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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There are 33 Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset. The oldest is either Culbone Church, one of the smallest churches in England, and pre-Norman in origin, or Tarr Steps, which may originate in the Bronze Age, although other sources date them from around 1400. Dunster has the greatest concentration of Grade I listed buildings, including Dunster Castle, which was built in 1617 on a site which had supported a castle for the previous 600 years; the Yarn Market, which was built in 1609; Gallox Bridge, which dates from the 15th century and the Priory Church of St George which is predominately from the 15th century but includes part of the earlier church on the same site. Other sites include manor houses such as the medieval buildings at Nettlecombe Court and Orchard Wyndham. Somerset has many religious structures, most of which are from the Norman or medieval eras. Some of the churches are part of the Somerset towers, a collection mostly spireless Gothic church towers. (Full article...)
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Robert Burnell (sometimes spelled Robert Burnel; c. 1239 – 25 October 1292) was an English bishop who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1274 to 1292. A native of Shropshire, he served as a minor royal official before entering into the service of Prince Edward, the future King Edward I of England. When Edward went on the Eighth Crusade in 1270, Burnell stayed in England to secure the prince's interests. He served as regent after the death of King Henry III of England while Edward was still on crusade. He was twice elected Archbishop of Canterbury, but his personal life—which included a long-term mistress who was rumoured to have borne him four sons—prevented his confirmation by the papacy. In 1275 Burnell was elected Bishop of Bath and Wells, after Edward had appointed him Lord Chancellor in 1274.
Burnell was behind the efforts of the royal officials to enforce royal rights during his term of office as chancellor, including the implementation of the Quo warranto procedures. He also helped with the legislative and legal reforms of Edward's reign. During Burnell's tenure the chancellor's office and records became fixed in London rather than travelling with the king. Burnell went abroad on diplomatic missions for Edward, and for a time governed Gascony. He continued to enjoy the king's trust until his death in 1292; one historian has suggested that Burnell may have been the most important royal official of the 13th century. (Full article...)Districts of Somerset
- Somerset (Unitary)
- North Somerset (Unitary)
- Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary)
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Co-ordinates 51°21′55″N 2°36′25″W / 51.3653°N 2.6069°W
Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the Unitary Authority of Bath and North East Somerset. The parish has a population of 1,161. To the south of the village is Chew Valley Lake. The village is on the B3130, about 10 miles (16 km) from Bristol, 15 miles (24 km) from Bath, 13 miles (21 km) from the city of Wells, and 6 miles (10 km) from Bristol International Airport.
It is just on the northern edge of the Mendip Hills (a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), and was designated a conservation area in 1978. There are many listed buildings reflecting the history of the village. The River Chew flows through the village. Just outside the village is Chew Magna Reservoir. This small Bristol Water supply reservoir intercepts the Winford Brook.
There are two primary schools and a secondary school, several shops and small businesses, three churches, and three pubs serving the area. There is also a football pitch and children's play area. The village frequently wins regional categories in the Calor Village of the Year competition, and is currently moving towards zero waste status, having been described as "probably the greenest parish in Britain". (Full article...)
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's "Did You Know" archives:
- ... that the Church of Saint Andrew (pictured) in High Ham, Somerset, England, has a 12th century lead-lined font on a stem with rope moulding?
- ... that the coldest temperature in south-west England on record was −16.1 °C (3.0 °F) at Yeovilton, Somerset, in January 1982?
- ... that the Wells and Mendip Museum has a skeleton believed to be that of the Witch of Wookey Hole?
- ... that Cothelstone Manor was largely destroyed during the English Civil War and rebuilt 200 years later?
- ... that the Cheddar Yeo forms the largest underground river system in Britain?
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- Ælfheah of Canterbury
- Bath, Somerset
- Battle of Babylon Hill
- Battle of Marshall's Elm
- Margaret Bondfield
- Robert Burnell
- Chew Stoke
- Equestrian statue of Edward Horner
- Exmoor
- Ham Wall
- Herbie Hewett
- Kennet and Avon Canal
- Mells War Memorial
- Mendip Hills
- Lionel Palairet
- Porlock Stone Circle
- River Parrett
- Sieges of Taunton
- Somerset County Cricket Club in 1891
- Somerset County Cricket Club in 2009
- Somerset Levels
- Sweet Track
- Marcus Trescothick
- Wells Cathedral
- Withypool Stone Circle
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- List of ecclesiastical parishes in the Diocese of Bath and Wells
- Works of Keith Floyd
- Grade I listed buildings in Bath and North East Somerset
- Grade I listed buildings in Mendip
- Grade I listed buildings in North Somerset
- Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor
- Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset
- Grade I listed buildings in Taunton Deane
- Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset
- Grade II* listed buildings in North Somerset
- List of civil parishes in Somerset
- List of English Heritage properties in Somerset
- List of locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal
- List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Avon
- List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset
- List of Somerset County Cricket Club Twenty20 players
- List of Somerset County Cricket Club grounds
- 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
- List of scheduled monuments in Sedgemoor
- List of scheduled monuments in South Somerset
- Grade II* listed buildings in Mendip
- List of museums in Somerset
- List of national nature reserves in Somerset
- List of National Trust properties in Somerset
- Scheduled monuments in Bath and North East Somerset
- Scheduled monuments in Mendip
- Scheduled monuments in Taunton Deane
- Scheduled monuments in West Somerset
- Grade II* listed buildings in Sedgemoor
- Grade II* listed buildings in Taunton Deane
- Grade II* listed buildings in West Somerset
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- A303 road
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- 1887 Taunton by-election
- The Abbot's Fish House, Meare
- Agapemonites
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- Ashton Court Festival
- Athelm
- River Avon, Bristol
- Avon Gorge
- Herbert E. Balch
- Barrington Court
- E. W. Bastard
- Bath Abbey
- Bath Assembly Rooms
- Beckford's Tower
- Berhtwald
- Birnbeck Pier
- Bishop's Palace, Wells
- Blackdown Hills National Landscape
- Blagdon Lake
- John Braham (RAF officer)
- Brean Down
- HMS Bridgewater (L01)
- Bridgwater and Taunton Canal
- Bridgwater Bay
- Bridgwater
- Brislington House
- Bruton Dovecote
- Buildings and architecture of Bath
- Burnham-on-Sea
- Mike Burns (cricketer)
- Buro Happold
- Burrow Mump
- Burton Pynsent House
- Jenson Button
- Cadbury Camp
- Cadbury Castle, Somerset
- Chard, Somerset
- Cheddar Gorge
- Cheddar, Somerset
- Chew Magna
- St Andrew's Church, Chew Stoke
- Claverton Pumping Station
- Cleeve Abbey
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- Cleveland Pools
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- Climate of south-west England
- Coleridge Cottage
- The Crescent, Taunton
- Crewkerne
- Cricket at the 1900 Summer Olympics
- Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill
- Dolebury Warren
- Dovecot at Blackford Farm
- Dunkery Hill
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- Dunster Butter Cross
- Dunster Castle
- Dunster
- 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
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- Nailsea
- 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
- 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
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