Macclesfield 6 | Stockport....6| Altringham.10 172 1066 1082 176 86 196 .12 240 52 445 67 166 10 Launceston 15 230 246 192 41 48 8 Doncaster ...7 * ADLINGTON. Through this township runs the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It contains several coal mines. Adlington Hall, the seat of Sir Robert Clayton, Bart., was rebuilt about 1780; it stands in a Clayton, low situation, on the borders of an extensive park, and contains some very good pictures, amongst which is a head of Charles I., taken after death. Ellerbeck Hall is the seat of John Hodson, Esq. In this neighbourhood is Park Hall, the seat of R. P. German, Esq. The inhabitants of Adlington are chiefly employed in the cotton manufactories of the vicinity. + ADWALTON formerly possessed a market which is now disused. On Adwalton Moor, a battle was fought, in 1642, between Battle the Earl of Newcastle, commanding for the king, and the parliamentary 142. general, Lord Fairfax, in which the latter was defeated. Fairs, February 6, March 9, Easter Thursday, Thursday fortnight after Easter, WhitThursday; and every second Thursday thence to Michaelmas, for lean cattle; November 5, and December 23. fought here St. AGNES is situated on the Bristol Channel. The town and parish, including a considerable mining district, is thickly strewed with the cottages of the miners. It is more frequently called Lighthouse Island, from a very high and strong lighthouse erected here, to warn very high the mariner from the rocks, which are more numerous about this than and strong any other of the Scilly Islands. This building is upwards of sixty lighthouse. feet high, and stands on the most elevated ground. The light is produced by twenty-one parabolic reflectors of copper, plated with silver, and having each au argand lamp in its focus. The reflectors are disposed of in three clusters, of seven in each cluster, and the frame in which they are fixed stands perpendicularly to the horizon, on a shaft united to a machine below, which makes the whole revolve every two minutes. By this motion the light progressively sweeps the whole horizon; and by its gradual intermission and increase, it is readily distinguished from any other. Its brilliancy is also extraordinary; and by these combined efforts its benefits are greatly increased, as the seaman is at once rendered completely sensible of his situation. This light was designed by the ingenious Mr. Adam Walker, (lecturer on natural and experimental philosophy,) under whose inspection it was constructed. The lighthouse itself is of stone, and was erected, as appears from an inscription over the door, by Captain Hugh Till, and Captain Simon Bayley, in the year 1680. The charges attending the light are defrayed by the Trinity House. At St. Agnes is a pilchard St. Agnes' fishery. St. Agnes' Beacon, six hundred and sixty-four feet above beacon. the level of the sea, is formed out of an ancient cairn, or tumulus of stones; near which, a summer-house has been built, from whence is a fine view of St. Ives, and an extensive sea prospect. Near the same St. AGNES. Birthplace of John Opr. th painter. First at tempts at portrait painting. Genius fos Walcot. Anecdotes of Opie. spot is St. Agnes' Well, of which many miraculous stories are in circu- This place gave birth to John Opie, whose persevering genius advanced him to the highest rank in his profession. He was born at Harmony Cot, in May 1761. The opening years of his existence indicated that he must plod through life in the dull occupation of a carpenter, as successor to his father and grandfather. He distinguished himself at a very early period, for originality and strength of mind, and at twelve years of age commenced an evening school in St. Agnes, teaching arithmetic and writing, and reckoning amongst his scholars some who had nearly doubled his years. His first humble attempts at portrait painting were with a smutty stick, against the white-washed wall of his paternal cottage, where he exhibited, in dark colours, very striking likenesses of the whole family. His next step was to draw He was apprenticed to his father, with ochre on cartridge paper. but from some unascertainable cause was turned over to a sawyer: and it was literally in the bottom of a saw-pit that Dr. Walcot, better known by the appellation of Peter Pindar, (who had previously seen and admired some of Opie's rude drawings,) first beheld this untutored tered by Dr. child of genius, under whose patronage he was protected, and his fame promoted. After visiting Exeter, (where he was persuaded to change his surname, which originally was Hoppy, to that of Opie,) finding his success was commensurate with his abilities, it was soon determined they should be brought to act in a wider sphere; and, in 1780, the Doctor and his pupil repaired to London, where not agreeing as to the mode of living together, they separated, and although their attachment had been cemented by long-continued kindness, subsequently to this period, yet they were never after cordially united. The opinion Opie entertained of the services which he had received from the Doctor, may be gathered from the following curious note of hand, which was said to be in the possession of the latter: "I promise to paint, for Dr. Walcot, any picture or pictures, he may demand, as long as I live; otherwise, I ungrateful son of a desire the world will consider me as a....... John Opie." It is not certain that he ever deviated from this voluntary obligation, but it is matter of pleasant remark, that he always made his friend pay eighteen-pence for the canvass! Opie was as fortunate in London as he had been at Exeter. To Pindar, however, he was Through him his indebted for his introduction to public notice. pictures were shown to Mrs. Boscawen, by whom Opie was introduced to the late Mrs. Delaney, who procured for him the notice of King George III. An opportunity was contrived for the royal family to see his picture of the The Old Beggar Man; soon after which, Opie was honoured with a command to repair to Buckingham House. The artist's account of this interview was given in the following characteristical manner to Walcot, who has often been heard to relate it with great humour. "There was Mr. West," said Opie, "in the room, Opie's rela- and another gentleman. First, her majesty came in; and I made a sad mistake in respect to her, till I saw her face, and discovered by her features that she was the queen. In a few minutes his majesty came hopping in. I suppose," said Opie, "because he did not wish to frighten me. He looked at the pictures and liked them; but he whispered to Mr. West- tell the young man I can only pay a gentleThe picture which his majesty bought was man's price for them.' that of A Man Struck by Lightning. The price given was £10, with which Opie returned to the Doctor full of spirits. His friend, when he heard the story, said, "Why, John, thou hast only got £8. for thy picture." Indeed, but I have though," cried Opie, "for I have got the £10. safe in my pocket." On this he showed him the money. "Aye," rejomed the Doctor, "but dost thou know his majesty Introduction to the King. tion of his interview with Royal eco- 66 County. Number of Miles from Dist. Popu Names of Places. to Cumberland Carlisle .3 | Brampton to Lancaster.. Clitheroe...6 Blackburn...7 Preston ..to N. R. York. Middleham .5 Richmond...6 Bedale ..4 234 to E. R. York. Beverley ...6 M. Weighton 9 Gt. Driffield .7 190 9 Aikton .......to & pa| Cumberland Wigton 4 Carlisle .9 Abbey-holm. 7 Lincolnshire Gt. Grimsby 4 Caistor. 9 Barton.. 28 Ailsworth 309 753 Wigton....10 Carlisle ..12 Gretna Green 8 Liverpool...6 Ormskirk . .8 Prescott ..10 Settle ...6 Skipton ..6 Arnecliff....7 230 Borobridge .6 Ripon .....6 Thirsk Whitby.....2 Scarboro ...18 Pickering ..15 237 .to & pa N. R. York. to & pa Bucks.. 18: Albans, St.. 5 Akeley 7 Gainsboro .12 Kirton... 12 140 to Northumb.. Wooler.....2 Coldstream..9 Kirk Newton 3 pa Suffolk.. bo & to Herts has got the frame for nothing, and that is worth £2." "D....it, so he has," cried Opie-"I'll go back and knock at the door, and ask for the St. AGNES frame; D....it, I will." He was actually about to put his resolve into execution, till dissuaded by the Doctor. Popularity naturally followed this notice of royalty. The ladies, however, soon deserted him, as his likenesses were not flattering; for where Nature had been niggardly, Opie refused to be liberal. He afterwards became better acquainted with the art of pleasing them; a change which has been attributed to Mrs. Opie, who used to stand over him, and endeavour to make him sensible of the graces of the female form. It was in the year 1786, that Mr. Opie became known as an exhibitor at Somerset House; soon after which he aspired to academical honours, and ultimately attained the rank of Royal Academician, and afterwards succeeded Fuseli, in the professorship of painting. He was twice married, but at what period his first hymeneal union occurred we are not informed-it was inaus- picious. His second marriage, which took place on May 8, 1798, was more fortunate; and in the society of the late Mrs. Opie, the amiable author of many beautiful and interesting literary compositions, he enjoyed a delightful relief from the toilsome duties of his profession. Mr. Opie was in the daily acquisition of wealth and fame, and rapidly advancing to the very zenith of popularity, when his mortal career was suddenly closed by death, on Thursday, April 9, 1807, in the Died in 1807 forty-sixth year of his age. "As a portrait painter he has great claims to praise, particularly in his men, which are firm, bold, and freely delineated, and occasionally well coloured. His women are heavy, inelegant, and chiefly accompanied with a hardness that destroys St. ALBANS is situated on the river Ver, or Muss, and consists of Originally King Offa's extraordi nary vision, which in duced him to build the abbey. St. Alban's body found of 494 years; a golden circle placed round his head. after a lapse .2 Brighton .81 Cuckfield ...6 42 1054 98 586 239 ST. ALBANS Alban, the British protomartyr, who was born here in the third century. He served in the Roman army, but was converted to Christianity by a monk, named Amphilabus, and suffered during the Dioclesian persecution, A. D. 303. The abbey subsequently obtained great privileges, and became very rich, the revenues at the dissolution amounting to upwards of £2500. per annum. Monastic foundations had their origin in this country, about the time of St. Augustine, who came from Ronie, to convert the Pagan Saxons to Christianity; and when Offa ascended the throne of Mercia, about twenty great monasteries had been founded in England, and about the same number of episcopal sees established. Offa's zeal prompted him to do what many of his crowned predecessors had done; but being undetermined whom to select as the patron saint of his establishment, it is recorded that, while at the city of Bath, an angel appeared to him in the silence of the night, desiring him to raise out of the earth the body of Alban, the first British martyr, and place his remains in a suitable shrine. Even the memory of Alban had been lost for three hundred and forty years; but the king assembling his clergy and people at Verulam, an active search was made for his body with prayer, fasting, and alms; when it is said a ray of light was seen by all to stand over the place of burial, similar to the star that conducted the magi to Bethlehem. The ground was therefore opened, and, in the presence of the king, the body of Alban was found. Offa is said to have placed a golden circle round the head of the deceased, with an inscription, to signify his name and title, and immediately caused the remains of the saint to be conveyed to a small chapel, without the walls of Verulam, as the town was then called, until a more noble edifice could be raised for its reception. This is said to have occurred on the 1st day of August, 791. four hundred and ninety-four years after the martyrdom of Alban. Offa afterwards made a journey to Rome, and obtained the desired privileges of his intended foundation, with great commendations for his zeal and piety, from the pope, when The undertook to build a stately church and monastery, to the memory St. Alban. From this abbey the town originated, which early obtained considerable importance. The abbey church, which claims particular attention for its size, beauty, and antiquity, is constructed of Roman brick, to which age has given the appearance of stone. A stone screen, erected before the communion table, in 1461, is much admired for the richness and lightness of its sculpture. The tombs of the founder, Offa, and that of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, are shown here; and, not many years ago, the leaden coffin, containing the body of the latter, found near- was opened, and the corpse found nearly entire. The Roman antiquities discovered on the site have been very numerous. The effect of the venerable abbey, when seen from a distance, is extremely imposing: situated upon an eminence, its massive towers rise majestically above the houses of the ancient town, which is well known to have derived its first importance from the Romans, since which, it has increased chiefly under the protecting influence of successive abbots of this rich and powerful monastery. The prospect of its mouldering ruins, forces upon the mind a melancholy train of reflection on the instability of all human institutions. Duke of Gloucester's body ly entire. of Market, Saturday.-Fairs, March 25 and 26; October 10 and 11, for horses, cows, sheep, and hiring servants.-Inns, Angel, and White Hart.-Mail arrives 10.15 P. M. Departs 4.30 A. M. A Roman of antiquity ALCESTER is situated at the confluence of the two small rivers, | Alne and Arrow, having a bridge over each. It is supposed to have been a Roman station; Roman coins, urns, and similar relics, station. having been frequently found here. The Roman way of Icknield Street also passed through it, and from its situation it is deemed the Alana Many relics of Richard of Cirencester. It was anciently a borough by pre- found. scription, and of some note in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. when it became the property of the Beauchamps, and afterwards of the Grevilles. The church is a fine gothic structure; the market is well supplied with corn; and the manufacture of needles is very extensive. Here is a Free School, founded by Walter Newport, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and various alms-houses and small charities, originating in different benefactors. Traces of the site of Traces of an an abbey, founded in the reign of King Stephen, to the north of the founded by town, are still visible. abbey King Market, Tuesday-Mail arrives 9 A.M., departs 81 P.M.-Inn, Angel.-Fairs, March Stephen. 20, June 23, Tucsday before April 5, May 18, 2nd Tuesday in July, for cheese ↑ ALDBOROUGH. Fair, September 4. ↑ ALDBOURN. Market, Tuesday. George poet Bio graphical sketch of his life. § ALDEBURGH is pleasantly situated in the valley of Slaughton, and bounded on the eastern side by the sea, which has made considerable encroachments, and nearly washed a street away. The river Ald runs on the south side, and forms a convenient quay. The town is mean in construction, and chiefly inhabited by fishermen and seafaring people. Soles, lobsters, and other fish are abundant. It is remarkable as the birth-place of the late Rev. George Crabbe, emphatically styled Birth place the Poet of the Poor, who was born December 24, 1754. His of the Rev. father was an officer in the Customs, and at first gave him an educa tion, merely suitable to follow the same pursuit; but when his prospects brightened, he removed his son to a classical seminary, where he was instructed for a surgeon and apothecary, to which profession he was in due time apprenticed, but relinquished all views of esta blishing himself in practice. At a very early period he became a versifier; and among his precocious attempts was a prize poem, on Hope, which was inserted in the Lady's Magazine, then published by Mr. Wheeble. Crabbe came to London, in 1778, with £3. in his Crabbe's pocket, and made versification his chief study. His first published arrival in work was The Candidate, a poem, in quarto, which came into the 1778. world anonymously, in 1780, and was favourably received. A short His first time afterwards, his poverty and poetry induced him to seek the published patronage of Edmund Burke, to whom he submitted a large quantity of received. miscellaneous composition; he had no introduction to Mr. Burke, excepting his own letter, stating his circumstances; no recommendation But his distress, and yet his application was attended with success. His p tron introduced him to some of the first men in the country, and soon London, work well |