NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME is a place of considerable antiquity, and a corporate town so early as the reign of Henry VI. A castle was built here during the reign of Henry VII.; but no vestiges of it remain, except a portion of the mound on which it was built. The town has two churches, several meeting-houses, and a range of alms-houses, founded by the second Duke of Albemarle. The chief manufacture is that of hats. There are three silk mills, a paper and a cotton mill; a few of the inhabitants are engaged in the potteries. Two M. P. Pop. 9838. STOKE-UPON-TRENT is one of the new Parliamentary boroughs created by the Reform Act. This borough has this peculiarity, that, instead of comprehending one principal town and its suburbs, it consists of a considerable district, extending 7 miles in length, and about 3 miles in breadth, and including the markettowns of Burslem, Hanley, Lane-End, Stoke, and Tunstall Court. This district is commonly termed the "Potteries," and is the chief seat of the earthen-ware manufacture in England. In the borough, or in its immediate neighbourhood, about 4400 men with their families were, in 1831, engaged in the manufactory of earthen-ware. Coals, marl, and potter's clay are dug in the vicinity. At Etruria is the superb mansion erected by Mr Wedgwood, the great improver of the earthen manufacture of the district. Stoke-upon-Trent returns two M. P. Pop. of par. 46,754; of Burslem, 16,091; of Hanley Chap. 8609; of LaneEnd Chap. 12,345.

LIVERPOOL, the second city in the kingdom, is situated on the right side of the Mersey. A castle is said to have been built here by Roger of Poictiers, which was demolished in 1659. St George's Church now stands on the site. During the civil wars, Liverpool held out against Prince Rupert for a month, but at last it was taken and many of the garrison and inhabitants were put to the sword. The town was very soon after retaken by Colonel Birch, and continued to remain true to the popular cause. Liverpool was merely a chapelry attached to the parish of Walton till the reign of William III., and in 1650 there were only fifteen ships belonging to the port. It was deeply engaged in the African slave trade; and in 1764, more than half this trade was carried on by the merchants of Liverpool. Since the great extension of the cotton manufacture it has become the port where the great bulk of the raw material is received, and whence the exports of manufactured goods are chiefly made to all parts of the world. It also enjoys a very large proportion of the trade between England and Ireland, especially since the employment of steam-vessels for the conveyance of merchandize. Liverpool is supposed to possess one-twelfth part of the shipping of Great Britain; one-fourth part of the foreign trade; one-sixth part of the general commerce; and one-half as much trade as the port of London. The customs dues are between four and five millions sterling; the cotton imported reaching a million and a-half of bags. The imports are about twenty millions in value, the exports exceeding that sum by a fourth, and it is calculated that 1600 tons of goods pass daily between Liverpool and Manchester. About two-fifths of the tonnage inwards and outwards are engaged in the trade with the United States. Considerable traffic

I

is carried on also with the United States, the West India Islands, Brazil, and ether parts of South America and the East Indies. Its intercourse with Ireland is about equal in amount with that kept up with every port in Great Britain. The inland trade of Liverpool is much assisted by means of canals and railways, and it has benefited more than any port in the kingdom, (London alone excepted,) from the application of steam power to navigation. The docks are constructed on a most stupendous scale. They consist of wet, dry, and graving docks, and are connected with wide and commodious quays, and immense warehouses. The wet docks occupy a water superficies of 90 acres, 3384 yards, and the quays measure seven miles 156 yards in length.

room,

Until about fifty years ago, the streets of Liverpool were narrow and inconvenient, and the buildings devoid of architectural beauty, but successive improvements have given to the town an elegance not to be met with in any other commercial port in the kingdom. The most important public buildings are, the town-hall, the exchange buildings, and the custom-house. The town-hall is a handsome Palladian building, surmounted by a dome, which is crowned by a statue of Britannia. It contains a number of portraits and a statue of Roscoe by Chantrey, and on the landing of the staircase there is a statue of Canning by the same artist. The interior of the town-hall, besides the rooms on the basement story, contains a saloon, two drawing-rooms, two ball-rooms, a banquetingand a refectory, the whole elegantly fitted up. The exchange buildings form three sides of a square, in the centre of which is a group of statuary, in memory of Nelson, executed by Westmacott in 1813. The new custom-house, by far the finest building in Liverpool, both in magnitude and architectural execution, contains also the post-office, the excise-office, the stamp-office, the dock treasurer's and secretary's offices, the board-room, and offices of the dock committee. At the junction of the London road and Pembroke Place, there is an equestrian statue of George III. by Westmacott. St James's cemetery was once a quarry of red stone, and consists principally of catacombs. On the summit of the rock near the entrance is a beautiful chapel, containing some good sculpture. Here the late Mr Huskisson was interred, and a monument to his memory has been placed over the spot, with a statue of fine white inarble, habited in a toga. Liverpool contains thirty-two places of worship connected with the Establishment, and fitty-nine belonging to Dissenters of various denominations. There are in Liverpool 75 Sunday schools, with 16,000 scholars; 43 evening schools, with 548 scholars; 648 day schools with 28,916 scholars. There are 13 medical charities, 12 provident, and 23 religious. There are 15 literary institutions, 12 places of public amusement, and 10 prisons. Among the literary institutions may be mentioned the Royal Institution, formed in 1814, by Mr Roscoe-the Literary, Scientific, and Commercial Institution set on foot in 1835-the Mechanics' Institution, opened in 1837,-the Liverpool Institution of the Fine Arts -the Atheneum,-the Lyceu, &c.

The markets of Liverpool are very remarkable structures; that of St John

occupies nearly two acres of ground, the whole under one roof, supported by 116 pillars.

The zoological gardens comprise ten acres of ground, and are laid out with a good deal of taste.

The manufactures of Liverpool are not important. There are several sugar refineries, some small founderies, a good deal of ship-building in wood and iron, a manufactory of steam-engines for vessels, and manufactories of anchors, chain cables, and similar articles naturally in demand in a large port.

The value of the corporation estates is estimated at three millions of money, and the annual income derived from rents and dock dues has increased to upwards of L.320,000. A great proportion of this income has been devoted to the improvement of the town, including the building of churches and other public edifices. The sum expended in these objects and in widening the streets, between 1786 and 1838, amounts to L.1,668,300.

The site of Liverpool is low and unhealthy. According to the Registrar-General's return of births and deaths, the deaths and marriages are double, while the births are little more than half, the number of the average of all England. In 1700, the population of Liverpool was only 4240; in 1841, it amounted to 223,003. It returns two members to Parliament.

The country around Liverpool abounds in every direction with fine residences. Of these, the most important are, Knowsley Hall (Earl of Derby); Croxteth Park (Earl of Sefton); Ince Blundell, the seat of the Blundell family; Childwall Abbey (Marquis of Salisbury); Speke Hall (Mr Watt); Hale Hall (Mr Blackburne); Woolton Hall, &c.

At Everton is the cottage where Prince Rupert established his head quarters when he besieged the town in 1644.

LXVIII. LONDON TO MANCHESTER THROUGH

ST ALBANS, NORTH

AMPTON, LEICESTER, DERBY, MACCLESFIELD, AND STOCKPORT, 186 Miles.

To Buxton, 11 miles; to 183 MACCLESFIELD, p. 199 167