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tions. The chief manufacture of Leicester is that of hosiery goods. The laco trade is also carried on to a very considerable extent. Leicester returns two M.P'. Pop. 1851, 60,584. Five miles distant is Bradgate Park, the birth-place of Lady Jane Grey; and four miles beyond it is Bardon Hill, the highest part of the county.

DERBY is situated on the banks of the Derwent, which is navigable hence to the Trent. The town is very ancient, and took its name from the river on which it is situated. On the east bank of the river, opposite to Derby, was the Roman station Derventio. Derby contains numerous churches, several dissenting meeting-houses and chapels, a Mechanics' Institute, and a Philosophical Society founded by Dr Darwin, who here composed the greater portion of his works. Here are extensive manufactories of silk, cotton, and fine worsted stockings. The silk-mill is the first and largest of its kind erected in England. Here also are large porcelain works and manufactories, where all kinds of ornaments are made of the marbles, spars, petrifactions, &c., found in the neighbourhood. AllSaints' Church contains numerous monuments of the Cavendish family. Richardson the novelist was a native of this town. A castle once existed at Derby; but the last remains of the building are said to have disappeared during the reign of Elizabeth. Several religious establishments were founded here at a very early period; but no vestiges of them now remain. Prince Charles Stuart advanced as far as Derby on his march into England, and the house in which he lodged is still pointed out. Through the noble munificence of Joseph Strutt, Esq., the working classes of Derby possess peculiar opportunities of enjoyment and gratification. This public-spirited individual appropriated nearly eleven acres of land, containing an extensive collection of trees and shrubs, for the recreation of the inhabitants and their families. This piece of land, called the Arboretum, was laid out, at the donor's expense, by the late J. C. Loudon, Esq., with great taste and judgment. The value of the Arboretum, including the ground and buildings, is estimated at £10,000. The Derby Grammar School is supposed to be one of the most ancient foundations of the sort in the kingdom. Flamsteed the astronomer (a native), received his early education in this school. Derby returne two Members to Parliament. Pop. 1851, 40,609.

BELPER, on the Derwent, is noted for its cotton mills belonging to Messrs Strutt. Their construction is worthy of notice. About 1200 or 1300 persons are constantly employed in them. About a mile and a half distant are two other cotton mills, a bleaching-mill, and an iron-forge, all belonging to the same proprietors, who have provided for the comfort and instruction of their workmen in a very praiseworthy manner. It affords his title to Lord Belper. Pop. 1851, 10,082, ROTHERHAM is pleasantly situated near the confluence of the Rother and the Don. It carries on a considerable trade in coals and lime. On the opposite bank of the river, in the village of Masborough, are the extensive iron-works established by Messrs Walker in 1746. The iron-bridge of Sunderland, and that of Southwark, in the metropolis, were cast in these foundries. Rotherham bas

a college for the instruction of independent ministers, a spacious church, erected in the reign of Edward IV., several chapels and meeting-houses, free grammar and charity schools, &c. Pop. 1851, 6325. About four miles distant is Wentworth House, the magnificent seat of Earl Fitzwilliam, adorned with numerous antiquities and paintings by the best masters. Near the entrance to the mansion, is the mausoleum erected by the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam in honour of his uncle, the Marquis of Rockingham.

Two miles from the Wakefield station near the river Calder is the town of WAKEFIELD, considered one of the handsomest towns in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The most remarkable of its churches is All-Saints, a spacious Gothic structure with the loftiest spire in the county. There is a very beautiful and richly adorned Gothic chapel (but not used as such), which was built by Edward IV. in memory of his father and followers who fell in a battle near this town. Wakefield has long been noted for its manufacture of woollen cloths and stuffs. It has also a considerable trade in corn and coals. Archbishop Potter and Dr. Radcliffe were natives of this town. Pop., 1851, 22,057. One M.P.

LEEDS, the largest and most flourishing town of Yorkshire, on the Aire, is the metropolis of the woollen manufacture, and the fifth town in England in point of population and commercial activity. It is an ancient town, and was probably a Roman station, but has been the scene of few historical events. Its situation is highly advantageous for manufacturing and commercial purposes. The chief articles of manufacture here are superfine cloths, kerseymeres, swansdowns, shalloons, carpets, blankets, &c.; plate-glass, earthenware, and the spinning of flax to a great extent. Its merchants also buy extensively the woollen and stuff goods made in the neighbouring towns and villages, and get them finished and dyed; so that Leeds is a general mart for all these fabrics. The Leeds cloth-halls form an interesting spectacle on the market days. Machine-making is a flourishing business in Leeds. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal connects Leeds with the Western sea, and by means of the river Aire it has a communication with the Humber. By means of railways, this town now enjoys every advantage which can be given, by the most rapid communication with all parts of Great Britain, Leeds has numerous churches, as well as dissenting chapels, a free grammar school, a national school, commercial buildings, and a corn exchange, a philosophical and literary society, a mechanics' institute, a theatre, and various charitable institutions. Leeds was the native place of Dr. Hartley, author of "Observations on Man;" Wilson, the painter; and Smeaton, the celebrated engineer. Dr. Priestley, the distinguished philosopher, officiated for several years as the minister of the Unitarian chapel here. Leeds gives the title of Duke to the family of Osborne. Two M.P. Pop. 1851, 172,270.

About three miles from Leeds are the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey, picturesquely situated in a vale watered by the Aire. This abbey was founded in 1152 by Henry de Lacy for monks of the Cistercian order.

RAILWAY, West Branch), 384 Miles in length, commences at the Hampton
Station of the London and North Western Railway,

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HULL, or Kingston-upon-Hull, situated at the mouth of the river Hull, where it enters the Humber, is one of the principal sea-ports in the united kingdom. Its distance from London is 174 miles by way of Lincoln, or by Great Northern Railway, and 236 miles by way of York. It was anciently called Wyke or Wyke-upon-Hull, but its name was changed to Kingston-upon-Hull by Edward I., who prevailed on the Abbot of Meaux, who was lord of the manor, to sell him the lordship of Myton, with the town of Wyke. He afterwards made it a royal borough. The town was regularly fortified in the reign of Edward II. During the civil war it was held for the parliament, and was twice besieged by the Royalists but without success. The old part of the town, with the exception of the fine market-place, in which there is Scheemaker's equestrian statue of William III., is ill built, with narrow streets, but that portion near the Docks consists of handsome streets and houses. Hull is admirably situated for trade, being at the mouth of the great rivers Humber, Hull, Ouse, and Trent. It has three considerable, besides graving docks, and the old harbour is to be converted into a fourth. Hull has, within these few years, become a principal steam-packet station, and has various steamers, which sail at regular intervals for Hamburgh, Rotterdam, London, Leith, Aberdeen, Berwick, Newcastle, and Yarmouth. In 1850, 258 vessels of 50 tons and upwards, and 195 of smaller dimensions belonged to Hull. It employs a few vessels in the whale-fishery, and carries on an extensive traffic in coals, oil, corn, and timber. It has also a considerable foreign trade to the Balti the southern parts of Europe, the West Indies, and America. The value of t

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