of an older structure. The manor belonged to this see as early as the reign of Ethelbert. In the gardens is a chalybeate spring known as St Blaize’s Well, which was in high repute before the Reformation. The church of St Peter and St Paul, mainly Perpendicular, retains a Norman font and other remains of an earlier building. Here is the gravestone of the wife of Dr Johnson. Bromley College, founded by Bishop Warner in 1666 for “twenty poor widows of loyal and orthodox clergymen,” has been much enlarged, and forty widows are in receipt of support. Sheppard College (1840) is an affiliated foundation for unmarried daughters of these widows. In the vicinity of Bromley, Bickley is a similar residential township, Hayes Common is a favourite place of excursion, and at Holwood Hill near Keston are remains of a large encampment known as Caesar’s Camp. Bromley was incorporated in 1903, and is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors. Area, 4703 acres.
BROMLITE, a member of the aragonite group of minerals. It consists of an isomorphous mixture of calcium and barium carbonates in various proportions, (Ca, Ba) CO3, and thus differs chemically from barytocalcite (q.v.) which is a double salt of these carbonates in equal molecular proportions. Being isomorphous with
aragonite, it crystallizes in the orthorhombic system, but simple crystals are not known. The crystals are invariably complex twins, and have the form of doubly terminated pseudo-hexagonal pyramids, like those of witherite but more acute; the faces are horizontally striated and are divided down their centre by a twin-suture, as represented in the adjoining figure. The examination in polarized light of a transverse section shows that each compound crystal is built up of six differently orientated individuals arranged in twelve segments. The crystals are translucent and white, sometimes with a shade of pink. Sp. gr. 3.706; hardness 4-412. The mineral has been found at only two localities, both of which are in the north of England. At the Fallowfield lead mine, near Hexham in Northumberland, it is associated with witherite; and at Bromley Hill, near Alston in Cumberland, it occurs in veins with galena. The species was named bromlite by T. Thomson in 1837, and alstonite by A. Breithaupt in 1841, both of which names, derived from the locality, have been in common use.
(L. J. S.)
BROMPTON, a western district of London, England, in the south-east of the metropolitan borough of Kensington. Brompton Road, leading south-west from Knightsbridge, is continued as Old Brompton Road and Richmond Road, to join Lillie Road, at which point are the District and West London railway stations of West Brompton. The Oratory of St Philip Neri, commonly called Brompton Oratory, close by the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Brompton consumption hospital and the West London or Brompton cemetery are included in this district, which is mainly occupied by residences of the better class. (See Kensington.)
BROMSGROVE, a market town in the Eastern parliamentary division of Worcestershire, England, 12 m. N.N.E. of Worcester, with a station 1 m. from the town on the Bristol-Birmingham line of the Midland railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 8418. It lies in a pleasant undulating district near the foot of the Lickey Hills, to surmount which the railway towards Birmingham here ascends for 2 m. one of the steepest gradients in England over such a distance. There remain several picturesque half-timbered houses, dating from 1572 and later. The church of St John is a fine building, Perpendicular and earlier in date, picturesquely placed on an elevation above the town, with a lofty tower and spire. There are a well-known grammar-school, founded by Edward VI., with university scholarships; a college school, a literary institute, and a school of art. Birmingham Sanatorium stands in the parish. Cloth was formerly a staple of trade, but manufactures of nails and buttons are now pre-eminent, while the river Salwarpe works a number of mills in the neighbourhood, and near the town are carriage works belonging to the Midland railway.
BRONCHIECTASIS (Gr. βρόγχια, bronchial tubes, and ἒκτασις, extension), dilatation of the bronchi, a condition occurring in connexion with many diseases of the lungs. Bronchitis both acute and chronic, chronic pneumonia and phthisis, acute pneumonia and broncho-pneumonia, may all leave after them a bronchiectasis whose position is determined by the primary lesion. Other causes, acting mechanically, are tracheal and bronchial obstruction, as from the pressure of an aneurism, new growth, &c. It used to be considered a disease of middle age, but of late years Dr Walter Carr has shown that the condition is a fairly common one among debilitated children after measles, whooping cough, &c. The dilatation is commonly cylindrical, more rarely saccular, and it is the medium and smaller sized tubes that are generally affected, except where the cause is mechanical. The affection is usually of one lung only. Emphysema is a very common accompaniment. Though at first the symptoms somewhat resemble those of bronchitis, later they are quite distinctive. Cough is very markedly paroxysmal in character, and though severe is intermittent, the patient being entirely free for many hours at the time. The effect of posture is very marked. If the patient lie on the affected side, he may be free from cough the whole night, but if he turn to the sound side, or if he rises and bends forward, he brings up large quantities of bronchial secretion. The expectoration is characterized by its abundance and manner of expulsion. Where the dilatation is of the saccular variety, it may come up in such quantities and with so much suddenness as to gush from the mouth. It is very commonly foetid, as it is retained and decomposed in situ. Dyspnoea and haemoptysis occasionally occur, but are by no means the rule. If pyrexia is present, it is a serious symptom, as it is a sign of septic absorption in the bronchi, and may be the forerunner of gangrene. If gangrene does set in, it will be accompanied by severe attacks of shivering and sweating. Where the disease has lasted long, clubbing of fingers and toes is very common. The diagnosis from putrid bronchitis is usually fairly easily made, but at times it may be a matter of extreme difficulty to distinguish between this condition and a tuberculous cavity in the lung. Nothing can be done directly to cure this disease, but the patient’s condition can be greatly alleviated. Creosote vapour baths are eminently satisfactory. A mechanical treatment much recommended by some of the German physicians is that of forced expiration.
BRONCHITIS, the name given to inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bronchial tubes (see Respiratory System: Pathology). Two main varieties are described, specific and non-specific bronchitis. The bronchitis which occurs in infectious or specific disorders, as diphtheria, influenza, measles, pneumonia, &c., due to the micro-organisms observed in these diseases, is known as specific; whereas that which results from extension from above, or from chemical or mechanical irritation, is known as non-specific. It is convenient to describe it, however, under the chemical divisions of acute and chronic bronchitis.
Acute bronchitis, like other inflammatory affections of the chest, generally arises as the result of exposure to cold, particularly if accompanied with damp, or of sudden change from a heated to a cool atmosphere. The symptoms vary according to the severity of the attack, and more especially according to the extent to which the inflammatory action spreads in the bronchial tubes. The disease usually manifests itself at first in the form of a catarrh, or common cold; but the accompanying feverishness and general constitutional disturbance proclaim the attack to be something more severe, and symptoms denoting the onset of bronchitis soon present themselves. A short, painful, dry cough, accompanied with rapid and wheezing respiration, a feeling of rawness and pain in the throat and behind the breast bone, and of oppression or tightness throughout the chest, mark the early stages of the disease. In some cases, from the first, symptoms of the form of asthma (q.v.) known as the bronchitic are superadded, and greatly aggravate the patient’s suffering.
