Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales

The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes have a brief article on each county, city, borough, civil parish, and diocese, describing their political and physical features and naming the principal people of each place.

Resources

 * A Vision of Britain through Time - holds the full text
 * Gazetteer of England and Wales - Ancestry.co.uk