The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

240
THE BRITISH ISLES.
of Oiron, but the secret of wliich had been lost. Wedgwood and Minton bestowed
equal attention upon form and decoration, and the ware produced by them, with
the aid of artists of high repute, far surpasses in taste the articles ordinarily
made by English manufacturers. We almost marvel that these smoky towns
should have turned out such beautiful majolicas, and porcelain so tastefully
decorated. Recently a school of art adapted to ceramic manufacture, and known as
the Wedgwood Institute, has been opened at Burslem, the birthplace of Wedgwood.
This building is decorated with terra-cotta, which bears witness to the high state of
perfection attained by the local manufacture. The population concentrated around
Stoke-upon-Trcnt already approaches 300,000 souls, and it increases rapidlj-, for
the coal basin of North Staffordshire, despite its small extent, possesses inestimable
advantages in its alternation of coal seams and beds of iron ore. The remaining
towns of the Pottery District are Hanlcy, half-way between Stoke and Burslem,
which is as much dependent upon iron works as upon potteries ; Tinisfa/l, Small-
thorne, and Kidsgrorc, the latter a mining town, close to the northern boundary of
the county. Fentonaxidi Longfon (with Dresden), which have potteries and earthen
works, lie to the south-east, whilst Neu-castle-Htider-Lyme, which carries on a great
trade in hats and shoes, and near which are the Silverdalo Iron Works, lies to the
west.
Leaving the district of the Potteries behind us, we enter the agricultural
portion of the county, and soon find ourselves in the midst of fields and woods,
and able to breathe a pure atmosphere. The towns are few and far between.
Stoke, on the banks of the Trent, is dependent upon its breweries and the manu-
facture of boots and shoes. Stafford, the county town, on the Sow, a tributary of
the Trent, has several ancient timbered houses, two interesting churches, and a shire-
hall. The castle, on a hill, commands a view of the Welsh hills. Izaak Walton,
the celebrated English angler, was born here. Rugelcy, on the Trent, is noted for
its horse fairs. It adjoins Cannock Chase, an upland tract, in which a little coal,
remarkably fine in quality, is found. Lichfield lies away from the river on a
navigable canal. Tamicorth, on the Tame, which flows past Birmingham and pays
tribute to the Trent, is the centre of a rich grazing district. Several of the towns
named are seats of industry, but in their general aspects and mediaoval buildings they
contrast strikingly with the great manufacturing district which lies farther west.
Lkhfiehl, an episcopal see, boasts a cathedral which, though small, is exquisitely
beautiful. It was built 1128—53. St. John's Hospital is a curious specimen of
the domestic architecture of the fifteenth century, whilst the grammar school has
acquired fame through Addison, Garrick, Bishop Newton, Dr. Johnson, and other
celebrated pupils who attended it. Dr. Johnson was born at Lichfield, and a
statue has been raised in his memory.
Below the confluence of the Trent and Tame there rises the important town of
Burton-upon-Trcnt, famous throughout the world for its bitter ale, said to owe its
peculiar qualities to the carbonate of lime contained in the water used by its
brewers. There are six large and about twenty-four small firms at Burton,
annually producing between them about a million and a half barrels of beer.