GLOUCESTERSHIRE

(51° 45’ N.,|it 2° 30’ W.), W. midland county, England, situated on estuary and lower course of Severn. Bounded N. by Heréford shire, by Worcesters hire, Oxfords hire, and 8, by War wicks hire, Berks hire, WiltEH. shire, Somerset, W. by estuary of Severn and Mon mouths hire. Area, 1,228 sq. miles. Chief towns: Gloucester (capital), Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, and part of Bristol. Surface is varied, with three distinct features: E., Cotswold Hills (highest, Cleeve Hill); center, rich} fertile valleys of Severn and other rivers; W., Forest of Dean. Most important rivers include Avon, Lower Avon, Wye, and Thames. Sheep-farming is carried on in hills; in valleys pastureland, orchards, woods, and dairy-farms where} celebrated G. cheese is made. W. coal-fields of Forest of Dean and Bristol. pe puipisels —sadude eee ochre, gloves, gla , hardware. Extensive canal system. Most noteworthy antiquities|G°":, are: cath’s of G. and Bristol; churches of Tewkesbury and Cirencester; many fine parish churches; 3 remains of Hayles Abbey and castles of Berkeley, Thornbury, and Sudeley. Pop. 1921, 757,668.