GLOUCESTERSHIRE, a co. of England, lying around the lower course of the Severn and the estuary of that river, is bounded on the w. by Monmouth and Hereford, on the n. by Worcester and Warwickshire, on' the e. by Oxford and Berks, and on the s. by Somerset and Wilts. Area, 804,977 acres; pop. '61, 485,502; '71, 534,640. The shape of the county resembles a paralleldgram, and though its outline is still somewhat irregular, especially iu the n., it is much less so than formerly, as by act 7 and 8 Vict. c. 61,.outlying portions of the county of Gloucestershire were annexed to the counties in which they were respectively situated; and. in like manner, detached pieces of land belonging to other counties, but situated in Gloucestershire, were declared portions of that county. There are three distinct districts in this county, the natural features of each being different. These are the Hill, the Vale, and the Forest districts; the first formed by the Coteswold or Cotswold hills (q.v.); the second, comprising the vales of Gloucester and Berkeley, by the rich and low meadow-lands lying along the banks of the Severn; and the third consisting of the land w. of the Severn, which is occupied chiefly by the forest of Dean. The county is watered principally by the Severn, the Wye, the upper and lower Avon, and the Thames or Isis, which receives all the streams on the e. of the Cotswold hills. The soil is thin on the hills, but produces good pas turage for sheep, while the lower tracts abound in excellent grass and arable lands. Gloucestershire is famous as a dairy county, and raises large numbers of cattle. The
famous double and single Glo'ster cheese is produced in the vale of Berkeley. The forest of Dean, 20,000 acres of which are still crown property, is highly picturesque in appearance. From the orchards of Gloucestershire enormous quantities of cider are obtained. In 1878 there were in Gloucestershire 648,795 acres under cultivation, 172,515 acres being under corn crops. Gloucestershire is also a great coal and iron producing county. 'There arc about eighty collieries; in 1874 the forest of Dean iron mines raised 171,428 tons of iron ore. The manufactures are numerous and important. Tho chief is the manufacture of woolen cloth of the finer qualities; hats, felt, stockings, pins, cheese-cloths, and other linens are also produced in considerable quantities. The county sends four members to the house of C0111111011S.
Gloucestershire, previous Roman invasion, was inhabited by a tribe called the Dobuni; and after that event, the county, or the greater part of it, was included in the province named Flaeia agsariensis. From the earliest of the Danish invasions down to the battle of Tewkesbury, in 1411, and to the civil wars between the crown and parlia ment, Gloucestershire has been the scene of many and disastrous encounters. It contains numerous -Roman relics in camps, roads, coins, fragments of statuary and pottery, tesselated pavements, etc. There are also very numerous traces of British works in the county.