A county of England, lying on the German Ocean; bounded by
Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Suffolk. It extends 70 miles in
length and 40 in breadth. It contains 33 hundreds, 1 city, 32 market
towns, and 660 parishes. The face of this county varies less than in
most tracts of equal extent in England. Not one hill of any
considerable height is to be seen in the whole county; yet, in most
parts, its surface is broken into gentle swells and depressions. At
the western extremity is a considerable tract of flat fenny land,
which is part of the Bedford Level; and, on the east, a narrow tract
of marshes runs from the sea, near Yarmouth, to some distance up the
country. Between Lincolnshire and the western extremity, is a broad
but shallow arm of the sea, called the Wash. [Barclay's Complete
and Universal English Dictionary, 1842] |