サマセット

Hashtags #サマセット

サマセット地名et歴史

サマセット/ sのʌ M ə R S ɪ T、- ˌ S ɛ T / 聞くこの音について ; [2] archaically Somersetshire)である内の南西イングランド接しグロスターシャーブリストルを、北にウィルトシャー東へ、南東にドーセット、南西にデボン。これは、北と西に囲まれセバーン河口ブリストル海峡ウェールズ南東部に面した海岸線。グロスターシャーとの伝統的な国境はエイボン川です。[3]サマセットの郡の町があるトーントン

サマセットは、なだらかな丘陵、ブラックダウン丘陵、メンディップ丘陵、カントック丘陵、エクスムーア国立公園、およびサマセットレベルを含む広大な広大な土地の田舎の郡です。旧石器時代からの人間の占領と、その後のケルト人、ローマ人、アングロサクソン人による定住の証拠があります。郡はアルフレッド大王の権力の台頭、そして後にイングランド内戦とモンマスの反乱において重要な役割を果たしました。バースの街はジョージ王朝時代の建築で有名で、ユネスコの世界遺産に登録されています。

サマセットの名前を導出古英語 Sumorsǣteのための短い、Sumortūnsǣte「人々が住んでたりSumortūn(依存意味、サマートン)」。[4]の最初の既知の使用Somersæteは法律コードである王伊根とともにサマセット作り、688から726にウェセックスのサクソン王だったハンプシャー、ウィルトシャー州とドーセットの世界で地方政府の現存する最古の単位の一つを。[5]別の提案は、名前が「海の湖のそばの入植者」を意味するソメレセタンに由来することです。[6]

古英語の名前は、郡のモットーであるSumorsǣteealleで使用されており、「サマセットのすべての人々」を意味します。1911年にモットーとして採用されたこのフレーズは、アングロサクソンクロニクルから取られています。サマセットはウェセックスのアングロサクソン王国の一部であり、このフレーズは、ウェセックスをバイキングの侵略者から救うためにサマセットの人々がアルフレッド王に与えた心からの支援を指します。[7] [8] [9]

サマセットの集落の名前は、ほとんどがアングロサクソン人に由来しますが(たとえば、バース、サマートン、ウェルズ、ケインシャム[10])、多くの地名には、フローム川やエイボン川などのブリトンケルト人の要素や丘の名前が含まれます。たとえば、682年のアングロサクソン憲章では、クリーチボローヒルを「英国人がクルクタンと呼び、アングロサクソン人がクリチボーと呼ぶ」と呼んでいます。[11]いくつかの近代的な名前が完全にあるBrittonicのように、起源にTarnock、Priddyとチャード他の人のようなサクソンやBrittonic両方の要素、持っていながら、ペンヒル。[12] [13]

1646年の郡の地図、作者不明

洞窟メンディップヒルズ時に決済された旧石器時代、期間[14]や、でているような大規模な遺跡含まチェダー渓谷を。ゴフの洞窟の骨は紀元前12、000年にさかのぼり、チェダーマンとして知られる完全な骸骨は紀元前7150年にさかのぼります。[15]洞窟壁画の例は、Aveline'sHoleで発見されています。[16]ウーキーホールを含むいくつかの洞窟は、現代まで占領され続けました。

サマセットレベル-specificallyドライポイントでグラストンベリーとブレントノール-また、決済の長い歴史を持っている、とによって解決されていることが知られている中石器時代の狩猟。[17] [18]この地域の旅行は、紀元前3807年または紀元前3806年にさかのぼる、世界で最も古い既知の設計された道路の1つであるスイートトラックの建設によって促進されました。【注1】【20】【21】

正確な年齢ヘンジの記念碑でスタントンドリューのストーン・サークルは不明であるが、あると考えられている新石器時代。[22]数多くあります鉄器時代の 丘の砦のような、そのうちのいくつか、キャドバリー城[23]とハム・ヒルは、以降でreoccupiedた中世初期。[24]

将来の皇帝ウェスパシアヌスの権威により、英国でのローマの存在の継続的な拡大の一環として、第2軍団アウグスタは西暦47年に南東からサマセットに侵入しました。郡は西暦409年頃までローマ帝国の一部であり続けました。ローマによるイギリスの占領が終わったとき。[3]のローマ遺跡の様々な含めて、発見された異教徒の丘ローマの寺院でチューストーク、[25] 低ハムローマンヴィラとローマ浴場の都市に自分の名前を与えたバース。[26]

パラディオの様式のパルトニー橋 バース

ローマ人が去った後、イギリスはアングロサクソン人に侵略されました。西暦600年までに、彼らは現在のイギリスの多くを支配するようになりましたが、サマセットはまだイギリスのネイティブの手にありました。イギリス軍はサクソン人の南西への進出をしばらく遅らせたが、8世紀初頭までに、ウェセックスのイネ王はサマセットを含むのに十分なほど西に西サクソン王国の境界を押し広げた。[27]チェダーのサクソン王宮は、賢人会議を主催するために10世紀に数回使用されました。[28]

サマセットのブリトン人とサクソン人の関係の性質は完全には明らかではありません。イネの法律は、ブリトン人がウェセックスで規定に値するほど重要な人口であると考えられていたことを示しています。しかし、法律はまた、英国人はサクソン人と同じ社会的地位を獲得することができず、多くが奴隷にされたことを示唆しています。[29]そのような政策に照らして、多くの英国人はブルターニュ[30]のような場所に移住することを選択したかもしれないが、残った人々はアングロサクソン文化を採用するインセンティブを持っていたであろう。[31]

ノルマン征服後、郡は700の領地に分割され、広い地域は国王によって所有され[32]、ダンスター城などの要塞が支配と防御に使用されました。サマセットにはHM刑務所シェプトンマレットが含まれています。これは2013年に閉鎖される前にまだ使用されていたイギリス最古の刑務所で、1610年に開所しました。[33]イングランド内戦では、サマセットは主に国会議員であり[34]、主要な関与はトーントンとラングポートの戦い。[35]

1685年、モンマスの反乱はサマセットと隣接するドーセットで行われた。[36]反政府勢力はに上陸したライムレジスキャプチャすることを望んで、そして旅北ブリストル、バース、しかし、彼らはで敗北したセッジムアの戦いでWestonzoyland、最後の激戦イングランドで戦いました。[37] アーサー・ウェルズリーは彼のタイトル、取っウェリントン公爵の町からウェリントン。[38]彼は近くの丘で、ウェリントン記念碑として知られる大きなスポットライトのオベリスクによって記念されている。[39]

ミッドランドとイングランド北部の産業革命は、サマセットの家内工業のほとんどに終止符を打ちました。農業は繁栄し続け、農業、芸術、製造、商業の奨励のためのバースアンドウェストオブイングランド協会は、農業方法を改善するために1777年に設立されました。それにもかかわらず、20年後のジョンビリングズリーは1795年に郡の農業の調査を実施し、農業方法はまだ改善できることを発見しました。[40]炭鉱は、18世紀から19世紀の間、北サマセットの重要な産業であり、1800年までにラドストックで顕著になりました。[41]

サマセット炭田は1920年代で、そのピーク生産に達しました。すべてのピットは現在閉鎖されており、最後は1973年です。[42]表面の建物のほとんどが撤去され、ラドストック博物館の外にある曲がりくねった車輪を除いて、以前の存在の証拠はほとんど残っていません。さらに西にあるブレンドンヒルズは、19世紀後半に鉄鉱石のために採掘されました。これはによって撮影された西サマミネラル鉄道にWatchetので炉への出荷のための港EbbwのVale。[43]

多くのサマセット兵士が第一次世界大戦中に亡くなり、サマセット軽歩兵隊は5,000人近くの死傷者を出しました。[44]戦争記念碑は、郡のほとんどの町や村に設置された。サンクフルヴィレッジと呼ばれる9つだけが、住民を殺しませんでした。第二次世界大戦中、郡はD-Day上陸の準備をしている軍隊の拠点でした。戦争の犠牲者のために建てられた病院のいくつかは、現在も使用されています。トーントンの停止線は潜在的なドイツの侵攻を撃退するために設立されました。そのピルボックスの残骸はまだ海岸に沿って、そしてイルミンスターとチャードを通して南に見ることができます。[45]

ブリストルや他の町を保護するために、第二次世界大戦中にサマセットに多くのおとりの町が建設されました。これらは、「黒く塗りつぶされた」通り、線路、ブリストルテンプルミーズ鉄道駅の夜間の形状を模倣して、ドイツの爆撃機をこれらの標的から遠ざけるように設計されました。[46] 1つは、ブリストルへのドイツの電波航法ビーム飛行経路上に、ビーコンバッチ上に建設された。[46] [23]市の鉄道操車場の航空写真に基づいて、シェパートンスタジオによってレイアウトされました。[46]おとりには薄暗い赤色のライトが取り付けられており、蒸気機関車のストーキングなどの活動をシミュレートしていました。クレオソートに浸したわら俵を燃やして、パスファインダー夜間爆撃機の最初の波によって投下された焼夷弾の影響をシミュレートしました。その間、正しい場所に投下された焼夷弾は、可能な限りすぐに窒息死させられました。爆撃機のその後の波をだまして爆弾を間違った場所に落とす目的で、燃える都市や町の影響をシミュレートするために、石油のドラムも点火されました。[46]チューマグナ囮町は1941年1月3日に1940年12月2日に半ダースの爆弾、および千incendiariesに見舞われた[46]次の夜上り坂おとり町、で飛行場を保護ウェストンスーパーメア、爆撃されました。乳牛の群れが襲われ、一部が死亡し、他の人が重傷を負いました。[46]

境界

エイボンゴージ、グロスターシャー州サマセットとの歴史的な境界、また、 マーシアと ウェセックス。サマセットは左側にあります

サマセットの境界は、中世の時代と非常によく似ています。それらはほとんど変更されていません。エイボン川はことを除いて、グロスターシャー州との国境の大部分を形成百のバースフォーラムエイボンをまたぐ、サマセットの一部を形成しました。ブリストルはエイボンのグロスターシャー側の町として始まりましたが、成長するにつれて川を越えてサマセットに広がりました。1373年、エドワード3世は、「郊外と境内のあるブリストルの町は、今後グロスターとサマセットの郡から分離され、それ自体が郡になるべきである」と宣言しました。[47]

現在のサマセットの北の国境(ブリストルとグロスターシャーの郡に隣接)は、ブリストル海峡からエイボンの南岸に沿って走り、次にブリストルの市街地の南端を回り、エイボンに沿って上流に進みます。その後、川から分岐してバースとエイボンの北にある歴史的な後背地を含み、バスイーストンのフォッシーウェイにあるスリーシャイアストーンでウィルトシャーに会います。[48]

都市と町

サマートンから引き継いだIlchesterのよう田舎町、後半13世紀に[49]が、それは重要性が減少し、郡、町の状況が1366程度トーントンに転送[50]郡は2つの持っている都市、バスやウェルズ、および30を町(町議会がないが、代わりに郡の唯一の現存する自治区の主な集落であるトーントンの郡町を含む)。人口の面で最大の都市部は、バース、ウェストンスーパーメア、トーントン、ヨービル、ブリッジウォーターです。[51]

多くの集落は、川の交差点や丘陵地帯の谷などの地理的特徴に関連して戦略的に重要であるために開発されました。例としては、上に挙げAxbridgeの川アックス、上の城ケアリーリバーケアリー、ノースペザートンに川Parrett上の交点があった、とイルミンスター、川島を。ミッドサマーノートンはソマー川にあります。しばらくWellowブルックとフォッシーウェイ ローマの道路ラドストックを介して実行。チャードはサマセットで最も南にある町であり、最も高い町の1つですが、標高126 m(413フィート)のウィベリスクームは郡で最も高い町です。

緑地帯

郡には、エイボングリーンベルトエリアの幅数マイルのセクションが含まれています。これは主に、北サマセットの農村地域に侵入するブリストルとバースの市街地からの都市のスプロール現象を防ぐために設置されています[52]バースと北東サマセット、[53]および郡内のメンディップ[54]地区、および周辺の田園地帯を維持しています。ポーティスヘッドとクリーブドンの町の間の海岸線から、ネイルシーを過ぎて東に伸び、ブリストルの大都市圏を回り、バースの街まで伸びています。緑の帯の境界線は、南の境界に沿ってメンディップヒルズ特別自然美観地域(AONB)と交差し、ウィルトシャー郡の境界線に沿って東の範囲でコッツウォルズAONBと合流し、不適切な開発から保護された拡張エリアを作成します。

地質学

サマセットの風景の多くは、基礎となる地質によって決定されるタイプに分類されます。これらの風景は、石灰岩 のカルストとLIAS北の、粘土 バレスと湿地センターの、oolites東と南の、とデボン紀 砂岩西の。[55]

川BRUE近くの農地を排出人工チャンネルで グラストンベリー

サマセットレベルの北東にあるメンディップヒルズは、適度に高い石灰岩の丘です。メンディップヒルズの中央部と西部は、1972年に特別自然美観地域に指定され、198 km 2(76平方マイル)をカバーしています。[56]これらの丘の主な生息地は石灰質の草地であり、耕作可能な農業がいくつかあります。サマセットレベルの南西には、1956年に指定されたイギリス初の特別自然美観地域であるカントック丘陵[57]があり、ヒースランド、オークの森、針葉樹のプランテーションがある古代の公園に覆われ、99平方キロメートルをカバーしています。サマーセット炭田は、グロスターシャーに広がるより大きな炭田の一部です。メンディップヒルズの北にはチューバレーがあり、南には粘土の土台の上に、酪農を支え、サマセットレベルに流れ込む広い谷があります。

洞窟と川

ウーキーホール、地下河川、チェダー渓谷やエバー渓谷などの峡谷など、洞窟の広範なネットワークがあります。[58]郡には、斧、ブルー、ケアリー、パレット、シェピー、トーン、ヨーを含む多くの川があります。これらは両方とも、サマセット中部と西部の平坦なレベルと湿原に給餌と排水を行います。[59]郡の北部では、チュー川がブリストルエイボンに流れ込んでいる。パレットは、2つのローマの埠頭の証拠があるラングポートにほぼ潮汐です。[60]チャールズ1世の治世中の同じ場所で、橋の維持費を支払うために川の通行料がボートに課された。[60]

レベルと湿原

グラストンベリートーの頂上から西に見えるグラストンベリーの町。遠くのフィールドはサマセットレベルです。

サマセットレベル(または、あまり一般的ではありませんが、より正確に知られているサマセットレベルとムーア)は、クォントックとメンディップの丘の間の、サマセット中心部の人口の少ない湿地帯です。それらは、海岸沿いの海成粘土レベルと、内陸(多くの場合泥炭ベース)の湿原で構成されています。レベルは、PoldenHillsによって2つに分けられます。南の土地はパレット川によって排水され、北の土地はアックス川とブルー川によって排水されます。レベルの総面積は約647.5平方キロメートル(160,000エーカー)[61]であり、広くセッジモアの行政区に対応しますが、メンディップ地区の南西も含まれます。面積の約70%は草地で、30%は耕作可能です。[61]

内陸に約32km(20マイル)伸びるこの平坦な土地は、海面からほとんど上昇しません。排水される前は、土地の多くは冬は浅い汽水域にあり、夏は湿地でした。排水はローマ人から始まり、さまざまな時期に再開されました。アングロサクソン人によって。で中世によるグラストンベリー修道院1400-1770の間に、。第二次世界大戦中、ハンツピル川の建設に伴い。水位の汲み上げと管理は今も続いています。[62]

ネイティブのエクスムーアポニーとエクスムーアの風景

メンディップスの北にあるノースサマセットレベルズ盆地は、サマセットレベルズよりも狭い地理的領域をカバーしています。エイボンマス周辺の沿岸地域を形成します。それも排水によって埋め立てられました。[62] [63]ウェールズのセバーン河口を横切って、同様の低地であるカルディコットレベルとウェントルーグレベルによってミラーリングされています。[63]

郡の最西端にあるデボンにぶつかるのは、1949年の国立公園と田園地帯へのアクセス法に基づいて1954年に国立公園に指定された、デボン紀の高い砂岩の湿原であるエクスムーアです。[64]サマセットの最高点は、標高519メートル(1,703フィート)のエクスムーアのダンカリービーコンです。[65]

サマセットの100以上のサイトが、特別科学関心地区に指定されています。

海岸線

スティープホルムから 降りる
ウォチェットのマリーナ

ブリストル海峡とセバーンエスチュエリーの64km(40マイル)の海岸線は、サマセットの北の国境の一部を形成しています。[66]ブリストル海峡は、世界で2番目に大きい潮汐範囲を持っています。でバーナムオンシー、例えば、ばね潮の干満の差が12以上メートル(39フィート)です。[67]セヴァーン河口堰の建設の提案は、このエネルギーを利用することを目的としています。ブリストル海峡のスティープホルム島は儀式用の郡内にあり、現在は北サマセット評議会によって管理されています。[68]

沿岸の主な町は、西から北東にかけて、マインヘッド、ウォチェット、バーナムオンシー、ウェストンスーパーメア、クリーブドン、ポーティスヘッドです。マインヘッドと行政カウンティの海岸線の東端のブリーンダウンの間の沿岸地域は、ブリッジウォーター湾として知られており、国立自然保護区です。[69]その北では、海岸はウェストン湾とサンド湾を形成し、その北端のサンドポイントはセバーン河口の下限を示している。[70]郡の中部と北部では、水位の湿地が海と出会うため、海岸線は低くなっている。西部では、エクスムーアの高原が海と出会う海岸線が高く劇的で、高い崖と滝があります。[71]

気候

南西イングランドの他の地域と同様に、サマセットは温暖な気候であり、一般的に国の他の地域よりも雨が多く穏やかです。[72]年間平均気温は約10°C(50.0°F)です。季節的な温度変化は、隣接する海温のため、英国のほとんどよりも極端ではありません。7月と8月の夏の月は最も暖かく、1日の平均最高気温は約21°C(69.8°F)です。冬の平均最低気温は1°C(33.8°F)または2°C(35.6°F)です。[72]夏には、アゾレス高気圧がイングランド南西部に影響を及ぼしますが、対流雲が内陸に形成されることがあり、日照時間数が減少します。年間の日照率は、地域の平均である1,600時間よりわずかに低くなっています。[72]

1998年12月、ヨービルトンで記録された太陽のない日が20日ありました。南西部の降雨のほとんどは、大西洋の低気圧または対流によって引き起こされます。秋と冬の降雨量のほとんどは、大西洋のくぼみによって引き起こされます。夏には、降雨の大部分は、対流やにわか雨や雷雨につながる太陽が地面を加熱することによって引き起こされます。平均降雨量は約700mm(28インチ)です。降雪は約8〜15日が一般的です。11月から3月は平均風速が最も高く、6月から8月は最も弱い風です。主な風向は南西からです。[72]

ダンスター糸市場は、地元の布の取引のために1609年に建てられました。

サマセットには産業の中心地はほとんどありませんが、伝統的な農業やますます重要になる観光セクターに加えて、さまざまな軽工業やハイテクビジネスがあり、失業率は2.5%になっています。[74]失業率は全国平均よりも低い。最大の雇用セクターは、小売、製造、観光、健康と社会的ケアです。郡の人口増加は全国平均よりも高いです。

ブリッジウォーターは、産業革命の際にこの地域の主要な港として開発されました。パレット川は、ブリッジウォーターまで大型船で航行可能でした。その後、貨物はブリッジウォーター橋の隣にあるラングポート埠頭の小さなボートに積み込まれ、川をさらに上ってラングポートまで運ばれました。[75]または、バロウブリッジで電源を切り、トーン川を経由してトーントンに移動することもできます。[60]パレットは現在、ダンボール埠頭までしかナビゲートできません。ブリッジウォーターは、19世紀と20世紀に、レンガと粘土瓦、そして後にセロハンの製造の中心地でしたが、これらの産業は現在停止しています。[75]

高速道路システムへの接続が良好なBridgwaterは、Argos、Toolstation、Morrisons、GerberJuiceなどの企業の流通ハブとして発展してきました。アグスタウェストランドはヨービルでヘリコプターを製造しており[76]、航空機の酸素システムの製造業者であるノーマルエアガラットもこの町に拠点を置いています。[77]多くの町は、英国で最も小さい自動車メーカーの1つであるクルーカーンのアリエルモーターカンパニーなどの小規模な軽工業を奨励してきました。

サマセットは防衛機器と技術の重要なサプライヤーです。Aロイヤル・オードナンス工場、ROFブリッジウォーターは村の間で、第二次世界大戦の開始時に建てられたPuritonとWoolavington、[78]爆発物を製造します。サイトは2008年7月に退役し、閉鎖された[79] テンプルありタレス水中システムズ、[80]とトーントンが現在持っている英国水路庁とAvimoタレスオプティクスの一部となりました。2006年と2007年の2回、製造はタレスオプトロニクスのトーントンサイトで終了することが発表されましたが[81]、労働組合とトーントンディーン地区評議会はこれらの決定を覆すか緩和するために取り組んでいます。他のハイテク企業には、イルミンスターにある光学企業のグーチとハウスゴが含まれます。バースには国防省の事務所があり、ノートンフィッツワレンは40のコマンドーロイヤルマリーンの本拠地です。ヨービルトンのロイヤル海軍航空基地は、英国の2つのアクティブな艦隊航空隊基地の1つであり、英国海軍のアグスタウェストランドAW159ワイルドキャットヘリコプターと英国海兵隊コマンドーアグスタウェストランドAW101マーリンの本拠地です。[82]約1,675人のサービスと2,000人の民間人がヨービルトンに駐屯しており、主要な活動には、航空機乗務員とエンジニア、イギリス海軍の戦闘機コントローラーと地上ベースの航空機コントローラーの訓練が含まれます。

オーバーストラットンの伝統的なサイダーアップル果樹園、 羊の放牧

農業と飲食物の生産は、15,000人以上を雇用し、郡内の主要産業であり続けています。[83]リンゴの果樹園はかつて豊富であり、サマセットは今でもサイダーの主要な生産者です。トーントンとシェプトンマレットの町は、サイダー、特に全国的に販売されているブラックソーンサイダーの生産に携わっており、バロウヒルサイダーファームやサッチャーズサイダーなどの専門生産者がいます。ブリッジウォーターのGerberProducts Companyは、ヨーロッパ最大のフルーツジュースの生産者であり、SunnyDelightやOceanSprayなどのブランドを生産しています。以下のようなミルクベースの産業の発展Ilchesterのチーズ会社とYeoの谷オーガニック、デザート、の範囲の生産をもたらしたヨーグルトやチーズ、[84]を含むチェダーチーズがある-一部のその西の国農家チェダー 保護指定を原産地呼称(PDO)。

伝統的な柳の成長と織り(かご細工など)は、以前ほど広範ではありませんが、サマセットレベルで行われ、柳と湿地のビジターセンターで記念されています。[85]柳かごの破片がグラストンベリー湖村の近くで発見され、それはいくつかの鉄器時代の土手道の建設にも使用された。[86]ヤナギは、樹木が主茎に切り戻される伝統的な剪定方法を使用して収穫されました。1930年代には、3,600ヘクタール(8,900エーカー)以上のヤナギがレベルで商業的に栽培されていました。かごがビニール袋や段ボール箱に置き換わったことが主な原因で、1950年代以降業界は大幅に衰退しました。20世紀の終わりまでに、バロウブリッジ、ウェストンゾイランド、ノースカレーの村の近くで、約140ヘクタール(350エーカー)しか商業的に栽培されませんでした。[61]サマセットレベルは現在、バスケットヤナギが商業的に栽培されている英国で唯一の地域です。

Towns such as Castle Cary and Frome grew around the medieval weaving industry. Street developed as a centre for the production of woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes, with C&J Clark establishing its headquarters in the village . C&J Clark's shoes are no longer manufactured there as the work was transferred to lower-wage areas, such as China and Asia.[87] Instead, in 1993, redundant factory buildings were converted to form Clarks Village, the first purpose-built factory outlet in the UK. C&J Clark also had shoe factories, at one time at Bridgwater, Minehead, Westfield and Weston super Mare to provide employment outside the main summer tourist season, but those satellite sites were closed in the late 1980s, before the main site at Street. Dr Martens shoes were also made in Somerset, by the Northampton-based R. Griggs Group, using redundant skilled shoemakers from C&J Clark; that work has also been transferred to Asia.

Stone quarries are still a major employer in Somerset

The county has a long tradition of supplying freestone and building stone. Quarries at Doulting supplied freestone used in the construction of Wells Cathedral. Bath stone is also widely used. Ralph Allen promoted its use in the early 18th century, as did Hans Price in the 19th century, but it was used long before then. It was mined underground at Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines, and as a result of cutting the Box Tunnel, at locations in Wiltshire such as Box.[88][89][90] Bath stone is still used on a reduced scale today, but more often as a cladding rather than a structural material.[88]

Further south, Hamstone is the colloquial name given to stone from Ham Hill, which is also widely used in the construction industry. Blue Lias has been used locally as a building stone and as a raw material for lime mortar and Portland cement. Until the 1960s, Puriton had Blue Lias stone quarries, as did several other Polden villages. Its quarries also supplied a cement factory at Dunball, adjacent to the King's Sedgemoor Drain. Its derelict, early 20th century remains, was removed when the M5 motorway was constructed in the mid-1970s.[91]

Since the 1920s, the county has supplied aggregates. Foster Yeoman is Europe's large supplier of limestone aggregates, with quarries at Merehead Quarry. It has a dedicated railway operation, Mendip Rail, which is used to transport aggregates by rail from a group of Mendip quarries.[92]

Tourism is a major industry, estimated in 2013 to support around 26,000 people.[93] Attractions include the coastal towns, part of the Exmoor National Park, the West Somerset Railway (a heritage railway), and the museum of the Fleet Air Arm at RNAS Yeovilton. The town of Glastonbury has mythical associations, including legends of a visit by the young Jesus of Nazareth and Joseph of Arimathea, with links to the Holy Grail, King Arthur, and Camelot, identified by some as Cadbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort. Glastonbury also gives its name to an annual open-air rock festival held in nearby Pilton. There are show caves open to visitors in the Cheddar Gorge, as well as its locally produced cheese, although there is now only one remaining cheese maker in the village of Cheddar.

In November 2008, a public sector inward investment organisation was launched, called Into Somerset,[94] with the intention of growing the county's economy by promoting it to businesses that may wish to relocate from other parts of the UK (especially London) and the world. This now part of the Heart of the South West Growth Hub.[95]

Nuclear electricity

Hinkley Point C nuclear power station is a project to construct a 3,200 MW two reactor nuclear power station.[96] On 18 October 2010, the British government announced that Hinkley Point – already the site of the disused Hinkley Point A and the still operational Hinkley Point B power stations – was one of the eight sites it considered suitable for future nuclear power stations.[97] NNB Generation Company, a subsidiary of EDF, submitted an application for development consent to the Infrastructure Planning Commission on 31 October 2011.[98] A protest group, Stop Hinkley, was formed to campaign for the closure of Hinkley Point B and oppose any expansion at the Hinkley Point site. In December 2013, the European Commission opened an investigation to assess whether the project breaks state-aid rules.[99][100] On 8 October 2014 it was announced that the European Commission has approved the project, with an overwhelming majority and only four commissioners voting against the decision.[101] Construction is underway and is projected to be completed in 2025.[102]

In the 2011 census the population of the Somerset County Council area was 529,972[103] with 176,015 in Bath and North East Somerset,[104] and 202,566 in North Somerset[105] giving a total for the ceremonial county of 908,553.

Population growth is higher than the national average, with a 6.4% increase, in the Somerset County Council area, since 1991, and a 17% increase since 1981. The population density is 1.4 persons per hectare, which can be compared to 2.07 persons per hectare for the South West region. Within the county, population density ranges 0.5 in West Somerset to 2.2 persons per hectare in Taunton Deane. The percentage of the population who are economically active is higher than the regional and national average, and the unemployment rate is lower than the regional and national average.[106]

Somerset has a high indigenous British population, with 94.6% registering as white British, and 2.0% as belonging to black and ethnic minority (BME) groups, according to the 2011 Census.[107] Over 25% of Somerset's population is concentrated in Taunton, Bridgwater and Yeovil. The rest of the county is rural and sparsely populated. Over 9 million tourist nights are spent in Somerset each year, which significantly increases the population at peak times.[66]

UK Parliament

Weston-super-Mare Town Hall, the administrative headquarters of North Somerset

The county is divided into nine constituencies, each returning one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons. In the June 2017 general election, eight constituencies of the county elected Conservative MPs, while Bath elected a Liberal Democrat.[111] The ceremonial county of Somerset contains the constituencies Bridgwater and West Somerset, North East Somerset, North Somerset, Bath, Somerton and Frome, Taunton Deane, Wells, Yeovil, and Weston-super-Mare. Traditionally several of these have been relatively strong constituencies for the Liberal Democrats, with Labour often getting few votes, even in larger towns such as Yeovil. In the 2019 general election, all nine seats were held, with Jacob Rees-Mogg increasing his majority in North Somerset, as well as Wera Hobhouse doubling her majority in the Liberal Democrat Bath seat.[112]

European Parliament

From 1984 to 1994, Somerset was represented by Conservative Margaret Daly as part of the Somerset and Dorset West constituency for elections to the European Parliament.

From 1994 to 1999, Somerset was represented by Liberal Democrat Graham Watson as part of the Somerset and North Devon constituency for elections to the European Parliament.

From 1999 to 2020, Somerset was part of the South West England constituency for elections to the European Parliament.[113]

The ceremonial county of Somerset consists of a two-tier non-metropolitan county, which is administered by Somerset County Council and four district councils, and two unitary authority areas (whose councils combine the functions of a county and a district). The four districts of Somerset are Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset, Mendip, and Sedgemoor. The two unitary authorities – which were established on 1 April 1996 following the break-up of the short-lived county of Avon — are North Somerset, and Bath & North East Somerset.[114] In 2019 West Somerset and Taunton Deane merged to form Somerset West and Taunton.[115]

These unitary authorities formed part of the administrative county of Somerset before the creation of Avon (a county created to cover Bristol and its environs in north Somerset and south Gloucestershire) in 1974. Bath however was a largely independent county borough during the existence of the administrative county of Somerset (from 1889 to 1974).

In 2007, proposals to abolish the five district councils in favour of a unitary authority (covering the existing two-tier county) were rejected following local opposition.[116] In September 2016, West Somerset and Taunton Deane councils agreed in principle to merge the districts.[117] This was achieved on 1 April 2019 with the first elections to the new council being held in May 2019. The new district is not a unitary authority, with Somerset County Council still performing its functions.[118]

Civil parishes

Almost all of the county is covered by the lowest/most local form of English local government, the civil parish, with either a town or parish council (a city council in the instance of Wells) or a parish meeting; some parishes group together, with a single council or meeting for the group. The city of Bath (the area of the former county borough) and much of the town of Taunton are unparished areas.

All of the ceremonial county of Somerset is covered by the Avon and Somerset Police, a police force which also covers Bristol and South Gloucestershire. The police force is governed by the elected Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner. The Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service was formed in 2007 upon the merger of the Somerset Fire and Rescue Service with its neighbouring Devon service; it covers the area of Somerset County Council as well as the entire ceremonial county of Devon. The unitary districts of North Somerset and Bath & North East Somerset are instead covered by the Avon Fire and Rescue Service, a service which also covers Bristol and South Gloucestershire. The South Western Ambulance Service covers the entire South West of England, including all of Somerset; prior to February 2013 the unitary districts of Somerset came under the Great Western Ambulance Service, which merged into South Western. The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is a charitable organisation based in the county.

The west front of Wells Cathedral

Somerset has traditions of art, music and literature. Wordsworth and Coleridge wrote while staying in Coleridge Cottage, Nether Stowey.[119] The writer Evelyn Waugh spent his last years in the village of Combe Florey.[120] The novelist John Cowper Powys (1872–1963) lived in the Somerset village of Montacute from 1885 until 1894 and his novels Wood and Stone (1915) and A Glastonbury Romance (1932) are set in Somerset.

Traditional folk music, both song and dance, was important in the agricultural communities. Somerset songs were collected by Cecil Sharp and incorporated into works such as Holst's A Somerset Rhapsody. Halsway Manor near Williton is an international centre for folk music. The tradition continues today with groups such as The Wurzels specialising in Scrumpy and Western music.[121]

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts takes place most years in Pilton, near Shepton Mallet, attracting over 170,000 music and culture lovers from around the world to see world-famous entertainers.[122] The Big Green Gathering which grew out of the Green fields at the Glastonbury Festival is held in the Mendip Hills between Charterhouse and Compton Martin each summer.[123] The annual Bath Literature Festival is one of several local festivals in the county; others include the Frome Festival and the Trowbridge Village Pump Festival, which, despite its name, is held at Farleigh Hungerford in Somerset. The annual circuit of West Country Carnivals is held in a variety of Somerset towns during the autumn, forming a major regional festival, and the largest Festival of Lights in Europe.[124]

Glastonbury Tor

In Arthurian legend, Avalon became associated with Glastonbury Tor when monks at Glastonbury Abbey claimed to have discovered the bones of King Arthur and his queen.[125] What is more certain is that Glastonbury was an important religious centre by 700 and claims to be "the oldest above-ground Christian church in the World"[126] situated "in the mystical land of Avalon". The claim is based on dating the founding of the community of monks at AD 63, the year of the legendary visit of Joseph of Arimathea, who was supposed to have brought the Holy Grail.[126]

During the Middle Ages there were also important religious sites at Woodspring Priory and Muchelney Abbey. The present Diocese of Bath and Wells covers Somerset – with the exception of the Parish of Abbots Leigh with Leigh Woods in North Somerset – and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is now in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in the city of Wells, having previously been at Bath Abbey. Before the English Reformation, it was a Roman Catholic diocese; the county now falls within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton. The Benedictine monastery Saint Gregory's Abbey, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is at Stratton-on-the-Fosse, and the ruins of the former Cistercian Cleeve Abbey are near the village of Washford.

Tyntesfield

The county has several museums; those at Bath include the American Museum in Britain, the Museum of Bath Architecture, the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, the Jane Austen Centre, and the Roman Baths. Other visitor attractions which reflect the cultural heritage of the county include: Claverton Pumping Station, Dunster Working Watermill, the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton, Nunney Castle, The Helicopter Museum in Weston-super-Mare, King John's Hunting Lodge in Axbridge, Blake Museum Bridgwater, Radstock Museum, Museum of Somerset in Taunton, the Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury, and Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum.

Somerset has 11,500 listed buildings, 523 scheduled monuments, 192 conservation areas,[127] 41 parks and gardens including those at Barrington Court, Holnicote Estate, Prior Park Landscape Garden and Tintinhull Garden, 36 English Heritage sites and 19 National Trust sites,[3] including Clevedon Court, Fyne Court, Montacute House and Tyntesfield as well as Stembridge Tower Mill, the last remaining thatched windmill in England.[3] Other historic houses in the county which have remained in private ownership or used for other purposes include Halswell House and Marston Bigot. A key contribution of Somerset architecture is its medieval church towers. Jenkins writes, "These structures, with their buttresses, bell-opening tracery and crowns, rank with Nottinghamshire alabaster as England's finest contribution to medieval art."[128]

Bath Rugby play at the Recreation Ground in Bath, and the Somerset County Cricket Club are based at the County Ground in Taunton. The county gained its first Football League club in 2003, when Yeovil Town won promotion to Division Three as Football Conference champions.[129] They had achieved numerous FA Cup victories over football League sides in the past 50 years, and since joining the elite they have won promotion again—as League Two champions in 2005. They came close to yet another promotion in 2007, when they reached the League One playoff final, but lost to Blackpool at the newly reopened Wembley Stadium. Yeovil achieved promotion to the Championship in 2013 after beating Brentford in the playoff final. Horse racing courses are at Taunton, Bath and Wincanton.

In addition to English national newspapers the county is served by the regional Western Daily Press and local newspapers including The Weston & Somerset Mercury, the Bath Chronicle, Chew Valley Gazette, Somerset County Gazette, Clevedon Mercury Mendip Times, and the West Somerset Free Press. Television and radio are provided by BBC Points West and BBC Somerset, Heart West Country, The Breeze (Yeovil & South Somerset) Yeovil, and HTV, now known as ITV Wales & West Ltd, but still commonly referred to as HTV.[130]

The Flag of Somerset, representing the ceremonial county, has been registered with the Flag Institute[131] following a competition in July 2013.

Bristol Airport, which is located in North Somerset

Somerset has 6,531 km (4,058 mi) of roads. The main arterial routes, which include the M5 motorway, A303, A37, A38, A39, A358 and A361 give good access across the county, but many areas can only be accessed via narrow country lanes.[66]

Rail services are provided by the West of England Main Line through Yeovil Junction, the Bristol to Exeter line, Heart of Wessex Line which runs from Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth and the Reading to Taunton Line. The key train operator for Somerset is Great Western Railway, and other services are operated by South Western Railway and CrossCountry.

Bristol Airport, located in North Somerset, provides national and international air services.

The Somerset Coal Canal was built in the early 19th century to reduce the cost of transportation of coal and other heavy produce.[60] The first 16 kilometres (10 mi), running from a junction with the Kennet and Avon Canal, along the Cam valley, to a terminal basin at Paulton, were in use by 1805, together with several tramways. A planned 11.7 km (7.3 mi) branch to Midford was never built, but in 1815 a tramway was laid along its towing path. In 1871 the tramway was purchased by the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR),[132][133] and operated until the 1950s.

The 19th century saw improvements to Somerset's roads with the introduction of turnpikes, and the building of canals and railways. Nineteenth-century canals included the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, Westport Canal, Glastonbury Canal and Chard Canal.[17][60] The Dorset and Somerset Canal was proposed, but little of it was ever constructed and it was abandoned in 1803.[60]

A steam locomotive and carriages, on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage line of notable length, in spring 2015

The usefulness of the canals was short-lived, though some have now been restored for recreation. The 19th century also saw the construction of railways to and through Somerset. The county was served by five pre-1923 Grouping railway companies: the Great Western Railway (GWR);[134][135] a branch of the Midland Railway (MR) to Bath Green Park (and another one to Bristol);[136] the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway,[135][137][138] and the London & South Western Railway (L&SWR).[135][139]

The former main lines of the GWR are still in use today, although many of its branch lines were scrapped as part of the Beeching cuts. The former lines of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway closed completely,[140] as has the branch of the Midland Railway to Bath Green Park (and to Bristol St Philips). The L&SWR survived as a part of the present West of England Main Line. None of these lines, in Somerset, are electrified. Two branch lines, the West and East Somerset Railways, were rescued and transferred back to private ownership as "heritage" lines. The fifth railway was a short-lived light railway, the Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Light Railway. The West Somerset Mineral Railway carried the iron ore from the Brendon Hills to Watchet.

Until the 1960s the piers at Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon, Portishead and Minehead were served by the paddle steamers of P and A Campbell who ran regular services to Barry and Cardiff as well as Ilfracombe and Lundy Island. The original stone pier at Burnham-on-Sea was used for commercial goods, one of the reasons for the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway was to provide a link between the Bristol Channel and the English Channel. The newer concrete pier at Burnham-on-Sea is claimed to be the shortest pier in Britain.[141] In the 1970s the Royal Portbury Dock was constructed to provide extra capacity for the Port of Bristol.

For long-distance holiday traffic travelling through the county to and from Devon and Cornwall, Somerset is often regarded as a marker on the journey. North–south traffic moves through the county via the M5 Motorway.[142] Traffic to and from the east travels either via the A303 road, or the M4 Motorway, which runs east–west, crossing the M5 just beyond the northern limits of the county.

State schools in Somerset are provided by three local education authorities: Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, and the larger Somerset County Council. All state schools are comprehensive. In some areas primary, infant and junior schools cater for ages four to eleven, after which the pupils move on to secondary schools. There is a three-tier system of first, middle and upper schools in the Cheddar Valley,[143] and in West Somerset, while most other schools in the county use the two-tier system.[144] Somerset has 30 state and 17 independent secondary schools;[145] Bath and North East Somerset has 13 state and 5 independent secondary schools;[146] and North Somerset has 10 state and 2 independent secondary schools, excluding sixth form colleges.[147]

Some of the county's secondary schools have specialist school status. Some schools have sixth forms and others transfer their sixth formers to colleges. Several schools can trace their origins back many years, such as The Blue School in Wells and Richard Huish College in Taunton.[148] Others have changed their names over the years such as Beechen Cliff School which was started in 1905 as the City of Bath Boys' School and changed to its present name in 1972 when the grammar school was amalgamated with a local secondary modern school, to form a comprehensive school. Many others were established and built since the Second World War. In 2006, 5,900 pupils in Somerset sat GCSE examinations, with 44.5% achieving 5 grades A-C including English and Maths (compared to 45.8% for England).

Sexey's School is a state boarding school in Bruton that also takes day pupils from the surrounding area.[149] The Somerset LEA also provides special schools such as Newbury Manor School, which caters for children aged between 10 and 17 with special educational needs.[150] Provision for pupils with special educational needs is also made by the mainstream schools.

There is also a range of independent or public schools. Many of these are for pupils between 11 and 18 years, such as King's College, Taunton, Wellington School, Somerset and Taunton School. King's School, Bruton, was founded in 1519 and received royal foundation status around 30 years later in the reign of Edward VI. Millfield is the largest co-educational boarding school. There are also preparatory schools for younger children, such as All Hallows, and Hazlegrove Preparatory School. Chilton Cantelo School offers places both to day pupils and boarders aged 7 to 16. Other schools provide education for children from the age of 3 or 4 years through to 18, such as King Edward's School, Bath, Queen's College, Taunton and Wells Cathedral School which is one of the five established musical schools for school-age children in Britain.[151]

Some of these schools have religious affiliations, such as Monkton Combe School, Prior Park College, Sidcot School which is associated with the Religious Society of Friends,[152] Downside School which is a Roman Catholic public school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, situated next to the Benedictine Downside Abbey,[153] and Kingswood School, which was founded by John Wesley in 1748 in Kingswood near Bristol, originally for the education of the sons of the itinerant ministers (clergy) of the Methodist Church.[154]

Further and higher education

A wide range of adult education and further education courses is available in Somerset, in schools, colleges and other community venues. The colleges include Weston College, Bridgwater and Taunton College (formed in 2016 when Bridgwater College and Somerset College of Arts and Technology merged, and includes the Taunton-based University Centre Somerset), Bath College, Frome Community College, Richard Huish College, Strode College and Yeovil College.[155] Somerset County Council operates Dillington House, a residential adult education college located in Ilminster.

The University of Bath, Bath Spa University and University Centre Weston are higher education establishments in the north of the county. The University of Bath gained its Royal Charter in 1966, although its origins go back to the Bristol Trade School (founded 1856) and Bath School of Pharmacy (founded 1907).[156] It has a purpose-built campus at Claverton on the outskirts of Bath, and has 15,000 students.[157] Bath Spa University, which is based at Newton St Loe, achieved university status in 2005, and has origins including the Bath Academy of Art (founded 1898), Bath Teacher Training College, and the Bath College of Higher Education.[158] It has several campuses and 5,500 students.[159]

  • Outline of England
  • List of High Sheriffs of Somerset
  • List of hills of Somerset
  • Grade I listed buildings in Somerset
  • List of tourist attractions in Somerset
  • Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
  • West Country English
  • Healthcare in Somerset

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  • Victoria History of the Counties of England – History of the County of Somerset. Oxford: Oxford University Press, for: The Institute of Historical Research.
    • Note: Volumes I to IX published so far ** Link to on-line version (not all volumes)
    • Volume I: Natural History, Prehistory, Domesday
    • Volume II: Ecclesiastical History, Religious Houses, Political, Maritime, and Social and Economic History, Earthworks, Agriculture, Forestry, Sport.
    • Volume III: Pitney, Somerton, and Tintinhull hundreds.
    • Volume IV: Crewkerne, Martock, and South Petherton hundreds.
    • Volume V: Williton and Freemanors hundred.
    • Volume VI: Andersfield, Cannington and North Petherton hundreds (Bridgwater and neighbouring parishes).
    • Volume VII: Bruton, Horethorne and Norton Ferris Hundreds.
    • Volume VIII: The Poldens and the Levels.
    • Volume IX: Glastonbury and Street, Baltonsborough, Butleigh, Compton Dundon, Meare, North Wootton, Podimore, Milton, Walton, West Bradley, and West Pennard.
  • Adkins, Lesley and Roy (1992). A Field Guide to Somerset Archaeology. Wimborne, Dorset: Dovecote Press. ISBN 978-0-946159-94-9.
  • Aston, Michael; Burrow, Ian (1982). The Archaeology of Somerset: A review to 1500 AD. Somerset: Somerset County Council. ISBN 0-86183-028-8.
  • Aston, Michael (1988). Aspects of the Medieval Landscape of Somerset & Contributions to the landscape history of the county. Somerset: Somerset County Council. ISBN 0-86183-129-2.
  • Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The complete guide. Wimborne, Dorset: Dovecote Press. ISBN 1-874336-27-X.
  • Costen, Michael (1992). The origins of Somerset. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-3675-5.
  • Croft, Robert; Aston, Mick (1993). Somerset from the air: An aerial Guide to the Heritage of the County. Somerset: Somerset County Council. ISBN 978-0-86183-215-6.
  • Dunning, Robert (1995). Somerset Castles. Somerset: Somerset Books. ISBN 0-86183-278-7.
  • Leach, Peter (2001). Roman Somerset. Wimborne, Dorset: The Dovecote Press. ISBN 1-874336-93-8.
  • Little, Bryan (1983). Portrait of Somerset. London: Robert Hale Ltd. ISBN 0-7090-0915-1.
  • Palmer, Kingsley (1976). The Folklore of Somerset. London: Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-3166-0.
  • Robinson, Stephen (1992). Somerset Place Names. Wimborne, Dorset: The Dovecote Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-874336-03-7.

  • Official Somerset Tourism website
  • Somerset County Council
  • Somerset at Curlie
  • Somerset at Project Gutenberg
  • Somerset at GENUKI
  • Somerset Day