Portal:Somerset

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The Somerset Portal

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), and Yeovil (49,698). 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 Tribunal, Glastonbury, home of the Glastonbury Lake Village Museum

The English ceremonial county of Somerset contains a wide range of museums, defined here as institutions (including nonprofit organisations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing.

Many of the museums are in listed buildings. In the United Kingdom, this signifies a building which has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. In England and Wales, the authority for listing is granted by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, and is presently administered by English Heritage. Listed buildings in danger of decay are included on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk Register. There are three types of listed status: Grade I, for buildings "of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important"; Grade II*, for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest"; and Grade II, for buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest".

Many of the museums have been accredited by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, which sets national standards for museums in the UK. Several are art galleries providing space for the exhibition of art, or are philatelic, regimental, science, aviation, transport, railway, toy, religious or sports museums, but the majority are local museums. There are also several historic house museums owned or managed by the National Trust or English Heritage. (Full article...)

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Cleese in 2023

John Marwood Cleese (/ˈkliːz/ KLEEZ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and presenter. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report. In the late 1960s, he cofounded Monty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus. Along with his Python costars Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Graham Chapman, Cleese starred in Monty Python films, which include Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979), and The Meaning of Life (1983).

In the mid-1970s, Cleese and first wife Connie Booth cowrote the sitcom Fawlty Towers, in which he starred as hotel owner Basil Fawlty, for which he won the 1980 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance. In 2000, the show topped the British Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, and in a 2001 Channel 4 poll, Basil was ranked second on its list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters. (Full article...)

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Harry Patch Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard Bill Bailey Jill Dando Ælfheah of Canterbury Robert Burnell Dunstan Savaric FitzGeldewin Jocelin of Wells John of Tours Hugh of Wells Herbie Hewett Jake Seamer Ted Sainsbury Stephen Newton Marcus Trescothick E. W. Bastard

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Districts of Somerset

Somerset (Unitary)
North Somerset (Unitary)
Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary)

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Image 1Sand Sculpture at Weston-super-Mare Sand Sculpture Festival of A Midsummer Nights Dream (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 2A map of the county in 1646, author unknown (from Somerset)
Image 3Brean Down from Steep Holm (from Somerset)
Image 4The marina in Watchet (from Somerset)
Image 5Tyntesfield. (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 6The town of Glastonbury looking west from the top of Glastonbury Tor. The fields in the distance are the Somerset Levels. (from Somerset)
Image 7Bristol Airport, which is located in North Somerset (from Somerset)
Image 8A traditional cider apple orchard at Over Stratton, with sheep grazing (from Somerset)
Image 9The west front of Wells Cathedral (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 10The Exmoor landscape with the native Exmoor Pony (from Somerset)
Image 11Weston-super-Mare Town Hall, the administrative headquarters of North Somerset (from Somerset)
Image 12The ceremonial county immediately prior to the 2023 local government restructuring, with South Somerset (1), Somerset West and Taunton (2), Sedgemoor (3) and Mendip (4) as non-metropolitan districts (shown in pink), and just Bath and North East Somerset (5), and North Somerset (6) as unitary authorities (shown in yellow). (from Somerset)
Image 13The west front of Wells Cathedral (from Somerset)
Image 14Stone quarries are still a major employer in Somerset (from Somerset)
Image 15Tyntesfield (from Somerset)
Image 16The Huish Park ground of Yeovil Town F.C. (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 17"Samurai" by Griffens CC, at Burnham on Sea Carnival 2006, part of the West Country Carnival circuit (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 18The Dunster Yarn Market was built in 1609 for the trading of local cloth. (from Somerset)
Image 19Theatre Royal, Bath (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 20Glastonbury Tor (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 21Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 22Palladian Pulteney Bridge at Bath (from Somerset)
Image 23The flag designed to represent the historic county of Somerset in 2013 (from Somerset)
Image 24The Avon Gorge, the historic boundary between Gloucestershire and Somerset, and also Mercia and Wessex; Somerset is to the left (from Somerset)
Image 25A steam locomotive and carriages, on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage line of notable length, in spring 2015 (from Somerset)
Image 26The River Brue in an artificial channel draining farmland near Glastonbury (from Somerset)

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Selected settlement

Cheap St Frome

Frome
Co-ordinates 51°13′40″N 2°19′17″W / 51.2279°N 2.3215°W

Frome /ˈfruːm/ is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately 13 miles (21 km) south of Bath, 43 miles (69 km) east of the county town, Taunton and 88 miles (142 km) west of London. In the 2001 census, the population was given as 24,510. The town is in the Mendip district of Somerset and is part of the parliamentary constituency of Somerton and Frome.

In April 2010 a large hoard of third-century Roman coins was unearthed in a field near the town. From AD 950 to 1650, Frome was larger than Bath and originally grew due to the wool and cloth industry. It later diversified into metal-working and printing, although these have declined. The town grew substantially in the 20th century but still retains a very large number of listed buildings, and most of the centre falls within a conservation area.

The town has road and rail transport links and acts as an economic centre for the surrounding area. It also provides a centre for cultural and sporting activities, including the annual Frome Festival and Frome Museum. A number of notable individuals were born in, or have lived in, the town. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's "Did You Know" archives:

... that the boathouse for the Burnham Area Rescue Boat (pictured) was built in just three days as part of the Challenge Anneka television series?
... that the medieval chronicler Matthew Paris accused the medieval bishop Hugh of Wells (d. 1235) of being biased against monks, calling him "an untiring persecutor of monks"?
... that horses hauled both passenger and goods trains to Weston-super-Mare railway station, England, from 1841, when the railway opened, until 1851?
... that a coal mining spoil heap at Writhlington, England was the site for the discovery of fossilised remains of the world's earliest known Damselfly?
... that Drove Cottage Henge is around 54 metres (177 ft) in diameter, yet is hard to see because repeated ploughing has heavily damaged it?

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Things you can do

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Article requests : Berwick, Common Moor, Neroche Forest, + all redlinks on sub lists of Grade II* listed buildings in Somerset & Scheduled Monuments in Somerset
Add photos to Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Somerset
Cleanup : Articles requiring cleanup
Stubs : Improve Stub-Class articles including Category:Somerset geography stubs & Category:Somerset building and structure stubs
Verify : West Country dialects
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WikiProjects

Main project: WikiProject Somerset

Parent projects: WikiProject UK geography, WikiProject England

Nearby projects: WikiProject Bristol, WikiProject Devon, WikiProject Dorset, WikiProject Wiltshire

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Somerset}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

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v t e Ceremonial county of Somerset
Somerset Portal
Unitary authorities	Bath and North East Somerset North Somerset Somerset Council
Major settlements (cities in italics)	Axbridge Bath Bridgwater Bruton Burnham-on-Sea Castle Cary Chard Clevedon Crewkerne Dulverton Frome Glastonbury Highbridge Ilminster Keynsham Langport Midsomer Norton Minehead Nailsea North Petherton Portishead Radstock Shepton Mallet Somerton Street Taunton Watchet Wellington Wells Weston-super-Mare Wincanton Wiveliscombe Yeovil See also: List of civil parishes in Somerset
Rivers	Alham Aller Avill Avon Axe rivers Bristol Channel Lyme Bay Badgworthy Water Banwell Barle Brue Cam Brook Cary Chew East Lyn Exe Fivehead Frome Haddeo Hoar Oak Water Holford Horner Huntspill Isle Land Yeo Mells Midford Brook Oare Water Parret Severn Estuary Sheppey Somer Sowy Tone Washford Wellow Brook West Lyn Whitelake Yeo rivers Congresbury South Somerset
Topics	Country houses County Council Culture of Somerset Economy of Somerset Flag Geography of Somerset Geology of Somerset Grade I listed buildings Grade II* listed buildings High Sheriff of Somerset History of Somerset Local nature reserves Lord Lieutenant of Somerset Museums National nature reserves Parliamentary constituencies Places Population of major settlements Scheduled monuments Schools SSSIs Transport in Somerset Geographic areas: Blackdown Hills Brendon Hills Chew Valley Exmoor Mendip Hills Polden Hills Quantock Hills Somerset Levels South West Coast Path West Somerset Coast Path

v t e Schools in Somerset¹
Primary	Bridgwater College Academy Lympsham CE Academy Wedmore First School Academy
Middle	Fairlands Middle School Hugh Sexey CE Middle School
Secondary	Ansford Academy Backwell School Beechen Cliff School Bishop Fox's School Blue School Bridgwater College Academy Broadlands Academy Broadoak Academy Brymore Academy Bucklers Mead Academy Castle School Chew Valley School Chilton Trinity School Churchill Academy Clevedon School Court Fields School Crispin School Frome Community College Gordano School Hans Price Academy Haygrove School Hayesfield Girls' School Heathfield Community School Holyrood Academy Huish Episcopi Academy King Alfred School King Arthur's School Kings of Wessex Academy Kingsmead School Nailsea School Norton Hill School Oldfield School Preston School Priory Community School Ralph Allen School Robert Blake Science College St Dunstan's School St Gregory's RC College St Katherine's School St Mark's School Sexey's School Somervale School Stanchester Academy Taunton Academy Wadham School Wellsway School West Somerset College Westfield Academy Whitstone School Winterstoke Hundred Academy Worle Community School Writhlington School
Independent (preparatory)	All Hallows Preparatory School Chard School Hazlegrove Preparatory School King's Hall School Millfield Preparatory School Perrott Hill School
Independent (secondary)	Downside School King Edward's School, Bath King's College, Taunton King's School, Bruton Kingswood School Millfield Monkton Combe School Prior Park College Queen's College, Taunton Royal High School, Bath Sidcot School Taunton School Wellington School Wells Cathedral School
Special	Newbury Manor School North Hill House School Three Ways School
Sixth form and FE colleges	Bath College (FE) Bridgwater College Dillington House Richard Huish College Somerset College of Arts and Technology Strode College Weston College Yeovil College
Defunct	Bath College (public school) Bath Community Academy Bluecoat School Bruton School for Girls Chilton Cantelo School City of Bath Technical School Crewkerne Grammar School Ladymead Community School The Park School Ravenscroft School Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army The St Augustine of Canterbury School St Brandon's School Shapwick School Taunton Grammar School Yeovil Grammar School Yeovil School
¹includes Bath & North East Somerset and North Somerset