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WoRCESTERSHIRE is an inland shire in the west midland, 1 and Hereford line, through Malvern to Hereford and South near the Welsh border and in the basin of the Severn, not Wales, and from this line is the branch to Bromyard, Here­ far above the reach of the tides, and about 30 miles from fordshire; and a branch from Dudley to Old Hill and Bales­ the open channel: its shape is very irregular, but it may be owen ; from Stourbridge is a. line through Cradley and looked upon as having four sides, those towal'ds the east and Rowley Regis to Birmingham. The S~vern Valley line west nearly parallel, and those towards the south and north i1 branches from Hartlebury Junction, and passes through likewise nearly parallel, but tending southerly, and the , Stourport and Bewdley, joining the main line at Shrewsbury; northern side being the largeT. On the north is Stafford- 'from Hewdley is a line through Ten bury, joining the Shrews­ shire; on the north-east and east, ; on the bury and Hereford at Wooferton junction, and another to south-east and south, Gloucestershire; on the west, Here- Kidderminster. The Midland railway (Birmingham and fordshire; and on the north-west, : the length Bristol line), from Birmingham, passes through King's from nOTth to south is about 34 miles, and the breadth Norton (from which is a branch to Halesowen), Bromsgrove, about 30 miles. The area is 472,453 acres, and the popula- Droitwich, Worcester and Defford, thence to Cheltenham tion 1861 was 307,397; 1871, 338,837; in x88x, 380,283- and Bristol; there are two branches from Ashchurch (Glou­ males, 184,205; females, 196,078 and in x8gr, 413,755· cester) on this line-one to Evesham, and thence to Alcester The number of inhabited houses were 85, 394· The county is and Redditch, joining the main line at Barnt Green, and one of the finest in , being rich land, in hill and vale, another to Tewaesbury, thence through Upton-on-Severn to well wooded and well watered. On the south-west border are Great Malvern. the Malvern hills, and in a line north from these the Abber- ley hills; on the east are the Lickey and Clent hills, aud in the The Bewdley coal basin is in the north-west, and is worked south are the Bredon hills, which are off-shoots of the Cots- at Mamble (Rock) and Bayton. The Dudley coal basin is in wolds. Gloucester and Bristol are the ports of Worcester- the north, and it contains likewise beds of ironstone. The shire. The naviga.ble Severn Tuns through the county from . brine sp:ings are. in the north midland, at Droitwich and north to south, by Wribbenhall, Bewdley and Rtourport ' Stoke Pnor, at which latter place beds of rock salt were found (where it receives the Stour), and by the villages of Shrawley in 1829; 267,348 tons of salt were produced in 1890, valued Holt and Grimley to Worcester, below which it receives the at £120,306. A strong clay is found throughout the shire; Teme, and thence by Severn Stoke and Upton to Tewkes- 1 but in the north there is a rich loamy sand, in the east are bury; there are several locks in the river now, the lowest I some light soils. The soil in the vales is very deep and at Tewkesbury ; it will bear sh~ps of So tons as high as rich, and iu parts alluvial. The air ill mild ~nd ~ea~thy, even 1 Worcester, and of 6o tons as high as Bewdley, the river 1 on the Malverns; but on the eastern h1lls It Is colder.

being navigable x8o miles. The Stour is in the noTth, run- 1 This is a. good shire for tillage; wheat, barley, beans a.nd ning by Wolverley and Kidderminster to Stourport, u.nd is 1 fruit are grown; hops are also grown, about 3,265 acres canalized throughout. The Teme is in the west, and enters · being cultivated. Market gardening is extensively carried the county near Tenbury, where it receives the Kyre brook, on, especially around El'esham, and cider is largely made. and flows by Lindridge and Shelsley Beauchamp to Knight- I, In the rivers, salmon, trout, grayling, shad aud lampreys wick, and thence by Lulsley, Doddenham and Leigh, where l are found. The mineral wealth is in coals, iron and salt; it receives the Leigh brook, and thence by Powick to its junc- 1 12,228 tons of ironstone were raised in IE.yo, and 923,531 tion with the Severn below Worcester. The Warwickshire I tons of coals. Pig iron was manufactured to the extent Avon winds through in the south-east by · of 37,343 tons in 1890. There are quarries of limestone, Offenham, Evesham, Pershore, Eckington and Bredon to Silurian limestone being raised to the extent of 54,449 tons Tewkesbury, where it joins the Severn : it is navigable from in 1891. Fire clay is largely found and and fire brK!ks Stratford-upon-Avon. A brook, under different names, made in the north, in the neighbourhood of Stourbridge, fiows by Cha.ddesley Corbett, Elmley Lovett., Doverdale and and brick earth ~s fo~nd nearly everywhere ; 97,540 rons of Salwarpe to the Severn. The vale of tbe Severn is called fire clay were raised m 1890. the vale of Wor~ester, and the vale of ~he Avon _that of The variety and extent of the manufactures of Worcester­ Evesham, both riCh land. Ther~ are mmeral sprmgs at shire are such as to entitle it to a foremost position among Malvern, ~veshat_n, Dudley and Flyford Flavel, and chaly- the manufacturing counties of England, and of these in­ beate at K1dderrmnster. dustries that of ca.rpet-making is prosecuted with great success at Kidderminster, the looms of which furnish a The canals are those joining the Severn with the other larger quantity of carpets suitabllil for ordinary domestic use English rivers. The and Worcestershire Canal than those of any other manufacturing town in the world ; communicates with the Grand Trunk, by the Stour, Kiddcr­ the fabrics made here include Brussels and Wilton carpets minster and . The Dudley Canal runs and rugs, which form the stapie trade; the Royal Axminster through the north from Birmingham by Dudley to Stour­ carpets, a patented speciality, are now made by two firms bridge. The Leominster and Kington Canal is a small one only. in the west. The Droitwich Canal is from the Severn to Droitwich. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal runs The manufacture of chinaware, introduced into WOT­ from Worcester, north-easterly, throughout the shire, having cester by DT. Wall. in 1751, is now one of its leading features, part of the Birmingham and Stratford Canal as a branch. and the productions of the Royal Porcelain Works, which • have obtained the highest awards both in English and Con­ tinental Exhibitions, are not excelled, for beauty and elegance The railways belong chiefly to two systems-The Great of design or excellence of workmanship, by any similar pro­ Western and the Midland. The Great Western (Midland ducts either at home or abroad. The Ceramic manu-­ ~ction) enters the county at Church Honeybourne, passing factures of Worcester aTe not, however, confined to porcelain, tl.rough Evesham, Pershore, Worcester, Droitwich (from but are extended to the making of printed and encaustic wlich place is a short line to Stoke Prior), Hartlebury tiles, and of diachromatized wood slabs, serving the same Ju!clion, Kidderminster, Stourbridge and Dudley, to Wol­ purpose, the works for which, now belonging to a Limited ver~mpron and the north ; from Worcester is the Worcester Company, are situated at Rainbow Hill. Fire bricks, WORCS.