GLOUCESTER, a city and port and county (of itself), locally in the hundred of Dudstone-and-Kings-Barton, county of GLOUCESTER, 34 miles (N.N.E.) from Bristol, and 107 (W.N.W.) from London, on the road to South Wales, containing 9744 inhabitants. This was a town of considerable importance prior to the Roman invasion: its origin is generally ascribed to the Dobuni, a tribe of Britons who settled in this part of the country; and, either from its founder, Glowi, a native chief, or, with greater probability, from its eminence, obtained the appellation of Caer Glou, British words implying, according to the former supposition, the city of Glowi, or according to the latter, the fair city. Richard of Cirencester relates that this British fortress was taken in the year 47 by the Romans, who established here a colony, which he styles Glebon; and in the Itinerary of Antoninus, as well as other ancient writings, it is denominated Glevum Colonia.

Its situation on the Ryknield Street, which was both a British and a Roman road here passing over the Severn, rendered it a station of importance. The exact site of the Roman station is supposed to have been a tract of land, now in tillage, to the north-east of the present city, called King's Holme, near which was a palace belonging to the Anglo-Saxon kings of Mercia, in old deeds named Regia Domus; on this spot have been found Roman coins, urns, and sacrificing utensils.

Tradition relates that Lucius, the first Christian king of Britain, founded a bishop's see at Gloucester, in the second century, and that he was buried in the church of St. Mary de Lode, in this city. After the departure of the Romans, this place is said to have been governed by Eldol, a British chief, who was present at the massacre of the Britons by the Saxons at Stonehenge; and who, according to some writers, escaped from the carnage, and afterwards killed Hengist, the Saxon leader, at the battle of Maeshill, in Yorkshire, in 489. Gloucester having been captured by the Saxons in 577, was by them called Gleau-ceasters, from which its present name is derived; it first belonged to the kingdom of Wessex, and was afterwards annexed to that of Mercia. About 679, the city was considerably enlarged by Wulfhere, King of Mercia, who founded here a priory dedicated to St. Oswald, and afterwards erected the abbey.

Edgar, in a charter to the monks of Worcester, dated at Gloucester, in 964, styles this a "royal city". It was repeatedly plundered by the Danes; by whom, in the reign of Ethelred II., it was taken, and nearly destroyed by fire. The injury it suffered was, however, soon repaired; and Edmund Ironside having here taken up his quarters, after his defeat by Canute at Assandune, challenged that prince to decide their mutual claim to the kingdom by single combat, which took place in the Isle of Alney, on the south-western side of the city. Edward the Confessor often resided here in regal splendour, as also did William I. (who erected the castle on the bank of the Severn), William II., and others of his successors.

According to Camden, a mint was established here in the reign of John, on whose death, in 1216, his son, Henry III., was crowned in the abbey church, by the Bishop, of Winchester, in the presence of the pope's legate. This king, in 1263, having appointed Sir Maci de Besile, a Frenchman, sheriff for Gloucestershire, and constable of Gloucester castle, the citizens, and the nobility of the county, taking umbrage at the promotion of a foreigner, chose for their governor Sir William de Tracy, who, proceeding to hold a county court, was arrested by de Besile, and imprisoned in the castle.

The discontented nobles then besieged and captured that fortress, which they held for some time; but at length surrendered it to Prince Edward, afterwards Edward I., who in 1279 held a parliament here, in which various laws were enacted, called "the Statutes of Gloucester". Another parliament was held at this place by Richard II. in 1378; others by Henry IV. in 1403 and 1407; and finally a parliament was summoned here by Henry V., in 1420, which, at the expiration of fourteen days, was adjourned to Westminster. When hostilities took place between Charles I. and the parliament, the citizens declared in favour of the latter; and having procured cannon, and repaired and strengthened their fortifications, with the assistance of a few regular troops under the government of Colonel Massie, they resolved to defend themselves against all opposition.

In the middle of February, 1642, Lord Herbert, son of the Marquis of Worcester, besieged the city at the head of two thousand Welch royalists; and after remaining before it five weeks, surrendered himself and his followers, on the approach of an army under Sir William Waller to relieve the place. The governor took advantage of the opportunity afforded by this triumph of his party, to obtain fresh supplies of ammunition and provisions, and to prepare for another assault. On the 10th of August, 1643, the king, with a large and well appointed body of forces, laid siege to Gloucester; but his reiterated attacks were repulsed by the garrison with the utmost vigour and resolution; and after a siege of twenty-six days, and the loss of one thousand men, be was induced to retreat on the advance of the Earl of Essex, who had marched from London to relieve the city.

Previously to this siege, there were eleven parish churches in Gloucester, six of which were destroyed, together with the suburbs of the city, by order of the governor, to obstruct the approach of the enemy. The conduct of the citizens on this occasion was not forgotten at the restoration of Charles II., by whose order their walls were razed, and their fortifications destroyed, in 1662; that monarch also deprived them of their charter, but subsequently granted them a new one. In 1687, James II. visited Gloucester, in one of his progresses through the kingdom, and lodged at the deanery, where many resorted to him to be touched for the king's evil. George III., the queen, and the princesses, visited Gloucester on their route from Cheltenham in 1788, and in 1807 his late Majesty, George IV., then Prince of Wales, dined with the corporation, and received the freedom of the city.

Gloucester is pleasantly situated in a fertile vale, on the eastern bank of the river Severn, and consists principally of four spacious streets diverging at right angles from the centre of the town towards the cardinal points, and originally, terminated by the East, North, South, and West gates, from which they respectively took their names. At the point of intersection was an elegant cross, surrounded by four churches, of which only one is now remaining. The West gate, on the western bank of the river, was standing till the recent erection of the new bridge, many years previously to which the other gates had been removed. This bridge is a handsome structure of stone, consisting of one arch eighty-seven feet in the span, with a plain parapet and cornice; the approaches on both sides are defended by iron palisades;. from it a causeway, half a mile in length, extends across the Isle of Alney to Over, where is a noble bridge of one arch, in the construction of which the segments of a circle and an ellipsis have been combined.

The streets are well paved, and lighted with gas, by a company incorporated in 1820: the houses are in general handsome and well built, and the inhabitants are amply supplied with water from the Severn, and with spring water from a reservoir at the distance of two miles and a half from the city, conveyed into their houses by pipes. The approaches are ornamented with ranges of modern substantial houses, and the entrance from Cheltenham displays many mansions in detached situations, suited for the residence of families of opulence and distinction. A horticultural society, and a permanent subscription library, have been established, and a society for the cultivation of natural history was formed in 1829.

Triennial musical festivals of the united, choirs of Gloucester, Worcester, and Hereford, are celebrated here, at which oratorios and selections of sacred music are performed in the cathedral, and miscellaneous concerts and balls are held in the spacious room at the shire-hall. The receipts arising from these performances, which embody the principal musical talent in the kingdom, are, after deducting the expenses, appropriated to the benefit of the widows and orphans of the necessitous clergy of the diocese.

The theatre, a neat and conveniently arranged edifice in Westgate-street, is occasionally opened for dramatic performances; and races take place annually in a meadow on the bank of the Severn. The environs abound with pleasant walks, and the salubrity of the air, and agreeableness of its situation, render Gloucester desirable as a place of residence. To the east of the city a, new mineral spring was discovered in 1814, round which an extensive tract of land has been tastefully laid out in pleasure grounds, affording pleasant promenades and drives; and an elegant pump-room has been erected, with other buildings, for the accommodation of visitors: near it have been built some handsome villas, and, in 1823 a church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity [Ed: this would be Christ Church - was it rededicated?], was erected, in the Grecian style of architecture, from a design by Mr. Rickman; the whole forming an elegant appendage to the city, under the designation of Gloucester Spa. The mineral water is a saline, chalybeate, resembling that of Cheltenham; and, when fresh drawn, is transparent and sparkling; it emits a sulphureous odour, and has a brackish taste. It exudes through a thick stratum of blueish clay, which is diffused, at a certain depth, over a great part of the vale.

In this clay are found large quantities of marine exuviae, sulphuret of iron, and various saline compounds, which being in some degree soluble in the water percolating through the mass, communicate its peculiar properties. The principal salts contained in this water, of which. there are several varieties, are sulphate and muriate of soda, and sulphate of magnesia: it is also impregnated with iron, held in solution by excess of carbonic acid; and from its resemblance to the Cheltenham waters it may in general be used in similar cases.

As an inland port, Gloucester had attained some eminence at an early period. The quay is mentioned as existing in the reign of Edward IV., and in the 22nd of Elizabeth the customs were granted by letters patent. In the following year the custom-house was erected, and also a wharf, or quay, for unloading vessels, called the King's, quay. The rising prosperity of the port excited the jealousy of the inhabitants of Bristol, who addressed to the privy council an unavailing complaint against the establishment of the custom-house. The jurisdiction of the port, as fixed by a decree of the lords of the treasury, in 1820, extends from Chapel rock, or St. Teclas point, at Beachley, on the north, side of the Severn, below Gloucester, across the river to Aust Pill, including, on the south side, both banks, up to the West-gate bridge, in the city of Gloucester; but, according to practice, the limits of the port, are from the source of the Severn, in Montgomeryshire, to Chapel rock, at Beachley.

The number of vessels belonging to the port, in 1828, was two hundred and thirty, averaging fifty-four tons burden. It carries on an extensive coasting trade, which is greatly facilitated by the advantages afforded by the river Severn, for keeping up a communication with Bristol and the coasts of Somersetshire, Devonshire, and South Wales, and a very considerable inland trade with Worcestershire, and other counties to the north. Many vessels are employed on this river in the coal trade, upwards of one hundred thousand tons of coal being annually shipped from the Shropshire and Staffordshire collieries, for distribution through the adjacent counties. Great quantities of lead, pig iron, grain, wool, hops, and other commodities, are also conveyed from the inland counties to Gloucester, Bristol, and other places, whence, various kinds of goods are transmitted in return.

The benefit of water-carriage has been further extended to this city by the Gloucester and Berkeley canal, which was commenced in 1793, and opened April 26th, 1827, at an expense of half a million of money, though the estimated expense was only £140,000: it extends sixteen miles and a quarter to its termination at Sharpness-point; is from seventy to ninety feet wide, and eighteen deep; and runs on a level, without any lock throughout its entire length. At each end is a capacious basin for the reception of shipping; and at Gloucester a second basin, with convenient wharfs for barges and small vessels drawing less than ten feet of water. By means of this canal, a more safe, speedy, and convenient passage is afforded for ships than by sailing up the Severn. Some opinion may be formed of the advantages it affords from the fact that, during the first two years after it was finished, seven thousand seven hundred and forty-one vessels traversed the line, the aggregate burden of which was three hundred and eighty-eight thousand five hundred and thirty tons.

The Hereford and Gloucester canal, for facilitating the navigation between Hereford, Gloucester, and Bristol, was begun in 1792, and, after an expenditure of £105,000, has been carried no further than Ledbury, a distance of only seventeen miles, its proposed extent being about thirty. In addition to these advantages is the benefit of a junction with the Stroudwater canal, which opens a communication with London by means of the Thames; there is also a rail-road, extending from the quay to the town of Cheltenham.

Gloucester is said to have been a place of considerable trade before the time of the Conquest; and in addition to the mint, there was a merchants guild, established in the reign of John, who granted the burgesses exemption from toll, and other privileges and immunities. Forges for the smelting of ore appear to have subsisted here so early as the twelfth century, and Long Smith-street derived its name from the number of artizans by whom it was inhabited; cap or felt-making, the refining of sugar, and the manufacture of glass, which formerly flourished, have been long discontinued. The principal branches of manufacture carried on at present are those of iron and pins; the latter, which was introduced in 1625 by Mr. John Tilsby, may be now considered as the staple trade of the place; the former, especially since the establishment of a foundry by Mr. Montague, in 1802, has greatly improved, and the castings lately produced are distinguished by a degree of excellence almost unrivalled; some of the medals and smaller productions are executed with such admirable skill as to be held in the highest estimation, and to find a place in the cabinets of the curious.

A bell foundry has been carried on for nearly a century and a half, by the family of Mr. Rudhall, the original proprietor, in the course of which period not less than five thousand church-bells of various sizes have been cast: the trade of wool-stapling, which formerly afforded employment to many persons, has been in a great measure superseded by the dressing of hemp and flax; an establishment for the manufacture of shawls in imitation of those of France, has been discontinued for several years. The market days are Wednesday and Saturday, and there is a market for live stock on the first Monday in every month: the markets were formerly held in the open streets, but two large and commodious market-houses have been erected; one in Eastgate-street, for the sale of corn, meat, poultry, and vegetables; and the other in Southgate-street, for fish, butter, &c.: in front of the latter are two conduits, supplied with water from the reservoir at Robin Hood's hill. The cattle market is held in a spacious area judiciously appropriated to the purpose. The fairs are, April 5th, July 5th, September 28th and 29th (for cheese), and November 28th.

The municipal constitution of this city has varied considerably at different periods: in 1022, the chief magistrate is said to have borne the title of preefect, and in the reign of Henry II., that of provost: under John it was constituted a borough, and governed by two bailiffs. Henry III. granted a charter of incorporation, under bailiffs or provosts, of whom there was a succession till the 1st of Richard III., who bestowed a new charter, appointing a mayor, two sheriffs, and other officers, to be annually elected by twelve aldermen, and twelve other of the most legal and discreet burgesses; he also ordained that the hundreds of Dudstone and King's Barton should be distinct from the county, and be called the county of the town of Gloucester. Henry VII. confirmed all former grants and privileges; and Henry VIII., on establishing the bishop rick of Gloucester, in 1542, directed that it should thenceforth be considered as a city. Edward VI., Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I., confirmed preceding grants; but the charter which finally extended and established the liberties and franchises of the city, and under the authority of which the corporation now act, was granted April 18th, 1672, in consideration of a payment to the king of £679. 4. 6. The government is by this charter vested in a mayor, who is also: clerk of the market, and acts as marshal or steward of the royal household when His Majesty is in the city; a high steward, a recorder, twelve aldermen, any number of common council-men, which, with the mayor and aldermen, will make the corporation consist of at least thirty members, and not exceed forty, assisted by a town clerk, treasurer, chamberlain, water-bailiff, sword-bearer, four Serjeants at mace, and subordinate officers.

The mayor is elected annually by the aldermen from their own body, assisted by the senior common council-men, at least twenty in number, by whom also the bailiff, chamberlain, and coroner (who is generally the late mayor), are chosen at the same time: the recorder is elected by the mayor and aldermen: persons refusing to serve offices to which they are appointed are liable to fine, imprisonment, or loss of freedom. The bishop, dean, and two of the prebendaries, and the mayor, recorder, and aldermen, are justices of the peace. The freedom of the city is inherited by all the sons of freemen on attaining the age of twenty-one, and acquired by servitude to a resident freeman, by purchase, or gift of the corporation.

The city is divided into four wards, to each of which constables are appointed. There were formerly twelve companies, the members of which used, to accompany the mayor on public occasions with their banners; but this custom has fallen into disuse. The corporation hold quarterly courts of session, and courts of gaol delivery for the city and county of the city, with power to take cognizance of all offences except treason and misprision of treason; and a petty session every Monday and Friday, for hearing and determining affairs of police: they have the power of holding a court of record for the recovery of debts to any amount; this court, called the pie-powder court; was formerly held twice in the week, but it has not been held within the last forty years. Under charter of the 1st of William and Mary, a court of requests is held by the mayor and alderman every Monday, for the recovery of debts under 40s. The custom of Borough English prevails here. The assizes and quarter sessions for the county are held in this city, which is in the Oxford circuit; the average number of criminal cases at the spring assizes is from one hundred and forty to one hundred and fifty; and, at the autumn, from one hundred to one hundred and twenty.

The municipal affairs of the city are transacted at a building called the Tolsey, which stands at the angle formed by Westgate and Southgate streets, on the site of a church dedicated to All Saints; it was erected in pursuance of an act of parliament passed in the 23rd of George II.: in the front is a pediment ornamented with the city arms; and in the council-chamber are portraits of the late Duke of Norfolk and of the present Duke of Gloucester. The city gaol, situated at the bottom of Southgate-street, erected in 1782, being too small, was, a few years since, enlarged and improved, with the addition of a chapel, in which divine service is regularly performed by a chaplain appointed by the corporation. Adjoining this prison a lock-up house has been erected, as a place of temporary confinement for vagrants and disorderly persons.

The assizes were formerly held in an old edifice called the Booth-hall, situated behind the Booth-hall inn, in Westgate-street; but in 1814 a new and magnificent shire-hall, in the Grecian style of architecture, was erected, of Bath and Leckhampton stone, from a design by R. Smirke, Esq.: it stands on the south side of Westgate-street: in the front is a portico of four Ionic columns, thirty-five feet high, forming the principal entrance. The building extends three hundred feet in depth, and eighty-two in front; on one side of the portico is the entrance to the seats of the judges, and to every part except the galleries: the civil and criminal courts are nearly of the same dimensions, and of a semicircular form. From the principal entrance a stone staircase leads to an extensive room, in which the elections of members of parliament for the city and the county take place; and likewise the evening concerts at the triennial music-meetings; at the end of this room are displayed the royal arms, and over the door-way is a fine bas-relief, representing the signing of Magna Charta by King John.

The county gaol stands on the bank of the Severn, and on the site of the ancient castle, the keep of which had been long used as a place of confinement previously to its entire removal to make way for the present massive and colossal edifice. It was built in consequence of an act of parliament, on the plan recommended by the celebrated Howard, and finished, in 1791, at an expense of nearly £30,000, being adapted to the classification of prisoners; there are two hundred and three separate cells, including one hundred and sixty-four sleeping-rooms, and thirty-nine work-rooms: a spacious building has been recently added for the separate confinement of debtors.

The city first exercised the elective franchise in the 23d of Edward I., since which time it has returned two members to parliament: the right of election is vested in the freemen, the number of whom is about three thousand; the sheriffs are the returning officers. Gloucester is said to have been the see of a bishop when Britain was under the dominion of the Romans; and Eldad is mentioned as having presided over the diocese in 400. This first bishoprick was probably suppressed when the country was conquered by the Anglo-Saxons; and the whole county of Gloucester, which formed part of the kingdom of Mercia, was, on the introduction of Christianity, included in the diocese of Lichfield. In 679 it was annexed to the newly established bishoprick of Worcester, to which it belonged till the Reformation, at which period Henry VIII., by letters patent dated September 3rd, 1541, confirmed by act of parliament, erected the city and county of the city of Gloucester, and all the county of Gloucester, into a see, to which he also annexed so much of the city and county of the city of Bristol as had formerly belonged to the diocese of Worcester.

This new bishoprick was suppressed by Queen Mary, but re-established on the accession of Elizabeth. The ecclesiastical establishment consists of a bishop, dean, archdeacon, chancellor, six prebendaries, four minor canons, registrar, and other officers. On the foundation of the bishoprick the abbey church of St. Peter was constituted the cathedral church. This conventual edifice owed its origin to Wulphere, the first Christian king of Mercia, who, about 680, commenced the erection of a monastery, which was completed by his brother and successor Ethelred. It was at first a nunnery, which, being destroyed by the Danes, was refounded by Bernulf, King of Mercia, in 821, for the reception of secular priests. Canute the Dane, in 1022, ejected these priests, and introduced Benedictine monks, who, after some opposition, kept possession of the monastery, which was governed by a succession of thirty-two abbots belonging to that order, the last of whom was William Malvern, otherwise Parker, who wrote a history of the abbey, and died in retirement after the dissolution.

The monastery and its possessions were surrendered to the king's commissioners in January, 1540, by the prior, Gabriel Morton, when the revenue was estimated at £1946. 5. 9. Of the monastic buildings there are no remains except the church, chapter-house, and cloisters, which escaped demolition in consequence of their being appropriated to the purposes of the episcopal establishment.

The present cathedral is one of the most magnificent ecclesiastical structures in England, combining specimens of Norman, with early and later English, architecture; it consists of a nave, choir, aisles, transepts, Lady chapel, and grand central tower, besides other parts of less importance. The oldest parts are the nave, the chantry chapels around the choir, and the crypt, or undercroft, which are supposed to have belonged to the abbey church founded by Aldred, Bishop of Worcester, a few years prior to the Norman Conquest. The roof of the nave, built by Abbot Henry Foliot, was finished in 1248. The south aisle was begun by abbot Thokey, in 1310; and the south transept was added in 1330; about which time also was commenced the erection of the north transept and the choir, which last was finished in 1457. Between 1351 and 1390, the cloisters were constructed; the west front and south porch were added in 1421; and the edifice was completed by the erection of the chapel of our Lady, and the central tower, which were begun in 1457, under the direction of Abbot Sebroke, who, dying that year, committed the execution of the work to Robert Tulley, one of the monks, who afterwards became bishop of St. David's: the chapel was finished in 1498, and the tower in 1518.

Notwithstanding the variety of style in its architecture, the exterior presents a noble and impressive appearance: the tower, in particular, though of colossal dimensions, from the taste and delicacy of its ornaments has a light and airy effect, which adds greatly to the beauty of the whole. it is a square structure of three stages, rising from the intersection, and crowned with battlements and angular pinnacles. On the south, side of the church are six buttresses with niches, formerly decorated with statues of tutelar saints and benefactors of the abbey, which, with other ornaments, were defaced at the Reformation, and during the usurpation of Cromwell.

The west front and the south porch, in the decorated style of English architecture, display elegance of taste and symmetry of proportion. On entering the cathedral through the porch, on the left hand, is the consistory court; and opposite the entrance, across the nave, is a gate of light open iron-work, presenting in pleasing perspective a view of the exquisite tracery of the roof of the great cloister: the western extremity is adorned with a finely painted window. The nave is separated from the aisles by massive round pillars, from which spring semicircular arches; and its roof displays tracery which is most ornamented towards the west end. A classically correct and appropriate screen, separating the. nave from the choir, was erected in 1820, displacing one of a very different character. Elegant clustered pillars rise from the base to the roof of the choir, where, by the branching of their cylinders, they contribute to form the delicately beautiful trellis-work by which it is ornamented.

The sides of the choir are embellished with spiral canopies of rich tabernacle-work, carved in oak, exhibiting some of the finest specimens of English ornamental carving now extant. The high altar, which was of oak, with decorations in the Grecian style of architecture, has been very properly removed, as inconsistent with the prevailing character of the building. Before the altar is a curious pavement of painted bricks, or tiles, representing armorial bearings, the work of the monks. At the east end of the choir is a window said to be the largest in England, containing two thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight square feet of stained glass, but much decayed and mutilated.

The whispering gallery is a narrow passage, twenty-five yards in extent, forming a communication between the opposite sides of the choir: its remarkable property of conveying with facility the faintest sound from one end to the other, which is mentioned by Lord Verulam in one of his philosophical works, is supposed to have been the accidental effect of the peculiar form of the gallery, not contemplated by the architect in its construction. From the aisle on the south side of- the choir is an entrance, under a pointed arch, to the Lady chapel: the interior is decorated in a style corresponding with that of the choir; and the fretted ceiling, though of inferior character, is very beautiful. By the recent removal of an altar of stucco, the stratilated remains of the original altar-piece, which has been of the richest workmanship, and superbly decorated with curious painting and gilding, have been exposed to view.

There are many tombs deserving notice among which may be mentioned the tomb erected by Abbot Parker, in memory of Osric, King of Northumberland, one of the founders of the monastery, who died about 729, with his effigy in freestone, in the north aisle, near the entrance to the Lady chapel; an altar-tomb in a chapel in the same aisle, supposed to cover the remains of Robert, Duke of Normandy, son of William the Conqueror, with his statue carved in oak recumbent on it, under a wire lattice; not far from the high altar; the monument of Edward II., who was murdered at Berkeley castle, with a recumbent figure in alabaster, supposed, from the elegance of the sculpture, to be of Italian workmanship, with a more modern but beautiful canopy of tabernacle-work; the monument of Alderman Blackleach and his wife, with their statues in white marble; that of Mrs. Morley, with a group of statuary by Flaxman; those of Judge Powell; Sir George Onesiphorus Paul, Bart.; Dr. Edward Jenner, who first brought the practice of vaccination into general use; Charles Brandon Trye, an eminent surgeon; and Robert Raikes, Esq., who, from his unwearied exertions in promoting the increase of Sunday schools throughout the kingdom, obtained the reputation of having been the founder of these institutions, which, however, owe their origin to the Rev. Thomas Stock, rector of the parish of St. John the Baptist, in this city.

The chapter-house of the monastery, situated on the north side of the cathedral, with an entrance from the cloisters, is now appropriated to the reception of the college library. The city comprises the parishes of St. Aldate, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary de Crypt, St. Mary de Grace, St. Nicholas, St. Owen, and the Holy Trinity, and part of the parishes of St. Catherine, St. Mary de Lode, and St. Michael, all in the archdeaconry and diocese of Gloucester.

The living of St. Aldate is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £1000 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Crown. The living of St. Catherine is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £400 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter; the church was taken down in 1648. The living of St. John the Baptist is a discharged rectory, rated in the king's books at £14. 1. 1., endowed with £400 private benefaction, £400 royal bounty, and £400 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Crown; the church, with the exception of the ancient tower and spire, was rebuilt in 1734.

The living of St. Mary de Crypt is a discharged rectory, with those of All Saints and St. Owen's consolidated, rated in the king's books at £14. 7. 11., endowed with £400 royal bounty, and £400 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Crown; the church is a spacious cruciform structure, principally in the later style of English architecture, with some remains of the Norman, early English, and decorated styles, and having a handsome tower rising from the intersection.

The living of St. Mary de Grace is a perpetual curacy, consolidated with the rectory of St. Michael, and endowed with £400 royal bounty: the church was taken down by order of the corporation in 1653. The living of St. Mary de Lode is a discharged vicarage, to which that of the Holy Trinity is annexed, rated in the king's books at £10. 13. 4., endowed with £200 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter: the body of the church has been lately rebuilt in the later style of English architecture, but the chancel and tower of the old building remain; the latter formerly supported a lofty spire, which was demolished by a storm; in the north wall is an ancient tomb with a recumbent effigy, said to have been erected to the memory of Lucius, first Christian King of Britain, who is erroneously supposed to have been buried in the church.

In St. Mary's square, now added to the church-yard, a monument was erected, in 1826, to the memory of Bishop Hooper, who, in the reign of Mary, suffered martyrdom on the spot. The living of St. Michael's is a discharged rectory, with the perpetual curacy of St. Mary's de Grace consolidated, rated in the king's books at £8. 16. 10., endowed with £600 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Crown; the church, with the exception of its ancient tower, has undergone so much modern alteration as to have defaced nearly all traces of its original character.

The living of St. Nicholas is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £800 royal bounty, and £400 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Mayor and Corporation; the church is an ancient structure in the early style of English architecture, with later additions and insertions; the tower, which is handsome, appears to have declined from the perpendicular by the sinking of the foundation; it is surmounted by a spire, the upper part of which has been removed for greater security. The living of St. Owen's is a perpetual curacy, consolidated with the rectory of St. Mary's de Crypt, and endowed with £200 royal bounty: the church was destroyed during the siege of the city.

The living of the Holy Trinity parish is a discharged vicarage annexed to that of St. Mary's de Lode, rated in the king's books at £9, endowed with £1000 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter: the church was taken down in 1698, since which period its beautiful tower has shared the same fate. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, those in the late Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, Independents, Wesleyan Methodists, and Unitarians, a Roman Catholic chapel, and a Synagogue.

The college school, founded by Henry VIII., and originally designed for the education of youth belonging to the choir, is held in an apartment adjoining the cathedral: it is under the direction of a master and an usher, and has long enjoyed considerable reputation as a classical seminary. The school of St. Mary's de Crypt was founded and endowed in the 31st of Henry VIII., as a free grammar school, by John Cooke, or Coke, an alderman of Gloucester, and his widow: the schoolroom adjoins the parochial church from which it is named. It has an interest in eight scholarships, of about £50 per annum each, founded by George Townsend, Esq., in 1683, in Pembroke College, Oxford, for boys from the schools of Gloucester, Cheltenham, Chipping-Campden, and North Leach, the scholars being entitled to presentation to the livings of Colnbrook and Uxbridge.

In Eastgate-street is the Blue-coat hospital, founded on a plan somewhat similar to that of Christ's Hospital, London, for the maintenance and education of twenty boys, by Sir Thomas Rich, Bart., a native of Gloucester, who, by his will dated in 1666, left £6000, to purchase lands for the support of this charity and other beneficent purposes; the boys are taught to read and write, and six of them are apprenticed every year: the master's salary is £20 per annum. The mayor and burgesses, who are the trustees of this foundation, erected a new hospital in 1807, the former structure having become dilapidated.

A National school was opened in March 1817, under the patronage of the Duke of Beaufort, which is supported by voluntary contributions: the master has a salary of £63 per annum, and the mistress one of £40: the foundation stone of the building, which stands in the London road, was laid by the Duke of Wellington, August 6th, 1815, and the structure was completed in the following year. A Lancasterian school, situated in Lower Northgate-street, has been opened for the education of two hundred boys; the master's salary is £63 per annum. The building was erected at the expense of £400; and the. school, commenced in August 1813, is now supported by funds bequeathed some time previously by Mrs. Dorothy Cocks, and John Hyett, Esq., the produce of which was long applied to the reduction of the poor-rates: the government of this charity is vested in the corporation of the workhouse.

St. Bartholomew's hospital, on the north side of Westgate-street, is an almshouse for fifty-four decayed men and women, who receive weekly pensions, which, with the salaries of a chaplain, a physician, and a surgeon, are paid from the endowment, amounting to £500 per annum. Queen Elizabeth granted letters patent for the establishment of this hospital to the mayor and burgesses, through the interest of Richard Pates, Esq., recorder of the city: its revenue originally belonged to a priory founded in the reign of Henry II. The hospital was rebuilt in 1786, in the early style of English architecture. St. Mary Magdalene's, or King James's hospital, in the London road, was founded by one of the priors of Lanthony, for ten men and nine- women, who have three shillings a week each, besides other allowances.

Not far from this last is St. Margaret's hospital, originally a house for lepers: eight men are now supported in it, each having four shillings a week, with additional advantages. In the parish of St. Mary de Crypt is an almshouse for six poor persons, founded by Sir Thomas Bell, who died in 1566. The workhouse, or house of industry, situated in Bare Land, was founded and liberally endowed by Timothy Nourse, Esq., in 1703; it is under the management of an elective corporation: the poor are here kept employed chiefly in pin-making. Gloucester infirmary, or the county hospital for the indigent sick, is situated in Southgate-street: it was built in 1755, and is supported by funds arising from voluntary contributions; an addition has recently been made to it, chiefly by subscription, for the reception of convalescent inmates. About half a mile from the city, on the London road, a handsome building has been erected as an asylum for lunatics. A penitentiary, called the Magdalen asylum, was established in 1821, and is supported by subscription.

Among other traces of the residence of the Romans, numerous inscribed stones, coins, &c. have at different periods been found in the city and its vicinity, chiefly at or near Kingsholm. One of the most remarkable of the relics was a statera, or Roman steelyard, supposed to have been the first ever discovered in Great Britain. The ancient walls of Gloucester have been entirely destroyed; and of the remains of civil monuments of the middle ages, scarcely any thing exists except the Conduit, a beautiful piece of architecture in the later English style, which formerly stood in Southgate street, but has been removed to the grounds of a private gentleman in Barton-street.

Of the priory of St. Oswald, and the convents of Franciscans, Dominicans, and Carmelites, anciently subsisting here, no relics deserving of notice remain. Among the distinguished natives of Gloucester, and persons connected with the city, were, Osbern of Gloucester, a learned writer; and Benedict, author of the life of St. Dubricius, who were both monks here in the reign of Stephen; Robert of Gloucester, author of a curious chronicle in rhyme, who lived in the middle of the thirteenth century; John Rastell and John Corbett, historical writers; John Taylor, "the water poet", born in 1580; Dr. Miles Smith, Bishop of Hereford, one of the translators of the Bible; George Whitefield, founder of the Calvinistic Methodists; Dr. John Moore, Archbishop of Canterbury; and Robert Raikes, Esq.

BARTON (ST-MARY), a hamlet in that part of the parish of ST-MARY de LODE-GLOUCESTER, which is in the middle division of the hundred of DUDSTONE-and-KING'S-BARTON, county of GLOUCESTER, containing 670 inhabitants.

BARTON (ST-MICHAEL'S), a hamlet in that part of the parish of ST-MICHAEL-GLOUCESTER, which is in the middle division of the hundred of DUDSTONE-and-KING'S-BARTON, county of GLOUCESTER, containing 337 inhabitants.

KINGSHOLME, a hamlet adjacent to the city of Gloucester, partly in those portions of the parishes of ST-CATHERINE and ST-MARY-de-LODE, GLOUCESTER, which are in the middle division of the hundred of DUDSTONE-and-KINGS-BARTON, county of GLOUCESTER. The population is returned with the respective parishes.

LONGFORD, a hamlet in those parts of the parishes of ST-CATHERINE, and ST-MARY-de-LODE-GLOUCESTER, which are in the upper division of the hundred of DUDSTONE-and-KING'S-BARTON, county of GLOUCESTER, 1 mile (N.E. by N.) from Gloucester, containing 215 inhabitants.

WOOTON, a hamlet in that part of the parish of ST-MARY-de-LODE-GLOUCESTER, which is in the upper division of the hundred of DUDSTONE-and-KING'S-BARTON, county of GLOUCESTER, 1 mile (E. by S.) from Gloucester, containing 397 inhabitants.