The Somerset Portal
![caption=Somerset shown within England](http://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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The track extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, although much of the marsh has now been drained, and a ridge of high ground at Shapwick, a distance close to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). The track is one of a network that once crossed the Somerset Levels. Various artefacts, including a jadeitite axe head, have been found along its length.
Construction was of crossed wooden poles which were driven into the waterlogged soil to support a walkway that consisted mainly of planks of oak, laid end-to-end. The track was only used for a period of around 10 years and then abandoned, probably due to rising water levels. Following its discovery in 1970 most of the track has been left in its original location, with active conservation measures taken, including a water pumping and distribution system to maintain the wood in its damp condition. Some of the track is stored at the British Museum and a reconstruction of a section was built at the Peat Moors Centre near Glastonbury. (Full article...)
Selected biography -
Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian, actor and television presenter. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom Black Books and for his regular appearances on the panel shows Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI, as well as for his stand-up comedy work. He plays a variety of musical instruments and incorporates music into his performances.
Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in 2003. In 2007, and again in 2010, he was voted the seventh greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups. In 2020 Bailey won the 18th series of the televised BBC dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing with his professional partner Oti Mabuse. At 55, he is currently the oldest winner in the show's history as of 2024. (Full article...)Districts of Somerset
![](http://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°16′43″N 2°46′40″W / 51.2785°N 2.7777°W
Cheddar is a large village and civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. It is situated on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, 9 miles (14 km) north-west of Wells. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Nyland and Bradley Cross. The village, which has its own parish council, has a population of 5,093 and the parish has an acreage of 8,592 acres (3,477 ha) as of 1961.
Cheddar Gorge is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom and includes several show caves including Gough's Cave. The gorge has been a centre of human settlement since Neolithic times, including a Saxon palace. It has a temperate climate and provides a unique geological and biological environment that has been recognised by the designation of several Sites of Special Scientific Interest. It is also the site of several limestone quarries. The village gave its name to Cheddar cheese and has been a centre for strawberry growing, with the crop being transported on the Cheddar Valley line. It is now a major tourist destination with several cultural and community facilities, including the Cheddar Show Caves Museum.
The village supports a variety of community groups including religious, sporting and cultural organisations. Several of these are based on the site of The Kings of Wessex School, which is the largest educational establishment. (Full article...)
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's "Did You Know" archives:
- ... that the Sun (pictured) and Pluto are only 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) apart on the Somerset Space Walk?
- ... that Chard Museum in Somerset, England, includes a collection of early articulated artificial limbs?
- ... that The George Inn in Norton St Philip, Somerset, was used as an army headquarters during the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, and then as a courtroom to try the rebels in the Bloody Assizes?
- ... that Jasper Conran bought the 18th-century Ven House in rural Somerset and complained about plans to extend a slurry pit and install polytunnels close to the land?
- ...that the small Land Yeo river in Somerset, England, has powered at least ten watermills in the last 1,000 years?
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Featured articles
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 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
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Athelm
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Allegra Byron
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Chard, Somerset
Cheddar Gorge
Cheddar, Somerset
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Stephen Newton
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Nunney Castle
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PinkPantheress
Portishead, Somerset
Massey Poyntz
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Quantock Hills
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River Tone
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Sand Point and Middle Hope
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Sir Bevil Grenville's Monument
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Somerset County Cricket Club in 1882
Somerset County Cricket Club in 1885
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Stanton Drew stone circles
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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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