Bell Rock

Bell Rock, or Inchcape, a reef of old red sandstone rocks in the German Ocean, 12 miles SE. of Arbroath, and nearly opposite the mouth of the Tay. It is 2000 feet long; at high water of spring-tides it is covered to a depth of 16 feet, at low water is partly uncovered to a height of 4 feet; and for 100 yards around, the sea is only 3 fathoms deep. A lighthouse, 120 feet high, designed by Robert Stevenson and Rennie, was erected in 1807-10, at a cost of £61,331.

Bellshill

Bellshill, a Lanarkshire mining town, 9 miles ESE. of Glasgow. Pop. 8786.

Belluno

Bellu'no, a cathedral city of Northern Italy, on the Piave, 42 miles N. of Treviso. Pop. 18,650.

Belmullet

Belmullet, a Mayo fishing-village, 49 miles NW. of Ballina. Pop. 652.

Beloit

Beloit, a city of Wisconsin, U.S., on Rock River, 75 miles SW. of Milwaukee. It has a college (1847), foundries, etc. Pop. 10,500.

Belper

Belper, a market-town of Derbyshire, on the Derwent, 7 1/2 miles N. of Derby. It owes its prosperity to the cotton-works of Messrs Strutt, one of whom was in 1856 created Lord Belper. The manufacture of silk and cotton hosiery is also largely carried on; but nail-making has declined. Pop. (1851) 10,082; (1901) 10,934.

Belt

Belt, the name given to two straits, the Great and the Little Belt, which, with the Sound, connect the Baltic with the Cattegat. The Great Belt, nearly 40 miles long, and 10 to nearly 20 miles broad, divides the Danish islands, Zealand and Laaland, from Funen and Lange-land. The Little Belt divides Funen from Jutland. It is as long as the Great Belt, but narrows from 10 miles to less than a mile. Both the Belts are dangerous to navigation.

Belturbet

Belturbet, an Irish town, on the Erne, 9 miles NW. of Cavan. Pop. 1675.

Belvoir Castle

Belvoir Castle (pron. Beever), Leicestershire, 7 miles W. by S. of Grantham, the magnificent seat of the Duke of Rutland.

Bembatoka

Bembato'ka, a bay on the NW. coast of Madagascar.

Bembridge

Bembridge, a village near the east corner of the Isle of Wight, 5 miles SE. of Ryde, giving name to a division of the Tertiary formation. Pop. 1100.

Bemersydo

Bemersydo, Berwickshire, on the Tweed, 2 1/2 miles NE. of St Boswells, the seat of the Haigs.

Bemerton

Bemerton, a Wiltshire parish, 1 1/2 mile W. by N. of Salisbury, the scene of George Herbert's ministry.

Benavente

Benaven'te, a town of Spain, on the Esla, 34 miles N. from Zamora. Here Moore's retreat commenced, 28th December 1808. Pop. 4518.

Benbecula

Benbec'ula, one of the Hebrides, between North and South Uist, 20 miles W. of Skye, belongs to Inverness-shire. Measuring 6 or 7 miles either way, it is nearly 36 sq. m. in area, low and flat, and consists chiefly of bog, sand, and lake, with a very broken coast-line. Nearly three-fourths of the area are under crofts and farms. Pop. 1434.

Bencoolen

Bencoo'len, capital of a Dutch residency on the SW. coast of Sumatra. Owing to the surf and coral reefs, landing is difficult; the site is low and swampy, and the houses are mostly built on bamboo piles. Pepper and camphor are the chief exports, but trade has declined. Bencoolen was founded by the English (1686), but was ceded to the Dutch in 1825. Pop. 10,000.