Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/451

adorns the Place Sainte Helene. Population of the town in

1872, 16,858; of the commune, 18,670.

CHÂTEAU-THIERRY, a town of France, at the head of an arrondissement in the department of Aisne, on the right bank of the Marne, and connected with an extensive suburb on the opposite bank by a fine stone bridge of three arches. It is the seat of a tribunal of primary instance, and has a communal college, a public library, and manu factures of linen, cotton, leather, and earthenware. It contains a marble statue erected to the memory of La Fontaine, who was born in the town ; and his house is still preserved in tha street that was formerly called after the Cordeliers, but now bears the name of the poet. On the top of the hill are the ruins of a castle, which is said to have been built by Charles Martel for Thierry IV., and is plainly the origin of the name of the town. Chateau- Thierry was formerly the capital of the district of Brie Pouilleuse, and received the title of a duchy from Charles IX. in 1566. Its position has brought upon it numerous disasters from time to time. It was captured by the English in 1421, by Charles V. in 1545, and by the Spanish in 1591. During the wars of the Fronde it was pillaged in 1652 ; and in the campaign of 1814 it suffered severely. On February 12 of the latter year the Russo-Prussian forces were beaten by Napoleon in the neighbourhood. Popula tion of the town in 1872, 5347; of the commune, 6623.

CHÂTELLERAULT, a town of France, at the head of an arrondissement in the department of Vienne, on the right bank of the Vienne, here crossed by a handsome stone bridge, which connects it with the suburb of Chateauneuf on the opposite side of the river, 24 miles N.N.E. of Poitiers. It stands in a fertile valley, and has several fine promenades, but is irregularly built. It has tribunals of primary instance and commerce, a fine Gothic church, a public fountain, a communal college, an exchange, a hospital, a society of agriculture, and a theatre. It is one of the chief seats of the manufacture of cutlery in France ; and has a Government manufactory of swords and bayonets, established in 1820. There is a large trade in wines, dried fruits, slates, iron, corn, hemp, and timber. Population in 1872, 13,363.

Chatellerault, or Castrum Hcraldi, derives its name from a castle built in the 11th century. In 1514 it was made a duchy in favour of Gilbert of Bourbon, count of Montpensier, but not long after it was reunited to the Crown. In 1548 it was bestowed on James Hamil ton, second earl of Arran ; but it was forfeited by failure of male issue. The title, however, continued to be claimed by the dukes of Hamil ton and the earls of Abercorn, who were both descended by the female side from the original possessor. A decree of the French Council of State decided against the earl, and the title was rebestowed on the duke of Hamilton by Napoleon III.

Plan of Chatham.

CHATHAM, a town of England, in the county of Kent,

on the south side of the Medway about 15 miles from its junction with the estuary of the Thames, and 27 miles east of London. Though still nominally distinct, it is practically united with Rochester on the west, and is in close proximity to Brompton and Gillingham on the east. In Chatham proper the streets are for the most part narrow, and with the exception of the docks and fortifica tions, there are but few objects of interest. St Mary s church is a brick building erected about 1788, but occupying the site of an earlier structure of the 14th century; it con tains a monumental brass to the memory of Stephen Borough, the discoverer of the northern passage to Russia. There are a few remains of the hospital for lepers founded by Bishop Gundulf in 1078; but the funds for its main tenance were appropriated by decision of the court of chancery to the new hospital of St Bartholomew erected in 1863 within the boundaries of Rochester. The almshouse, established in 1592 by Sir John Hawkins for poor decayed seamen and shipwrights, is still in existence, the building having been re-erected in the present century ; but the fund called the Chatham Chest, originated by Hawkins and Drake in 1588, was incorporated with Greenwich Hospital 1802, The town possesses numerous churches and chapels of various denominations, a ragged school, a nautical school, a mechanics institute, and a lecture hall. The Medway union workhouse is situated a short distance to the south-east. The water supply is obtained from springs at the village of Lupton, about half a mile further off in the same direction; and extensive reservoirs were con structed in 1862 at Star Hill in the neighbourhood of the village. Numerous brickyards, lime-kilns, and flour-mills are in the surrounding district, and the town carries on a large retail trade, partly from the presence of the garrison. The fortifications are among the most elaborate in the kingdom. The so-called Chatham Lines ought rather to bear the name of the village of Brompton which they enclose. They were commenced in 1758 and completed in 1807; but various alterations and additions have since been effected. They are strengthened by several detached forts and redoubts, and consist of a very intricate system of trenches, batteries, and subterranean passages. _Fort Pitt, which rises above the town to the west, was built in 1779, and is now used as a general military hospital; it was regarded as the principal establishment of the kind in

the country till the foundation of Netley in Hampshire.