RODBOROUGH, on the south side of the Stroud river, and distant from Stroud about a mile, possesses a neat modern Church, with an ancient tower in a mixed style of architecture. The building is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, and partly occupies the site of an old priory. In the village is a considerable woollen manufactory. Here was born, in 1638, Richard Clutterbuck, a blind mechanical and musical genius, who could construct ingenious pieces of mechanism, mend watches, and make and teach various musical instruments; he could tell when an hour-glass was run out by his hearing, which, it is said, was so acute that he could understand the lowest whisper in an adjoining room. The village is chiefly interesting for the fine prospect which may be obtained from the hill on which it is built, extending many miles in every direction, and including, besides the Forest of Dean, a considerable portion of this and other counties, being terminated to the west by the Welsh mountains. Hill House, in this neighbourhood, is the seat of Lord Amberley.

KINGS STANLEY is a mile and a half west from Rodborough. It is a place of some considerable antiquity, as some remains of a Roman camp testify. Kings Stanley is, moreover, said to have been the residence of one of the Mercian kings. The village is of some extent, and contains a considerable population, chiefly employed in the clothing trade. The church is an unimportant building. There are chapels for Independents and Methodists. The Park, a fine old mansion

surrounded by 100 acres of excellent meadow and other land, is the seat of Samuel Marling, Esq.

LEONARD STANLEY, or Stanley St. Leonards, in the immediate neighbourhood, was formerly a corporate borough, the remains of which are now only to be traced in a straggling and inconsiderable village, the ancient town having been almost entirely destroyed by a calamitous fire in 1686. The Church is a cruciform structure in the Norman style, and is said to have belonged to a priory which anciently existed here. Its tower is an interesting object, being low and massive, similar to those found in buildings of its class. The market, which was till recently held under a charter of Edward II., has been discontinued on account of the paucity of the population and the general decline of trade.

STONEHOUSE is distant from Stroud about 3 miles, and has two railway stations, the one on the Great Western, and the other on the Midland line. Its Church, dedicated to St. Cyril, has lately (with the exception of the tower, which is Norman) been rebuilt; it presents nothing remarkable except a fine stainedglass window, erected by a clergyman of the neighbourhood. A monument in the churchyard commemorates the Rev. Sampson Harris, A.M., thirty-five years vicar of the parish, who died in 1763. Whitfield was for some time curate of Stonehouse, and is said to have commenced his open-air preaching in the churchyard, the church not being sufficiently large for his audience. To the geological student this village, from its situation,

is very interesting.

still carried on here.

The population is 2609.

A small woollen manufacture is

The pleasant village of FROCESTER is 2 miles farther distant. The excellent view which is obtained from the hill in its vicinity makes the place worth visiting. Its Church is modern, and surmounted by a neat tower; and the edifice, as a whole, is tasteful though plain. On her progress through the country in 1574 Queen Elizabeth passed a night here as the guest of Earl Ducie.

PAINSWICK, 4 miles from Stroud on the Gloucester road, is well worthy of a visit. On the way the tourist passes, on his left, the hamlet of Randwick, which has a church in the Tudor style, with a tower of more ancient date. Farther on he passes Pitchcombe, with a church erected in 1819, and a small woollen factory. This parish is a small one, having a population of only 178. The town of Painswick is irregular but picturesque. It occupies a pleasant healthy site on the southern declivity of Spoonbed Hill. Below is a charming little valley, through which flows a small stream called the Slade, to join the Stroud river, giving motive power on its way to one or two small factories. The place is of some antiquity, as the camp in its neighbourhood proves; but no notable historical events are recorded regarding it. Charles I. once held a court here ; and the building, a school-house, which was honoured with the gathering, is thence called the Court-House. The town is not incorporated, but governed by a constable under the direction of the lord of the manor.

The trade of the town is inconsiderable. Woollen cloths give employment to a number of the inhabitants, and others are occupied in stone quarries in the neighbourhood. The population at last census was 3229, and the inhabited houses 763; showing a decrease since 1851 of 235 persons and 26 houses.

The Church, dedicated to St. Mary, occupies a prominent site, which displays to great advantage its beautiful tower and spire, which rise to a height of 174 feet. The church is not all of the same date, its oldest parts being of the late Decorated period. The cornice of the wall of the nave is adorned with quaint monsters. There are no monuments of any consequence in the interior, which would be improved by very extensive alterations of the galleries and pews. The tower is worth ascending, on account of the fine view which it commands. The churchyard is studded with yew trees, all trimmed to the same shape and size. Altogether, church and churchyard have a quaint, solemn look, such as one does not always, or even usually, find in such places.

The town contains a Dissenting chapel and numerous schools, one of which-the Court-House-has been already mentioned.

On Spoonbed Hill, in the immediate neighbourhood, is an exceedingly interesting Roman Camp. Possibly the Britons may have held this height before the time of the Roman invasion; but an examination of this work will convince the antiquarian that it is of Roman construction. It is in beautiful preservation, the ram

parts and fosses being as sharply marked as if they had been constructed only a few years ago. It commands a magnificent view, embracing a portion of the course of the Severn, the Malvern Hills, the Welsh mountains, etc.

HARESCOMBE, rather more than a mile from Painswick, to the north-west, has some curious old monuments in its Church. The population, 138, shows a decrease of 9 since last census.

BROOKTHORPE is about half a mile beyond Harescombe. It is a small parish of 40 houses and 180 inhabitants, and like the last-named hamlet exhibits a falling away in its scanty numbers since the period of last census. The Church is the principal object of interest. It is a very ancient building, dedicated to St. Swithin, and is noticed in Parker's "Glossary of Architecture" the style is Early English, and the building, which has been in some measure restored, still exhibits all its primary features. On one of the bells is inscribed-"Eternis in annis resonet campana Johannis." On the cornice of the porch may be observed the following curious inscription referring to the date of the execution of King Charles I. :

"Ter Deno lan1 Labens reX soLe CaDente

Caro LVseXVtVs soLIo sCeptroq Ve seCVre."

BISLEY, a small town about 3 miles to the east of Stroud, carries on a manufacture of coarse cloth; but here, as in many villages in the Stroud district, things