Gloucestershire is naturally divided into three longitudi nal stripes or districts, which differ materially from one another. The Coteswold district comprehends the whole tract of hill country, from Chipping Camden northward to Bath, and is often divided into the upper and lower Cotes wolds. This is a long tract of high ground, for the most part bleak•and bare : the sides of this tract are extremely beautiful as they sink into the vale, from the hills of Stinch combe and Nibley on the south, to that of Bredon on the north. The Stroudwater hills form a tract connected with and similar to the Coteswold. The second natural divi sion of this county is the vale, which comprehends the whole of the lowlands from Stratford upon Avon to Bristol ; it is usually divided into the vales of Evesham, Gloucester, and Berkley ; but as the Severn and the Avon are the na tural boundaries of it, it might more properly de divided into the vales of Severn and Avon, the former compre hending all the low country between Tewksbury and Bris tol, and the latter the lowlands between the upper Cotes %void and the Avon from Tewksbury to Stratford. The last natural division, which is by much the shortest of the longitudinal stripes, is wholly varied with hill and dale : it includes the parishes on the west side of the Severn up to Gloucester ; and afterwards on the west side of the Leden, till it enters Herefordshire ; this natural division is chiefly occupied by the Forest of Dean, once reckoned the prin cipal support of the English navy, and which, it is said, the Armada was expressly commissioned to destroy : it is now thinned very much, though a few solitary deer continue to run wild in its remoter parts.
The climate of these different parts of Gloucestershire varies considerably, though perhaps not so much as might have been expected from the difference of their elevation, cultivation, and soil, since the climate of the Coteswold hills, considering their natural elevation and nakedness, is unusually mild. The climate of the vale lands is perhaps as genial as that of any district in England ; and that of the forest district is by no means severe, so that Gloucester shire may justly be regarded as highly favoured in this re spect. The soil of the Coteswolds is for the most part a shallow calcareous loam, on a stratum of rubble ; clay is met with in some parts, especially on the declivities. The soil of the vale is uncommonly rich, being either a fine black loam, or a red loam of equal fertility. In all parts of this district, except where the compact limestone rocks are found, a blue clay forms the under soil. In most of the fo rest district, the soil inclines to sand, in general not of a fertile quality : in the forest of Dean, a kind of peaty soil prevails. The principal rivers in Gloucestershire are the Severn, the Thames, and the upper and lower Avon. The Severn enters the county near Tewksbury, where, uniting its waters with those of the Upper Avon, and pursuing a south-west course, it traNerses a wide vale of uncommon richness and beauty. About a mile above Gloucester it divides into two streams, which reunite a little below the city, forming Alney island. Soon afterwards, the breadth and depth of the river are much increased by the streams that fall into it, and its character becomes more bold and picturesque. Near Franiclode it takes a northeily direc
tion, forming nearly a semicircle in the next ten miles of its course ; alter this it gradually grows wider, till it re ceives the Wye near Chepstow and the Avon from Somer setshire, thus forming the Bristol Channel. In its passage through Gloucestershire, it receives the Upper Avon, the Chelt, the Leden, the Frome, and the Lower Avon, near Bristol. This river frequently overflows its banks, particu larly below Gloucester ; in consequence of which, drains, sea-walls, &c. have been made, which are under the super intendance of a society called the commissioners of the sewers. The Severn is remarkable for its tide, which rolls in with an elevation of three or four feet. The Upper Avon divides a small part of Gloucestershire from War wickshire, at the north extremity, and another small por tion from Worcestershire, near Tewksbury. The Thames its ts source in this county, about two miles south-west of Cirencester ; it then enters Wiltshire, and again becomes a Gloucestershire river at Kempsford, continuing the south ern boundary of it to Lechlade, where it enters Oxfordshire. The Wye divides part of Gloucestershire from Mon mouthshire and Herefordshire, and forms the natural west ern boundary to the forest of Dean. The canals in this county arc the Stroudwater, which begins at the town of Stroud, and enters the Severn at Framilode : its width is 42 feet, its length nearly eight miles, and its rise above the level of the Severn 102 feet. The Thames and Severn ca nal begins at Walbridge, where the Stroud navigation ends, and joins the Thames at Lecltlade ; its length is 28 miles; its general breadth 40 feet ; its fall 130 feet. It runs by a tunnel through Sapertow-hill. The Berkley canal, which was intended to open a communication between Glouces ter and the Severn at Berkley, has not been completed. The Hereford and Gloucester canal begins at Hertford, and joins the Severn opposite to Gloucester ; the total length is 35 miles.
The mineral productions of this county are not very numerous or important, coal only excepted ; this is found in abundance in almost every part of Dean forest, where there are not fewer than 150 pits : the lower parts of the vale also abounds in coal, but of a less sulphureous qua lity than that of the forest. Iron ore abounds in the fo rest, but only a small quantity is raised. In this district also a good compact limestone is found, but inferior to that which forms vast beds at the southern extremity of the county : the lime made from this stone is uncommonly white and strong. Blue claystone is found in the vale, in layers of from four to ten inches thick ; it is useful for building : it contains a considerable portion of calcareous matter. Freestone, of excellent quality, is raised from the Coteswold quarries ; and paving stones and grits are found in the forest ; of the latter, one of extraordinary hard ness and durability, deemed superior to any other for . cy der mills. Stone tiles are raised in the Coteswold ; and in the parish of Henbu•y there is a fine bed of plas ter of Paris.