Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 8, DIA-England

ENGLAND.
762
Statistics. The climate of England is that of an insular country of
limited extent, subject in consequence to rain, and exempt
Climate. from intensity of either heat or cold. Compared with the
adjacent countries, it is less humid than Ireland, which,
like Portugal, in a different latitude, is the first land to in¬
tercept the vapours of the Atlantic; but, on the other
hand, the climate of England is less dry than the opposite
shores of Holland and Germany, to which every wind but
the west arrives across a tract of continent. The climate
of the south of England resembles much that of the op¬
posite coast of Brittany, Normandy, and Flanders ; whilst
that of the north is very similar to the temperature of
Denmark, which, like the north of England, is a narrow
country inclosed on either side by the sea. In regard to
the relative degrees of heat or cold, if England have not so
much summer warmth as continental countries on the same
parallel, she generally escapes in winter that intensity of
frost, which in less than forty-eight hours of easterly
wind so frequently seals up their harbours. On the other
hand, our weather is much more variable than in the in¬
land part of the Continent, and our sky is less clear; still
it by no means follows that the balance of disadvantage is
on our side. The moderate heat and frequent returns of
rain preserve throughout the year that verdant pasture
which in autumn the Continent enjoys only in its maritime
districts; whilst those droughts in spring, which are so
noxious in the south of France and in similar latitudes of
the Continent, are hardly known among us. In point of
salubrity, also, we may fairly stand a comparison with
our neighbours; for, variable as is our atmosphere, no
country perhaps exhibits a larger proportion of examples
of longevity.
There exists, however, a considerable difference in the
climate of different parts of England. The west, exposed
to the Atlantic, and containing hills and mountains which
intercept the clouds, is much more rainy than the east,
where the aspect of the country is level, and the expanse
of adjacent water much less considerable. Another and
equally remarkable difference arises from latitude, the
season being a fortnight or three weeks later in the north
than in the south of England. Notwithstanding all the
skill of the Northumbrian farmers, the traveller who leaves
the harvest finished in the south of England in the first
week of September, and who sees the corn cut, if not car¬
ried, in the midland counties, will generally find it, in the
middle of that month, untouched and standing in most
parts of the country to the northward of York. In win¬
ter this difference in the temperature of the north and
south of England is less perceptible. As to the spring
months, March is proverbially raw and cold, from the pre¬
valence of easterly winds, particularly in that part of the
kingdom adjacent to the German Ocean. April is in ge¬
neral wet and favourable to vegetation ; but May, though
a pleasant month, can hardly be said with us to bring
more “ indulgent skies.” It is in June, July, and August,
that our climate assumes a more settled aspect; whilst, at
the same time, the power of taking exercise on almost any
day is indicative of a very gratifying advantage over the sul¬
try atmosphere of our southern neighbours on the Conti¬
nent. November, though frequently wet and foggy, is only
a prelude to winter ; even December does not often bring
intense frost, which is commonly reserved for January;
and during the last twenty years we have been repeat¬
edly without any frost of consequence, or heavy falls of
snow, until a considerable time after the days had length¬
ened.
Variations During the six winter months from October to March,
of tempera, mean temperature of the central part of England is
ture. commonly between 42° and 43° of Fahrenheit. In De¬
cember, January, and February, it is generally below 40°;
in July and August 62° to 65°. The variations of tem- Statistic
perature within the space of twenty-four hours are felt V-,’Y>
most strongly in the equinoctial months, March and Sep¬
tember. In these there is often a difference of 18° or
20° between the day and the night, whilst in the summer
months this difference seldom exceeds 12° or 15°, and in
December or January is only from 6° to 8°. The mean
annual temperature, noon and night, of the central part
of England, is about 50°. The greatest summer heat sel¬
dom exceeds 80°, and the cold of December or January
is rarely below 20° or 25°. In mild situations in Devon¬
shire and Cornwall, the winter temperature is 2°, 3°, 4°,
and even 5° higher than in London. Penzance is the
spot in England least visited by severe cold ; and it is con¬
sequently much recommended in pulmonary cases.
Of rain, the largest proportion falls in the north-west of
England, particularly in Westmoreland and Lancashire,
owing to the neighbourhood of the sea and the height of
the mountains. There the average quantity is found to
be forty-five, fifty, and, in some situations, sixty inches,
whilst the average of the kingdom at large is from thirty
to forty inches.
The prevalent winds in England are west and south- Prevailii
west. Our outward-bound merchantmen are often de-winds.
tained, from the want of a northerly or easterly wind; but
it rarely happens that our homeward bound are kept beat¬
ing in the channel by the want of a westerly breeze. In
these respects, also, the case is the same on the opposite
shores of the Continent; the Dutch and French outward-
bound vessels often experiencing detention from the con¬
tinuance of westerly winds.
II.—Divisions, Civil and Ecclesiastical.
The civil divisions of England are those of counties,
hundreds, and parishes. The county divisions, like seve¬
ral of our national improvements, date from the reign
of Alfred, and, though subsequently increased by the ac¬
quisition of the three northern counties from the Scotch,
have not, in other respects, experienced much alteration
since his time.
The twelve counties of Wales added to the forty coun- Civil div
ties of England, make a total of fifty-two. The name ofsions.
“ county corporate” is given to most of the cities of Eng¬
land, and to some of the towns; and this distinction, little
attended to by the public, and seldom mentioned but in
law papers, implies that the district in question is governed
by its own sheriffs and other magistrates, to the exclusion
of the officers of the county at large.
The division into hundreds must have originated in refe¬
rence to the existing population, and consequently implied
a district containing either a hundred able-bodied men or
a hundred families. As population increased very differ¬
ently in different situations, great inequality ensued in re¬
gard to these divisions; and, in the reign of Henry VIII.,
many of the larger hundreds were partitioned into smaller
districts. Hundreds were further subdivided in the time
of Alfred into tithings, or associations of ten men, for the
purpose of mutual defence. But both these subdivisions
were unknown in the northern counties, from their not
having been subject to the Saxon legislator: the latter,
on their subsequent annexation to the crown of England,
were divided into “ wards” and “ wapentakes;” terms
sufficiently expressive of the warlike character ol the age,
and of the exposed situation of a frontier province.
The ecclesiastical division of England is into two arch-j;cciesia!
bishoprics and twenty-four bishoprics. The archbishop- tical div
ric or “ province” of York, though by much the smaller sions.
of the two, comprises Northumberland, Durham, West¬
moreland, Cumberland, Cheshire, Lancashire, the chief