Documents for "British and Irish Political Geography":

• Aberavon Wales: see Port Talbot.

• Aberbrothock see Arbroath , Scotland.

• Aberdare Welsh Aberdâr, town (1991 pop. 31,619), Rhondda Cynon Taff, S Wales. Originally a processing center for iron and coal, Aberdare has become the service center and purchasing hub of the Cynon Valley. Industries...

• Aberdeen former county, Scotland: see Aberdeenshire.

• Aberdeen city (1991 pop. 218,200) and council area, NE Scotland, on the North Sea at the mouth of the Dee River. It is Scotland's third largest city. Aberdeen is a major fishing port and granite-quarrying...

• Aberdeenshire council area (1993 est. pop. 223,630), 2,438 sq mi (6,315 sq km), and former county, NE Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, the county of Aberdeenshire (or Aberdeen) became part of...

• Abersychan Wales: see Pontypool.

• Abertawe England: see Swansea.

• Abertillery town (1991 pop. 12,091), Blaenau Gwent, SE Wales. The town, an agricultural market, produces tin plate and has a brewing industry.

• Aberystwyth town (1991 pop. 10,250), Ceredigion, W Wales, on Cardigan Bay. It is a summer resort and cultural center. Before the construction of railroads, Aberystwyth was a coastal trading center. The town...

• Accrington town (1991 pop. 36,459), Lancashire, NW England. The principal industry is cotton weaving. Textile printing and dyeing and the manufacture of machinery and bricks are also important.

• Aghrim Republic of Ireland: see Aughrim.

• Airdrie town (1991 pop. 45,320), North Lanarkshire, S central Scotland. Chemicals and electrical and electronic equipment are produced. There are facilities for electronic research. Airdrie's free library...

• Albany ancient and literary name of Scotland, N of the Firth of Forth and Firth of Clyde. Variants are Alban and Albin.

• Albion ancient and literary name of Britain. It is usually restricted to England and is perhaps derived from the Latin albus meaning "white," referring to the chalk cliffs of S England.

• Alderney Fr. Aurigny , anc. Riduna, island (1991 pop. 2,297), c.3 sq mi (7.7 sq km), in the English Channel, northernmost of the larger Channel Islands. It is separated from the French coast and from the other islands by swift tidal...

• Aldershot town (1991 pop. 53,665), Hampshire, S central England. It is the site of the largest military training center (est. 1854) in Great Britain. The minister of defense appoints most of the town...

• Aldridge-Brownhills town (1981 pop. 87,220), Walsall metropolitan district, central England. It was created in 1966 through the merger of two former districts. Aldridge-Brownhills is residential and has extensive...

• Alloa town (1991 pop. 26,378), Clackmannanshire, central Scotland, on the Forth River. Textiles, engineering, brewing, and bottle making are the principal industries. A 15th-century tower on Mar's Hill...

• Alloway Scotland: see Ayr.

• Altrincham town (1991 pop. 39,528), Trafford metropolitan district, W central England. A suburb of Manchester, it has a textile-printing industry and engineering works and is also noted for its market...

• Amesbury rural region, Wiltshire, S central England. In 980 the widow of King Edgar founded Amesbury Abbey, where Queen Guinevere of Arthurian legend is believed to have died. Stonehenge , the chief megalithic...

• An Uaimh Republic of Ireland: see Navan.

• Anglesey or Anglesea , island and county (1985 est. pop. 68,800), 278 sq mi (719 sq km), NW Wales. Beaumaris is the chief town. It is a region of low, rolling hills. The principal industries are agriculture and stock...

• Angus council area (1993 est. pop. 111,020), 842 sq mi (2,181 sq km), and former county, NE Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, the county of Angus became part of the Tayside region in...

• Antrim district (1991 pop. 48,000), 217 sq mi (562 sq km), NE Northern Ireland. The eastern and seaward area is a picturesque region of mountains and glens; to the west, where Antrim borders on Lough...

• Arbroath or Aberbrothock , town (1991 pop. 23,934), Angus, E central Scotland, on the North Sea at the mouth of the Brothock River. A seaport, it is known for its smoked haddock, shipbuilding, and the processing of flax and...

• Argyll or Argyllshire, former county, W central Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Argyll was divided between the new Highland and Strathclyde regions in 1975, with most of the county becoming part of...

• Argyllshire see Argyll.

• Arklow town (1991 pop. 7,987), Co. Wicklow, E Republic of Ireland, on St. George's Channel at the mouth of the Avoca River. The town has become a popular resort and has a small fishing port. Other...

• Armagh district (1991 pop. 49,050), 258 sq mi (668 sq km), S Northern Ireland. Armagh rises from boggy, fertile lowlands in the north to barren hills in the south. It is the fruit-growing center of...

• Armagh city (1991 pop. 12,700), S Northern Ireland. Textiles, chemicals, and processed foods are produced in the city. Armagh (originally Ard Macha) has been the ecclesiastical capital of all Ireland...

• Ascension island (1998 pop. 712), 34 sq mi (88 sq km), in the S Atlantic, NW of St. Helena and belonging to the British St. Helena colony. Georgetown is the main settlement. Ascension is volcanic and rocky...

• Ascot town, Windsor and Maidenhead, S central England. The famous horse races instituted by Queen Anne in 1711 are held annually in June on Ascot Heath. Ascot remains an important social and fashion...

• Ashton-under-Lyne town (1991 pop. 43,605), Tameside metropolitan district, NW England, in the Greater Manchester metropolitan area on the Tame River. Its industries include engineering, leather, plastics, textile...

• Athelney, Isle of small area formerly surrounded by marshland, Somerset, SW England. King Alfred took refuge from the Danes there in 878 and founded a Benedictine abbey in 888. Relics have been found, including the...

• Athlone town (1991 pop. 15,358), Co. Westmeath, central Republic of Ireland, on the Shannon River. It is an important road and rail junction and a busy inland port, reached by the river and two canals...

• Aughrim or Aghrim , village, Co. Galway, W central Republic of Ireland. It was the scene of a battle (July 12, 1691) in which the forces of William III of Great Britain won a decisive victory over those of...

• Avebury village, Wiltshire, S central England. The village, with a medieval church and Elizabethan manor house, lies within Avebury Circle, a Neolithic circular group of upright stones that is older and larger than Stonehenge but not so well preserved. The village and the circle have belonged to the nation since 1943 and are administered by the National Trust. To the south of Avebury is the similarly ancient Silbury...

• Avon former county, SW England, bordering the Severn estuary and the Bristol Channel. Created in 1974 from S Gloucestershire, Bristol, and N Somerset. it was dissolved in 1996 into four unitary...

• Aylesbury city (1991 pop. 51,999), Buckinghamshire, central England. It is an agricultural market for the upper Thames valley and is famous for its ducks. There are printing works, food processing,...

• Ayr former county, Scotland: see Ayrshire.

• Ayr town (1991 pop. 49,493), South Ayrshire, SW Scotland, at the mouth of the Ayr River on the Firth of Clyde. Ayr is a sea resort and a port for fishing, the export of iron and agricultural produce,...

• Ayrshire or Ayr, former county, SW Scotland. Ayrshire became part of the Strathclyde region in 1975. In the local government reorganization of 1996, Strathclyde was dissolved and the council areas of South, East,...

• Ballymena town (1991 pop. 28,166) and district, NE Northern Ireland, on the Braid River. Linen, woolen goods, synthetic fibers, carpets, and tobacco are produced in the town. According to tradition, St...

• Bamburgh village, Northumberland, NE England, on the North Sea. It was the capital of ancient Bernicia and for a time of Northumbria. In the 6th cent. a castle was erected above a tall cliff on the site of a Roman fort. Restored in the 18th cent., it is still used as a residence and contains the 14,000-volume Crewe Library...

• Banbury town (1991 pop. 37,463), Oxfordshire, central England, on the Cherwell River. Light industry and tourism are important to the local economy. Banbury's population has increased in recent years as a...

• Banff former county, Scotland: see Banffshire.

• Banffshire or Banff, former county, NE Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Banffshire became (1975) part of the new Grampian region. In the local government reorganization of 1996, Grampian was dissolved...

• Bangor town (1991 pop. 70,750), North Down dist., E Northern Ireland, on Belfast Lough. It is a seaport, resort, and yachting center (site of an annual regatta), with some light industry. The Elizabethan...

• Bangor town (1981 pop. 12,174), Gwynedd, NW Wales, at the northern end of Menai Strait. Slate is shipped from adjacent Port Penrhyn. The cathedral, on the site of a 6th-century church, dates from the...

• Bannockburn moor and parish, Stirling, central Scotland, on the Bannock River. Textiles are manufactured in the parish. In 1314 on the moor, a Scottish army of 10,000 led by Robert Bruce routed 23,000 English...

• Banstead town (1991 pop. 43,163), Surrey, SE England, on the North Downs. Banstead is mainly residential and comprises some highly regarded landscapes. A church from the Norman period and an excavated...

• Barking and Dagenham outer borough (1991 pop. 139,900) of Greater London, SE England. The borough has a power plant and an automobile manufacturing plant as well as engineering, chemical, paint, wood, and other...

• Barnes former municipal borough, SE England. See Richmond upon Thames.

• Barnet outer borough (1991 pop. 283,000) of Greater London, SE England. Although mainly residential, manufactures there include automobile and aircraft parts, electrical components, and beverages. At the...

• Barnsley city (1991 pop. 76,783) and metropolitan district, N England. Coal mining, engineering, and clothing industries dominate the local economy. A mining and technical college is in Barnsley.

• Barnstaple town (1991 pop. 24,490), Devon, SW England, on the Taw River estuary. The river is spanned there by a 16-arch stone bridge dating from the 13th cent. Barnstaple is the chief marketing town of...

• Barrow-in-Furness city (1991 pop. 50,174) and district, Cumbria, NW England, on the tip of the Furness peninsula. The port of Barrow has c.300 acres (121 hectares) of docks, and shipbuilding is an important industry, although much reduced in scale now. Barrow is also one of the principal engineering...

• Barry Welsh Barri, town (1991 pop. 45,053) and port, Vale of Glamorgan, S Wales, on the Bristol Channel. Once a major coal-exporting port, its more diversified export products include cement, flour, and steel...

• Basildon city (1991 pop. 94,800) and district, Essex, E England. The southern portion is Basildon New Town, a planned community with many factories. Industries include light engineering, chemicals,...

• Basingstoke city (1991 pop. 73,027), Hampshire, S central England, on the North Downs. Formerly a market town trading in silk and woolens, it has developed several industries, including the manufacture of...

• Bath city (1991 pop. 84,283), Bath and North East Somerset, SW England, in the Avon River valley. Britain's leading winter resort, Bath has the only natural hot springs in the country. Engineering,...

• Batley town (1991 pop. 45,582), Kirklees metropolitan district, N central England. Heavy woolens, shoddy, and other textiles are the chief manufactures; tiles, carpets, mattresses, felt, biscuits, and...

• Battle town, East Sussex, SE England. The town grew up on the site (then a moorland) of the battle of Hastings (1066). The victorious William the Conqueror built Battle Abbey to commemorate the event. The...

• Beachy Head high chalk cliffs (575 ft/175 m), on the south coast of East Sussex, S England. The battle of Beachy Head, in the War of the Grand Alliance, was fought (1690) between an Anglo-Dutch fleet under the...

• Bebington town (1991 pop. 62,618), Wirral metropolitan district, W central England. Its frontage on the Mersey River is part of the Port of Liverpool. Bebington, a suburb in the Liverpool metropolitan area,...

• Bedford town (1991 pop. 75,632), county seat of Bedfordshire, central England, on the Ouse River. It is an important industrial center; diesel engines, pumps, turbines, agricultural machinery, electrical...

• Bedfordshire or Bedford, county (1991 pop. 514,200), 473 sq mi (1,225 sq km), central England. It is also called Beds. The county seat is Bedford. The terrain is generally flat, with low chalk hills in the south. The region, drained by the Ouse River, is fertile, and more than four fifths of the area is under cultivation; agriculture is the...

• Bedlingtonshire town, Northumberland, NE England. A coal mining region in the 19th cent., its present economy depends upon a variety of light manufacturing.

• Beds England: see Bedfordshire.

• Bedworth town (1991 pop. 41,991), Warwickshire, central England. Located in a former coal-mining region, it is a residential and industrial town in the district of Nuneaton and Bedworth. Brickmaking is the...

• Beeston town (1991 pop. 64,785), Nottinghamshire, central England. Large pharmaceutical plants and factories there produce boilers, telecommunication equipment, fluorescent lights, textiles, pencils,...

• Belfast Gaelic Béal Feirste, city (1991 pop. 297,000), capital of Northern Ireland, Belfast dist. It is on Belfast Lough, an inlet of the North Channel of the Irish Sea, and at the mouth of the Lagan River. The harbor, 8.5 mi...

• Belgravia fashionable residential section of Westminster, London, England. Belgravia surrounds stately Belgrave Square and touches Grosvenor Place on the east.

• Berkhamstead formerly also Great Berkhampstead , town (1991 pop. 15,382), Hertfordshire, central England. Berkhamstead is mainly residential but has clothing, timber, and chemical industries. It is the site of an 11th-century royal castle in...

• Berks former county, England: see Berkshire.

• Berkshire or Berks , former county, S central England. Part of the ancient kingdom of Wessex and the birthplace of King Alfred , the county of Berkshire was abolished as an administrative entity in 1998 and divided into the unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, West Berkshire, Reading, Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead, and...

• Berwick former county, Scotland: see Berwickshire.

• Berwickshire or Berwick , former county, SE Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Berwickshire became (1975) part of the new Borders region (now the Scottish Borders council area).

• Berwick-upon-Tweed district (1991 pop. 26,400), Northumberland, NE England, at the mouth of the Tweed River. The district includes the Holy Islands and the Farne Islands and extends SW to the Cheviot Hills. The town...

• Bethnal Green see Tower Hamlets.

• Beverley town (1991 pop. 16,433), East Riding of Yorkshire, NE England. Beverley is primarily a market town with some shipbuilding and such light industries as the manufacture of railroad and automobile...

• Bexhill town (1991 pop. 35,529), East Sussex, SE England. It is a summer resort and has a 14th-century manor house and an 11th-century church.

• Bexley outer borough (1991 pop. 211,200) of Greater London, SE England. Bexley has many parks and open areas. Within the borough, Erith and Crayford are industrial centers. There are engineering and...

• Bideford town (1985 est. 12,300), Devon, SW England, on the Torridge estuary. Formerly a major seaport, it still maintains some foreign trade (timber is imported) and has a boatbuilding industry. Tourism...

• Billingsgate wharf and fish market, London, England, on the north bank of the Thames River. The market was named after a river gate in the old city wall. The word Billingsgate, a synonym for coarse language, arose from references to the speech of the district's fish mongers. The market has been relocated to a modern facility on the Isle of Dogs, a split of land near the...

• Birkenhead city (1991 pop. 99,075) and port, Wirral metropolitan district, W central England, at the mouth of the Mersey River; connected with Liverpool by the Mersey tunnel. Birkenhead has extensive docks...

• Birmingham city and metropolitan district (1991 pop. 934,900), central England. The city is equidistant from Bristol , Liverpool , Manchester , and London , England's main ports, and near the Black Country iron and coal deposits; it was connected to the Staffordshire mines by the Birmingham Canal in the 18th cent. Birmingham is Britain's second largest city (in both area and population) and is the...

• Bishop Auckland town (1991 pop. 23,560), Durham, NE England, on the Wear River. It is a busy market area, and the town's industries include textiles and engineering. Located near the site of a Roman fort,...

• Black Country highly industrialized region, mostly in Staffordshire but partly in Worcestershire and Warwickshire, W central England. It includes the cities of Dudley , Rowley Regis (see Warley ), Tipton, Walsall , Wednesbury, West Bromwich , and Wolverhampton. From the mid-18th to the mid-19th cent. the area's resources—coal, iron, clay, and limestone—made iron smelting and the manufacture of iron products the main industries. The black smoke from the...

• Blackburn city (1991 pop. 109,564) and district, Lancashire, NW England. It was formerly a great cotton-weaving center, noted especially for calicoes. Textiles are still important; other industries produce...

• Blackheath common, 267 acres (108 hectares) in Lewisham and Greenwich boroughs, London, England. It was the gathering place of highwaymen and of several martial groups, including the followers of Wat Tyler in...

• Blackpool city (1991 pop. 146,297) and district, Lancashire, NW England, on the Irish Sea. Famed as a traditionally working-class resort (with often inhospitable weather), Blackpool has 7 mi (11.3 km) of...

• Blair Atholl parish, Perth and Kinross, central Scotland, at the confluence of the Garry and the Tilt rivers. Blair Castle, begun c.1269, is the seat of the duke of Atholl and his Atholl Highlanders, Britain's...

• Blarney village, Co. Cork, SE Republic of Ireland. Those who kiss the Blarney Stone, placed in an almost inaccessible position near the top of the thick stone wall of the 15th-century castle, are supposed...

• Blaydon town (1991 pop. 30,563), Gateshead metropolitan district, NE England, on the Tyne River in the Newcastle upon Tyne metropolitan area. It manufactures iron and steel goods and bricks. Blaydon also...

• Blyth town (1991 pop. 36,466), Northumberland, NE England, at the mouth of the Blyth River. It is an industrial center and seaport, with shipbuilding and ship repair. Ropes and sails, confectionery,...

• Bocking England: see Braintree.

• Bodmin town (1991 pop. 11,992), county seat of Cornwall, SW England. The county offices are in Truro. Bodmin was formerly a busy market for tin and wool. A 15th-century church stands there.

• Bognor Regis city (1991 pop. 50,323), West Sussex, S central England. It is a seaside resort. At nearby Felpham is the cottage where the poet William Blake lived from 1801 to 1804. The title Regis was granted...

• Bolton or Bolton-le-Moors , city (1991 pop. 143,960) and metropolitan district, NW England, located in the Manchester metropolitan area. Since the late 18th cent., when spinning factories were built and a canal (1791) was...

• Bond Street in Westminster, London, England, famous for its fashionable shops. Among the noted residents of Bond St. have been the authors Laurence Sterne, James Boswell, and Jonathan Swift; Admiral Horatio...

• Bootle town (1991 pop. 70,860), Sefton metropolitan district, NW England, at the mouth of the Mersey River. It has extensive docks adjacent to those of Liverpool. Besides shipping, Bootle's industries...

• Border, the region surrounding the boundary between England and Scotland. From the coast near Berwick along the Tweed River through the Cheviot Hills and on to Solway Firth, the narrow, rugged country is...

• Boscobel parish, Shropshire, W central England. The oak in which Charles II supposedly hid after his defeat by Oliver Cromwell in the battle of Worcester (1651) was near Boscobel House, which is still standing....

• Boston town (1991 pop. 26,495), E central England, on the Witham River. Boston's fame as a port dates from the 13th cent., when it was a Hanseatic port trading wool and wine. Having recovered from a...

• Bosworth England: see Hinckley and Bosworth.

• Bosworth Field Leicestershire, central England. It was the scene of the battle (1485) at which Richard III was killed and the crown was passed to his opponent, the earl of Richmond (Henry VII), first of the Tudors....

• Bournemouth city (1991 pop. 142,849) and district, Dorset, S central England, on Poole Bay. It has grown since the middle of the 19th cent. from a small fishing village in the sheltered, pine-wooded valley of...

• Bradford city (1991 pop. 293,336) and metropolitan district, N central England, on a small tributary of the Aire River. It is a center of the worsted industry, which dates from the Middle Ages. Bradford has...

• Braintree town (1991 pop. 30,975) and district, Essex, E England, between the Pant (Blackwater) and Brain river valleys. It has textile, plastic, and metal-product industries. Bricks from ancient Roman roads...

• Brecknock see Brecon , Wales.

• Brecknockshire see Breconshire , Wales.

• Brecon or Brecknock , town (1981 pop. 7,422), Powys, S Wales, at the junction of the Honddu and Usk rivers. It is a market for the surrounding agricultural and cattle-raising area. Brecon was founded by the Normans...

• Breconshire or Brecknockshire, former county, S Wales. In 1974, Breconshire was divided between Gwent , Mid Glamorgan , and Powys.

• Brent outer borough (1991 pop. 226,100) of Greater London, SE England. The area is a rail and industrial center. Its manufactures include automobile parts, clocks and watches, and electrical equipment...

• Brentwood city (1991 pop. 51,212) and district, Essex, SE England. Brentwood is mainly residential but produces some agricultural equipment, film, and prefabricated concrete. The city was located on an...

• Bridewell area in London, England, between Fleet St. and the Thames River. The Bridewell house of correction, demolished in 1863, was on the site of a palace built under Henry VIII and given by Edward VI to...

• Bridgwater town (1991 pop. 30,782), Somerset, SW England, on the Parrett River estuary. It is a port for seaborne traffic and a market town. Bridgwater is the only place in England that produces bathbricks,...

• Bridlington town (1991 pop. 28,426), East Riding of Yorkshire, NE England. It has a well-protected harbor on Bridlington Bay, and its beaches and pavilions make it a popular holiday resort. The Royal...

• Brighouse town (1991 pop. 32,597), Calderdale metropolitan district, N central England, on the Calder River. It is a center of wool, cotton, and silk milling and produces carpets, leather goods, machinery,...

• Brighton city (1991 pop. 134,581) and district, East Sussex, SE England. The largest and most popular resort in S England, Brighton also has engineering works and factories that manufacture office...

• Bristol city (1991 pop. 370,300), SW England, at the confluence of the Avon and Frome rivers. Bristol, a leading international port, has extensive facilities, including docks at Avonmouth, Portishead, and...

• Britain alternate term for Great Britain, comprised of England, Scotland, and Wales. Often used synonymously with the United Kingdom, the name Britain is derived from Britannia, given by the Romans to the portion of the island of Great Britain that they occupied. It has sometimes been used to refer to Great Britain in the period before the Germanic invasions of the 5th...

• British Isles see Great Britain ; Ireland.

• Brixham see Torbay.

• Broadstairs and Saint Peter's town (1991 pop. 23,400), Kent, SE England. The town is in the region known as the Isle of Thanet. It is a residential area and resort and was once a retreat of Charles Dickens , whose residence there...

• Bromley outer borough (1991 pop. 281,700) of Greater London, SE England. It is the largest of the 32 Greater London boroughs with an area of 59 sq mi (153 sq km). Bromley is mainly residential. The...

• Bromsgrove town (1991 pop. 24,576) and district, Worcestershire, central England. An ancient market town, Bromsgrove is also a road junction. It is primarily residential but has some industry, such as a...

• Buckhaven and Methil township (1991 pop. 18,775), Fife, E Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. A former coal mining center, the port of Methil manufactures production platforms for the North Sea oil industry. In the...

• Buckinghamshire Buckingham, or Bucks, county (1991 pop. 619,500), 727 sq mi (1,883 sq km), central England. The county seat is Aylesbury. The Thames River forms the southern boundary of the county. In S Buckinghamshire are the chalky Chiltern Hills with their beech forests; furniture made from beechwood is one of the county's most...

• Bucks see Buckinghamshire.

• Burnley city (1991 pop. 76,365) and district, Lancashire, NW England. Historically a coal mining and cotton-weaving town, Burnley's economy is increasingly dominated by light engineering, including kitchen...

• Burton upon Trent urban area (1991 pop. 47,930), Staffordshire, W central England, on the Trent River and the Grand Trunk Canal. Brewing, begun there by Benedictine monks, is the most famous industry. From the 11th...

• Bury city (1991 pop. 60,785) and metropolitan district, NE England, located in the Manchester metropolitan area on the Irwell River and linked by canal with Bolton and Manchester. A textile city since...

• Bury St. Edmunds town (1991 pop. 30,563), Suffolk, E central England. It is the market and processing center for the surrounding rich farm region. The town also has engineering works, a brewery, timber yards, and...

• Bushey town (1991 pop. 23,240), Hertfordshire, SE England. Bushey is a residential town just N of Greater London. The local church contains windows by William Morris.

• Bute or Buteshire, former county, W Scotland, consisting mainly of the islands of Bute and Arran. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Bute became (1975) part of the new Strathclyde region. In the local government...

• Buteshire see Bute.

• Buxton town (1991 pop. 19,502), Derbyshire, central England, on the Wye River in Peak District National Park. It is c.1,000 ft (305 m) high; the "old town" is on a hill above it. Limestone is quarried,...

• Cóbh [Irish,=cove], town (1991 pop. 8,219), Co. Cork, S Republic of Ireland, on the south shore of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Originally called Cove of Cork, the town was renamed Queenstown when...

• Caerleon town (1981 pop. 6,711), Newport, SE Wales, on the Usk River. Militarily important during the Roman period, Caerleon has extensive remains of Isca, a Roman fortress, including an amphitheater,...

• Caernarvon Welsh Caernarfon, town (1981 pop. 9,506), Gwynedd, NW Wales, on Menai Strait. Petroleum is imported and slate exported. Tourism is important. The castle, begun by Edward I c.1284, is a fine example of a medieval...

• Caernarvonshire former county, NW Wales. In 1974, Caernarvonshire became part of the nonmetropolitan county of Gwynedd ; when Welsh local government was again reorganized (1996), the former territory of Caernarvonshire...

• Caerphilly Welsh Caerffili, town (1981 pop. 42,376) and county borough, 108 sq mi (279 sq km), S Wales. Famous for its cheese-making industry, the town of Caerphilly is home to a 13th-century castle, which is the largest in...

• Caithness former county, NE Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Caithness became (1975) part of the new Highland region (now a council area).

• Caledonia Roman name for that part of the island of Great Britain that lies N of the firths of Clyde and Forth. The name first occurs in the works of Lucan (1st cent. AD) and has been used in modern times...

• Camborne-Redruth town (1991 pop. 34,262), Cornwall, SW England. Tin and copper mines in the area have been greatly depleted, but rock drills and mining machinery are made in the district, and the School of...

• Cambridge city (1991 pop. 87,111) and district, Cambridgeshire, E central England, on the River Cam. The city, set in flat country, is most famous as the site of Cambridge Univ. , and tourism is an economic mainstay. Originally the site of a Roman military camp, Cambridge was an administrative and trading center in Anglo-Saxon times. William I had a fort and mint constructed, and two monastic establishments were built in early medieval times. The university was founded in the 13th cent. Central Cambridge still maintains much of its...

• Cambridgeshire county (1991 pop. 640,700), 1,313 sq mi (3,402 sq km), E central England. The county seat is Cambridge. Most of the area is alluvial fenland, rising to the low, chalky East Anglian Hills in the south, with the Gogmagog Hills near Cambridge the most conspicuous feature. The main rivers are the Ouse,...

• Camden inner borough (1991 pop. 170,500) of Greater London, SE England. Within the borough, residential Hampstead is popular with writers and artists. John Keats, John Constable, George Du Maurier, Kate...

• Cannock city (1991 pop. 54,003), Staffordshire, W central England. It was a mining town dependent upon the rich coal deposits of Cannock Chase until most of the mines closed in the mid-1990s. Cannock's...

• Canterbury city (1991 pop. 34,046) and district, Kent, SE England, on the Stour River. Tourism, services, and retail are the city's main industries. There is also some light manufacturing. Canterbury is...

• Cardiff Welsh Caerdydd, city and county (1998 est. pop. 320,900), S Wales, on the Taff River near its mouth on the Bristol Channel. Cardiff is the capital of Wales and an important port. Until the early 20th cent. it was one of the greatest coal-shipping ports in the world. Modern industries include retailing, services, engineering, oil and gasoline...

• Cardiganshire former county, W Wales: see Ceredigion.

• Carlisle city (1991 pop. 72,006) and district, Cumbria, NW England, near the junction of the Caldew, Eden, and Petteril rivers. The city of Carlisle is an important rail center. Manufactures include...

• Carlow county (1991 pop. 40,942), 346 sq mi (896 sq km), SE Republic of Ireland. The chief towns are Carlow , the county seat; Bagenalstown, on the Barrow River, which forms much of the western boundary of the county; and Tullow, on the Slaney River which crosses the county from north to south. The...

• Carlow town (1991 pop. 14,027), seat of Co. Carlow, SE Republic of Ireland, on the Barrow River. It is an agricultural market in a dairy region, with sugar refining, flour milling, brewing, and shoe...

• Carmarthen Welsh Caerfyrddin, town (1981 pop. 13,860), Carmarthenshire, S Wales, on the Tywi (Towy) River. It is a port for small vessels, a transportation hub, a cattle market, and a dairy center. In the Middle Ages,...

• Carmarthenshire Welsh Sir Gaerfyrddin, county, 926 sq mi (2,398 sq km), S Wales. In 1974, Carmarthenshire became part of the nonmetropolitan county of Dyfed , but in 1996 Dyfed was dissolved and Carmarthenshire was...

• Carrickfergus town (1991 pop. 19,100) and district, E Northern Ireland, on the shore of Belfast Lough. A minor fishing port, the town has die-casting, distribution, electronics, and energy and mineral...

• Carrick-on-Shannon small town, Co. Leitrim, N Republic of Ireland. Located beside the Shannon River, it is a farm market and a center for trout fishing.

• Cashel [Irish,=castle], town (1991 pop. 2,314), Co. Tipperary, S central Republic of Ireland. An agricultural market, it was formerly the ancient capital of the kings of Munster and was the stronghold of Brian Boru. On the Rock of Cashel, rising 300 ft (91 m) in the center of town, are the ruins of the 13th-century St. Patrick's Cathedral, a round tower (10th cent.), an ancient cross, and Cormac's Chapel...

• Castlebar town (1991 pop. 7,648), seat of Co. Mayo, W Republic of Ireland. It is a market for a farm area. Cured bacon and manufactured hats are products of the town, and Lough Castlebar is a fishing...

• Castleford town (1991 pop. 39,308), Wakefield metropolitan district, central England, at the junction of the Aire and Calder rivers. It is a suburb of Leeds. Chartered in 1955, Castleford has bottleworks, chemical...

• Caterham and Warlingham town (1991 pop. 30,331), Surrey, SE England. A residential suburb of London, it has engineering, chemical, perfume, and printing industries.

• Cavan county (1991 pop. 52,796), 730 sq mi (1,891 sq km), N Republic of Ireland. The county seat is Cavan. The county is a hilly region of lakes (Lough Oughter chief among them) and bogs, and the climate is extremely damp and cool. Most of the soil is clay. The Erne is the principal river, and the...

• Cavan town (1991 pop. 5,254), seat of Co. Cavan, N Republic of Ireland. It is a farm market with some light industry. The Roman Catholic and Anglican dioceses are in Cavan.

• Cawdor village, Highland, NE Scotland, SW of Nairn. Cawdor Castle, the earliest remaining piece dating from 1454, was represented by Shakespeare , following tradition, as the scene of the slaying (1040) of...

• Ceanannus Mór or Kells, town (1991 pop. 2,185), Co. Meath, NE Republic of Ireland, on the Blackwater River. It is a market town and was once a royal residence for Irish kings. Computer cabinets are made there. Noteworthy...

• Ceredigion county, 694 sq mi (1,797 sq km), W Wales. Ceredigion, corresponding to the former county of Cardiganshire, was established in 1996 when the nonmetropolitan county of Dyfed was dissolved. Cardiganshire...

• Chadderton town (1991 pop. 31,540), Oldham metropolitan district, NW England, in the Greater Manchester metropolitan area. Cottons and electrical and aircraft equipment are manufactured in Chadderton.

• Channel Islands archipelago (2005 est. pop. 156,000), 75 sq mi (194 sq km), 10 mi (16 km) off the coast of Normandy, France, in the English Channel. The main islands are Jersey , Guernsey , Alderney , and Sark , and there are several smaller islands, including Herm, Jethou, and Lithou; all the islands are dependencies of the British crown. The inhabitants have traditionally been mostly of Norman descent,...

• Chatham city (1991 pop. 65,035), Kent, SE England, on the Medway River. Chatham, Rochester, and Gillingham form a contiguous urban area known as the Medway Towns. Chatham is a major naval station, with...

• Cheadle and Gatley town (1991 pop. 59,478), Stockport metropolitan district, NW England, in the Greater Manchester metropolitan area. Industries include engineering works and the manufacture of chemicals, drugs, and...

• Chelmsford city (1991 pop. 91,109), county seat of Essex, SE England. It is a market center (especially for cattle) for the surrounding agricultural district. Manufactures include electrical equipment,...

• Chelsea England: see Kensington and Chelsea.

• Cheltenham city (1991 pop. 87,188) and district, Gloucestershire, W central England. It has been a health and holiday resort since the discovery of mineral springs there in 1716. The city's products include...

• Chertsey town (1991 pop. 10,198), Surrey, SE England. Its market gardens serve London. Varied engineering works are located in Chertsey.

• Cheshire county (1991 pop. 937,300), 901 sq mi (2,334 sq km), W central England. The county seat is Chester. The terrain is generally low, flat, and fertile. Its chief rivers are the Mersey and the Dee, which separates Cheshire from Wales. The Wirral peninsula divides the estuaries of the two rivers. The...

• Cheshunt town (1991 pop. 49,616), Hertfordshire, SE England. A suburb of London, it is a market-gardening center with some electronics industries. Theobalds Park, an 18th-century mansion, is noteworthy.

• Chester city (1991 pop. 80,154) and district, Cheshire, W central England, on a sandstone height above the Dee River. It is a railroad junction. Manufactures include electrical equipment, paint, and window...

• Chesterfield city (1991 pop. 73,352) and district, Derbyshire, central England. An important industrial center, Chesterfield produces mining equipment, railroad cars, metal products, glass, and pottery. Of...

• Chichester town (1991 pop. 26,050) and district, West Sussex, S England. Chichester is an agricultural, retailing, and yachting center and the administrative seat of West Sussex. It has some light industry...