CIRENCESTER, or CICESTER as it is pronounced, is a borough and market town of England, in the county of Gloucester : It is situated on the river Churn, on the borders of Wiltshire, at the meeting of the three Roman roads, Foss-way, Irmin street, and the lcknicld way. The town consists of four principal streets, and seven of a smaller size, with several lanes, and occupies an area about two miles in circuit. A great part of the street which leads from Gloucester is a hollow way, where a small branch of the Churn passes, and again falls into its channel at the second bridge. The houses are chiefly built of stone, but the principal ones arc generally de tached from the rest. The parish church, which was built in the 15th century, is reckoned one of the finest edifices in the kingdom. The tower is 134 feet high, and has 12 bells. There were formerly other two towers, but they are both destroyed. It has five chapels of ease, of which St Mar•'s and St John's have stone roofs. The altar of St Mar•'s, which is not railed, has a stone pul pit, and is paved with black and white marble. The southern porch of St John's church, is a fine Gothic structure, and over the porch is the town hall. St Catherine's chapel, on the north side, is remarkable for the sculpture in the compartments of the roof; and in Trinity chapel, there are two monuments of marble in memory of Earl Bathurst, and his son the Lord Chan cellor. The chief public institutions are three charity
schools, and three hospitals. The principal manufactures of Cirencester arc, one of curriers knives, another of fine cloth, and a small carpet manufactory, besides two breweries.
Circencester was the Corinium of Ptolemy, and the Du rocornoviunz of Antoninus. It had a castle in the time of the Romans, and the city was encircled with a wall and ditch. The castle was demolished in the reign of Henry III. A Roman mosaic pavement, and other ancient re mains, have been found in the neighbourhood, and in 1723 a Roman building, supposed to be a hypocaust, was dis covered. A piece of ground called the Querns, on the south-west of the town, is supposed to have been the site of a Roman theatre. The following is the state of the population for 1811 : Number of inhabited houses, . 902 Number of families, 948 • Families employed in trade, &c. . • 526 Males, 2030 Females, 2510 Total population, 4540 See nudge's Gloucestershire. ( j )