The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

186
THE BEITISH ISLES.
Ahhei/, to the south of Chippenham, was the property of W. H. Fox Talbot, the
well-known inventor of Talbotype. Corsham, an old residence of the Saxon
kin"-s, lies to the east, and carries on an extensive trade in oolitic freestone, procured
from quarries in its neighbourhood. Melksimm, on the Avon, has a thriving cloth
industry, but yields in importance to its neighbour Bradfonl-on-Acon, prettily
situated on the slopes of the hill, and rich in quaint gable-fronted houses. Its
most interesting building is the Saxon church of St. Lawrence, the only perfect
Saxon church remaining in England. Bradford has been noted for many cen-
turies for its fine broadcloth, and kerseymeres were first made here, but the cloth
industry is now carried on more extensively in the neighbouring town of Trow-
bridge, which crowns the summit of a lofty rock on the banks of the Bliss, a
southern feeder of the Avon. Higher up on that river are the iron mines and
furnaces of Wcstbury.
The Thames, or rather Isis, traverses the northern extremity of the county,
running past the ancient town of Cricklade, the centre of an extensive parlia-
mentary borough. Old Swindon, in a pleasantly diversified grazing country to
the south, is a pretty market town, which has risen into importance since the
construction, by the Great Western Railway Company, of extensive workshops
and stores. Most of the men employed by the company live in New Swindon,
about a mile to the north of the old market town.
The river Kennet rises on the Marlborough Downs, which are not less rich in
prehistoric remains than Salisbury Plain, and joins the Thames at Reading. Marl-
boroucjh, the principal "Wiltshire town in its valley, is a quaint old-fashioned place,
with a famous college occupj'ing the site of the Norman castle, and in close prox-
imity to Savernake Forest, the domain of the Marquis of Aylesbury. Ascending
the Kennet for about 5 miles, we reach Silbury Hill, a gigantic artificial mound
rising to a height of 12-5 feet, and surrounded by a circle of sarscn stones. Tradition
is silent as to the events which this structure is intended to commemorate. Close
to it rises Avebury, girt by an earthen mound 170 feet in height, and an inner
ditch. The area thus enclosed was originally occupied by stone circles, similar
to those of Stonehenge, and perhaps of even greater antiquity, but as many of
the stones have been removed, it is difiicult now to trace the original arrange-
ments.*
Hampshire, SorxHAMrTONSiiiRE, or Hants, one of the most agreeable counties
of England, has a varied surface and a mild and genial climate. A considerable
portion of it is occupied by chalky downs, whose northern escarpments f look down
upon the valley of the Kennet, whilst to the southward they slope towards the
level tracts which border the English Channel. The valleys which intersect these
downs contain much good land, and some of the finest water-meadows in England.
The south-western portion of the county is almost whollj- occupied by the sparsely
peopled district known as the New Forest, where oak and beech trees abound, but
which also includes large stretches of heath. The most populous towns have arisen
• Forbes Leslie, "Early Races of Srotland."
t liikpen here attiins a hfiight of 970 ftet.