The Somerset Portal
Somerset (/ˈsʌmərsɪt, -sɛt/ ⓘ SUM-ər-sit, -set; archaically Somersetshire /ˈsʌmərsɪt.ʃɪər, -sɛt-, -ʃər/ SUM-ər-sit-sheer, -set-, -shər) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east and the north-east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, and the county town is Taunton.
Somerset is a predominantly rural county, especially to the south and west, with an area of 4,171 km2 (1,610 sq mi) and a population of 965,424. After Bath (101,557), the largest settlements are Weston-super-Mare (82,418), Taunton (60,479), and Yeovil (49,698). Wells (12,000) is a city, the second-smallest by population in England. For local government purposes the county comprises three unitary authority areas: Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, and Somerset. Bath and North East Somerset Council is a member of the West of England Combined Authority.
The centre of Somerset is dominated by the Levels, a coastal plain and wetland. The north-east contains part of the Cotswolds uplands and all of the Mendip Hills, which are both national landscapes; the west contains the Quantock Hills and part of the Blackdown Hills, which are also national landscapes, and most of Exmoor, a national park. The major rivers of the county are the Avon, which flows through Bath and then Bristol, and the Axe, Brue, and Parrett, which drain the Levels.
There is evidence of Paleolithic human occupation in Somerset, and the area was subsequently settled by the Celts, Romans and Anglo-Saxons. The county played a significant part in Alfred the Great's rise to power, and later the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion. In the later medieval period its wealth allowed its monasteries and parish churches to be rebuilt in grand style; Glastonbury Abbey was particularly important, and claimed to house the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere. The city of Bath is famous for its Georgian architecture, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The county is also the location of Glastonbury Festival, one of the UK's major music festivals. (Full article...)
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On the east of the gorge is the Bristol suburb of Clifton, and The Downs, a large public park. To the west of the gorge is Leigh Woods, the name of both a village and the National Trust forest it is situated in. There are three Iron Age hill forts overlooking the gorge, as well as an observatory. The Clifton Suspension Bridge, an icon of Bristol, crosses the gorge. (Full article...)
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Stephen Cox Newton (21 April 1853 – 16 August 1916) was an English cricketer who represented, and captained, Somerset County Cricket Club in the late 19th century. During a 14-year first-class cricket career, he also represented Cambridge University, Middlesex and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
He made his debut in first-class cricket for Cambridge University, where he was awarded his Blue. He then spent nine seasons playing for Somerset, and captained the side for the last five of those seasons. Working as a schoolmaster at Highgate School in London from 1876–1884, his playing opportunities for the south-western county were limited, and from 1885 he only played first-class cricket at Lord's, representing Middlesex in three matches that season, and appearing for the MCC on nine occasions over six years. He returned to play for Somerset in 1887 and 1890 when they had lost their first-class status. He worked as headmaster of Loudon House School in London for some years from 1888, and died following an operation in 1916 in Ipswich. (Full article...)Districts of Somerset
- Somerset (Unitary)
- North Somerset (Unitary)
- Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary)
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Co-ordinates 50°56′43″N 2°38′13″W / 50.9452°N 2.637°W
Yeovil (/ˈjoʊvɪl/ YOH-vil) is a town and civil parish in south Somerset. The parish had a population of 27,949 at the 2001 census, although the wider urban area had a population of 42,140. The town lies within the local district of South Somerset and the Yeovil parliamentary constituency.
It has palaeolithic remains, was on an old Roman road and was recorded in the Domesday Book as the town of Givle, and later became a centre for the glove making industry. During the Middle Ages the population of the town suffered from the Black Death and several serious fires. In the 20th century it developed into a centre of the aircraft and defence industries, which made it a target for bombing in World War II, with one of the largest employers being AgustaWestland who manufacture helicopters. Several other manufacturing and retail companies also have bases in the town. In the 21st century Yeovil became the first town in Britain to institute a system of biometric fingerprint scanning in nightclubs and the first English council to ban the children's craze Heelys. Plans have been proposed for various regeneration projects in the town.
Yeovil Country Park, which includes Ninesprings, is one of several open spaces in the town. There are a range of educational, cultural and sporting facilities. Religious sites include the 14th century Church of St John the Baptist. It is on the A30 and A37 roads and has two railway stations on two separate railway lines. Yeovil Pen Mill is on the Bristol to Weymouth line served by First Great Western train operating company services, whilst Yeovil Junction is on the London Waterloo to Exeter line served by South West Trains. There is also a small railway museum. (Full article...)
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's "Did You Know" archives:
- ... that the Building of Bath Museum was originally constructed in 1765 as a chapel for Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (pictured)?
- ... that the Bilbie family produced more than 1,350 bells, from the late 1600s to the early 1800s?
- ... that Bath, the only entire city in England to be a World Heritage Site, was awarded that status largely because of its buildings and architecture?
- ... that Charterhouse Cave is the deepest cave in Southern England?
- ... that a road in Charlcombe, Somerset, England is closed for two months every spring to allow frogs and toads to cross safely?
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Nearby projects: WikiProject Bristol, WikiProject Devon, WikiProject Dorset, WikiProject Wiltshire
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- Ælfheah of Canterbury
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- Battle of Babylon Hill
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- List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Avon
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- List of Somerset County Cricket Club Twenty20 players
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- List of Somerset County Cricket Club players with 100 or more first-class or List A appearances
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in Southwest England
- List of hillforts and ancient settlements in Somerset
- List of local nature reserves in Somerset
- List of scheduled monuments in North Somerset
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- A303 road
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- Barrington Court
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- Bishop's Palace, Wells
- Blackdown Hills National Landscape
- Blagdon Lake
- John Braham (RAF officer)
- Brean Down
- HMS Bridgewater (L01)
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- Bridgwater
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- Bruton Dovecote
- Buildings and architecture of Bath
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- Mike Burns (cricketer)
- Buro Happold
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- Burton Pynsent House
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- Cadbury Castle, Somerset
- Chard, Somerset
- Cheddar Gorge
- Cheddar, Somerset
- Chew Magna
- St Andrew's Church, Chew Stoke
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- Cleeve Abbey
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- Climate of south-west England
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- The Crescent, Taunton
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- Cricket at the 1900 Summer Olympics
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- Reginald Fitz Jocelin
- Savaric FitzGeldewin
- Henry Fownes Luttrell (died 1780)
- Henry Fox (sportsman)
- Frome
- Fyne Court
- Gallox Bridge, Dunster
- Edith Garrud
- Geography of Somerset
- Geology of Somerset
- Gisa (bishop of Wells)
- Eleanor Glanville
- Glastonbury Abbey
- Glastonbury Canal
- Glastonbury Festival
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- Glastonbury Lake Village
- Glastonbury Tor
- Grade I listed buildings in Somerset
- Grand Western Canal
- HM Prison Shepton Mallet
- Hestercombe House
- James Hill (British Army officer)
- Sidney Hill
- History of Somerset
- Holnicote Estate
- Hot Fuzz
- Jocelin of Wells
- John of Tours
- Keynsham
- King Alfred's Tower
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- Scott Laird
- Leigh Court
- Leigh Woods National Nature Reserve
- Long Ashton railway station
- Lyfing (archbishop of Canterbury)
- Lytes Cary
- Masonic Hall, Taunton
- Midsomer Norton
- Minehead
- Monmouth Rebellion
- Montacute House
- Muchelney Abbey
- Nailsea Court
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- Nailsea and Backwell railway station
- Nettlecombe Court
- Stephen Newton
- Tom Nichols (footballer)
- Nunney Castle
- Pill railway station
- PinkPantheress
- Portishead, Somerset
- Massey Poyntz
- The Priest's House, Muchelney
- Prior Park Landscape Garden
- Prior Park
- Pulteney Bridge
- Quantock Hills
- Radstock
- River Brue
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- Robert of Bath
- Roman Baths (Bath)
- Royal Crescent
- Ted Sainsbury
- St Catherine's Court
- Sand Point and Middle Hope
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- Jake Seamer
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- Sigeric (bishop)
- Sir Bevil Grenville's Monument
- Solsbury Hill
- Somerset Coal Canal
- Somerset Coalfield
- Somerset County Cricket Club in 1882
- Somerset County Cricket Club in 1885
- Somerton, Somerset
- Stanton Drew stone circles
- Steep Holm
- Stembridge Mill, High Ham
- Stoke sub Hamdon Priory
- Ston Easton Park
- Stoney Littleton Long Barrow
- Street, Somerset
- Sutton Court
- Sydney Gardens
- St Joseph's Convent, Taunton
- Taunton
- Taunton Unitarian Chapel
- Team Bath F.C.
- Theatre Royal, Bath
- Tintinhull Garden
- To Catch a Copper
- Treasurer's House, Martock
- Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard
- The Tribunal, Glastonbury
- Tyntesfield
- Vicars' Close, Wells
- Walton and Ivythorn Hills
- Watchet
- Wellington Monument, Somerset
- Wellington, Somerset
- Hugh of Wells
- Wells, Somerset
- West Hendford Cricket Ground
- West Pennard Court Barn
- West Somerset Mineral Railway
- Westhay Moor
- Weston-super-Mare
- Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum
- Edward Wickham
- Maisie Williams
- Woodspring Priory
- Wookey Hole Caves
- Worle railway station
- Worlebury Camp
- Wulfhelm
- Yarn Market, Dunster
- Yatton railway station
- Yeovil
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