Gloucestershire, a west midland county of England, lying around the lower course and the estuary of the Severn, and bounded by the counties of Monmouth, Hereford, Worcester, Warwick, Oxford, Berks, Wilts, and Somerset. With a maximum length and breadth of 64 by 43 miles, and an area of 1258 sq. m., it offers a very irregular outline. There are three well-marked divisions, each with its natural characteristics - the Hill, the Vale, and the Forest. The first is formed by the Coteswold Hills (q.v.), whose highest point is Cleeve Hill (1134 feet); the second, comprising the Vales of Gloucester and Berkeley, by the low rich meadow-lands lying along the Severn ; and the third, to the west of the Severn, by the Forest of Dean (q.v.). The principal rivers are the Severn, Wye, Upper and Lower Avon, and Thames, which receives all the waters east of the Coteswolds. Permanent pasture and corn-crops occupy more than two-thirds of the entire area. Gloucestershire is famous as a dairy country, and raises large numbers of cattle. The well-known double and single Glo'ster cheese is produced in the Vale of Berkeley. The orchards yield great quantities of cider; and woods and plantations cover 82 sq. m. Building-stone is plentiful; and there are two rich coalfields - that of Bristol in the SW., and the Forest of Dean in the W.; but the ironworks are of less importance than formerly. The woollen manufacture is of ancient standing. Gloucestershire since 1885 contains the parliamentary boroughs of Gloucester and Cheltenham, with part of Bristol, and five parliamentary divisions - Mid or Stroud, North or Tewkesbury, East or Cirencester, Forest of Dean, and South or Thornbury. Pop. (1801) 250,723; (1881) 572,433; (1891) 599,947; (1901) 634,729. See Worth's Gloucestershire (1888), and larger works there cited.