Somerset

This page is about the county of Somerset in England. For other meanings of Somerset, see Somerset (disambiguation).

Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. The county town is Taunton, situated at 51°00′49″N, 3°06′23″W (grid reference ST227247). The ceremonial county of Somerset borders the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is also partly bounded to the north and west by the coast of the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the River Severn.

Somerset is a rural county of rolling hills such as the Mendip Hills and Exmoor National Park, downland, and large flat expanses of land including the Somerset Levels.

Administration

The ceremonial county of Somerset consists of a non-metropolitan county and two unitary authorities. The districts of Somerset are West Somerset, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, Mendip and Sedgemoor. The two administratively independent unitary authorities, which were established in April 1996 following the break up of the county of Avon, are North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. These unitary authorities include areas that were once part of Somerset before the creation of Avon in 1971.

Etymology

The name is pronounced as though spelled 'Summerset'. The name derives from Old English Sumorsǣte, which is short for Sumortūnsǣte = "the people living at or dependent upon Sumortūn.^[1] Sumortūn is modern Somerton and means "summer settlement", a farmstead tended during the summer but not occupied in winter.^[2] The name continues in the motto of the county, 'Sumorsaete ealle', meaning 'all the people of Somerset' in Old English.

History

For the full article see History of Somerset

The Somerset Levels, and specifically the dry points such as Glastonbury and Brent Knoll, have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been settled by Mesolithic hunters.^[3] The caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the Neolithic period and contain extensive archaeological sites such as the caves of Cheddar Gorge. There are numerous Iron Age Hill Forts, some of which were later reused in the Dark Ages, such as Cadbury Castle.^[4] Somerset, like Dorset to the south, held the Saxon invasion back for over a century, remaining a frontier between the Saxons and the Romano-British Celts. The first known use of the name Somersæte was in 845 after the region fell to the Saxons. After the Norman Conquest the county was divided into 700 fiefs, and large areas were owned by the crown.

In the English Civil War Somerset was largely Royalist, unlike neighbouring Wiltshire. In 1685 the Monmouth Rebellion was played out in Somerset and neighbouring Dorset. The rebels landed at Lyme Regis and travelled north hoping to capture Bristol and Bath, but were defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor.

The traditional northern border of the county is the River Avon, but the administrative boundary has crept southwards, with the creation and expansion of the City of Bristol.

Somerset contains England's oldest prison still in use, in the small town of Shepton Mallet, and the world's oldest known engineered roadway, the Sweet Track.

Geology, landscape and ecology

For the full article see Geology of Somerset

Much of the landscape of Somerset falls into types determined by the underlying geology. These landscapes are the limestone karst and lias of the north, the clay vales and wetlands of the centre, the oolites of the east and south, and the Devonian sandstone of the west. To the north east of the Levels, the Mendip Hills are moderately high, often mountain limestone hills with an extensive network of caves and underground rivers and a number of gorges, famously Cheddar Gorge. 198 km² of the central and western Mendip Hills was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1972. The main habitat on these hills is calcareous grassland, with some arable agriculture. To the north of the hills is the Chew Valley and to the south, on the clay substrate, are a number of broad valleys which support dairy farming and drain into the Somerset Levels. This expanse of flat land, stretching up to 20 miles inland, is only a few feet above sea level. Before it was drained, much of the land was under a shallow brackish sea in winter and a marsh in summer. Drainage started in Roman times, restarting in Saxon times and is continuing now. According to legend Joseph of Arimathea sailed across the levels to Glastonbury, a dry point near the eastern edge of the levels. In the far west of the county, running into Devon, is Exmoor, a high Devonian sandstone moor, which was designated as a national park in 1954. The highest point in Somerset is Dunkery Beacon on Exmoor, with an altitude of 519 metres (1704 feet). Over 100 sites have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset.

The coastline of the Bristol Channel forms part of the northern border of Somerset. The Bristol Channel has one of the largest tidal ranges in the world, at Burnham-on-Sea, for example, the tidal range of a spring tide is over 12 m. Proposals for the construction of a Severn Barrage aim to harness this energy. The main coastal towns of today are, from the west to the north east, Minehead, Watchet, Burnham-on-Sea, Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon and Portishead. The coastal area between Minehead and the eastern extreme of the county’s coastline is known as Bridgwater Bay.^[5]

In the mid and north of the county the coastline is low as the flat wetlands of the levels meet the sea. In the west the coastline is high and dramatic as the plateau of Exmoor meets the sea with high cliffs and waterfalls.^[5]

The county has many rivers, including the Axe, Brue, Cary, Parrett, Sheppey, Tone and Yeo. These both feed and drain the flat levels and moors of mid and west Somerset.^[5]

The Somerset coalfield in the north of the county is part of a larger coalfield which stretches into Gloucestershire.

Climate

Along with the rest of South West England, Somerset has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of England. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 ^oC and shows a seasonal and a diurnal variation, but due to the modifying effect of the sea the range is less than in most other parts of the UK. January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 1 and 2 °C. July and August are the warmest months in the region with mean daily maxima around 21 °C.

The number of hours of bright sunshine is controlled by the length of day and by cloudiness. In general December is the dullest month and June the sunniest. The south-west of England has a favoured location with respect to the Azores high pressure when it extends its influence north-eastwards towards the UK, particularly in summer. Convective cloud often forms inland, especially near hills, and acts to reduce sunshine amounts. The average annual sunshine totals around 1600 hours.

Rainfall tends to be associated with Atlantic depressions or with convection. The Atlantic depressions are more vigorous in autumn and winter and most of the rain which falls in those seasons in the south-west is from this source. In summer, convection caused by solar surface heating sometimes forms shower clouds and a large proportion of rainfall falls from showers and thunderstorms at this time of year. Average rainfall is around 800-900 mm. About 8-15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, with June to August having the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the South West.^[6]

Economy and industry

Somerset has few industrial centres. Bridgwater was developed during the Industrial Revolution as the West Country's leading port. Yeovil is important in the manufacture of helicopters. Many towns have developed small-scale light industries, such as Crewkerne's Ariel Motor Company, Ltd, one of the UK's smallest car manufacturers.

Agriculture continues to be a major business in the county, if no longer a major employer. Apple orchards were once plentiful, and to this day Somerset is linked to the production of strong cider, arguably more so than any other part of the world. The towns of Taunton and Shepton Mallet are involved with the production of cider, especially Blackthorn Cider, which is sold nationwide.

Much of the county is scenic and unspoilt. Tourism is a major industry in the county, estimated in 2001 to support around 23,000 people.^[7] Attractions include its 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 is famous for its mythical associations, and open-air rock festival (actually in Pilton), while the Cheddar Gorge is famous for caves open to visitors, as well as its locally produced cheese.

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of Somerset at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Culture

Somerset has traditions of art, music and literature. Wordsworth and Coleridge wrote while staying in Nether Stowey, Alfoxden and Porlock in the west of the county. The writer Evelyn Waugh spent his last years in the village of Combe Florey. Traditional folk music, both song and dance, was important in the agricultural communities. Somerset songs were collected by Cecil Sharp and incorporated into a number of works including 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.

The Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts takes place most years in Pilton, near Shepton Mallet, attracting over 100,000 music and culture lovers from around the world, and world-famous entertainers.

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 light festival in Europe.

See also:

• Music of Somerset

Settlements

The original county town of Somerset was Somerton, but in recent years that role has been transferred to Taunton. The county has two cities, Bath and Wells.

Main settlements

For the complete list of settlements see List of places in Somerset

Place names

Somerset settlement names are mostly Anglo-Saxon in origin. A few hill names include Brythonic elements, for example a charter of 682 concerning Creechborough Hill defines it as "the hill the British call Cructan and we call Crychbeorh". A few modern names are Celtic in origin, such as Tarnock, while others are hybrid, having both Saxon and Celtic elements such as Penhill.

Many of the river names are Celtic, while a few may be pre-Celtic such as Parret (earlier Pedred).

Places of interest

For the complete list of places of interest see Visitor Attractions in Somerset

See also

• West Country dialects
• Music of Somerset
• BBC Somerset Sound
• List of places in Somerset
• Villages in Somerset
• Visitor attractions in Somerset
• West Country Carnival
• List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset
• Somerset County Cricket Club

References

1. ^ Watts, Victor (Ed.) (2004). The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-36209-1. 
2. ^ Mesolithic hunters and fishermen. Somerset History. Retrieved on 2006-05-28.
3. ^ Somerset. Camelot Village: Britain's Heritage and History. Retrieved on 2006-05-28.
4. ^ Mendip Hills An Archaeological Survey of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Somerset County Council Archaeological Projects. Retrieved on 2006-10-28.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Somerset Topography. Somerset County Council. Retrieved on 2006-05-28.
6. ^ About south-west England. Met Office. Retrieved on 2006-05-28.
7. ^ Employers in Somerset. Somerset Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved on 2006-05-28.
8. ^ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
9. ^ includes hunting and forestry
10. ^ includes energy and construction
11. ^ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

1. Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911, "Somersetshire".

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