WARWICKSHIRE is one of the midland counties, of rather irregular contour, approaching to the shape of a lozenge; it is bounded on the north by Staffordshire and Derbyshire, on the north-east by Leicestershire, on the south-east by Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, on the south-west by Gloucestershire, and on the west by Worcestershire. The county contains 566,271 acres; the size is below the average, and the length from north to south is 50 miles, with a breadth of 33. The population in 1871 was 634,189, in 1881, 737,339, and in 1891, 838,030—males, 403,927; females, 434,103. More than half of the inhabitants, viz. 478,113, are within the borough of Birmingham, and under the City of Birmingham Order, 1891, the boundary of the county was altered to include such portions of Birmingham hitherto in Staffordshire and Worcestershire. The number of inhabited houses in this county in 1891 was 172,336.

In the British time this county was on the borders of the Cornabii, Coritani and Dobuni, three several tribes, who were afterwards reduced by the Romans, and included in the province of Flavia Caesariensis; it was skirted by Watling Street on the north-east, and crossed by the Foss-way. The Ryknield, often called Icknield Way, skirts the shire on the west. Among the Roman stations were Tripontium, in Watling Street, at Don, Bridge, where there are some remains; Venonae, at High Cross, at the intersection of Watling Street and the Fossway; Manduessedum, now Mancetta, on Watling Street, where there are remains, Alauna, now Alcester, on Icknield Street, where coins have been found. Birmingham seems to have been a small Roman station; also Coventry. Part of the county seems to have formed part of the kingdom of the Hwiccas; but the whole was dependent on the great kingdom of the Middle English or Mercians, who were ruled over by the regal and sacred house of Woden. In King Alfred’s time the Kingdom of the Mid English came finally under the complete power of the Britwald, after which it was generally ruled by one of the great aldermen. The county was, during the tenth and eleventh centuries, devastated by the Danes, who settled themselves in some of the large towns. Early Saxon remains have been discovered on the banks of the Avon, near Warwick. In the Parliamentary wars the celebrated battle of Edge Hill, in which the Royalists were defeated, was fought in this county.

Part of the county is watered by the feeders of the Trent, but the chief part belongs to the basin of the Avon, by means of the Leam, Sowe, Stour and Alne: the Avon, shortly after leaving Warwickshire, falls into the Severn, The Warwickshire Avon rises in Northamptonshire, enters by Dove bridge, on Don bridge, under Watling Street, and crosses the Midland Counties railway near Rugby, where it receives the Swift, a small stream 10 miles long; the Avon then flows by Newbold-upon-Avon, Church Lawford, Wolston, Ryton-on-Dunismoor and Bubbenhall, to Stoneleigh Park and Abbey, where the Sowe falls in; the Avon, thus enlarged, goes on to Warwick, near which it meets the Leam; it should be observed that above Warwick the Avon is sometimes called the Dove; below Warwick the Avon receives the Tachbrook, afterwards the Sherburn, and flows by Wasperton, Hampton Lucy, to Charlecote, receiving the Dene, 13 miles ling; the Avon thus reaches Stratford, where it is a stream of considerable importance, becoming navigable, and a little below receiving the Stour, a stream 24 miles long; the Arrow is the last feeder, 19 miles long. The sources of the Stour are in Long Compton and Cherrington, joining near Burmington, and flowing by Tidmington, Barcheston, Shipston-on-Stour, Halford and Alderminster to the Avon at Stratford-upon-Avon. The Sowe rises near a village of that name, and flows to Bagin-ton, where it receives the Sherburn from Coventry, and thence into the Avon at Stoneleigh. The Leam, which rises at Hilsden, in Northamptonshire, flows by Granborough, Birdingbury and Martin (where it receives the Itchen), Wadenbury, Honingham and Offchurch to Leamington. The Arrow flows by Ipsley, Studley, Spernall, Coughton to Alcester, Wixford and Salford Priors to the Avon. The Alne rises near Lapworth, and flows by Preston Bagot, Wootton Wawen, Little and Great Alne and Kinwarton, to its confluence with the Arrow at Alcester. The Tame rises in Staffordshire, meets the Rea, 12 miles long, from Birmingham, passes Castle Bromwich to Ham Hall, where it has a junction with the Blythe and the Bourne, and so on to the Anker at Tamworth. The Blythe, 26 miles long, flows by Solihull, Hampton and Colesihill, where it takes the Cole, 18 miles long. The Bourne is 10 miles long: the Anker 26 miles long, flowing in the north-east; it rises near Wolvey and thence by Burton Hastings, Nuneaton, Caldecote, Grendon and Polesworth, and near Atherstone, and receiving the Griff brook and the Sence. A feeder of the Cherwell and of the Thames rises near Burton Dassett.

The only navigable stream in Warwickshire is the lower Avon; there are, however, several canals, viz. the Grand Trunk, or Trent and Mersey, Coventry, Oxford, Ashbyde-la-Zouch, Staffordshire and Worcestershire, Birmingham, Birmingham and Fazeley, Worcester and Birmingham, Stratford and Avon, Warwick and Birmingham and Warwick and Napton. These canals give access to the Trent, the Mersey, the Thames and the Severn, and the greater part of the shire is intersected by them. The chief roads are the Shrewsbury and Holyhead, the Banbury and Birmingham, and the Oxford and Birmingham.

The railways form a close network, from the London and North Western, Great Western and Midland coming to Birmingham: the former enters the county at Rugby, and passes thence to Nuneaton, Atherstone and Tamworth, to Stafford and the North; from Rugby is a branch to Coventry, Berkswell, Hampton-in-Arden and Birmingham; also other branches to Leamington and to Stamford in Lincolnshire: from Coventry are branches of this railway to Warwick (Milverton) and Leamington through Kenilworth (where there is a line to Berkswell) and to Nuneaton through Foleshill and Bedworth; from Nuneaton is a branch to Leicester, and from Birmingham one to Sutton. Coldfield, thence to Lichfield; and the Midland and North Western have a joint line to Nuneaton from Ashby-de-la-Zouch The London and North Western Railway Company opened in 1895 a line from Leamington, via Offchurch on the Rugby branch to Daventry in Northants.

The Great Western railway from Oxford enters the county at Fenny Compton and passes thence by Southam Road, Leamington, Warwick, Hatton, Knowle and Solihull to Birmingham, with branches from Hatton Junction to Stratford-upon-Avon and Honeybourne, where it joins the Great Western line from Oxford to Worcester; and a branch from Bearley on the Stratford-on-Avon line to Alcester; the East and West Junction railway is from Stratford westward to the Midland at Salford Priors, and eastward through Kineton to Fenny Compton, thence to Blisworth, Northamptonshire. The Midland has branches from Derby through Wilnecote to Whitacre Junction, and also from Leicester through Nuneaton, also via Whitacre Junction, hence to Birmingham; from Whitacre Junction is also a short line through Coleshill to Hampton-in-Arden, where is joins the North Western line. The Midland also connects Leicester and Rugby, and has a line in the western part of the county through Alcester from Barns Green Junction on the Birmingham and Worcester section connecting their line to Birmingham with the Great Western at Evesham; they have now a line through Sutton Coldfield to Walsall. The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire railway are now (1895) constructing their extension line to London, which will pass through Rugby.

The surface of the shire is gently undulated and without any important hills: the chief ranges of hills are branches of the Cotswold and of Edge Hill. The mineral productions are coal, iron ore, fire-clay, pyrites and limestone. According to the latest “Mineral Statistics” returns for 1894, 1,950,519 tons of coal were raised and 755 tons of iron ore, valued at the mines £658,301, and 4,605 tons of iron pyrites.

North Warwickshire is chiefly remarkable for its manufactures, seated at Birmingham and Coventry. South Warwickshire mostly depends on its husbandry; the climate being mild and healthy and the soil good, the harvests are generally forward. The chief soils are the red loam, sandy loam and clay. The county is well provided with lime. The produce is wheat, oats, barley, beans turnips, clover, potatoes and the usual crops. There is some good pasture, and much market garden, also orchards and fair woodlands; the Wyken pippin, a delicious eating apple, was first grown at Wyken, near Coventry. There is no peculiar production or breed of cattle, the old Warwickshire sheep having become extinct.

The chief manufactures of the county are hardware, tools, needles, pins, nails, screws, bridle bits, spurs, stirrups, curb chains, curry-combs, saddlers’ ironmongery, bolts, hinges, castors, door and other springs, clasps, rivets, brass ferrules, buckles, steel chains, candlesticks, lamps, jacks, pans, coffee and other mills, corkscrews, cruet frames, fenders, fire irons, scuttles, snuffers, spoons, stair rods, tea and coffee pots, urns, scales and steelyards, brace and other bits, hooks and eyes, thimbles, shoe and other tips, steel tags, mouse and steel traps and gins, dog collars, steel and metal combs, spectacles, fish hooks, rings, steel purses, handcuffs, swords, the brass manufacture, the iron founding, guns and pistols, buttons, engines and machinery, britannia metal, german silver and other metals, toys, trays, plated ware, wire, steel, pens, jewellery, silver plate, burnishing, glass manufacturers, percussion caps, clocks and watches; ribbons, stockings, silk, weaving; and the manufacture of bicycles and sewing machines. There are also many men employed in coal mines, iron mines, brick works' and lime works. Brewing and paper making are carried on upon a large scale.

Birmingham is the great seat of the gun, hardware, silver-plate, button, glass and toy manufacturers, and the capital of the midland counties, with a university establishment. Coventry is an ancient city; it is the seat of the watch and ribbon manufactures; the latter introduced about the beginning of the sixteenth century, and watches in 1770, both of which are still largely carried on; it has also become the principal town for the manufacture of bicycles and tricycles: the trade also includes the cotton and worsted and elastic web, hearthrug and carpet manufactures; the trimming trade is very extensive, and is divided into many branches, such as gymps, fringes, muslin trimmings and frillings and chenille; the weaving of alpaca, coach laces &c.; and silk throwing. Nuneaton also has ribbon factories.

The shire is divided into two parts-the Warwick division, the Southern; and the Coventry division, the Northern; this was effected by Order in Council of the 3rd of February, 1843, by which the shire of the city of Coventry was abolished, and the Atherstone and Coleshill divisions of Hemlingford hundred, and the Kirby and Rugby divisions of Knightlow hundred, were assigned to the Coventry division. There is, however, only one lord-lieutenant, sheriff, or chairman of sessions.

The municipal boroughs are, Birmingham, population in 1891, 478,113; Coventry, 52,724; Leamington, 26,930; Stratford-on-Avon, 8,318; Sutton Coldfield, 8,685; and Warwick, 11,903. Other towns are-Alcester, 2,406; Atherstone, 4,991; Chilvers Coton, 3,717; Coleshill, 2,335; Foleshill, 8,664; Henley-in-Arden, 1,043; Kineton, 1,021; Nuneaton, 11,580; Rugby, 11,262; Solihull,-6,150; and Southam, 1,738.

Warwick, the county town, is celebrated for its castle. Leamington Priors, or Royal Leamington Spa, is a celebrated watering place; at Rugby is one of the chief public schools; Stratford-on-Avon is renowned as the birthplace-of Shakespeare; Kenilworth was once the seat of the comb trade, which is still carried on, but the town is noted more for the ruins of its historical castle; at Atherstone hats are made.

The county contains 251 civil parishes with parts of 12 others, and is in the Midland circuit, has one court at quarter sessions and is divided into fourteen petty sessional divisions; most of the county is within the diocese of Worcester and archdeaconries of Coventry and Birmingham. Coventry archdeaconry is sub-divided into the rural-deaneries of Atherstone, Baginton, Coventry, Dassett Magna, Dunchurch, Leamington, Monks Kirby, Rugby and Southam. Birmingham archdeaconry is sub-divided into the rural deaneries of Aston, Birmingham, Coleshill, Northfield, Polesworth, Solihull and Sutton Coldfield; part is in Worcester archdeaconry, comprising the rural deaneries of Alcester, North Kineton, South Kineton and Warwick; certain parishes are within the dioceses of Gloucester and Bristol, Peterborough, Lichfield and Oxford.

The hundreds are:—1, Hemlingford, in Domesday Surrey, Coleshill: 2, Knightlow, in Domesday Survey comprising three hundreds, Mereton, Stanley, and Bome law: 3, Barlichway, in Domesday Survey, Pathelau and Fernecumbe; and 4, Kineton, in Domesday, comprising four hundreds, Foxhole, Honesberie, Tremelau, and Berriestone.

Warwick Division:—Barford, Beausall, Bishop’s Tachbrook, Budbrook, Charlecote, Chesterton and Kingston, Hasely, Hatton, Honiley, Moreton Morrell, Newbold Pacey and Ashbome, Norton Lindsey, Sherbourne, Shrewley, Wasperton, Wellesbourne Hastings and Walton, Wellesbourne Mountford and Wroxhall.

Hundred of Knightlow.

Kenilworth Division:-Ashow, Baginton, Bubbenhall, Cubbington, Guy’s Cliffe, Kenilworth, Leamington Priors, Leek Wootton, Lillington, Milverton, Offchurch, Radford Semele, Stoneleigh, Tachbrook Mallory and Whitnash.

Rugby Division:-Bilton, Bourton and Draycote, Brownsover, Church Lawford, Churchover, Clifton-upon-Dunsmore, Cosford, Dunchurch, Frankton, Hillmorton, King’s Newnham, Little Lawford, Long Lawford, Newbold-on-Avon, Newton and Biggin, Princethorpe, Rugby, Ryton-upon-Dunsmore, Stretton-upon-Dunsmore, Thurlaston, Willoughby, Wolsten and Marston.

Kirby Division.-Allesley, Anstey, Arley, Astley, Bed-worth, Binley, Brandon and Bretford, Brinklow, Bulkington (Barnacle, Bramcote, Marston Jabbett), Burton Hastings, Combefields, Copson, Coundon, Coventry (Holy Trinity, Radford, Saint Michael, Saint John, Calludon, Pinley, Whitley), Easenhall, Exhall, Foleshill, Harborough Magna, Hydes Pastures, Keresley, Monks Kirby (Cestersover, Newnham Paddox and Street Fields), Monks Riding, Pailton, Shilton, Sowe, Stivichall, Stoke, Stretton Baskerville, Stretton-under-Fosse (Newbold Revel), Wibtoft, Willenhall, Willey, Withybrook and Hopsford, Wolvey and Wyken.

Southam Division:-Birdingbury, Bishop’s Itchington, Chapel Ascote, Eathorpe, Fenny Compton, Granborough, Harbury, Hodnell, Hunningham, Ladbrooke, Leamington Hastings, Long Itchington, Lower Radbourn, Lower Shuckburgh, Marton, Napton-on-the-Hill, Priors Hardwick, Priors Marston, Southam, Stockton, Ufton, Upper Radbourn, Upper Shuckburgh, Wappenbury, Watergall, Weston-upon-Weatherley, Wills Pastures, Wolfhamcote and Wormleighton.

The County Lunatic Asylum, at Hatton, opened in 1852, is a well-designed edifice of brick, standing in 82 acres, partly laid out in pleasure grounds, and the rest as meadow and arable land; also a leasehold farm of 200 acres, adjoining the asylum. The institution is available for nearly 900 patients, 200 of whom (chiefly chronic lunatics and idiots), occupy a separate building, erected in 1871-72; also an Infectious Hospital, of the most modern construction, capable of holding 22 fever cases. There were, in 1895, 340 male and 460 female inmates, and a staff of upwards of 100 attendants and servants. Alfred Miller M.B., B.Ch. superintendent; Robert Henderson Nicolson M.B., C.M. sen. assistant medical officer; Arthur Wilcox M.B., C.M. jun. assistant medical officer; J. W. Mulholland, clerk to the asylum; William Lewis, storekeeper:—Non-resident, Rev. Richd. Herbert Dickins, chaplain; Rev. Joseph J. Daly, Catholic priest; R. C. Heath, clerk to the committee of visitors; W. B. Sanderson, examiner to County accounts.

The Midland. Counties’ Idiot Asylum, for the education and training of idiots and imbeciles, is at Knowle, near Birmingham. The Right Hon. Lord Leigh P.C. Lord Lieutenant of the county, president; George Allen Everitt esq. and Bell Fletcher M.D. treasurers; Bell Fletcher M.D. hon. visiting physician; Reginald Henry Foster, medical officer; W. G. Blatch, supt. and sec.; Miss Lukey, matron.

Her Majesty’s Prison, The Cape, Warwick, erected in 1860, is a building of blue brick with stone dressings, and will hold nearly 500; the interior consists of three corridors or divisions, with two-tiers of galleries, and there are residences for the governor and chaplain; Harington Welford Parr, govenor; Rev. Richard Henry Barber, chaplain; Samuel Browne M.D., M.Ch., D.P.H. surgeon.

The Warneford, Leamington and South Warwickshire Hospital, High street, Leamington, was established in 1832, under the auspices of the Rev. Dr. Warneford, and took its rise from a bathing institution and dispensary, and organised in 1806; since that period the institution has grown year by year, and now comprises the following branches under the same general and medical superintendence: (1) A dispensary for out-patients, which during the year 1894 gave medical aid and assistance to 6,750 patients. (2) Infirmary for in-patients, making up 117 beds, which in the same year treated 1,106 in-patients. (3) A children's hospital for 20 children. (4) A sanitorium for treatment of special cases. (5) A bathing establishment, with means of applying ordinary and spa water, under the direct medical superintendence. (6) A nursing institution for supplying trained nurses: the hospital contains 117 beds, and the average number of in-patients treated in 1894 was 1,106, and of out-patients 6,750; Frederic Harry Haynes M.D. Thomas William Thursfield M.D. and Otho Francis Wyer M.D. physicians; James Russell Jeaffreson, Joseph Morris and Bernard Rice M.D. surgeons; Rev. Walter Copleston Furneaux M.A. chaplain; Hugh Norman Crowley Atkinson M.R.C.S. Eng., L.R.C.P. Lond. resident medical officer; J. Warren, secretary; Miss E. M. Swain, dispenser.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital, at Coventry, was originally established in 1830 in Little Park street, when it was united with the dispensary; but in the year 1867 the institution was removed to new buildings on the Stoney Stanton road, erected at a cost of between £5,000 and £6,000: the present hospital is a cruciform structure of brick with stone facings, in the Gothic style: the head and centre of the cross comprise on the ground floor, rooms for the committee, house surgeons and matrons, dispensary, operating theatre and domestic offices; on either side are principal wards 50ft. by 25ft. and special wards 15ft. by 14ft. 6in. for males and females and containing 65 beds: on the first floor is a children’s ward for 12 beds; Edward Lynes M.D. Conrad Christopher Wimberley M.D. and Milner Montgomery Moore M.D. consulting medical officers; Frances Murray Haig M.A., M.D., B.C. Charles Webb Iliffe L.R.C.P. Edin. Edward Phillips M.B. and Frank Faulder White F.R.C.S. Eng. medical officers; A. J. Makepeace L.D.S. Eng., dental surgeon; Hugh Bankes-Price B.A. M.R.C.S. Eng., L.R.C.P. Lond. resident medical officer; Arthur Seymour, sec.; Miss Mary Kavanagh, matron; Benjamin Lee, collector.

The Midland Counties’ Home for Incurables, at Leamington, established in 1874 and re-established in 1881, occupies the property formerly known as the Arboretum, Tachbrook street, and has been acquired at a total cost of upwards of £9,000. The grounds are from four to five acres in extent, and are well laid out. The hospital provides for two classes of patients, the self-supporting, of whom 60 may be received, and the free patients, and is supported by voluntary contributions and the payments of the self-supporting patients. Pensions of £20 are granted by election to patientsi resident in the Midlands. Robert Eardley-Wilmot M.B. visiting medical officer; P. H. Couchman, secretary; Miss Jessie Broughton, matron.

The County Reformatory for Boys, at Weston, near Leamington, was erected in 1856, on a site given with several acres of land by Lord Leigh P.C. at a nominal rent, on a lease for 99 years: the Reformatory contains 90 boys, who are taught different trades and are also employed in cultivating about 80 acres or more of the adjacent grounds; William E. Pengelly, superintendent; J. H. Jones, schoolmaster.

The County Reformatory for Girls is at Little Park street, Coventry; it will hold 37 girls.

Parliamentary Representation of Warwickshire

Warwickshire formerly returned four members in two divisions, but under the provisions of the “Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885” it now returns four members in four divisions.

No. 1—The Northern or Tamworth Division comprises the sessional divisions of Atherstone (except so much as is contained in division No. 2), Birmingham, Coleshill (except so much as is comprised in division No. 2) and Solihull, the municipal borough of Birmingham and so much of the municipal borough of Tamworth as is in cluded in the county of Warwick.

No. 2—The North-Eastern or Nuneaton Division comprises the sessional division of Coventry, the Municipal borough of Coventry, the parishes of Ansley, Atherstone, Baddesley, Ensor, Baxterley, Bentley, Coldecote, Chilvers, Coton, Hareshill, Mancetter, Nuneaton, Oldbury, Weddington, and so much of the parish of Merevale as is included in the county of Warwick in Atherstone petty sessional division, and the parishes of Arley, Fillongley, Great Packington, Kinwalsey, Little Packington and Meriden in Coleshill petty sessional division.

No. 3—The South-Western or Stratfoid-on-Avon Division comprises the sessional divisions of Alcester, Brailes, Henley, Stratford and Snitterfield and Warwick (including the whole of the parish of Bishops Tachbrook), and so much of the sessional division of Kenilworth as is included in the Parliamentary borough of Warwick and Leamington, and the municipal boroughs of Leamington, Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick.

No. 4—The South-Eastern or Rugby Division comprises the sessional divisions of Burton Dassett and Kington, Kenilworth (except so much as is included in division No. 3), Rugby and Southam.

Under the provisions of the above mentioned Act, the boroughs of Coventry and Warwick each lost one member, and the boundary of the latter borough was extended so as to include the municipal borough of Leamington and the Local Government districts of Milverton and Lillington. and to be known as the borough of Warwick and Leamington.

Military

Warwick is the depot of the Regimental District No. 6, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, which comprises the 1st and 2nd Battalions (6th Foot), and the 1st Warwick and 2nd Warwick Militia, which form its 3rd and 4th battalions. The barracks for the Depot and the two Militia Regiments are at Budbrook. Full particulars will be found at page 256.

Volunteers

South Midland Volunteer Infantry Brigade.

Formed of the:—

1st Volunteer Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, head quarters, Thorpe street, Birmingham.

2nd Volunteer Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment; head quarters, Coventry.

1st Volunteer Battalion Leicestershire Regiment; head quarters, Leicester.

1st Volunteer Battalion Worcestershire Regiment; head quarters, Kidderminster.

Bearer Company.

Supply Detachment.

1st Volunteer Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment, F Company (forms part of the Staffordshire Brigade), Capt. B. W. Stone. Orderly room, Victoria road, Sutton Coldfield.

Fairs and Markets

Alcester, fairs for hiring servants on the Tuesday before and the Tuesday after Michaelmas. Market day for corn on Wednesday.

Atherstone pleasure fair, July 18, and a statute fair for hiring servants, first Tuesday after September 19. Market day, Tuesday and a sale of cattle, sheep and pigs fortnightly.

Bedworth fair on the Wednesday in Whitsun week; the wake week follows the first Sunday in September.

Coleshill fair for horses and cattle on the Monday before Shrove Tuesday. Market day for poultry and butter, ever Wednesday.

Long Compton fair on St. Peter’s Eve for three days.

Coventry, fairs for cattle May 2, Friday in Whitsun week and November 1. The large fair is held on the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday following Whit-Sunday; weekly sales held on Monday. Market day, Friday.

Dunchurch horse fair on November 15, 16 and 17.

Fillongley, annual feast the 1st Sunday in August.

Hampton-in-Arden, fairs June 14, July 19, September 6, and October 20.

Henley-in-Arden, fairs March 25, October 29, and a statute fair for hiring servants October 11. Market day, Monday, for corn.

Kineton, statute fair October 2, and a bean fair Feb. 5.

Knowle, a stock sale for cattle the second and fourth Wednesday in each month.

Nuneaton, fairs May 14 and two following days. Market day, Saturday.

Polesworth, fairs on the first Monday following the first Sunday after September 19.

Rugby, fairs last Monday in January, February 17, last Mondays in March and April, May 15 (for cattle) last Mondays in June and July, August 21, Monday before September 29 (for cattle), Monday before October 27, and Monday before November 19 (for horses), and lasts a week. Cattle fair November 22, second Monday in December, first Monday after Christmas and one for cheese, Tuesday before Easter and last Wednesday in September. Market days, Monday for corn, and on Saturday for butter and poultry.

Southam, cattle fair first Monday in every month. Market day for corn, every Monday.

Stratford-on-Avon, fairs last Mondays in January, February, March & April; third Monday in May, June & July; the last Monday in August; September 25; last Friday in October and the Friday after December 11; two statute fairs are held after Old Michaelmas day and the second Friday after October 12. Market day, Friday.

Studley, fair September 28.

Sutton Coldfield, fairs Trinity Monday, March 14, September 19 and November 8.

Warwick, fairs October 12 and the Monday before St. Thomas’ day. Market day, Saturday.

The following Table shows the acreage under each kind of crop, and the number of horses, cattle, sheep and pigs in the county of Warwick, as taken from the agricultural returns, 1894:—

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SITUATION, BOUNDARIES, AND EXTENT

WARWICKSLIIRE is an inland county, situated near the centre of the kingdom, in a north-west direction from London. It is bounded on the southeast by Northamptonshire; on the north-east by Leicestershire and Oxfordshire; on the south and southwest by Gloucestershire; on the west by Worcestershire, and on the north and west by Staffordshire. The greatest length of the county is 51 miles and a quarter from Honey-hill in the north, to Kollewrightstones in the south; and the greatest breadth from the eastern extremity of the county, about half-a-mile above the Northampton road, to the western extremity at Headley-cross, is 36 miles. The county contains, by Mr. Carey's map, 597,477 ½ acres, at the calculation of 80 chains statute-measure to a mile. The city and county of Coventry lies in a north-east direction from Warwick, at the distance of abeut 10 miles; it is bounded on every side by Warwickshire; the greatest length from Bedworth, to a point near Bag ginton, is seven miles and a half, and the extreme breadth from Nettle-hill to Brownshill, in the direction of Karesley-green, is seven miles and a quarter. The district contains in all about 18,161 acres. It is remarkable that the freeholders of the county and city of Coventry, as such, never vote upon the return of any member to serve in parliament for the county of Warwick.

NAME AND ANCIENT HISTORY

Warwickshire is evidently derived from the town of Warwick, which stands nearly in the centre of the county; the Saxons gave it the name of Weringscire; and, it is one of the five counties which, in the time of the Romans, were inhabited by the Cornavie; under the Saxon heptarchy, it formed a part of the kingdom of Mercia. Three of the Roman roads pass through this county, Watling-strcet, Ikenild-street, and the Fosse-way; upon each of these, which are still visible, several considerable remains of Roman antiquities have been discovered. Watling-street separates this county from Leicestershire; Ikenild-street passes through it along the borders of Worcestershire, and the Fosse-way crosses Watling-street from Leicestershire at High-cross, formerly the Benones of the Romans.

CLIMATE AND SOIL

It would require much time and very minute observation to describe exactly the climate and soil of this county; in fact, it would be a task hardly possible to effect, as it varies so much in each district, that two or three different kinds of soil may often be seen in the same field. On the whole, almost every species of soil is to be met with, except what is incorporated with chalk and flint.

The climate, however, is generally esteemed mild and healthy, the inhabitants seem to be stout and robust; and, in cases where the nature of their employment is injurious to health, live to an advanced age. The most general winds are from the south-west, and are usually accompanied with rain; but, not unfrequently, the effects of an early variation are felt to the middle of May, when vegetation has suffered severely. Warwickshire, upon the whole, is not to be considered as subject to any particular excess of damp or frost.

RIVERS

The principal livers that water this county are the Avon, the Leam, and the. Tame. The Avon enters this county at Bensford-bridge, and adding great beauty to the delightful territory of Warwick Castle, as it Hows beneath the cliff on which those lofty towers, projecting before the town and church of Warwick, are situated, glides through a charming country to the celebrated spot of Stratford-on-Avon, the birth-place of our immortal bard, and the reposilory of his bones. From thence it traverses the great level of Worcestershire by Evesham, having received the Lesser Stour at Stratford, and turning to the south at Perthshore, meets the Severn at the flourishing town of Tewkesbury. The Avon is navigable by barges to Stratford..

The Leam rises on the eastern borders of the county, and with a winding course passes near several villages, till it falls into the Avon, at a small distance from Warwick.

The Tame flows out of Worcestershire, and enters this county near Birmingham; from whence it proceeds to Tamworth, where it passes into Staffordshire. In its way thither, like the Avon, it receives several rivulets, and particularly Shireburne, that rises to the west of Coventry, and falls into the Thanet near Coleshill.

The lesser streams that water this county are the Anker, the Arrow, the Alne, the Swift, and Stour. Great numbers of various kinds of fish are caught in all these rivers.

The woods near Lord Aylesford’s, and at Corley, have been supposed to be higher than any other land in England; from this elevated ridge, the water runs on one side into the Avon, thence to the Bristol channel; but from the other side it runs into the Blythe, Tame, Trent, and the Humber, at Hull. There are no lakes in this county, but considerable sheets of water, particularly at Lord Willoughby do Broke’s, at Compton Verney; at Coombe Abbey, Lord Craven’s; at Great Pocklington, the Earl of Aylesford’s; at Ragley Park, the Marquis of Hert ford’s, &c. &c.

CANALS

The benefits of navigable communications are no where experienced in a greater degree than in this county:-

Birmingham Canal. —This canal begins at Binningham, and proceeds to Wilsdon Green, and Smethwick, by Bluc-gates, West Bromwich, Oldbury, over Puppy-green, by Church-lane, Tipton, and Bilston; by. the skirts of the town of Wolverhampton, by Gosbrook Mill, near Aldersley, into the Staffordshire Canal, which unites the Grand Trunk with the Severn, being a course of 22 miles, with a rise from Birmingham to Smethwick of 18 feet; from Smethwick to Wolverhampton is a level; and from thence to Addersley there is a fall of 114 feet in the short space of one mile and three-quarters. Out of this canal, at West Bromwich, there is a cut or branch which passes over Kyder’s-green, to the collieries at Wednesbury, being four miles and three-quarters, with a fall of forty-six feet. A canal commences about a mile from the town of Dudley, near the engines, which are next Nelheiton-hall, and proceeds across Knowle-brook, and along Dudley-wood side, through Urchill-coppice and Brierly-hill-coppice to Black-deift; and taking a large circuit round Brierly-hill church, and across Brittle-lane, between the fire engine and Seaton’s engine, falls into a canal on the left of Brockmore-green, which comes from the right from Bromley-fens and Pensnett-chace, where there is a large reservoir of water, for a head to the navigation, of near 12 acres. It then proceeds in nearly a straight line to Wordsley, across the high-road from Stourbridge to Hampton, along Wordsley-field, and across the river Stour, which runs up to Stourbridge, and runs on the left by Bell’s Mill, through Atlcott-meadows, into the Grand Trunk, at 34 miles from the Trent navigation, and 12 miles from the Severn. At the elbow and confluence of the river Stour with the river Surestall, very near Stourton, a branch goes off to the left by Wordsley-field, along Addenham bank, by Woollaston, Holloway-head, round Scot’s-hole, into the river Stour, at the extremity of the town of Stourbridge. The distances, &c. are as follow:

From the junction of (he Wolverhampton Canal to that of the Dudley Canal, five miles, and the rise 191 feet three inches; the branches to Stourbridge and to Pensnett reservoir are two miles one furlong, and level: from the Wolverhampton Canal to the reservoir on Pensnett-chace, the distance is six miles one furlong, and the rise 191 feet three inches: from Stourbridge to the branch of the reservoir, one mile and a quarter, and level.

The Coventry and Oxford Canal is 92 miles in extent, and proceeds out of the Grand Trunk at Fradley Heath to Fazeley, where there is a cut to Birmingham, and the collieries in the neighbourhood of Wednesbury. From Fazeley it is carried to Atheistone with 87 feet rise, and passing by Coventry and Hill Morton on a level, is continued to Marston Doles, with a rise of 76 feet; whence it proceeds to Oxford, having in the last 36 miles a fall of 180 feet. The length of the canal from Birmingham to Fazeley is sixteen miles and a half, having an aqueduct across the river Tame, near Birmingham, and a fall of 248 feet. This includes the collateral cut to Digbeth, in Birmingham. The length of the canal from the Grand Trunk at Stoke, near Newcastle, to Froghall and Caldon coal-pits and limestone-quarries, is 19 miles, three furlongs, 18 chains, with a rise of 75 feet in the first six miles, and three-quarters to Stanley Moss, and a fall of 60 feet 10 inches the remainder of the way to the coal-pits and lime-quarries. Another canal has also been cut from Rider’s Green, near Birmingham, to Broad-water fire-engine coal-mines, being four miles and a half and six chains, with a fall of 46 feet.

Warwick and Birmingham Canal. —This canal commences on the western side of the town of Warwick, and passes Budbrook, Hatton, Rowington, Badesley, Clinton, Knowle, Solihull, Yardley, and joins the Digbeth branch of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal on the eastern side of Birmingham, being a course of about 25 miles.

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal. —This canal joins the Coventry Canal at Marston-bridge, about two miles to the south of Nuneaton, and faking an easterly course passes Hinckley, from whence it takes a north course, and passes Stoke Golding, Dadlington, through Bosworth-field, and within a mile of Market Bosworth, after which it crosses the river Senee, and, passing to the east of Gopsal-park, arrives at Snareston, where is a small tunnel, from whence the canal winds along, and passes Measham, Okethorpe, and over Ashby Woulds, whence passing through Blackfordby, it reaches the north-west side of Ashby-de-la-Zoueh; the canal is then continued about one mile and a half beyond the town, where passing a tunnel of near one mile, a branch bends to the west and goes to Ticknall; another branch goes to the east, and finishes at the lime-works at Clond-hill; on the Ticknall branch, near the commencement, is a short cut to the lime-works at Staunton: there is also a branch on the north edge of Ashby Woulds, which goes to the coal-works at Swadlincote. The total length of this canal, with the branches, is 50 miles, with 252 feet lockage.

Stratford-on-Avon Canal, as yet unfinished, joins the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at King’s Norton, about six miles from Birmingham; from the junction, it takes an easterly course to Yardley Wood Common, whence it bends to the south, and passes Shirley-street, Monkford-street, Lapworth, Preston Bagot, where it crosses the river Alne, thence by Wootton to the north side of Stratford: there is a branch by Billesley, to the stone-quarries near Temple Grafton, and another to the quarries near Tamworth: the total length of the canal, exclusive of the branches, is 24 miles and a half, with 309 feet fall to Stratford. The branch to Tamworth is near two miles and a half and level; that to Grafton-field is near four miles, with 20 feet rise in the last mile and a half.

Worcester and Birmingham Canal. —This canal commences at Birmingham, from whence it takes a course through the parishes of Edgbaston, Norlhfield, King’s Norton, Alvechurch, Tardebig, Stoke-Prior, Dodderhill, Haubury, Liadsor, Himbleton, Oddingley, Tibberton, Hinlip, Wamdon, Clains, St. Martin’s, and, at Diglis, adjoining the south side of Worcester, falls into the Severn. The length of this line is 31 miles and a half, of which the first 16 miles from Birmingham are upon a level; the remaining 15 miles and a half have a fall of 448 feet. This canal is not finished.

Warwick and Braunston Canal. This canal joins the Warwick and Birmingham Canal, in the parish of Budbrook, on the north-west side of the town of Warwick; and crossing the Avon, proceeds by Radford, Offchurch, Long-Itchington, where it crosses the river Watergall, by Lemington-Hastings, Granborough, where it crosses the river Leame; and at Braunston joins the Oxford Canal. The length is about 20 miles.

ROADS

The turnpike-roads in this county arc in general good, and appear to have been pretty well formed at first; but the private roads are not so well attended to, from an improper application of the statute-labour. The materials here for making of roads, as limestone and gravel, are very good, and when judiciously laid, last a considerable time, without wanting much repair.

ENCLOSURES AND FENCES

The extent of common and enenclosed land in Warwickshire is much loss than is to be met with in most counties in England. More than half a century past, the south-eastern part of the county was very much in common, but now all is enclosed and subdivided; the common of the greatest extent in that county was Long Compton, till the act was obtained for enclosing it. The fences of white-thorn, where no trees have been planted in the bank, arc generally very good; but the hedges have been allowed to remain too long without being cut. The numerous trees in the hedge-rows of the old enclosures destroy the hedges; gate-posts are generally made of oak, the head and back with oak or elm, with five bars and two cross-bars, hung on hinges, &c. and some with an iron catch. Light cast-iron gates, that might be furnished for two guineas each, have been strongly recommended.

WASTES

The greatest part of the heaths and commons lies in the northern and western parts of the county, and here are those of the worst quality. The quantity has been greatly diminished within the last thirty years, Sutton Coldfield, and Sutton Park, being the only commons of any extent in the county. A general act of enclosure can alone effect the improvements of all the small commons and wastes; and, until that shall take place, it is observed, they must remain in their present miserable and unproductive state; a large tract of this county still hears the name of the Forest of Arden. The southern portion, formerly called the Feldon, is a tract of great fertility.

FARM-HOUSES AND OFFICES

In Warwickshire, like most other counties in England, the farm-houses, it is said, are in general very injudiciously placed, being frequently at the extremity of the farm. The oldest are built of timber and mud or clay-walls, and thatched; or of stone-walls and thatched, and are generally ill-planned and illconvenient. The new farm-houses, &c. are built of brick and covered with tile; but these, though very substantial, are not convenient. The barns, like those in the north, are small, the corn being generally built in stacks; few of the stables for the working horses are divided into stalls, by winch the cattle are liable to great injuries from the vicious and bad tempered; the want of open sheds for wintering, and feeding sheds for soiling, has also been much complained of, as well as the want of threshing-machines.

COTTAGES

These in many parts are built of clay and thatched, and are poor miserable hovels, compared with those lately built. A few yards off the road, about a mile and a half west of Dunclnirch, there is a long row of good and convenient cottages; few of these buildings are let with the farms, though, when they are, it must be of essential benefit to the farmer. The newly built cottages have three apartments in them, a large one where the family sit and dress their victuals, and two others for sleeping places, &c.; the rents of cottages vary from one pound ten shillings to three and four pounds a year.

RENT AND SIZE OF FARMS

The size of farms in Warwickshire runs from 50 to 500 acres, and very few exceed that extent. In the eastern district the farms are large; in the west and north-west generally small. When the latter have fallen in, it has been a maxim among the landlords to increase them in size, by laying two or three of them together; though, on the Duke of Buecleugh’s estate at Dunchurch, and on Lord Craven’s at Coombe Abbey, the size of farms is understood to be more equal than any other properties in the county. Lord Craven’s estate is supposed to contain between 7 and 8000 acres, let to 20 tenants.

Excepting that part of the county which lies in the immediate vicinity of Birmingham, Warwick, and other populous towns, the rents of this county are low, considering the excellent quality of the soil, &c. The best grass-land for pasture has let from 2l. to four guineas per acre; the arable from 18s. to 50s. and some at three guineas per acre; the meadow-land from 27. to six guineas per acre, and garden-ground as high as 10l. and 15l. per acre. The rents are in general paid in money through the whole of the county.

TITHES

The farmers in Warwickshire, as well as those in other districts, complain of tithes, and wish they could be converted into a corn rent, or some fixed payment; but their complaints are more generally directed against the lay impropriators than the clergy; the former being more rigid in their exactions than the latter. Most of the old enclosures are tithed, and in many instances are compounded for from 6s. to 12s. per acre; enormous as this is, some are not satisfied with it, but collect their tithe in kind. The new enclosures arc exonerated.

LEASES AND TENURES

Many farms in this county are held by tenants at will, who are under agreement from one year to another. Where a renewal of a lease takes place, the term is generally seven or fourteen years; though these short terms must be injurious both to the landlord and the tenant; farmers that have cheap farms may farm well, but those that have dear farms must farm well, or their career will soon be at an end. The greater part of the county is freehold, though there are many copyholders of some extent; their tenures, as in all other counties, vary much, and some of them, the remnants of feudal times, are grossly absurd. A very considerable extent of land is held of the cathedrals of Worcester and Lichfield; about 500 acres on the south, adjoining the city of Coventry, the property of the Marquis of Hertford, is lammas or common, from August to February; the quantity of land in the jurisdiction of Coventry, subject to this right of pasturage, is estimated at 3000 acres; it is enjoyed only by the freemen of Coventry, and cannot be transferred.

IMPLEMENTS

The ploughs in this county are generally the double and single improved Rotherham, with wheels. The large swing-plough is in general use in that part of the county near Worcestershire, and this is drawn by five horses yoked one before another, a man holding, and another man or boy driving, takes a furrow from ten inches and a half to eleven inches in breadth, and five to six in depth. Small’s swing-plough, drawn by two horses abreast, is capable of performing its work when well understood. The harrows are much the same as those used in other counties; the large break, or drag-harrow, is also of a similar description with those used in other places. The thrashing-machines, in different parts of the county, have been generally on a small scale. Mills of four-horse power are said to be found little enough to thrash, shake the straw, and winnow the grain; though one of these cannot be erected for less than 250l. with every appendage.

WAGGONS AND CARTS

The carriages in use throughout the county are the large four-horse waggons, and two and three-horse turn-up carts, wheels six to nine-inch tire, and are remarkably strong; they are extremely heavy for the horses to draw. The price of four-horse waggons, is from 45 to 50l. and some as high as 60l.; the carts are from 18 to 25l.

CATTLE

As most of the farmers in this county have given up keeping of dairies, the breeding of cattle is less followed than it used to be. Farmers and graziers buy whatever store-cattle will pay them best; hence the county abounds with different breeds. The longhorned cows are most esteemed for the dairy. The Holdemess short-horned breed are esteemed good milkers, but for this quality the Hereford and Scotch are the most valuable, whilst the long-horned heifers are preferred by the graziers, as good feeders. The oxen bred in the county are mostly of the long-horned kind. A cross between long-horned cows and Yorkshire bulls has been found to answer very well. The west highland stots soon get fat on the rich pastures of Warwickshire. Very few oxen are here used for draught. There are several sorts of sheep bred in the country, as the large-polled, or ancient Warwickshire; the new Leicesters; the Wiltshire, a small sort with black and grey faces, bred on the commons, &c. The South-down sheep was introduced by Lord Hood on his estate near Coventry; and the Spanish or Merino have been bred by Lord Aylesford, at Packington, and Mr. Thomas Jackson, at Alveston Pastures.

The horses generally used in the farms are heavy black cattle, much improved by the fine stallions sent from Leicestershire every year. Many riding, hunting, and coach-horses are also bred in the county. Among the different breeds of pigs, the large white one grows to the greatest size, weighing from twenty to, forty score each. But since the decrease of the dairies, fewer pigs are kept than before.

MANUFACTURES

At Birmingham all kinds of hardware are made, and in the vicinity every sort of plated goods, coinage for government, and steam-engines, not only for the whole empire, but for every part of the civilized world. The steam-engine first constructed by the late Mr. Watt, has proved superior to any other yet invented. A considerable nail manufactory has been carried on by Messrs. Whitehouse and Co. at Bromwich; and during the late war 6000 muskets were manufactured for government every week. At Coventry there are considerable manufactures in the silk and ribbon-weaving, tambouring, &c. and till the late peace, great numbers of watches were got up here. Horn combs of all descriptious are made at Kenilworth; and at Warwick, several hundreds of persons are employed in combing, and spinning long wool, &c. Calicoes and other cotton goods are also wove here of yarn spun at Manchester and in that neighbourhood. At Alcester several hundreds of persons are employed in making of needles; and at Berkswell, Balsall, anti Tamworlh, there are considerable flax manufactures, and much linen-yarn spun.

MINERALS AND FOSSILS

These are coal, lime-stone, free-stone, iron, blue flag-stone, marl and blue clay; also a clay, having some of the properties of soap, is found on the estate of the Earl of Warwick. Considerable quantities of coal are wrought at Bedworth, where the scam runs from three feet to three and three quarters, and in some places to four feet in thickness, and the quality is considered as the best in the county; at Griff-hollow, Chelverscoton, Nuneaton-Commoh, Hunt’s Hall, and Oldbury, there arc also considerable quantities of coal; the coal at the latter place is only fit for burning limestone.

POPULATION

According to the late returns, Warwickshire contains 44,940 inhabited houses, occupied by 49,066 families. There are 109,539 males, and 119,196 females, making a total of 228,735 persons. Warwickshire sends six members to parliament; two for the county, two for the city of Coventry, and two for Warwick.

LITERATURE AND LEARNED MEN

Among the earliest of this description we find Michael Drayton, the poet, whose principal work is Poly Olbion, a chorographical description of the rivers, mountains, forests, castles, &c. in this island. He died in 1631, and was buried in Poets’ Corner, in Westminster-Abbey. Sir William Dugdale, the celebrated historian and antiquary, was born near Coleshill, in 1605. His principal works are the Monasticon Anglicanum, the Antiquities of Warwickshire Illustrated, &c.; he died in 1686. Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke, was born at Beauchamp Court, in 1554. His lordship was an ingenious poet, and a liberal patron of learning and learned men. Francis Holyoake, a learned lexicographer, and author of an “Etymological Dictionary of Latin Words,” was born at Nether Whitacre, about the year 1567. Sir Thomas Overbury, who was poisoned in the Tower in 1613, was born at Compton-Scorfen, in 1581: he was an elegant scholar, and wrote several pieces in prose and verse. Of Shakespeare, born at Stratford-upon-Avon, nothing more than his name need he mentioned here. Somerville, author of “The Chase,” a poem, &c. was also a native of this county. At Newton, near Rugby, was born, in the year 1691, Edward Cave, the designer and original publisher of the Gentleman’s Magazine. Young Cave was one of the most promising scholars of the Rugby institution, till disgusted with the treatment of some of them who had opulent parents, he quitted it in disgust, and was bound apprentice to a printer in London. By habits of care and industry he afterwards accumulated a sum sufficient to engage a small printing-office, and soon commenced “The Gentleman’s Magazine,” a periodical pamphlet, which, Johnson observes, is known wherever the English language is spoken. He died in, the year 1754, aged 63. The newspapers printed in this county are; at Coventry, the Coventry Journal; the Coventry Mercury; at Birmingham, Swinney's Birmingham Chronicle; the Birmingham Commercial Herald; Aris’s Gazette; and the Argus.

CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL DIVISIONS

Warwickshire is divided into four hundreds, viz. Barlichway, Hemlingford, Kineton and Knightlow, besides the liberties of Coventry; containing one city, Coventry; one borough, Warwick; and eleven other market-towns, viz. Atherstone, Alcester, Birmingham, Coleshill, Henley, Kineton, Nuneaton, Rugby, Southam, Stratford-on-Avon, and Sutlon-Colefield. Warwickshire is comprised in the province of Canterbury and dioceses of Lichfield, Coventry, and Worcester, and included in the Midland Circuit.