* Gainsborough is situate on the right bank of the river Trent, twenty-one miles above its junction with the estuary of the Humber. The town, consisting principally of one long street, running parallel to the river, is clean, well paved, and lighted. It possesses a well built church, erected in 1748, several dissenting places of worship, a town hall, and a small theatre. Here is an ancient building called the Old Hall, composed of oak timber framing, and forming three sides of a quadrangle. It was formerly surrounded by a moat. The town has a considerable coasting and inward trade, arising from canals, and the navigable state of the river, which admits steamers and vessels of from 150 to 200 tons. Its population, in 1841, was 7860.

PETERBOROUGH.-This city was anciently called Medeshamsted, and owes its origin to a celebrated Benedictine abbey, founded soon after the revival of Christianity

* Three and a half miles from Bridlington is the fishing village of Flamborough, formerly a town of considerable importance. Here are the remains of a Danish tower. The church contams a curious monumental inscription. Two miles distant is the celebrated promontory called Flamborough Head.

among the Saxons. This abbey was destroyed by the Danes about 807, and was restored after remaining desolate for a century, about which time the ancient name of the city was superseded by the present, derived from the saint to whom it was dedicated. At the dissolution of the religious houses, the Abbey of Peterborough was one of the most magnificent then existing, and was selected as the seat of one of the new bishoprics erected by Henry VIII. During the great civil wars, the conventual buildings were utterly demolished, and the cathedral itself was much injured. The cathedral is a noble structure, chiefly in the Norman style, erected at various periods, and ornamented with several monuments. Here were interred Queen Catherine of Arragon and Mary Queen of Scots.; but the remains of the latter were afterwards removed to Westminster Abbey. At the west end of the cathedral is a large court, on the south side of which is a range of the ancient monastic buildings. The burial-ground around the cathedral is very neatly laid out. The parish church contains an altar-piece by Sir R. K. Porter, and a tablet with some exquisite figures by Flaxman. The city contains also a theatre, a national school, meeting-houses, jail, house of correction, &c. The trade carried on is chiefly in corn, coal, timber, lime, bricks, and stone. The Nen is navigable for boats. Dr Paley was a native of Peterborough. Two M. P. Pop. 6107.

About two miles from Peterborough is Milton Park, the seat of Earl Fitzwilliam. Several pieces of stained glass were removed hither from the windows of Fotheringay Castle, when that building was demolished. Here is also a portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, and another of James I. when a boy, said to have been given by Mary to Sir W. Fitzwilliam on the morning of her execution. BOURN.-There was formerly a castle here, which had been the seat of a lordship of some note in the Saxon times. Hereward, the Anglo-Saxon chieftain, who opposed the most protracted resistance to William the Conqueror, was the son of the Lord of Bourn. In the centre of the market-place is an ancient townhall, said to have been built by the great Lord Burghley, a native of the town. The church is a large and handsome building. The principal business carried on is tanning and wool-stapling. Here is a medicinal spring, which is much frequented, and there are traces of the site of an Augustinian priory. Pop. of parish, 3361. Between three and four miles from Bourn is Grimsthorpe Castle, the seat of Lord Willoughby de Eresby, an irregular structure, erected at various periods, from the time of Henry III. till 1723. It has a beautiful chapel, and a fine collection of pictures. The grounds are extensive and beautiful.

LINCOLN, the capital of Lincolnshire, is a place of great antiquity, and was of considerable importance under the Romans. At the time of the Norman Conquest it was one of the most important places in the kingdom. William the Conqueror caused a strong castle to be erected here in 1086. King Stephen was defeated and taken prisoner here by Robert Earl of Gloucester, natural brother to the Empress Maud. Lincoln was the scene of important operations during the civil wars of the reign of John, and here the party of the Dauphin

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was completely overthrown by the Earl of Pembroke during the minority of Edward III. The town was nearly destroyed by fire and earthquake in 1110 and 1185. During the great civil war, the royalists obtained possession of the city, but it was stormed by the Parliamentary army under the Earl of Manchester, May 5, 1644. The most interesting of the public buildings is the Cathedral, which is reckoned one of the finest in the kingdom. It is situated on the summit of a hill, and is visible at a distance of many miles. It was founded under William Rufus, but re-erected by Henry II. and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The west front, two circular windows, the choir, and screen, and the Lady Chapel are peculiarly beautiful and interesting. The celebrated bell, called the Great Tom of Lincoln, which was cast in 1610, became cracked in 1827, and was broken up in 1834, and, with six others, recast into the present large bell and two quarter bells, and placed in the central tower in 1835. It is 6 feet 10 inches in diameter at the mouth, and weighs 5 tons 8 cwt., nearly a ton more than the old bell. The only bells in the kingdom which exceed it in size are the "Mighty Tom" of Oxford, (7 tons 15 cwt.), and Great Tom of Exeter, (6 tons.) On the north side of the cathedral are the cloisters, in which is preserved a Roman pavement. The library contains some curious specimens of Roman antiquities. In the cathedral are numerous monuments; among others, those of Catherine Swinford, wife of John of Gaunt; of Joan, Countess of Westmorland, their daughter; and of several bishops and deans of the cathedral; but many monuments which formerly existed have been removed or totally destroyed. The other buildings worthy of notice are the Chapter House, the ruins of the Bishops' Palace, the remains of the castle, with the county jail and Court House; the Newport Gate, one of the finest remnants of Roman architecture in England; the remains of John of Gaunt's Palace; the guildhall; Lesswas House; city jail, &c. The city abounds in monastic and other remains of architecture. The parish churches of Lincoln are twelve in number; formerly, there are said to have been upwards of fifty, most of which were standing at the time of the Reformation. There are several Dissenting places of worship, public libraries, a mechanics' institute, a theatre, assembly rooms, and race-course. The chief trade is in flour, and there are some extensive breweries, noted for their ale. The Wytham and Trent communicate by the Foss Dyke, a work of Roman origin, twelve miles long. The city returns 2 M. P. Pop. 16,172.

BEVERLEY, an extensive and pleasant town near the Hull, at the foot of the York Wolds. The houses are elegant, and the principal street is terminated by an ancient gateway. The market-place, which comprises an area of nearly four acres, is ornamented with an octangular market-cross. In ancient times, the woods and marshes of Deira lay immediately to the north of the Humber. These marshes are supposed to have been lakes or meres whenever the river Hull overflowed the country. Beverley is supposed to take its name from one of these lakes,-Beverlac, the lake of beavers, so named from the beavers with