Robert Fitz-Hamon in the 12th century on the site of the ancient hermitage and Saxon monastery, there only remain the gate and part of the cloisters. The abbey church, consecrated in 1125, is a magnificent specimen of Early Norman. This elaborate cruciform building consists of nave and side aisles, with transepts united by a grand central tower richly arcaded. The choir terminates in an apse and is surrounded by an ambulatory. One of the most remarkable features of the building is the unique western front, the central part of which is occupied by one vast arch extending from the ground to the roof. Originally it was filled in with Norman windows, but these were removed in the 14th century, when the whole building underwent restoration in the Middle Decorated style, of which it is one of the finest existing examples. The nave was refilled by tracery windows, and stone groining was substituted for the carved wooden ceiling, a like transformation taking place in the transepts. The old Norman columns in the choir still exist; but above them rises a grand superstructure of Decorated work. The elegant clerestory windows are of the 14th century, with stained glass of the same date. The ambulatory was rebuilt some distance farther out, and from it projected a beautiful series of chapels. The elaborate tombs include those of Sir Robert Fitz-Hamon, the De Spensers, Alan prior of Canterbury, Sir Guy de Brien, and the vault of George duke of Clarence (murdered in the Tower) and his wife Isabella. Edward, prince of Wales, slain after the battle of Tewkesbury (1471) by the Yorkists, is also buried in the church, which has undergone an extensive process of restoration under the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott. In the High Street there are several ancient timbered and gabled houses. Remains of an ancient wall have been discovered adjoining the town. The principal modern buildings are the town-hall, the philharmonic hall, and the corn exchange. There is a free grammar-school and a number of charities, including the dispensary, the rural hospital, and Queen Mary's, Barnes's, Richardson's, and Russell's almshouses. Formerly Tewkesbury had a woollen trade and an important mustard manufacture, but it is now chiefly dependent on its agricultural trade. The population of the municipal borough (area, 2619 acres) in 1871 was 5409, and in 1881 5100.
The town is supposed to derive its name from Theoc, a Saxon monk, who founded a hermitage here in the end of the 7th century, which was changed into a monastery by the duke of Mercia in 715, and rebuilt by Sir Robert Fitz-Hamon in 1102. On the death of Fitz-Hamon in 1147 the manor passed to the De Clares, who became merged in the De Spensers, they in turn in the Beauchamps, and the Beauchamps in the Nevilles. At Tewkesbury took place, 4th May 1471, the battle between the Yorkists and Lancastrians which placed the crown on the head of Edward IV. During the Civil War the town was occupied by the Parliamentarians, who were driven out by the Royalists; but it was surprised and captured by the former in 1644, after which it remained in their possession. Tewkesbury was first incorporated by Elizabeth in 1574, and when James I. sold the manor to the corporation in 1609 he granted it a new charter with extended privileges. This being lost during the Civil War, a new charter was granted by Charles II. Between 1692 and 1698 the town was without a corporation, but a new charter was granted by William III., which remained the governing charter until the passing of the Municipal Act. Until 1867 Tewkesbury returned two members to the House of Commons; from 1867 to 1885 it returned one; and in 1885 it became merged in the north or Tewkesbury division of Gloucestershire.
The Annales de Theokesberia (1066-1263) are published in Annales Monastici, edited by H. R. Luard, 1864.
Plate III.
TEXAS, the largest in area and the eleventh in population Boundaries. of the United States of America, is bounded by the Gulf of Mexico on the S.E., by Louisiana and Arkansas on the E., by Arkansas and the Indian Territory on the N., the latter extending north of its northern prolongation (the Panhandle), by New Mexico on the W. and N. of its western prolongation (the trans-Pecos region), and by Mexico on the S.W. Its area in 1880 was 262,290 square miles, or one-eleventh (nearly 9 per cent.) of the entire area of the United States. The extreme length is 740 miles, the breadth 825, and the coast line 400 miles. The boundaries, as recognized by the United States Government,[1] are—the Gulf of Mexico from the Rio Grande to the Sabine river, the Sabine river to 32° N. lat., thence the meridian of 94° 10' to the Red river of Louisiana, thence following that river west to its intersection with the 100th meridian, thence north to lat. 36° 30', thence west to 103° W. long., thence south to lat. 32°, thence west to its intersection with the Rio Grande, which river constitutes the south-western border of the State to the Gulf of Mexico.
Map showing geographical divisions.
Physical features and divisions.
The surface features are exceedingly varied, the prevailing elements being steppes or treeless plains in the north-west, mountains west of the Pecos river, forests in the east, marshes adjacent to the coast, low prairies in the south-east, and a combination of prairies and broken hills, interspersed with forest growth and thickets of tall shrubs (chaparral), in the centre. These regions are classified as follows (see map below). (1) The coast plain is the direct geographical and geological continuation of the other States which border on the Gulf of Mexico. It includes all the country east of a line concentric with the coast, drawn from Texarkana in the north-east corner of the State to near Laredo on the Rio Grande. The general direction of its slope, in common with that of the rest of the State, is from north-west to south-east. Its altitude ranges up to 500 feet. The immediate coast strip is newly made marshland; west of this and north of the Colorado river are forests; and to the south of it the country is mostly a plain. (2) The black prairie region succeeds the coast plain on the west. Its western border is sharply defined from the Red river to the Rio Grande, beginning at Denison, passing through or near the cities of Sherman, Dallas, Waco, Austin, and San Antonio, and then deflected westward to Eagle Pass. It is a gently undulating prairie, covered with a rich black soil, and varies in altitude from 300 to 700 feet. (3) The central region extends from the black prairie region on the east to the eastern escarpment of the great plains on the north-west and the trans-Pecos mountains on the south-west. This is the only region of Texas which is not the direct continuation of the physical features of some adjoining political division. A great variety of conditions is embraced within its bounds. In its north-eastern part are two long belts of stunted forest (the Cross Timbers), extending from the Red river to the Brazos, and separated by a prairie 50 miles in width. This is the most fertile portion of the entire region. West of this sub-region and north of the Colorado is a broken, arid country (the Coal-measures), having a sandy, pebbly soil, covered with a scattered growth of vegetation. West of this, between the 100th meridian and the escarpment of the plains, is the gypsum country, consisting of the so-called “red beds” of the western United States, accompanied by massive deposits of gypsum and other salts. This country is much sculptured by erosion, and in places resembles the “bad lands” of the upper Missouri country. There are also extensive intervals of prairie here. Near the centre, in the counties of San Saba, Mason, and Llano, is a rough, semi-mountainous area of older formations. The southern half of the central region is a broken country of white limestone formation, semi-tropical in climate, and covered with scraggy vegetation, its physical features graduating into those of northern Mexico. The south-western part is a rolling plain, entirely destitute of streams. Throughout the region, at intervals of many miles, low, truncated hills (buttes) occur, representing the remains of limestone formations now being rapidly eroded. The region, as a whole, is poorly watered. It is best adapted for cattle and sheep raising, and is the chief locality of those industries in Texas. The altitude varies from 700 to 2500 feet. (4) The plains region is the portion of the State west of the 101st meridian and north of the thirty-second parallel,
- ↑ The State does not recognize the South Fork of the Red river as the northern boundary, but insists upon the North Fork; it also claims the 100th meridian as laid down upon Mellish's map (100 miles east of the true meridian) as the eastern border of the Panhandle.
