Fontenoy

Fontenoy, a village (pop. 857) of Belgium, 5 miles SE. of Tournay. Here, on 11th May 1745, the French under Marshal Saxe, defeated the allies (English, Dutch, and Austrians) under the Duke of Cumberland. The victory was in great measure due to the courage of the 'Irish Brigade' in the French army.

Fontevrault

Fontevrault (Fon9t-e-vro'), a town in the French dep. of Maine-et-Loire, 8 miles SE. of Saumur. A celebrated abbey was founded here in 1099 ; the 12th-century church contains sepulchral monuments to Henry II. of England, his queen, Eleanor of Guienne, Richard Coeur-de-Lion, and Isabella, the queen of John. Since 1804 the monastic buildings have been used as a prison for 2000 convicts. Pop. 1571.

Foochow

Foochow (Fu-Chau), capital of the Chinese province of Fu-chien, with suburbs extending to the river Min, 25 miles above its mouth. The town proper is surrounded with walls nearly 30 feet high, and 10 feet wide at the top. The river is thronged with floating houses, and is crossed by a great bridge, 329 yards long. The Min provides an easy communication with the interior, with which a large trade is carried on in timber, paper, and cotton and woollen goods; and the port, opened to foreign commerce in 1842, is one of the principal tea-markets and mission stations in China. The imports are chiefly opium, cotton goods, and lead. There are manufactories of silk and cotton fabrics and paper; and on an island 3 miles down the stream there is a large government arsenal managed by Europeans. The French bombarded Foochow in 1884. Pop. 630,000.

Forbach

Forbach, a manufacturing town in Lorraine, 6 miles SW. of Saarbruck. Here, on 6th August 1870, the French had to retreat. Pop. 8842.

Fordonn

Fordonn, a Kincardineshire parish, 6 miles N. by E. of Laurencekirk.

Foreland

Foreland, North and South, two promontories of England, on the east coast of Kent, between which are the Downs and Goodwin Sands.

Forll

Forll (For'lee; anc. Forum Livii), an Italian city at the foot of the Apennines, 40 miles SE. of Bologna by rail. It has a cathedral, a citadel (1361, now a prison), and manufactures of silk, shoes, hats, and cloth. Pop. 39,442.

Formia

Formia (anc. Formice; formerly Mola di Gaeta), a seaport of Italy, on the Gulf of Gaeta, with the ruins of Cicero's villa. Pop. 8551.

Forres

For'res, a royal burgh of Elginshire, 5 miles S. of Findhorn village on the Moray Firth, and 25 ENE. of Inverness, with which and Nairn and Fortrose it returns a member. On its Castle Hill, a royal residence from 1189 to 1371, stands an obelisk (1857), 65 feet high, to the Crimean hero, Dr Thomson of Cromarty; on wooded Cluny Hill are a hydropathic and the Nelson tower (1806), 70 feet high. Sueno's Stone is a sculptured monolith ascribed to the year 900; the Witch's Stone recalls Macbeth's meeting with the weird sisters near Forres, Pop. 4313.

Forst

Forst, a town of Prussia, 80 miles SE. of Berlin by rail, with manufactures of buckskins, cloth, and leather. Pop. 83,539.