IVARWICKSHIRE, a midland county of England, Is bounded N. for a very small space by Derbyshire ; N.E. by Leicestershire, the line of separation being formed in great part by the ancient Watling Street ; E. by Northamptonshire; S.E. by Oxfordshire ; S. and S.W. by Gloucestershire ; W. by Worcestershire ; and N.W. by Stafford shire. It lies between 51' 58' and 52' 42' N. lat., 1' 10' and 2' 0' W. long. The greatest length is 50 miles ; the greatest breadth is 33 miles. The area of the county Is 891 square miles, or 563,946 acres. The population in 1341 was 401,703; In 1851 it was 475,013.
Surface and Geology.—Warwiekabire has no lofty hills, but the whole county is occupied by gentle eminences with intervening vales. The south-eastern border is skirted by hills composed of the lower formations of the oolitic series, overlooking the valley of the Stour and the ' Vale of Red Horse,' so called from a colossal figure of a horse carved in the ferruginous sands of the slope of Edge Hill, now oblite rated by the progress of inclosures, and replaced by one of much smaller dimensions. Of these oolite hills the chief portion in War wickshire consists of two ridges separated from each other by a narrow valley drained by a small brook which joins the Cherwell near Ban bury in Oxfordshire. The northernmost ridge% comprehending the Burton Bills, Gredenton Hill, Bitham Hill, Compton Hill, Farn borough Hill, Mollington Ilill, and others, runs from north-west to southeast, dividing the valley just mentioned from a parallel valley drained by another small feeder of the Cherwell, and through which the Oxford Canal passes. The other ridge consists of two parts or branches, meeting at Knowlo Hill : one part runs parallel to that just described, and overlooks the valley between them ; the other is nearly at right angles to the former, and runs southward, overlooking the valley of the Stour. This latter part of the ridge, known in one part as Edge Hill, possesses considerable interest as overlooking the scene of the first pitched battle in the civil war of Charles I.: it consists of an elevated platform with a steep escarpment, commandiug an exten sive prospect over Warwickshire and Worcestershire as far as the Malvern and Abberley Hills west of the Severn. The southern pro
longation of Edge Hill consists of detached summits, such as Tysoe Hill, Broom 11111, Mine Hill, and Long Compton Ilill. Bradlee Hill is detached from the principal chain of hills, and is more advanced into the valley of the Stour ; it has two rather lofty summits.
The valley of the Stour and the Vale of lied Horse, which skirt the foot of the oolite hills, are occupied by the beds of the lias forma tion. The Has forms towards its north-western limit a range of high ground, including Walton or Bath Hill, Morton Hill, Bromaton ield, and Dunsmore Heath, at the foot of which range the formations of the red marl and new red-sandstone group crop out, and occupy the valley of the Avon nearly as far as Rugby. The lias forms the cap or summit of several hills, lied Hill, Bardun Welcome Hill, Rime Hill, Black Hill, and others, north-west of the Avon, between Stratford, Alcester, Warwick, and Henley-in-Arden.
The marlstone of the lias beds is quarried at Binton and Grafton, between Stratford and Alcester, and is used for paving, for atone seats, and as marble for chimney-pieces; it is not variegated in colour, but presents dendritical appearances.
The rest of the county, with one or two exceptions, is occupied by the formations of the red marl and new red-sandstone group; and forms part of the great midland red marl and new red-sandstone district. There is a range of high ground in Feckenham Forest, west of Alcester, along which the Ridge-way runs. Another range of high ground forms a semicircle north of Henley-in-Arden, inclosing the valley drained by the Alne (a small feeder of the Avon), which passes Henley and Alcester. A third range extends across the northern part of the county, forming a crescent, and passing by Solihull, Coleshill, and Dosthill, to the border of the county between Atherstone and Tamworth ; and a fourth runs northward from the lias-capped hills near Warwick, by Hatton, Berkswell, Meriden, and Maxtoke to Whit acre, where it unites with the third range. None 6f these high grounds are of much elevation. A range of hills runs eastward from Warwick, or rather from Leamington Priors, by Dunchurch and Rugby to the border of the county, separating the valleys of the Learn and the Avon.