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SOMERSETSHIRE
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V25,
Page 391
of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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SOMERSETSHIRE , a See also: south-western See also:county of See also:England, bounded N. and N.W. by the See also:Bristol Channel, N. and N.E. by See also:Gloucestershire, N.E. and E. by See also:Wiltshire, S.E. by See also:Dorsetshire, S.W. and W. by See also:Devonshire. The See also:area is 1630.3 sq. m. In shape the county resembles an See also:ill-See also:drawn See also:crescent, curving inward where See also:Bridgwater See also:Bay bends south-See also:west and broader at its eastern than at its western See also:horn. It falls into three natural divisions, being in fact a broad alluvial See also:plain bordered by two See also:
The Avon, after forming for a See also: short distance the boundary with Wiltshire, crosses the north-eastern corner of the county, encircling See also:Bath, and forms the boundary with Gloucestershire till it reaches the sea 6 m. beyond Bristol. It is navigable for See also:barges as far as Bath. The Parrett from South Perrott in See also:Dorset, on the See also:borders of Somerset, crosses the centre of the county north-westwards by Bridgwater, receiving the Yeo and See also:Cary on the right, and the Isle and See also:Tone on the See also:left. Among other streams are the See also:Axe, which rises at Wookey Hole in the Mendips and flows north-westward along their See also:base to the Bristol Channel near Blackrock; the Brue, which rises to the See also:east of Bruton, near the borders of Wiltshire, and enters the Bristol Channel near the mouth of the Parrett; and the Exe (with its tributary the Barle), which rises in Exmoor forest and passes southward into See also:Devon. Some of the Somersetshire streams, especially the Exe and Barle, are in high favour with See also:trout fishermen. See also:Weston-super-See also:Mare is a flourishing seaside resort, and See also:Minehead and other See also:coast villages are also frequented. See also:Geology.—The See also:oldest formation in the county is the Devonian, Branches leave the See also:main line for Portishead, See also:Clevedon and Minehead which extends eastwards from Devonshire across Exmoor to the Brendon and Quantock hills, and consists of sandstones, slates and limestones of marine origin. The Old Red See also:Sandstone, the supposed estuarine or lacustrine See also:equivalent of the Devonian, is a See also:series of red sandstones, marls and conglomerates, which rise as an anticline in the Mendips (where they contain volcanic rocks), and also appear in the Avon gorge and at Portishead. The Carboniferous See also:Limestone, of marine origin, is well displayed in the Mendip See also:country (Cheddar Cliffs, &c.) and in the Avon gorge; at Westonsuper-Mare it contains volcanic rocks. The See also:Coal See also:Measures of the Radstock district (largely concealed by Trias and newer rocks) consist of two series of coal-bearing sandstones and shales separated by the See also:Pennant Sandstone; locally the beds have been intensely folded and faulted, as at Vobster. Indeed, all the formations hitherto mentioned were folded into anticlines and synclines before the deposition of the Triassic rocks. These consist of red marls, sandstones, breccias and conglomerates, which spread irregularly over the edges of the older rocks; the so-called Dolomitic See also:Con-glomerate is an old See also:shingle-See also:beach of Triassic (See also:Keuper See also:Marl) See also:age.The See also: Rhaetic beds are full of fossils and See also:mark the first invasion of the district by the See also:waters of the See also:Jurassic sea. The See also:Lias consists of See also:clays and limestones; the latter are quarried and are famous for their See also:ammonites and reptilian remains. Above the Lias comes the Lower or Bath Oolite Series (Inferior Oolite See also:group, See also:Fuller's See also:Earth and Great Oolite group), chiefly clays and oolitic limestone; the famous Bath See also:
A high proportion, exceeding four-fifths of the See also: total area of the county, is under cultivation. In a county where See also:cattle-feeding and See also:dairy-farming are the principal branches of husbandry, a very large area is naturally devoted to pasture; and there are large tracts of rich meadow land along the rivers, where many of the Devonshire farmers See also:place their herds to graze. Floods, however, are See also:common, and the Somerset Drainage See also:Act was passed by See also:parliament on the I ith of See also:June 1877, providing for the See also:appointment of commissioners to take measures for the drainage of lands in the valleys of the Parrett, Isle, Yeo, Brue, Axe, Cary and Tone. See also:Cheese is made in various parts, notably the famous Cheddar Cheese, which is made in the farms lying south of the Mendips. See also:Sheep-farming is practised both in the lowlands and on hill pastures, Leicesters and Southdowns being the favourite breeds. In the Vale of See also:Taunton heavy crops of See also:wheat are raised; this See also:grain, See also:barley and oats being raised on about equal areas. Turnips, swedes and mangolds occupy most of the area under See also:green crops. Somerset ranks after Devon and See also:Hereford in the extent of its See also:apple orchards, and the See also:cider made from these apples forms the common drink of the peasantry, besides being largely exported. See also:Wild See also:deer are still found on Exmoor, where there is a See also:peculiar breed of ponies, See also:hardy and small. The Bristol Channel and Bridgwater Bay abound in See also:
Lead See also: mining is carried on near See also:Wellington, and lead washing in the Mendips; but these industries, like the working of spathose iron ore among the Brendon hills, are on the wane. The chief manufactures are those of woollen and worsted goods, made in a large number of towns; See also:silk made at Frome, Taunton and Shepton See also:Mallet; gloves at See also:Yeovil, Stoke, Martock and Taunton; See also:lace at Chard; See also:linen and See also:sailcloth at See also:Crewkerne; horsehair goods at Bruton, See also:Castle Cary and Crewkerne; See also:crape at Dulverton and Shepton Mallet. See also:Tobacco, See also:snuff and See also:spirits are also manufactured; and there are large See also:potteries at Bridgwater, where the celebrated bath-See also:brick is made, and at Weston-super-Mare; See also:carriage See also:works at Bath and Bridgwater; .See also:engineering and See also:machine-works also at Bridgwater. On the Avon, copper and iron are smelted, while several other rivers provide See also:power for See also:cotton, worsted and See also:paper See also:mills. The bulk of the export See also:trade passes through Bristol, which is situated mainly in Gloucestershire, though it has large docks on the Somerset See also:side of the Avon, and others at Portishead. Communication.—Somerset is well furnished with See also:railways. The Great Western runs between Frome, Radstock, Bath and Bristol, and from Bristol it curves south-west through Weston and Bridgwater to Taunton, dividing there and passing on into Devon.on the north, and for See also:Witham Friary via Wells, Yeovil via See also:Langport, and Chard via Ilminster on the south. The South-Western main line from See also:London passes through the south-west of Somerset, See also:running from Templecombe to See also:Axminster in Devon, and the Somerset and Dorset runs from Bath to Shepton Mallet via Radstock. The Kennet and Avon See also:Canal flows from See also:Bradford in Wiltshire to Bath, and there joins the Avon, See also:meeting on its way the two branches of the Somersetshire Coal Canal which flow from Paulton and Radstock. The Taunton and Bridgwater Canal flows into the See also:River Parrett. See also:Population and See also:Administration.—The area of the See also:ancient county is 1,043,409 acres, with a population in 1891 of 484,337, and in 1901 of 508,256. The area of the administrative county is 1,037,484 acres.The county contains 40 hundreds and two liberties. The municipal boroughs are—Bath, a See also: city and county See also:borough (pop. 49,839), Bridgwater (15,209), Chard (4437), Glastonbury (4(316), Taunton (21,087), Wells, a city (4849), Yeovil (9861). The See also:urban districts are—Burnham (2897), Clevedon (5900), Crewkerne (4226), Frome (iI,o57), Highbridge (2233), Ilminster (2287), Midsomer See also:Norton (5809), Minehead (1511), Portishead ('2544), Radstock (3355), Shepton Mallet (5238), See also:Street (4018), Watchet (i88o), Wellington (7283), Westonsuper-Mare (19,845), Wive'liscombe (1417). Among other towns may be mentioned Bruton (1788), Castle Cary (1902), Cheddar (1975), Keynsham (3512) and Wincanton (1892). The county is in the western See also:circuit, and assizes are held at Taunton and Wells. It has one See also:court of See also:quarter session's, and is divided into 22 See also:petty sessional divisions. The boroughs of Bath and Bridgwater have See also:separate courts of quarter sessions and commissions of the See also:peace, and those of Taunton, Wells and Yeovil have separate commissions of the peace. The total number of See also:civil parishes is 485. Somerset is in the See also:diocese of Bath and Wells, excepting small parts in the dioceses of Bristol and See also:Salisbury; it contains 508 ecclesiastical parishes or districts, wholly or in See also:part. There are seven See also:parliamentary divisions—See also:Northern, Wells, Frome, Eastern, See also:Southern, Bridgwater and Western or Wellington, each returning one member; while the parliamentary borough of Bath returns two members, and that of Taunton one member; and the county includes the greater part of the southern See also:division of the parliamentary borough of Bristol. See also:History.—In the 6th See also:century Somerset was the debatable borderland between the Welsh and See also:Saxons, the latter of whom pushed their way slowly westward, fighting battles yearly and raising fortifications at important points to secure their conquered lands.Their frontier was gradually advanced from the Axe to the Parrett, and from the Parrett to the Tamar, Taunton being a border fort at one See also: stage and See also:Exeter at another. By 658 Somerset had been conquered by the West Saxons as far as the Parrett, and there followed a struggle between the kingdoms of Wessex and See also:Mercia, decided by a great victory of See also:Ine in 710, which led to the organization of the lands east of the Parrett as part of the See also:kingdom of Wessex. There were still occasional inroads by the Welsh, Taunton Castle being captured in 721, but from the 8th century the West Saxon See also:kings were rulers of what is now known as Somersetshire. About this See also:time the bishopric of Wells was founded, and the monastery of Glastonbury restored by Ine. The next See also:hundred and fifty years were the See also:period of Danish invasions. Egbert, See also:
The See also:
There has always been a strongly marked division of the county into East and West Somerset, a relic of the struggles between the Welsh and Saxons, which was recognized for parliamentary purposes by the act of 1832. Somerset contained 37 hundreds in to87, and now contains 41. There have been considerable modifications of these hundredal divisions by See also: aggregation or subdivision, but since the 15th century there has been little See also:change. The meeting-place of the hundred courts was at the See also:village or See also:town which gave its name to the hundred in the cases of Bruton, Cannington, Carhampton, Chew, Chewton, Crewkerne, Frome, Glaston Twelve Hides, Huntspili, Kilmersdon, Kingsbury East, Milverton, North See also:Curry, North Petherton, Norton Ferris, Pitney, Portbury, Somerton, South Petherton, Taunton, Tintinhull, Wellow, Wells See also:Forum and Winterstoke. The hundred of Abdick and Bulstone met at See also:Ilford See also:Bridges in Stocklinch Magdalen, Andersfield hundred court was held at the See also:hamlet of Andersfield in the See also:parish of Goathurst, Bath Forum hundred met at Wedcombe, Bempstone at a huge stone in the parish of Allerton, Brent and Wrington at South Brent, Catsash at an ash See also:tree on the road between Castle Cary and Yeovil, Hartcliffe and Bedminster at a lofty cliff between the parishes of See also:Barrow Gurnes and Winford, Horethorne or Horethorne Down near Milborne Port, Whitstone at a hill of the same name near Shepton Mallet, Williton and Freemanors in the village of Williton in the parish of St Decumans, and Whitley at Whitley See also:Wood in See also:Walton parish. In the See also:case of Kingsbury the meeting-place of the hundred is not known. The great liberties of the county were Cranmore, Wells and See also:Leigh, which belonged to the See also:abbey of which were the liberties of the abbey of Bath; See also:Hinton and Norton, which belonged to the Carthusian priory of Hinton; Witham Priory, a See also:liberty of the See also:house of that name; and Williton Freemanor, which belonged for a time to the Knights See also:Templars. The chief families of the county in the middle ages were those of De Mohun, See also:Malet, Revel, De Courcy, Montacute, See also:Beauchamp and See also:Beaufort, which See also:bore the titles of earls or See also:dukes of Somerset from 1396 to 1472. See also:Edward See also:Seymour was made See also:duke of Somerset in 1547, and in 166o the See also:title was restored to the Seymour See also:family, by whom it is still held. The See also:marquess of Bath is the representative of the Thynne family, which has long been settled in the county, and the predecessors of the earl of See also:Lovelace have owned land in Somerset for three centuries. Hinton St See also:George has been the seat of the Poulet family since the 16th century. The De Mohun family were succeeded in the 14th century by the Luttrells, who own great estates See also:round Dunster Castle.The families of See also:
Among other early industries, salmon and herring See also: fisheries on the west coast were very profitable, and mining on the Mendips dated from the pre-See also:Roman period. Stone See also:quarrying at Hambdon Hill and Bath began very early in the history of the county ; and the lead mines at Welling-ton and the slate quarries at See also:Wiveliscombe and Treborough have been worked for more than a century. Coal has been See also:mined at Radstock from a very remote date, but it did not become of great importance commercially until the county was opened up by canals and railways in the 19th century. Sheep-farming was largely carried on after the period of enclosures, and the woollen trade flourished in Frome, Bath, Bridgwater, Taunton and many other towns from the 14th to the 19th centuries. See also:Glove-making was centred at Stoke and Yeovil at the end of the 18th century and became an important subsidiary occupation in many country districts. The county was represented in the parliament of 1290 and probably in the earlier parliamentary See also:councils of See also:
Of those which have left any remains, Woodspring, Montacute (Cluniac) and Old Cleeve (Cistercian) are the most remarkable. Athelney, founded by Alfred on the spot where he found shelter, has utterly perished. Montacute and Dunster fill a place in both ecclesiastical and military history. The castle of See also: Robert of Mortain, the Conqueror's brother, was built on the peaked hill (See also:mons acutus) of Leodgaresburh, where the See also:holy See also:cross of See also:Waltham was found. The priory arose at the See also:foot. Dunster, one of the few inhabited castles in England, stands on a hill crowned by an See also:English See also:mound. Besides these there are also remains at Nunney and Castle Cary. In ecclesiastical See also:architecture the two great churches of Wells and Glastonbury See also:supply a great study of the development of the Early English See also:style out of the Norman. But the individual architectural See also:interest of the county lies in its great parish churches, chiefly in the Perpendicular style, which are especially noted for their magnificent towers. They are so numerous that it is not easy to select examples, but besides those at Bath, Taunton and Glastonbury, the churches at Bridgwater, Cheddar, Crewkerne, Dunster, Ilminster, Kingsbury, Leigh-on-Mendip, Martock and Yeovil may be specially indicated. Of earlier See also:work there is little Norman, and hardly any pre-Conquest, but there is a characteristic See also:local style in some of the smaller buildings of the 14th century. The earlier churches were often cruciform, and sometimes with side towers.In domestic remains no district is richer, owing to the abundance of See also: good stone. Clevedon Court is a very See also:fine inhabited See also:manor-house of the 14th century, and the houses, great and small, of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries are very numerous. Indeed, the style has never quite gone out, as the gable and the mullioned window have lingered on to this See also:day. See also:Barrington Court in the 16th century and Montacute House in the 17th are specially fine examples. There are also some very fine barns, as at Glastonbury, Wells and Pilton. See J. Collinson, History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset (Bath, 1791) ; W. See also:Phelps, History and Antiquities of Somerset (London, 1839) ; R. W. Eyton, Domesday Studies: See also:Analysis of the Somerset Survey (London, 1880) ; F. T. Elworthy, West Somerset Word-See also:Book (See also:Dialect Society, London, 1886) ; Roger, Myths and Worthies of Somerset (London, 1887) ; C.R. B. See also: Barrett, Somerset Highways, Byways and Waterways (London, 1894) ; C. Walters, Bygone Somerset (London, 1897); See also:Victoria County History: Somerset; also various publications by the Somerset See also:Record Society, the Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society, and Somerset Notes and Queries.Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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