The Somerset Portal
![caption=Somerset shown within England](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/EnglandSomerset.svg/100px-EnglandSomerset.svg.png)
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), Yeovil (49,698) and Frome (28,559). 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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![Upland scrub on the Quantock Hills](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/UplandQuantocks.jpg/162px-UplandQuantocks.jpg)
The hills run from the Vale of Taunton Deane in the south, for about 15 miles (24 km) to the north-west, ending at East Quantoxhead and West Quantoxhead on the coast of the Bristol Channel. They form the western border of Sedgemoor and the Somerset Levels. Soil types and weather combine to support the hills' plants and animals. In 1970 an area of 6,194.5 acres (2,506.9 hectares) was designated as a Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
They have been occupied since prehistoric times with Bronze Age round barrows and Iron Age hill forts. Evidence from Roman times includes silver coins discovered in West Bagborough. In the later Saxon period, King Alfred led the resistance to Viking invasion, and Watchet was plundered by Danes in 987 and 997. The hills were fought over during the English Civil War and Monmouth rebellion but are now a peaceful area popular with tourists and walkers. (Full article...)
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Districts of Somerset
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Somerset_numbered_districts_2023.svg/200px-Somerset_numbered_districts_2023.svg.png)
- Somerset (Unitary)
- North Somerset (Unitary)
- Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary)
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Co-ordinates 51°29′02″N 2°45′45″W / 51.484°N 2.7626°W
Portishead /pɔːtɪsˈhɛd/ is a coastal town on the Severn Estuary within the unitary authority of North Somerset. It has a population of 22,000, an increase of over 3,000 since the 2001 census, with a growth rate of 40 per cent, considerably in excess of surrounding towns.
Portishead has a long history as a fishing port. It expanded rapidly during the early 19th century around the docks, with supporting transport infrastructure. A power station and chemical works were added in the 20th century, but the dock and industrial facilities have since declined, redeveloped into a marina and residential areas. Portishead was also the telephone control centre used by British Telecom (BT) for non-direct dialled calls to maritime vessels, a service known as Portishead Radio.
The town's population is expanding, served by several retail outlets, religious, educational and sporting venues. Portishead is now primarily a dormitory town for Bristol and its environs, although a range of services industries has grown up. The headquarters of Avon and Somerset Constabulary are based in Portishead. (Full article...)
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's "Did You Know" archives:
- ... that Saltford Brass Mill (pictured) contains a complete annealing furnace claimed to be one of the best remaining examples of this technology in Britain?
- ... that a Bastard at Oxford University once dismissed Australian cricket captain Billy Murdoch?
- ... that RAF Weston-super-Mare in South West England was formed in 1940 when the Royal Air Force took over an existing municipal airport?
- ... that Ralph Allen built Prior Park of Bath Stone to advertise its qualities as a building material?
- ... that in 1885, Somerset County Cricket Club suffered two of their heaviest-ever defeats under the captaincy of Edward Sainsbury?
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Nearby projects: WikiProject Bristol, WikiProject Devon, WikiProject Dorset, WikiProject Wiltshire
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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
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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 Bath and North East Somerset
List of scheduled monuments in Mendip
List of scheduled monuments in North Somerset
List of scheduled monuments in Sedgemoor
List of scheduled monuments in South Somerset
List of scheduled monuments in Taunton Deane
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
List of scheduled monuments in West Somerset (A–G)
List of scheduled monuments in West Somerset (H–Z)
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
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
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
Allegra Byron
Cadbury Camp
Cadbury Castle, Somerset
Chard, Somerset
Cheddar Gorge
Cheddar, Somerset
Chew Magna
St Andrew's Church, Chew Stoke
Claverton Pumping Station
Cleeve Abbey
Clevedon
Clevedon Court
Clevedon Pier
Cleveland Pools
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Climate of south-west England
Coleridge Cottage
The Crescent, Taunton
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Cricket at the 1900 Summer Olympics
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Dunkery Hill
Dunstan
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
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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 Court
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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