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), Yeovil (49,698) and Frome (28,559). 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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Bath Abbey

The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is an Anglican parish church and a former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in the 7th century, Bath Abbey was reorganised in the 10th century and rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries; major restoration work was carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 1860s. It is one of the largest examples of Perpendicular Gothic architecture in the West Country.

The church is cruciform in plan, and is able to seat 1200. An active place of worship, with hundreds of congregation members and hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, it is used for religious services, secular civic ceremonies, concerts and lectures. The choir performs in the abbey and elsewhere. There is a heritage museum in the vaults. The abbey is a Grade I listed building, particularly noted for its fan vaulting ceiling. It contains war memorials for the local population and monuments to several notable people, in the form of wall and floor plaques and commemorative stained glass. The church has two organs and a peal of ten bells. The west front includes sculptures of angels climbing to heaven on two stone ladders. (Full article...)

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Jill Wendy Dando (9 November 1961 – 26 April 1999) was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She spent most of her career at the BBC and was the corporation's Personality of the Year in 1997. At the time of her death, her television work included co-presenting the BBC One programme Crimewatch with Nick Ross.

On the morning of 26 April 1999, Dando was shot dead outside her home in Fulham, south-west London, prompting the biggest murder inquiry conducted by the Metropolitan Police and the country's largest criminal investigation since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper. A local man, Barry George, was convicted and imprisoned for the murder, but after eight years in prison he was acquitted following an appeal and retrial. No other suspect has been charged with Dando's murder and the case remains unsolved. (Full article...)

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Harry Patch Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard Bill Bailey John Cleese 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 1The Exmoor landscape with the native Exmoor Pony (from Somerset)
Image 2Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 3A traditional cider apple orchard at Over Stratton, with sheep grazing (from Somerset)
Image 4The Huish Park ground of Yeovil Town F.C. (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 5Glastonbury Tor (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 6Tyntesfield. (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 7The west front of Wells Cathedral (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 8The town of Glastonbury looking west from the top of Glastonbury Tor. The fields in the distance are the Somerset Levels. (from Somerset)
Image 9The flag designed to represent the historic county of Somerset in 2013 (from Somerset)
Image 10The west front of Wells Cathedral (from Somerset)
Image 11Sand Sculpture at Weston-super-Mare Sand Sculpture Festival of A Midsummer Nights Dream (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 12A map of the county in 1646, author unknown (from Somerset)
Image 13The marina in Watchet (from Somerset)
Image 14Tyntesfield (from Somerset)
Image 15Weston-super-Mare Town Hall, the administrative headquarters of North Somerset (from Somerset)
Image 16A steam locomotive and carriages, on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage line of notable length, in spring 2015 (from 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 18Bristol Airport, which is located in North Somerset (from Somerset)
Image 19Stone quarries are still a major employer in Somerset (from Somerset)
Image 20The Dunster Yarn Market was built in 1609 for the trading of local cloth. (from Somerset)
Image 21Palladian Pulteney Bridge at Bath (from Somerset)
Image 22The 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 23The River Brue in an artificial channel draining farmland near Glastonbury (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 25Theatre Royal, Bath (from Culture of Somerset)
Image 26Brean Down from Steep Holm (from Somerset)

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Nailsea

Nailsea
Co-ordinates 51°26′N 2°46′W / 51.43°N 2.76°W

Nailsea is a town in the unitary district of North Somerset within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, approximately 8 miles (13 km) to the southwest of Bristol and about 11 miles (18 km) to the northeast of the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare. The nearest village is Backwell, which lies south of Nailsea on the other side of the Bristol to Exeter railway line. Nailsea is a commuter town with a population of 18,000.

The town was an industrial centre based on coal mining and glass manufacture, which have now been replaced by service industries. The surrounding area of the North Somerset Levels provides wildlife habitats including the Tickenham, Nailsea and Kenn Moors biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and Bucklands Pool/Backwell Lake Local Nature Reserve. Nailsea is close to the M5 motorway and Bristol Airport, and has railway services at Nailsea and Backwell station, operated by First Great Western.

Secondary education in Nailsea is provided by Nailsea School, and primary education by St Francis School. Churches in the town include the 14th-century Holy Trinity Church and Christ Church, which was built in 1843. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's "Did You Know" archives:

... that St John's Hospital in Bath was founded around 1180, by Bishop Reginald Fitz Jocelin beside the hot springs of the Cross Bath (pictured)?
... that the Frome Hoard was found by a metal detectorist just 35 cm (14 in) below ground in Somerset and contained 52,503 Roman coins?
... that the Great Western Railway operated road motor (bus) services in England and Wales from 1903 until 1933 as it was cheaper than building new railways?
... that Hadspen House has been owned by the family of Henry Hobhouse since 1785?
... that the fossilised remains of lions have been found at Crook Peak in Somerset, England?

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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