33 miles, and York 54 miles. Its foundation was at the junction of two
rivers, the Sheaf and the Don; in the angle formed by which once stood
the Castle, built by the, Barons Furnival, Lords of Hallamshire; but
subsequently in the tenure of the Talbots, Earls of Shrewsbury. Three or
four miles from this Castle, on the western hill, stood the Saxon town
of _Hallam_, said to have been destroyed by the Norman invaders, on
account of their gallant opposition.

"The town was originally a mere village, dependant on the Castle; but
its mineral and subterranean wealth led the early inhabitants to become
manufacturers of edged tools, of which arrow heads, spear heads, &c. are
presumed to have been a considerable part; a bundle of arrows being at
this day in the town arms, and cross arrows the badge of the ancient
Cutlers' Company of Sheffield.

"The exhaustless coal seams and iron-stone beds in the vicinity,
combined with the ingenuity of the people, conferred early fame on their
products; for Chaucer, in alluding to a knife, calls it 'a Sheffield
thwittel,'--whittle being among the manufacturers at this day the name
of a common kind of knife. The increasing demand for articles of
cutlery, and their multiplied variety have gradually enlarged the
population of Sheffield to 42,157 in 1821; since which it has
considerably increased, and may, in 1829, be estimated at 50,000. In
1821, it contained 8,726 houses, and perhaps 500 have been built since,
chiefly villas to the westward, while the compact town is about one mile
by half a mile. The principal streets are well built, and there are
three old churches, and two new ones lately finished, besides another
now building.

"Sheffield presents at this time the extraordinary spectacle of an