Delft, a town of the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, 8 m. N. W. of Rotterdam, on the river Schie, and connected by canals and railways with the other principal towns of Holland; pop. in 1870, 22,909, of whom 7,500 were Catholics, and the remainder chiefly Protestants. It is intersected in all directions by canals, which are crossed by about 70 bridges. Among the principal public buildings are the palace or prinsenhof, originally the convent of St. Agatha, once the occasional residence of William I. of Orange, and the scene of his assassination (July 10, 1584), now converted into barracks; the town hall; the new church, with a huge square tower and celebrated chimes, containing the mausoleum of William I., and the tombs of the Orange family, and of Hugo Grotius; the old church, distinguished by a leaning tower, containing the oldest organ in Holland, the monument of Admiral van Tromp, and the tomb of Leeuwen-hoeck; two Roman Catholic churches, several churches for various Protestant denominations, and a chapel for Jansenists. There are several associations for the promotion of art, science, and literature, and various benevolent institutions.

Deft was formerly celebrated for its potteries (delft ware), but this manufacture is now almost entirely superseded by the superior articles made in England. The little earthenware now made here is of the coarser kind. Of the other manufactures, those of mathematical instruments are most renowned. Near the entrance of the town is the state arsenal of Holland, originally the Dutch East India house, to which a college of engineers is attached. Delft was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1536, and again in 1654, when an explosion of the powder magazine demolished 500 houses and killed 1,200 persons. But by being frequently rebuilt, the town was so much improved that Pepys in his diary (May 18, 1660) describes it as "a most sweet town, with bridges and rivers in every street." In 1797 the Delft religious association (Christo sacrum) was established here by members of the French Reformed church, with the view of forming a union between all Christian sects, but is now almost extinct. - Delft is connected by a canal with its port, Delft Haven or Delftshaven, a small town on the right bank of the Maas, 2 m. from Rotterdam, with about 3,000 inhabitants, engaged in distilleries, herring and cod fisheries, and ship building.

Delft Haven is celebrated in American history as the place 'where the pilgrim fathers embarked for Southampton, July 22, 1620.

Town Hall.

Town Hall.