts, a North- Gormfln tribe, who are said to have settled here. In the 9th century it was much devastated by tho Danes, under Guthrum, who defeated Alfred the Great at Wilton in 871, and burnt Chippenham in 878, but were afterwards overthrown at Eddington. In 995 the Danes, nnder Sueno, overran all North Wilts, and continued their devastations till 1016. At the Norman Conquest it came to William D'Ewe, Edward do Saresbury, lialph de Mortimer, Milo Crispin, and others. In tho civil war a battle waa fought in 1643 on Roundway Down, and the castles and towns of Salisbury, Marl- borough, Devizes, Malmesbury, Ludgershall, War- minster, and Wardour were besieged. The popula- tion at the commencement of the present century was 183,820, which in 1851 had increased to 254,221, but in 1861 partially declined to 249,311, of whom 122,592 were males, and 126,719 females, inhabiting 63,126 houses. The geological strata of the county are prin- cipally cretaceous, belonging to the great central chalk district of England, but are traversed nearly through the middle of the county by a narrow belt of green- sand, composing the valo of Pewscy, and which sepa- rates the chalk of the Marlborough downs and Salis- bury Plain on the S. and E. from the oolitic formations which underlie the chalk, except where laid bare in the N. and W., appearing in narrow strips of oolitic free- stone, coral rag, Oxford clay, forest marble, and other strata belonging to the upper, middle, and lower oolite, but those occupy only a small proportion of the surface. In the S.E. corner of the county is a deposit of London, or plastic, clay, belonging to the Hampshire formation. The chalk rises into lofty downs in parts; at Westbury Down 775 feet above the sea, Alfred's Beacon 800 feet, Beacon Hill, near Amesbury, 600 feet, and Walbury Beacon 1,011 feet, being the highest chalk in England. TOL. III. There are quarries oC good building stone, usually called Bath stone, containing fossils at Box, Swindon, Tisbury, and other places ; also limestone at Silbury Hill, sandstone and freestone in tho N., chalk and Hint in the downs. There are mineral springs in the Oxford clay, as at Hey wood, Holt, and Middle Hill Spa, a chaly- beate spring at Chippenham, and a saline and chalybeate spring near Melksham. The drainage belongs to three distinct basins the Thames, which rises on tho Glou- cestershire border, drains the north-eastern part of the county, receiving the waters of the Churn, or true Thames ; the Key, or Kay ; and the Cole ; and beyond the limits of the county those of tho Kennet, which rises near Wroughton and flows 20 miles through Wilt- shire to the Thames at Reading, in Berkshire, receiving the Ogbourn, Aldbourn, and Hungerford brook in its course. Tho Bristol, or Upper Avon, which belongs to the basin of the Severn, drains tho north-western part of the county, receiving the streams of the Tetbury brook, Marden, Devizes river, Mere, and Frome. The Lower, or Salisbury Avon, is a distinct basin, discharg- ing its waters into tho English Channel; this river drains the southern part of tho county, being formed by five head streams the Ebele, Nadder, Wily, Avon, and Bourne ; its whole length in Wiltshire is 41 miles. None of the Wiltshire rivers are of much service for navigation, but they turn numerous mills, and feed the three important lines of canal which traverse the northern division of the county the Thames and Severn, the Kennet and Avon, and Wilts and Berks canals. The only lake of any size is Bradon Pond. The county is separated into two divisions, N. and S., by the vale of Pewsey, and an irregular line marked throughout by downs. The northern part consists principally of a fertile level tract, except towards the northern boun- dary, where the land begins to rise in the direction of the Cotswold hills, and towards the centre, where it is broken by a ridge of downs. The southern portion is more varied, being broken by downs, some of which aro of considerable altitude, and intersected by some fertile and well-watered valleys, especially along the rivers Avon, Willey, and Nadder. In this division is the plat- form range of downs, known as Salisbury Plain, for the most part unenclosed and bleak, but well adapted for sheep-walks. The number of sheep kept in this part of the county averages between six and seven hundred thousand, yielding about 8,500 packs of wool. Around Orchester aro extensive water meadows, and near the Dorchester border are dairy farms, where much butter is made. This county is chiefly celebrated for its bacon and cheese, the latter being usually sold as single and double Gloucester, though made in Wilts. The manufactures of Wilts aro of considerable extent and importance, especially those of woollen goods and broad- cloth, which have long been established in tho county. Bradford is the seat of the cloth trade, though there are several mills at Westbury, Chippenham, Trow- bridge, and Melksham, at which last there are also looms for hair-cloth and sacking, and at Chippenham and Devizes Bilk-throwing mills ; at Salisbury are fac- tories producing excellent cutlery and hardware goods ; at Malmesbury lace is made ; at Swindon gloves and railway carriages ; and in the vicinity of Wilton carpets. In all the large towns malting and brewing arc extensively carried on, especially of strong ale for the London market, where it is sold under tho names of Wiltshire and Kennet ale. Communication is main- tained with all parts of the kingdom by means of the canals above mentioned, and the railway system of the Great Western, the main line of which enters tho county from London a little S. of Highworth, and passes by Swindon, Wootton Bassett, Chippenham, Corsham, and Box to Bath, a distance of 62 miles, and so to Bristol and Exeter. Prom tho main line several branches diverge : one from Swindon runs by Purton and Cirencester to Cheltenham, Gloucester, and Bir- mingham, thus communicating with tho N. and E. parts of the kingdom ; another, called the Wilts, Somerset, and Weymouth, goes by Melksham, Brad- 5 o