of the manor of Clifton,) granted a lease to Sir Thomas Day, Knt. and others, who erected the Hotwell-House, and other buildings, for the reception of company: since that period, the repute and efficacy of the spring has greatly increased.

The vicinity of Clifton must now be considered in a new light, that of the Roman station ABONE; to which its claims are become almost unquestionable; and particularly since the publication of the Rev. J. Evans's Tour through South Wales; to which work, from the extent of the investigation, the reader can only be referred for a satisfactory account.

STOKE HOUSE, a seat of the Dowager Duchess of Beaufort, is finely situated on a natural terrace, in the centre of an extensive park, and commands a most interesting view of the Vale of Bristol. It is a spacious mansion, and was originally built in the reign of Elizabeth; but was embattled, and altered into a castellated form, by the late owner, Lord Botetourt.

PUCKLE CHURCH, called by Camden, Villa Regia, from its having been the residence of some of the West Saxon Kings, is supposed to have been the place where Edmund the Elder was slain by the robber Leolf, in the year 946. Several spots are pointed out as the site of the Royal Palace; one of them was afterwards occupied by a house of the Bishops of Bath and Wells. This was formerly a market-town, but has been long disused: a manufactory of felt hats is carried on here, and in the adjoining hamlets. In the Church is a curious tomb, of the style of the age of Edward the Third.

The parish of WICK-AND-ABSTON, in addition to its natu ral curiosities, already described, (p. 518, 519,) is remarkable for the numerous Roman coins, urns, bricks, and other fragments, that have been dug up in a field named the Chestles, but vulgarly called Castles; and where, from the remains being found in such abundance, a Roman pottery is supposed to have been established. In a field adjoining, is a large upright stone, which, with two others now lying down, is conjectured to have originally been a Cromlech. Here is also an ancient Camp, defended on three sides by a broad ditch and double vallum, and including about twelve

acres;

acres: many coins, and other Roman remains, have been dug up within the area.

. DYRHAM is celebrated for a desperate battle fought between the Britons and Saxons in the year 599; and an Encampment on Hinton Hill, including about twenty acres, is pointed out as the Saxon camp. William Blathwayte, Esq. the Lord of the Manor, has a very handsome Mansion here, the principal front of which is 130 feet in length. The park contains nearly 500 acres.

On the brow of the hill at LITTLE SODBURY, are the remains of a very strong Camp, in the form of an oblong square, extending from north to south about 300 yards, and from east to west 200 yards. The north-west side is defended by a precipitous declivity; the other three, by double ditches and ramparts. This is the last of a series of five camps, on the points of the Cotswold Hills, from Painswick to Little Sodbury: the whole are supposed to have been either formed or occupied by the Romans.

In the Church-yard at IRON ACTON, are the remains of an elegant Cross, in the pointed style, apparently, from its sculpture, of the time of Henry the Fourth. Mr. Lysons, who has given a view of it in his Gloucestershire Antiquities, imagines it to have been a preaching cross, as there is an entrance on the north side.

BADMINTON HOUSE, the family residence of the Dukes of Beaufort, is situated in a noble park nearly nine miles in circumference; and through which various avenues have been formed. It was erected by the first Duke of Beaufort, soon after his accession to that title in the year 1682; and is a very extensive building, on the French model, which became prevalent about the commencement of the last century. In the Hall is a large Sarcophagus of Roman sculpture, representing a bacchanalian procession; this was given to Henry, the third Duke of Beaufort, by Cardinal Alberoni. By that Nobleman, who died young in 1745, many curious and original paintings were procured during his residence in Italy, and now ornament the collection at Badminton. Among them is a Holy Family, by Raphael; and several by Guido, and Carlo Dolci, are highly esteemed. At the same time he purchased the very singular and finely-painted satirical picture, by Salvator Rosa,

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