Portal:Somerset - Wikipedia
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Somerset ( SUM-ər-sit, -set; archaically Somersetshire 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...)
Selected article
A view of the Cheddar Gorge, designated as an SSSI for both its biological and its geological interest.
There are 127 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Somerset of which 83 have been designated due to their biological interest, 35 due to their geological interest, and 9 for both.. In England the body responsible for designating SSSIs is Natural England, which chooses a site because of its fauna, flora, geological or physiographical features.
Natural England took over the role of designating and managing SSSIs from English Nature in October 2006 when it was formed from the amalgamation of English Nature, parts of the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service. Natural England, like its predecessor, uses the 1974-1996 county system,and as such the same approach is followed here, therefore some sites you may expect to find in this list could be in the Avon list. (Full article...)
Trenchard in RAF full dress c. 1930
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the Royal Air Force."
During his formative years, Trenchard struggled academically, failing many examinations and only just succeeding in meeting the minimum standard for commissioned service in the British Army. As a young infantry officer, Trenchard served in India and with the outbreak of the Boer War, he volunteered for service in South Africa. While fighting the Boers, Trenchard was critically wounded and as a result of his injury, he lost a lung, was partially paralysed and returned to Great Britain. On medical advice, Trenchard travelled to Switzerland to recuperate and boredom saw him taking up bobsleighing. After a heavy crash, Trenchard found that his paralysis was gone and that he could walk unaided. Following further recuperation, Trenchard returned to active service in South Africa. (Full article...)
Districts of Somerset
- Somerset (Unitary)
- North Somerset (Unitary)
- Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary)
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Selected images
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A traditional cider apple orchard at Over Stratton, with sheep grazing (from Somerset)
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The Avon Gorge, the historic boundary between Gloucestershire and Somerset, and also Mercia and Wessex; Somerset is to the left (from Somerset)
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The River Brue in an artificial channel draining farmland near Glastonbury (from Somerset)
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The west front of Wells Cathedral (from Somerset)
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Glastonbury Tor (from Culture of Somerset)
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Bristol Airport, which is located in North Somerset (from Somerset)
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The Dunster Yarn Market was built in 1609 for the trading of local cloth. (from Somerset)
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"Samurai" by Griffens CC, at Burnham on Sea Carnival 2006, part of the West Country Carnival circuit (from Culture of Somerset)
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The ceremonial county immediately prior to the 2023 local government restructuring, with South Somerset (1), Somerset West and Taunton (2), Sedgemoor (3) and Mendip (4) as non-metropolitan districts (shown in pink), and just Bath and North East Somerset (5), and North Somerset (6) as unitary authorities (shown in yellow). (from Somerset)
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A steam locomotive and carriages, on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage line of notable length, in spring 2015 (from Somerset)
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Tyntesfield (from Somerset)
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A map of the county in 1646, author unknown (from Somerset)
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The town of Glastonbury looking west from the top of Glastonbury Tor. The fields in the distance are the Somerset Levels. (from Somerset)
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Brean Down from Steep Holm (from Somerset)
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The Exmoor landscape with the native Exmoor Pony (from Somerset)
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Stone quarries are still a major employer in Somerset (from Somerset)
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Weston-super-Mare Town Hall, the administrative headquarters of North Somerset (from Somerset)
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The flag designed to represent the historic county of Somerset in 2013 (from Somerset)
Selected settlement
Chew Stoke
Co-ordinates 51°21′03″N 2°38′18″W / 51.3507°N 2.6383°W
Chew Stoke is a small village and civil parish in the Chew Valley, about 8 miles (13 km) south of Bristol. It is at the northern edge of the Mendip Hills, a region designated by the United Kingdom as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is within the Bristol/Bath green belt. The parish includes the hamlet of Breach Hill, which is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of Chew Stoke itself.
Chew Stoke has a long history, as shown by the number and range of its heritage-listed buildings. The village is at the northern end of Chew Valley Lake, which was created in the 1950s, close to a dam, pumping station, sailing club, and fishing lodge. A tributary of the River Chew, which rises in Strode, runs through the village.
The population of 905 is served by one shop, two public houses, a primary school and a bowling club. Together with Chew Magna, it forms the ward of Chew Valley North in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset. Chew Valley School and its associated leisure centre are less than a mile (1.6 km) from Chew Stoke. The village has some areas of light industry but is largely agricultural; many residents commute to nearby cities for employment. (Full article...)
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's "Did You Know" archives:
- ... that West Indians Viv Richards (pictured) and Hallam Moseley top the batting and bowling charts in List A cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club?
- ... that the offices at Stogumber railway station are on the east side of the line, but the platform is on the west?
- ... that the Anglo-Bavarian Brewery, constructed in Somerset in 1864 and now designated as an historic site, was the first brewery in Britain to produce lager?
- ... that the medieval village of Babington in Somerset, England was destroyed around 1705 to make way for a new Manor House?
- ... that Bathwick Hill, Bath is the site of a large Italianate villa, built by Henry Goodridge as his own house?
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- A303 road
- 1754 Taunton by-election
- 1887 Taunton by-election
- The Abbot's Fish House, Meare
- Agapemonites
- William Arnold (settler)
- Ashton Court
- Ashton Court Festival
- Athelm
- River Avon, Bristol
- Avon Gorge
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- E. W. Bastard
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- Burton Pynsent House
- Jenson Button
- Allegra Byron
- Cadbury Camp
- Cadbury Castle, Somerset
- Chard, Somerset
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- Cheddar, Somerset
- Chew Magna
- St Andrew's Church, Chew Stoke
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- Climate of south-west England
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- Dunster Working Watermill
- Ebbor Gorge
- Exmoor pony
- Farleigh Hungerford Castle
- 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
- Glastonbury
- 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
- King John's Hunting Lodge, Axbridge
- 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 & Backwell railway station
- Nailsea Court
- Nailsea
- 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
- River Tone
- Robert of Bath
- Roman Baths (Bath)
- Royal Crescent
- Ted Sainsbury
- St Catherine's Court
- Sand Point and Middle Hope
- Scheduled monuments in Somerset
- Jake Seamer
- Shepton Mallet
- 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