Portal:Somerset
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...)
Selected article
In the 2009 season, Somerset County Cricket Club competed in four domestic competitions: the first division of the County Championship, the Friends Provident Trophy, the first division of the NatWest Pro40 League and the Twenty20 Cup. Their performance in the Twenty20 Cup saw them qualify for the Champions League Twenty20. They enjoyed a successful season, but fell short of winning in any of the competitions, prompting Director of Cricket Brian Rose to say "We've had enough of being cricket's nearly men."
Consistent performances in the County Championship helped Somerset remain challengers for the competition until the last few weeks of the season, but the batting-friendly pitch at Taunton saw the county finish with too many draws to claim their first Championship title. Consistency was also key for Somerset's success in one-day cricket, where they remained unbeaten in the group stage of the Friends Provident Trophy, but were eliminated in the first knock-out round, and finished runners-up by one point in the NatWest Pro40. In the Twenty20 Cup, Somerset qualified for the quarter-finals as one of the best third-placed teams, and eventually finished as losing finalists. This meant that they qualified for the Champions League Twenty20, where they progressed into the second group stage of the competition. They failed to win any matches in that phase of the competition, resulting in their elimination.
They were captained for the third successive season by their Australian overseas player, Justin Langer, who announced during the season that it would be his last with Somerset. Marcus Trescothick topped the batting tables, accruing almost 3,000 runs in all competitions in 2009, which saw him named as both Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) Player of the Year and the PCA's Most Valuable Player of the Year. (Full article...)
Selected biography -
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...)Districts of Somerset
- Somerset (Unitary)
- North Somerset (Unitary)
- Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary)
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Related portals
Selected images
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Tyntesfield (from Somerset) -
Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton (from Culture of Somerset) -
Stone quarries are still a major employer in Somerset (from Somerset) -
Weston-super-Mare Town Hall, the administrative headquarters of North Somerset (from Somerset) -
The flag designed to represent the historic county of Somerset in 2013 (from Somerset) -
Brean Down from Steep Holm (from Somerset) -
A steam locomotive and carriages, on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage line of notable length, in spring 2015 (from Somerset) -
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The 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) -
"Samurai" by Griffens CC, at Burnham on Sea Carnival 2006, part of the West Country Carnival circuit (from Culture of Somerset) -
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The west front of Wells Cathedral (from Somerset) -
A map of the county in 1646, author unknown (from Somerset) -
A traditional cider apple orchard at Over Stratton, with sheep grazing (from Somerset) -
The town of Glastonbury looking west from the top of Glastonbury Tor. The fields in the distance are the Somerset Levels. (from Somerset) -
Sand Sculpture at Weston-super-Mare Sand Sculpture Festival of A Midsummer Nights Dream (from Culture of Somerset) -
Glastonbury Tor (from Culture of Somerset) -
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Bristol Airport, which is located in North Somerset (from Somerset) -
The west front of Wells Cathedral (from Culture of Somerset)
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Tyntesfield. (from Culture of Somerset)
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The Avon Gorge, the historic boundary between Gloucestershire and Somerset, and also Mercia and Wessex; Somerset is to the left (from Somerset) -
The Exmoor landscape with the native Exmoor Pony (from Somerset) -
The Dunster Yarn Market was built in 1609 for the trading of local cloth. (from Somerset) -
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Selected settlement
Co-ordinates 51°29′02″N 2°45′45″W / 51.484°N 2.7626°W
Portishead /pɔːtɪsˈhɛd/ is a coastal town on the Severn Estuary within the unitary authority of North Somerset. It has a population of 22,000, an increase of over 3,000 since the 2001 census, with a growth rate of 40 per cent, considerably in excess of surrounding towns.
Portishead has a long history as a fishing port. It expanded rapidly during the early 19th century around the docks, with supporting transport infrastructure. A power station and chemical works were added in the 20th century, but the dock and industrial facilities have since declined, redeveloped into a marina and residential areas. Portishead was also the telephone control centre used by British Telecom (BT) for non-direct dialled calls to maritime vessels, a service known as Portishead Radio.
The town's population is expanding, served by several retail outlets, religious, educational and sporting venues. Portishead is now primarily a dormitory town for Bristol and its environs, although a range of services industries has grown up. The headquarters of Avon and Somerset Constabulary are based in Portishead. (Full article...)
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's "Did You Know" archives:
- ... that medieval Perpendicular Gothic Somerset Towers typically feature pinnacles, lacy tracery windows and bell openings, gargoyles, arches, buttresses, merlons, and external stair turrets?
- ... that Gants Mill is an historic watermill now generating hydroelectric power from the River Brue?
- ... that the village of Selworthy was rebuilt by Sir Thomas Dyke Acland in 1828 as a Model village for the aged and infirm of his Holnicote Estate?
- ... that Midford Castle was built in the shape of the ace of clubs (♣)?
- ... that Porlock Bay in England contains a submerged forest?
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Nearby projects: WikiProject Bristol, WikiProject Devon, WikiProject Dorset, WikiProject Wiltshire
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Featured articles
Ælfheah of Canterbury- Bath, Somerset
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A303 road- 1754 Taunton by-election
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- Agapemonites
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- Ashton Court Festival
- Athelm
- River Avon, Bristol
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- Herbert E. Balch
- Barrington Court
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- Buro Happold
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- Burton Pynsent House
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- Cheddar Gorge
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- Climate of south-west England
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- Cricket at the 1900 Summer Olympics
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- Dunster Castle
- Dunster
- Dunster Working Watermill
- Ebbor Gorge
- Exmoor pony
- Farleigh Hungerford Castle
- Reginald Fitz Jocelin
- Savaric FitzGeldewin
- Henry Fownes Luttrell (died 1780)
- Henry Fox (sportsman)
- Frome
- Fyne Court
- Gallox Bridge, Dunster
- Edith Garrud
- Geography of Somerset
- Geology of Somerset
- Gisa (bishop of Wells)
- Eleanor Glanville
- Glastonbury Abbey
- Glastonbury Canal
- Glastonbury Festival
- Glastonbury
- Glastonbury Lake Village
- Glastonbury Tor
- Grade I listed buildings in Somerset
- Grand Western Canal
- HM Prison Shepton Mallet
- Hestercombe House
- James Hill (British Army officer)
- Sidney Hill
- History of Somerset
- Holnicote Estate
- Hot Fuzz
- Jocelin of Wells
- John of Tours
- Keynsham
- King Alfred's Tower
- King John's Hunting Lodge, Axbridge
- Scott Laird
- Leigh Court
- Leigh Woods National Nature Reserve
- Long Ashton railway station
- Lyfing (archbishop of Canterbury)
- Lytes Cary
- Masonic Hall, Taunton
- Midsomer Norton
- Minehead
- Monmouth Rebellion
- Montacute House
- Muchelney Abbey
- Nailsea Court
- Nailsea
- Nailsea and Backwell railway station
- Nettlecombe Court
- Stephen Newton
- Tom Nichols (footballer)
- Nunney Castle
- Pill railway station
- PinkPantheress
- Portishead, Somerset
- Massey Poyntz
- The Priest's House, Muchelney
- Prior Park Landscape Garden
- Prior Park
- Pulteney Bridge
- Quantock Hills
- Radstock
- River Brue
- River Tone
- Robert of Bath
- Roman Baths (Bath)
- Royal Crescent
- Ted Sainsbury
- St Catherine's Court
- Sand Point and Middle Hope
- Scheduled monuments in Somerset
- Jake Seamer
- Shepton Mallet
- Sigeric (bishop)
- Sir Bevil Grenville's Monument
- Solsbury Hill
- Somerset Coal Canal
- Somerset Coalfield
- Somerset County Cricket Club in 1882
- Somerset County Cricket Club in 1885
- Somerton, Somerset
- Stanton Drew stone circles
- Steep Holm
- Stembridge Mill, High Ham
- Stoke sub Hamdon Priory
- Ston Easton Park
- 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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