Gloucestershire, a west midland county of England, which touches Warwick in the centre of the country, and extends SW. to the estuary of the Severn; it presents three natural and well-defined districts known as the Hill, formed by the Cotswold Hills in the E.; the Vale, through which the Severn runs, in the centre; the Forest of Dean (the largest in England) in the W.; coal is wrought in two large fields, but agricultural and dairy-farming are the main industries; antiquities abound; the principal rivers are the Wye, Severn, Lower and Upper Avon, and Thames; Bristol (q.v.) is the largest town.
Population (1907) 600,000
