View source for Somerset

{{Short description|County in South West England}}
{{About|the county in England}}
{{Pp-move}}
{{Pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox English county
| official_name = Somerset
| other_name = 
| image_main = {{multiple images
     |border=infobox
     |perrow=1 2
     |total_width=270px
     | image1 = Somerset Levels from Glastonbury Tor (27941775545) (cropped).jpg
     | image2 = St Mary the Virgin, Bruton, Somerset.jpg
     | image3 = Puente Pulteney, Bath, Inglaterra, 2014-08-12, DD 51.JPG
     }}
| image_caption = The [[Somerset Levels]] from [[Glastonbury Tor]]; [[St Mary's Church, Bruton]]; and [[Pulteney Bridge]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]]
| arms_image = 
| arms_link = 
| motto = 
| locator_map = [[File:Somerset UK locator map 2010.svg|200px|Somerset within England]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|51|06|N|2|54|W|region:GB-SOM_type:adm1st|display=title, inline}}
| region = [[South West England]]
| established_date = [[Historic counties of England|Ancient]]
| county_town = [[Taunton]]
| largest_city = [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]]
| established_by = 
| preceded_by = 
| origin = 
| lord_lieutenant_office = Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
| lord_lieutenant_name = [[Mohammed Saddiq]]
| high_sheriff_office = High Sheriff of Somerset
| high_sheriff_name = Janet Montgomery<ref>{{cite web | title = The High Sheriff of Somerset | url = https://highsheriffsomerset.org.uk/}}</ref>
| ethnicity = 87.4% [[White British]] (2021)
| county_council = 
| unitary_council = [[Somerset Council]]
| admin_hq = [[Taunton]]
| iso_code = GB-SOM
| gss_code = E06000066
| nuts_code = TLK23
| districts_map = [[File:Somerset numbered districts 2023.svg|200px]]
| districts_key = {{Colorsample|#FEFE77}} Unitary
| districts_list = # Somerset
# [[North Somerset]]
# [[Bath and North East Somerset]]
| MPs = [[List of parliamentary constituencies in Somerset|9 MPs]]
| police = [[Avon and Somerset Police]]
| website = {{URL|somerset.gov.uk}}
| unitary_council1 = [[Somerset Council]]
| unitary_council2 = [[Bath and North East Somerset Council]]
| unitary_council3 = [[North Somerset Council]]
}}

'''Somerset''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-uk-Somerset.ogg|ˈ|s|ʌ|m|ər|s|ᵻ|t|,_|-|s|ɛ|t}} {{respell|SUM|ər|sit|}}, {{respell|-set}}),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/somerset |title=Somerset definition and meaning |work=Collins English Dictionary |access-date=29 May 2020 |archive-date=28 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428022211/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/somerset |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Archaism|archaically]] '''Somersetshire''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ʌ|m|ər|s|ᵻ|t|.|ʃ|ɪər|,_|-|s|ɛ|t|-|,_|-|ʃ|ər}} {{respell|SUM|ər|sit|sheer}}, {{respell|-set-}}, {{respell|-shər}}),<ref name="EB1911" /> is a [[Ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial county]] in [[South West England]]. It is bordered by the [[Bristol Channel]], [[Bristol]], and [[Gloucestershire]] to the north, [[Wiltshire]] to the east, [[Dorset]] to the south-east, and [[Devon]] to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]].

Somerset is a predominantly rural county, especially to the south and west, with an area of {{Convert|4171|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and a population of {{English cerem counties|POP=Somerset}} in {{English cerem counties|TXT=Year}}. Bath is located in the north-east of the county, [[Yeovil]] in the south-east, [[Taunton]] in the south-west, and the seaside resort of [[Weston-super-Mare]] in the north-west. The city of [[Wells, Somerset|Wells]], the second-smallest city by population in England, is located in the centre. For [[Local government in England|local government]] purposes the county comprises three [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]] areas: [[Bath and North East Somerset]], [[North Somerset]], and [[Somerset Council|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 [[Somerset Levels|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 Landscape|national landscapes]]; the west contains the [[Quantock Hills]] and part of the [[Blackdown Hills National Landscape|Blackdown Hills]], which are also national landscapes, and most of [[Exmoor]], a [[National parks of the United Kingdom|national park]]. The major rivers of the county are the [[River Avon, Bristol|Avon]], which flows through Bath and then Bristol, and the [[River Axe (Bristol Channel)|Axe]], [[River Brue|Brue]], and [[River Parrett|Parrett]], which drain the Levels.

There is evidence of [[Paleolithic]] human occupation in Somerset, and the area was subsequently settled by the [[Celts]], [[Roman Britain|Roman]]s and [[Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon]]s. 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 [[Somerset towers|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, Somerset|Bath]] is famous for its [[Georgian era|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.

==Toponymy==
Somerset's name most likely derives from [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|[[Sumorsaete|Sumorsǣte]]}}, short for {{lang|ang|Sumortūnsǣte}}, meaning "the people living at or dependent on ''Sumortūn''” (now known as [[Somerton, Somerset|Somerton]]).<ref name="watts1">{{cite book |editor-last=Watts |editor-first=Victor |year=2004 |title=The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=0-521-36209-1}}</ref> An alternative suggestion is that the name derives from ''Seo-mere-saetan'' meaning "settlers by the sea lakes".<ref>{{cite book |last=Whitlock |first=Ralph |author-link=Ralph Whitlock |year=1975 |title=Somerset |publisher=B.T. Batsford Ltd. |location=London |isbn=978-0-7134-2905-3}}</ref> The same ending can also be seen in the neighbouring [[Dorset#Toponymy|Dorset]]. The first known use of ''Somersæte'' is in the law code of [[Ine of Wessex|King Ine]] who was the Saxon King of Wessex from 688 to 726&nbsp;CE, making Somerset along with [[Hampshire]], [[Wiltshire]] and [[Dorset]] one of the oldest extant units of local government in the world.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hindley |first=Geoffrey |year=2006 |title=The Anglo-Saxons |pages=53–54 |publisher=Robinson |isbn=978-1-84529-161-7}}</ref>

The Old English name is used in the [[motto]] of the county, {{lang|ang|Sumorsǣte ealle}}, meaning "all the people of Somerset". Adopted as the motto in 1911, the phrase is taken from the [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]. Somerset was a [[shire]] of the [[Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon]] kingdom of [[Wessex]], and the phrase refers to the wholehearted support the people of Somerset gave to [[Alfred the Great|King Alfred]] in his struggle to save Wessex from [[Vikings|Viking]] invaders.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Danish Invasions |publisher=Somerset County Council |url=http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Danishinvs.htm |access-date=18 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005014846/http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Danishinvs.htm|archive-date=5 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter=Manuscript E: Bodleian MS Laud 636. |title=The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle |edition=electronic, literary |volume=5 |chapter-url=http://asc.jebbo.co.uk/e/e-L.html |access-date=21 January 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212153114/http://asc.jebbo.co.uk/e/e-L.html |archive-date=12 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/657 |access-date=21 January 2008 |url-status=live |via=Gutenberg.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629061518/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/657 |archive-date=29 June 2011}}</ref>

Somerset settlement names are mostly Anglo-Saxon in origin (for example, [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], [[Somerton, Somerset|Somerton]], [[Wells, Somerset|Wells]] and [[Keynsham]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Key to English Place Names |publisher=Nottingham.ac.uk |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Somerset/Bath |access-date=28 July 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728232315/http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Somerset/Bath}}</ref>), but numerous place names include [[Brittonic languages|British Celtic]] elements, such as the rivers Frome and Avon, and names of hills. For example, an [[Anglo-Saxon charters|Anglo-Saxon charter]] of 682 refers to Creechborough Hill as "the hill which in the [[Common Brittonic|British language]] is ''Cructan'' and which to us is ''Crychbeorh''".<ref>{{cite book |last=Birch |first=Walter de Gray |year=1885 |title=Cartularium Saxonicum |quote=A collection of charters relating to Anglo-Saxon history. |publisher=Whiting |url=https://archive.org/details/cartulariumsaxo01bircgoog |access-date=21 April 2008 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Some modern names are wholly [[British language (Celtic)|Brittonic]] in origin, like [[Tarnock]], [[Priddy]] and [[Chard, Somerset|Chard]], while others have both Saxon and Brittonic elements, such as [[Pen Hill]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A word to the wise |website=Take our word for it |url=http://www.takeourword.com/TOW110/page2.html |access-date=22 January 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829151546/http://www.takeourword.com/TOW110/page2.html |archive-date=29 August 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Richard |last=Coates |author-link=Richard Coates |year=2017 |title=Celtic whispers: Revisiting the problems of the relation between Brittonic and Old English |type=¿unpublished? journal article |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/226134962.pdf}}<br/>''See also'' [[Brittonicisms in English]].</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Somerset}}

[[File:Map of Somerset in 1646.jpg|thumb|right|A map of the county in 1646, author unknown]]

===Prehistory===
The caves of the [[Mendip Hills]] were settled during the [[Paleolithic|Palaeolithic]] period,<ref>{{cite web |title=Introduction: The Paleolithic period – food gatherers |series=Aspects of Somerset history |department=Somerset Archives |publisher=Somerset Government |url=http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Palper.htm |access-date=29 December 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814192128/http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Palper.htm |archive-date=14 August 2011 }}</ref> and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at [[Cheddar Gorge]]. Bones from [[Gough's Cave]] have been dated to 12,000&nbsp;BCE, and a complete skeleton, known as [[Cheddar Man]], dates from [[8th millennium BC|7150&nbsp;BCE]].<ref>{{cite news |last=McKie |first=Robin |date=20 June 2010 |title=Bones from a Cheddar Gorge cave show that cannibalism helped Britain's earliest settlers survive the ice age |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/jun/20/ice-age-cannibals-britain-earliest-settlers |access-date=22 March 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307203921/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/jun/20/ice-age-cannibals-britain-earliest-settlers |archive-date= 7 March 2016 }}</ref> Examples of cave art have been found in [[Aveline's Hole]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Aveline's Hole discovery |publisher=[[University of Bristol]] |department=Spelaeological Society |url=http://www.ubss.org.uk/articles/avelines.php |access-date=22 March 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185905/http://www.ubss.org.uk/articles/avelines.php |archive-date= 3 March 2016 }}</ref> Some caves continued to be occupied until modern times, including [[Wookey Hole Caves|Wookey Hole]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The [[Somerset Levels]]—specifically [[dry point]]s at [[Glastonbury]] and [[Brent Knoll]]—also have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been settled by [[Mesolithic]] hunters.<ref name="Dunning">{{cite book |last=Dunning |first=Robert |year=1983 |title=A History of Somerset |publisher=Phillimore & Co |location=Chichester, UK |isbn= 0-85033-461-6 }}</ref><ref name="Mesolithic">{{cite web |title=Somerset |website=Camelot Village: Britain's Heritage and History |url=http://www.camelotintl.com/heritage/counties/england/somerset.html |access-date=28 May 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613211349/http://www.camelotintl.com/heritage/counties/england/somerset.html |archive-date=13 June 2006 }}</ref> Travel in the area was facilitated by the construction of one of the world's oldest known engineered roadways, the [[Sweet Track]], which dates from 3807&nbsp;BCE or 3806&nbsp;BCE.{{efn|A 6,000-year-old trackway was discovered in [[Belmarsh prison]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.physorg.com/news169297178.html |title=London's earliest timber structure found during Belmarsh prison dig |last=Anon |date=12 August 2009 |work=physorg.com News |publisher=PhysOrg.com |access-date=10 July 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715214221/http://www.physorg.com/news169297178.html |archive-date=15 July 2011 }}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite web |title=The day the Sweet Track was built |work=New Scientist |date=16 June 1990 |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12617212.800-science-the-day-the-sweet-track-was-built.html |access-date=13 November 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311232408/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12617212.800-science-the-day-the-sweet-track-was-built.html |archive-date=11 March 2010 }}</ref><ref name=brunning>{{cite journal |last=Brunning |first=Richard |date=February 2001 |title=The Somerset Levels |series=Wetlands Special Issue |journal=[[Current Archaeology]] |volume=XV (No. 4) |issue=172 |pages=139–143 |issn=0011-3212}}</ref>

The exact age of the [[Henge|henge monument]] at [[Stanton Drew stone circles]] is unknown, but it is believed to be [[Neolithic]].<ref>{{cite report |title=History and research |series=Stanton Drew stone circles and cove |publisher=English Heritage |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stanton-drew-circles-and-cove/history-and-research/ |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525100919/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stanton-drew-circles-and-cove/history-and-research |archive-date=25 May 2015 }}</ref> There are numerous [[Iron Age]] [[hill fort]]s, some of which, like [[Cadbury Castle, Somerset|Cadbury Castle]]<ref name="auto">{{cite report |title=Mendip Hills: An archaeological survey of the area of outstanding natural beauty |publisher=Somerset County Council |department=Archaeological Projects |url=http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/HES_MendipAONB.pdf |access-date=13 November 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516154619/http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/HES_MendipAONB.pdf |archive-date=16 May 2011 }}</ref> and [[Ham Hill, Somerset|Ham Hill]], were later reoccupied in the [[Early Middle Ages]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adkins |first1=Lesley |last2=Adkins |first2=Rod |year=1992 |title=A Field Guide to Somerset Archaeology |pages=72–74 |publisher=Dovecote Press |location=Wimborne, UK |isbn=0-946159-94-7}}</ref>

===Roman invasion===
On the authority of the future emperor [[Vespasian]], as part of the ongoing expansion of the Roman presence in Britain, the [[Legio II Augusta|Second Legion Augusta]] invaded Somerset from the south-east in 47&nbsp;CE. The county remained part of the [[Roman Empire]] until around 409&nbsp;CE, when the Roman occupation of Britain came to an end.<ref name="rajan">{{cite news |first=Amal |last=Rajan |date=24 August 2007 |title=Around a county in 40&nbsp;facts: A (very) brief history of Somerset |newspaper=[[The Independent]] on Sunday |location=London, UK |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/around-a-county-in-40-facts-a-very-brief-history-of-somerset-462828.html |access-date=21 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214141911/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/around-a-county-in-40-facts-a-very-brief-history-of-somerset-462828.html |archive-date=14 February 2009 }}</ref>
A variety of Roman remains have been found, including [[Pagans Hill Roman temple]] in [[Chew Stoke]],<ref name="hucker">{{cite book |last=Hucker |first=Ernest |year=1997 |title=Chew Stoke Recalled in Old Photographs |publisher=Ernest Hucker}}</ref> [[Low Ham Roman Villa]] and the [[Roman Baths (Bath)|Roman Baths]] that gave their name to the city of [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]].<ref>{{cite AV media |first=Neil |last=Guiden |year=2006 |title=Roman Baths Treatment Centre |website=Images of England |medium=photograph |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442194 |access-date=15 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615202319/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442194 |archive-date=15 June 2009 }}</ref>

===Saxon and Norman invasions===
[[File:Pulteney Bridge, Bath 2.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.75|alt=Yellow/Gray stone bridge with three arches over water which reflects the bridge and the church spire behind. A weir is on the left with other yellow stone buildings behind.|[[Palladian]] Pulteney Bridge at [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]]]]
After the Romans left, Britain was invaded by Anglo-Saxon peoples. By 600&nbsp;CE they had established control over much of what is now England, but Somerset was still in native British hands. The British held back Saxon advance into the south-west for some time longer, but by the early eighth century King [[Ine of Wessex]] had pushed the boundaries of the West Saxon kingdom far enough west to include Somerset.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Brenda Ralph |first2=David Nash |last2=Ford |title=Narrative history of Saxon Somerset |website=Britannia |url=http://www.britannia.com/history/somerset/somhist5.html |access-date=21 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511192241/http://www.britannia.com/history/somerset/somhist5.html |archive-date=11 May 2008}}</ref> The Saxon royal palace in [[Cheddar, Somerset|Cheddar]] was used several times in the 10th century to host the [[Witenagemot]].<ref>{{cite report |last=Rahtz |first=Phillip |publisher=Archaeology Data Service |title=The Saxon and Medieval Palaces at Cheddar, Somerset: An interim report of excavations in 1960–62 |url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-769-1/dissemination/pdf/vol06-07/6_053_066.pdf |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701190407/http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-769-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol06-07%2F6_053_066.pdf |archive-date=1 July 2017}}</ref>

The nature of the relations between the Britons and the Saxons in Somerset is not entirely clear. [[Ine of Wessex|Ine's laws]] demonstrate that the Britons were considered to be a significant enough population in Wessex to merit provisions; however, the laws also suggest that Britons could not attain the same social standing as the Saxons, and that many were slaves.<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Grimmer |article=Britons in early Wessex: The evidence of the law code of Ine |title=Britons in Anglo-Saxon England |editor-first=Nick |editor-last=Higham |year=2007 |publisher=Boydell and Brewer}}</ref> In light of such policies, many Britons might have chosen to emigrate to places such as [[Brittany]]<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Higgins |year=2006 |title=The Bristol Region in the Sub-Roman and Early Anglo-Saxon Periods}}</ref> while those who remained would have had incentives to adopt Anglo-Saxon culture.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Higham |first1=Nicholas J. |first2=Martin J. |last2=Ryan |year=2013 |title=The Anglo-Saxon World |publisher=Yale University Press}}</ref>

After the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman Conquest]], the county was divided into 700&nbsp;[[Fiefdom|fiefs]], and large areas were owned by the crown,<ref name="EB1911">{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Somersetshire |volume=25 |page=390 }}</ref> with fortifications such as [[Dunster Castle]] used for control and defence. Somerset came under the political influence of several different nobles during the Middle Ages. During the [[Wars of the Roses]], an important magnate was [[Humphrey Stafford, 1st Earl of Devon|Humphrey Stafford, earl of Devon]], whose wider influence stretched from Cornwall to Wiltshire. After 1485, one of the county's most influential figures was Henry VII's chamberlain [[Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney|Giles Daubeney]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stansfield-Cudworth|first=R. E.|title=Political Elites in South-West England, 1450–1500: Politics, Governance, and the Wars of the Roses|publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0-77344-714-1|location=[[Lewiston, New York]]|pages=191–225, 306–17}}</ref>

===The 17th–19th&nbsp;centuries===
Somerset contains [[HM Prison Shepton Mallet]], which was England's oldest prison still in use prior to its closure in 2013, having opened in 1610.<ref name="Historic">{{cite web |title=Historic Buildings of Shepton Mallet |publisher=Shepton Mallet Town Council |url=http://www.sheptonmallet.info/site/index.php?page_id=189 |access-date=30 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118052345/http://www.sheptonmallet.info/site/index.php?page_id=189 |archive-date=18 January 2012 }}</ref> During the [[English Civil War]], Somerset was largely [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Rodgers |first=H.C.B., Colonel |year=1968 |title=Battles and Generals of the Civil War |publisher=Seeley Service & Co.}}</ref> with key engagements being the [[Sieges of Taunton]] and the [[Battle of Langport]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Battle of Langport |publisher=UK Battlefields Resource Centre |url=http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/civil-war/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=20 |access-date=10 January 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101212170959/http://battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/civil-war/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=20 |archive-date=12 December 2010 }}</ref>

In 1685, the [[Monmouth Rebellion]] was played out in Somerset and neighbouring Dorset.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sedgemoor Battle and the Monmouth Rebellion Campaign |url=http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/media/139%2Epdf |access-date=14 December 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928010618/http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/media/139.pdf |archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref> The rebels landed at [[Lyme Regis]] and travelled north, hoping to capture [[Bristol]] and Bath, but they were defeated in the [[Battle of Sedgemoor]] at [[Westonzoyland]], the last [[pitched battle]] fought in England.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Bridgwater |url=http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~smedlo/history.htm |access-date=21 October 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112055456/http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~smedlo/history.htm |archive-date=12 November 2007 }}</ref> [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley]] took his title, [[Duke of Wellington (title)|Duke of Wellington]], from the town of [[Wellington, Somerset|Wellington]];<ref>{{cite web |title=History and Tour — Duke of Wellington |publisher=The Prime Ministers office |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/arthur-wellesley-1st-duke-of-wellington |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501032209/https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/arthur-wellesley-1st-duke-of-wellington |archive-date=1 May 2015}}</ref> he is commemorated on a nearby hill by a large, spotlit [[obelisk]], known as the [[Wellington Monument, Somerset|Wellington Monument]].<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1060281 |desc=Wellington Monument |access-date=22 March 2016}}</ref>

The [[Industrial Revolution]] in the Midlands and Northern England spelled the end for most of Somerset's cottage industries. Farming continued to flourish, and the [[Royal Bath and West of England Society|Bath and West of England Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures and Commerce]] was founded in 1777 to improve farming methods. Despite this, two decades later, agriculturist [[John Billingsley (agriculturist)|John Billingsley]] conducted a survey of the county's agriculture in 1795 and found that agricultural methods could still be improved.<ref>{{cite book |last=Billingsley |first=John |year=1798 |title=General View of the Agriculture of the County of Somerset |publisher=R. Cruttwell |url=https://archive.org/details/generalviewagri01survgoog}}</ref>

Coal mining was an important industry in north Somerset during the 18th and 19th&nbsp;centuries, and by 1800 it was prominent in [[Radstock]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A Brief History of the Bristol and Somerset Coalfield |work=The Mines of the Bristol and Somerset Coalfield |url=http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/mhn/b_s_coal/coal_text.htm |access-date=22 January 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117010102/http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/mhn/b_s_coal/coal_text.htm |archive-date=17 January 2009 }}</ref>

The [[Somerset Coalfield]] reached its peak production by the 1920s. All the pits have now been closed, the last in 1973.<ref name=cornwell>{{cite book |last=Cornwell |first=John |year=2005 |title=Collieries of Somerset & Bristol |place=Ashbourne, Derbyshire |publisher=Landmark Publishing Ltd. |isbn=1-84306-170-8}}</ref> Most of the surface buildings have been removed, and apart from a winding wheel outside [[Radstock Museum]], little evidence of their former existence remains. Further west, the [[Brendon Hills]] were mined for iron ore in the late 19th&nbsp;century; this was taken by the [[West Somerset Mineral Railway]] to [[Watchet]] Harbour for shipment to the furnaces at [[Ebbw Vale]].<ref>{{cite book |first=M.H. |last=Jones |year=2011 |title=The Brendon Hiills Iron Mines and the West Somerset Mineral Railway |publisher=Lightmoor Press |isbn=978-1-899889-53-2}}</ref>

===20th century===
Many Somerset soldiers died during the [[First World War]], with the [[Somerset Light Infantry]] suffering nearly 5,000&nbsp;casualties.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sommilmuseum.org.uk/article.php?id=1 |title=Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) |publisher=Somerset Military Museum |access-date=23 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807030002/http://www.sommilmuseum.org.uk/article.php?id=1 |archive-date=7 August 2007 }}</ref> War memorials were put up in most of the county's towns and villages; only nine, described as the [[Thankful Villages]], had none of their residents killed. During the [[Second World War]], the county was a base for troops preparing for the [[Normandy landings|D-Day landings]]. Some of the hospitals that were built for the casualties of the war remain in use. The [[Taunton Stop Line]] was set up to repel a potential German invasion. The remains of its [[Bunker|pill boxes]] can still be seen along the coast, and south through [[Ilminster]] and [[Chard, Somerset|Chard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pillboxes-somerset.com/taunton_stop_line.htm |title=Taunton Stop Line |work=Pillboxes Somerset |access-date=25 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028164855/http://www.pillboxes-somerset.com/taunton_stop_line.htm |archive-date=28 October 2007 }}</ref>

A number of decoy towns were constructed in Somerset in World War&nbsp;II to protect Bristol and other towns. They were designed to mimic the nighttime geometry of "blacked out" streets, railway lines, and [[Bristol Temple Meads railway station]], to encourage German bombers away from these targets.<ref name=brown>{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Donald |year=1999 |title=Somerset&nbsp;v Hitler: Secret operations in the Mendips 1939–1945 |place=Newbury, UK |publisher=Countryside Books |isbn=1-85306-590-0}}</ref> One, on the German [[Battle of the Beams|radio navigation beam]] flight path to Bristol, was constructed on [[Black Down, Somerset|Beacon Batch]].<ref name=brown/><ref name="auto"/> It was laid out by [[Shepperton Studios]], based on [[Aerial photography|aerial photographs]] of the city's railway [[Classification yard|marshalling yards]].<ref name=brown/> The decoys were fitted with dim red lights, simulating activities such as the stoking of [[steam locomotive]]s. Burning bales of straw soaked in creosote were used to simulate the effects of [[incendiary device|incendiary bombs]] dropped by the first wave of Pathfinder night bombers; meanwhile, incendiary bombs dropped on the correct location were quickly smothered, wherever possible. Drums of oil were also ignited to simulate the effect of a blazing city or town, with the aim of fooling subsequent waves of bombers into dropping their bombs on the wrong location.<ref name=brown/>

The [[Chew Magna]] decoy town was hit by half a dozen bombs on 2&nbsp;December 1940, and over a thousand incendiaries on 3&nbsp;January 1941.<ref name=brown/> The following night the [[Uphill]] decoy town, protecting the airfield at [[Weston-super-Mare]], was bombed; a herd of [[Dairy cattle|dairy cows]] was hit, killing some and severely injuring others.<ref name=brown/>

==Geography==
===Boundaries===
[[File:Bristol MMB «D0 Avon Gorge.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Avon Gorge]], the historic boundary between Gloucestershire and Somerset, and also [[Mercia]] and [[Wessex]]; Somerset is to the left]]
The boundaries of Somerset are largely unaltered from medieval times. The main change has been in the north, where the [[River Avon (Bristol)|River Avon]] formed the border with Gloucestershire, except that the [[Hundred (county division)|hundred]] of [[Bath Forum]], which straddles the Avon, formed part of Somerset. Bristol began as a town on the Gloucestershire side of the Avon, but as it grew, it extended across the river into Somerset. In 1373 [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] proclaimed "that the town of Bristol with its suburbs and precincts shall henceforth be separate from the counties of Gloucester and Somerset&nbsp;... and that it should be a [[City and County of Bristol|county by itself]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=Myers|first=Alec Reginald|author2=Douglas, David Charles|title=English Historical Documents 1327–1485|publisher=Routledge|year=1996|page=560|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jRsLUVOCqbkC|isbn=978-0-415-14369-1|access-date=6 June 2009|archive-date=28 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528144125/https://books.google.com/books?id=jRsLUVOCqbkC|url-status=live}}</ref>

The present-day northern border of Somerset (adjoining the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire) runs along the southern bank of the Avon from the Bristol Channel, then follows around the southern edge of the Bristol built-up area, before continuing upstream along the Avon and then diverges from the river to include Bath and its historic hinterland to the north of the Avon, before meeting Wiltshire at the ''Three Shire Stones'' on the ''[[Fosse Way]]'' at [[Batheaston]].<ref name=ordnances>[[Ordnance Survey]] mapping</ref>

{{maplink|frame=yes|frame-align=center|type=line|id=Q23157|zoom=7|text=Map of the [[Ceremonial County]] of Somerset}}

===Cities and towns===
{{See also|List of places in Somerset|List of settlements in Somerset by population|Category:Populated places in Somerset}}
Somerton took over from [[Ilchester]] as the [[county town]] in the late thirteenth century,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/Somerset_EUS_Somerton.pdf |title=Somerton |first1=Miranda |last1=Richardson |work=English Heritage Extensive Urban Survey |publisher=Somerset County Ciouncil |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060810/http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/Somerset_EUS_Somerton.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> but it declined in importance and the status of county town transferred to [[Taunton]] about 1366.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/media/pdf/8/1/Somerton_full_version_plan__no_appendix__low_resolution.pdf |title=A town plan for Somerton |publisher=South Somerset Council |access-date=7 January 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080227210337/http://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/media/pdf/8/1/Somerton_full_version_plan__no_appendix__low_resolution.pdf| archive-date = 27 February 2008}}</ref> The county has two [[City status in the United Kingdom|cities]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] and [[Wells, Somerset|Wells]], and [[:Category:Towns in Somerset|30 towns]] (including the county town of Taunton, which has no town council but instead is the chief settlement of the county's only extant [[Borough status in the United Kingdom|borough]]). The largest urban areas in terms of population are Bath, [[Weston-super-Mare]], Taunton, [[Yeovil]] and [[Bridgwater]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-areas-in-the-south-west---wales/urban-areas-in-the-south-west---wales-part-1.pdf |title=Census 2001: Key Statistics for urban areas in the South West and Wales |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=31 December 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531080151/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-areas-in-the-south-west---wales/urban-areas-in-the-south-west---wales-part-1.pdf |archive-date=31 May 2012 }}</ref>

Many settlements developed because of their strategic importance in relation to geographical features, such as river crossings or valleys in ranges of hills. Examples include [[Axbridge]] on the [[River Axe (Bristol Channel)|River Axe]], [[Castle Cary]] on the [[River Cary]], [[North Petherton]] on the [[River Parrett]], and [[Ilminster]], where there was a crossing point on the [[River Isle]]. [[Midsomer Norton]] lies on the [[River Somer]]; while the [[Wellow Brook]] and the ''Fosse Way'' [[Roman roads in Britain|Roman road]] run through Radstock. [[Chard, Somerset|Chard]] is the most southerly town in Somerset and one of the highest, though at an altitude of {{convert|126|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} [[Wiveliscombe]] is the highest town in the county.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

=== Green belt ===
{{main|Avon Green Belt}}

The county contains several-miles-wide sections of the Avon [[green belt]] area, which is primarily in place to prevent [[urban sprawl]] from the [[Bristol Built-up Area|Bristol]] and Bath built up areas encroaching into the rural areas of North Somerset,<ref>{{cite web|title=North Somerset Futures Local Development Framework - North Somerset Green Belt Assessment - South West of Bristol|url=https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/SD-50-green-belt-assessment-South-West-of-Bristol.pdf|website=www.n-somerset.gov.uk|access-date=12 January 2018|archive-date=13 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113093244/https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/SD-50-green-belt-assessment-South-West-of-Bristol.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Bath and North East Somerset,<ref>{{cite web|title=Bath & North East Somerset Green Belt Review|url=http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/sitedocuments/Planning-and-Building-Control/Planning-Policy/Evidence-Base/Environment/gbr_stage1_report.pdf|website=www.bathnes.gov.uk|access-date=12 January 2018|archive-date=18 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918163736/http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/sitedocuments/Planning-and-Building-Control/Planning-Policy/Evidence-Base/Environment/gbr_stage1_report.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and Mendip<ref>{{cite web|title=Protecting and Enhancing Environmental Assets|url=http://www.mendip.gov.uk/localplan2002/HTML%20Statement/html_statment/09_protecting_enhancing_7.html|website=www.mendip.gov.uk|access-date=12 January 2018|archive-date=13 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113093208/http://www.mendip.gov.uk/localplan2002/HTML%20Statement/html_statment/09_protecting_enhancing_7.html|url-status=live}}</ref> districts in the county, as well as maintaining surrounding countryside. It stretches from the coastline between the towns of [[Portishead, Somerset|Portishead]] and [[Clevedon]], extending eastwards past [[Nailsea]], around the Bristol conurbation, and through to the city of Bath. The green belt border intersects with the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) along its south boundary, and meets the Cotswolds AONB by its eastern extent along the Wiltshire county border, creating an extended area protected from inappropriate development.

===Geology===
{{Main|Geology of Somerset}}

{{See also|List of hills of Somerset}}Much of the landscape of Somerset falls into types determined by the underlying geology. These landscapes are the limestone [[karst]] and [[Early Jurassic|lias]] of the north, the clay [[valley|vales]] and [[wetland]]s of the centre, the [[oolite]]s of the east and south, and the [[Devonian]] [[sandstone]] of the west.<ref>{{cite web|title=Somerset Geology |work=Good Rock Guide |url=http://people.bath.ac.uk/exxbgs/Somerset_Good_Rock_Guide.pdf |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105348/http://people.bath.ac.uk/exxbgs/Somerset_Good_Rock_Guide.pdf |archive-date= 4 March 2016 }}</ref>
[[File:Uk som brue.jpg|thumb|The [[River Brue]] in an artificial channel draining farmland near [[Glastonbury]]]]

To the north-east of the Somerset Levels, the Mendip Hills are moderately high [[limestone]] hills. The central and western Mendip Hills were designated an [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]] in 1972 and cover {{convert|198|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}<!--The source quoted gives the area in square km--->.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mendiphillsaonb.org.uk/faqs/ |title=Frequently Asked Questions |work=Mendip Hills AONB |access-date=10 July 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716223541/http://www.mendiphillsaonb.org.uk/faqs/ |archive-date=16 July 2011 }}</ref> The main [[habitat]] on these hills is [[calcareous grassland]], with some [[arable land|arable]] agriculture. To the south-west of the Somerset Levels are the [[Quantock Hills]] which was England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designated in 1956<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thequantockhills.co.uk/page/welcome_to_quantock/the_quantock_hills1/ |title=The Quantock Hills |publisher=Quantock Hills AONB |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526233538/http://www.thequantockhills.co.uk/page/welcome_to_quantock/the_quantock_hills1/ |archive-date=26 May 2015 }}</ref> which is covered in heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands with plantations of conifer and covers 99 square kilometres. The Somerset Coalfield is part of a larger coalfield which stretches into [[Gloucestershire]]. To the north of the Mendip hills is the [[Chew Valley]] and to the south, on the [[clay]] substrate, are broad valleys which support dairy farming and drain into the Somerset Levels.

===Caves and rivers===
There is an extensive network of [[Caves of the Mendip Hills|caves]], including Wookey Hole, underground rivers, and [[canyon|gorges]], including the Cheddar Gorge and [[Ebbor Gorge]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Somerset | work=English Nature, Special Sites, Somerset Geology | url=http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/geodiversity/englands/counties/area_ID30.aspx | access-date=13 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329003609/http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/geodiversity/englands/counties/area_ID30.aspx|archive-date=29 March 2014}}</ref> The county has many rivers, including the Axe, [[River Brue|Brue]], Cary, Parrett, [[River Sheppey|Sheppey]], [[River Tone|Tone]] and [[Congresbury Yeo|Yeo]]. These both feed and drain the flat levels and moors of mid and west Somerset.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.somersetrivers.org/ |title=Somerset Rivers |publisher=Somerset Rivers |access-date=14 November 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718103718/http://somersetrivers.org/ |archive-date=18 July 2010 }}</ref> In the north of the county the [[River Chew]] flows into the [[River Avon (Bristol)|Bristol Avon]]. The Parrett is tidal almost to [[Langport]], where there is evidence of two Roman wharfs.<ref name=hadfield>[[Charles Hadfield (historian)|Hadfield, Charles]] (1999). ''Canals of Southern England''. London: Phoenix House Ltd.</ref> At the same site during the reign of [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]], river tolls were levied on boats to pay for the maintenance of the bridge.<ref name=hadfield/>

===Levels and moors===
[[File:Glastonbury (part of) from the tor arp.jpg|thumb|The town of Glastonbury looking west from the top of Glastonbury Tor. The fields in the distance are the Somerset Levels.]]
The Somerset Levels (or Somerset Levels and Moors as they are less commonly but more correctly known) are a sparsely populated [[wetland]] area of central Somerset, between the Quantock and Mendip hills. They consist of marine clay levels along the coast, and the inland (often [[peat]] based) moors. The Levels are divided into two by the [[Polden Hills]]. Land to the south is drained by the [[River Parrett]] while land to the north is drained by the River Axe and the River Brue. The total area of the Levels amounts to about {{convert|647.5|km2|acre|-1}}<ref name="robinwilliams">{{cite book|last1=Williams |first1=Robin |first2=Romey |last2=Williams |title=The Somerset Levels |year=1992 |publisher=Ex Libris Press |location=Bradford on Avon |isbn=0-948578-38-6}}</ref>
and broadly corresponds to the administrative district of [[Sedgemoor]] but also includes the south west of [[Mendip District|Mendip district]]. Approximately 70% of the area is grassland and 30% is arable.<ref name="robinwilliams"/>

Stretching about {{convert|32|km|mi|0}} inland, this expanse of flat land barely rises above sea level. Before it was drained, much of the land was under a shallow [[brackish water|brackish sea]] in winter and was [[marsh|marsh land]] in summer. Drainage began with the Romans, and was restarted at various times: by the [[Anglo-Saxons]]; in the [[Middle Ages]] by the [[Glastonbury Abbey]], during 1400–1770; and during the Second World War, with the construction of the [[River Huntspill|Huntspill River]]. Pumping and management of water levels still continue.<ref name= williams>Williams, Michael (1970). ''The Draining of the Somerset Levels''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-07486-X}}.</ref>

[[File:Exmoors on Exmoor.jpg|right|alt=Three small brown horses on grassy area. In the distance are hills.|thumb|The Exmoor landscape with the native Exmoor Pony]]
The [[North Somerset Levels]] basin, north of the Mendips, covers a smaller geographical area than the Somerset Levels, and forms a coastal area around [[Avonmouth]]. It too was reclaimed by draining.<ref name=williams/><ref name=rippon>Rippon, Stephen (1997). ''The Severn Estuary: Landscape Evolution and Wetland Reclamation''. London: Leicester University. {{ISBN|0-7185-0069-5}}</ref> It is mirrored, across the [[Severn Estuary]], in Wales, by a similar low-lying area: the [[Caldicot and Wentloog Levels]].<ref name=rippon/>

In the far west of the county, running into Devon, is [[Exmoor]], a high Devonian sandstone [[moorland|moor]], which was designated as a [[national park]] in 1954, under the 1949 [[National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949|National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.everythingexmoor.org.uk/ |title=Exmoor National Park Authority |work=Everything Exmoor |access-date=13 November 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109162044/http://www.everythingexmoor.org.uk/ |archive-date= 9 November 2010 }}</ref> The highest point in Somerset is [[Dunkery Hill|Dunkery Beacon]] on Exmoor, with a maximum elevation of {{convert|519|m|ft|abbr=off}}.<ref>{{cite book |last= Bathurst |first= David |year= 2012 |title= Walking the county high points of England |location= Chichester |publisher= Summersdale |isbn= 978-1-84-953239-6 |pages= 174–181}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mountaindays.net/mountains/peak.php?defn=0&area=37&peak=2889 |title=Dunkery Beacon |publisher=Mountaindays |access-date=7 November 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719132618/http://www.mountaindays.net/mountains/peak.php?defn=0&area=37&peak=2889 |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}</ref> Over 100 sites in Somerset have been designated as [[List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset|Sites of Special Scientific Interest]].

===Coastline===
[[File:Brean Down from Steepholm - geograph.org.uk - 93827.jpg|thumb|alt=Green covered rocky land in expanse of sea. Hills behind.|[[Brean Down]] from Steep Holm]]
[[File:Boats in Watchet Marina (geograph 3733635).jpg|alt=small boats lined up in harbour. Crane in the background & metal walkway in the foreground.|thumb|The marina in [[Watchet]]]]

The {{convert|64|km|mi|abbr=on}} coastline of the [[Bristol Channel]] and Severn Estuary forms part of the northern border of Somerset.<ref name="dandsfire">{{cite web |title=About The Service |url=http://www.dsfire.gov.uk/DevonFire/AboutUs/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100623204445/http://www.dsfire.gov.uk/DevonFire/AboutUs/ |archive-date=23 June 2010 |access-date=20 October 2007 |publisher=Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue}}</ref>
The Bristol Channel has the second largest [[tidal range]] in the world. At [[Burnham-on-Sea]], for example, the tidal range of a spring tide is more than {{convert|12|m|ft|abbr=off}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/articles/2005/07/04/bristolchannel_feature.shtml |title=Coast: Bristol Channel |publisher=BBC |access-date=27 August 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060525130200/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/articles/2005/07/04/bristolchannel_feature.shtml |archive-date=25 May 2006 }}</ref>
Proposals for the construction of a [[Severn Barrage]] aim to harness this energy. The island of [[Steep Holm]] in the Bristol Channel is within the ceremonial county and is now administered by North Somerset Council.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm70/7032/7032_iv.pdf |page=7 |publisher=[[Boundary Commission for England]] |title=Fifth periodical report&nbsp;– Volume 4 Mapping for the Non-Metropolitan Counties and the Unitary Authorities |date=26 February 2007 |access-date=6 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003090741/http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm70/7032/7032_iv.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2013 }}</ref>

The main coastal towns are, from the west to the north-east, [[Minehead]], Watchet, Burnham-on-Sea, Weston-super-Mare, [[Clevedon]], and [[Portishead, Somerset|Portishead]]. The coastal area between Minehead and the eastern extreme of the administrative county's coastline at [[Brean Down]] is known as [[Bridgwater Bay]], and is a [[National nature reserves in England|National Nature Reserve]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/somersets-national-nature-reserves/somersets-national-nature-reserves#bridgwater-bay |title=Bridgwater Bay NNR |work=National Nature Reserves |publisher=Natural England |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526233526/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/somersets-national-nature-reserves/somersets-national-nature-reserves |archive-date=26 May 2015 }}</ref>
North of that, the coast forms [[Weston Bay]] and [[Sand Bay]] whose northern tip, [[Sand Point and Middle Hope|Sand Point]], marks the lower limit of the Severn Estuary.<ref name="osgb">{{cite map | publisher=Ordnance Survey | title=OS MasterMap}}</ref> In the mid and north of the county the coastline is low as the level wetlands of the levels meet the sea. In the west, the coastline is high and dramatic where the [[plateau]] of Exmoor meets the sea, with high cliffs and waterfalls.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.exmoorencyclopedia.org.uk/contents-list/35-c/252-coastline-close-to-exmoor-national-park.html | title=Cliff close to Exmoor National Park | publisher=Everything Exmoor | access-date=10 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407105123/http://www.exmoorencyclopedia.org.uk/contents-list/35-c/252-coastline-close-to-exmoor-national-park.html|archive-date=7 April 2012}}</ref>

===Climate===
Along with the rest of [[South West England]], Somerset has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country.<ref name="weather">{{cite web|title=South West England: climate |publisher=Met Office |url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/regional-climates/sw |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060225164404/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/location/southwestengland/index.html |archive-date=25 February 2006 }}</ref> The annual mean temperature is approximately {{convert|10|°C|°F|1}}. [[Temperate climate|Seasonal temperature variation]] is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately {{convert|21|°C|°F|1}}. In winter mean minimum temperatures of {{convert|1|°C|°F|1}} or {{convert|2|°C|°F|1}} are common.<ref name="weather"/> In the summer the [[Azores]] high pressure affects the south-west of England, but [[Convection|convective]] cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600&nbsp;hours.<ref name="weather"/>

In December 1998, there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by [[Low-pressure area|Atlantic depressions]] or by convection. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which are when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by the sun heating the ground, leading to convection and showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around {{convert|700|mm|abbr=on}}. About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.<ref name="weather"/>

{{Weather box
|location = [[Yeovilton]], England (1981–2010) data
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan high C = 8.1
|Feb high C = 8.3
|Mar high C = 10.6
|Apr high C = 12.9
|May high C = 16.5
|Jun high C = 19.3
|Jul high C = 21.7
|Aug high C = 21.5
|Sep high C = 18.6
|Oct high C = 14.8
|Nov high C = 11.1
|Dec high C = 9.0
|year high C = 14.4
|Jan mean C = 4.8
|Feb mean C = 4.8
|Mar mean C = 6.7
|Apr mean C = 8.3
|May mean C = 11.7
|Jun mean C = 14.5
|Jul mean C = 16.8
|Aug mean C = 16.6
|Sep mean C = 14.1
|Oct mean C = 10.9
|Nov mean C = 7.4
|Dec mean C = 5.7
|year mean C = 10.2
|Jan low C = 1.4
|Feb low C = 1.3
|Mar low C = 2.7
|Apr low C = 3.7
|May low C = 6.8
|Jun low C = 9.7
|Jul low C = 11.9
|Aug low C = 11.7
|Sep low C = 9.6
|Oct low C = 6.9
|Nov low C = 3.6
|Dec low C = 2.4
|year low C = 6.0
|Jan precipitation mm = 72.0
|Feb precipitation mm = 55.6
|Mar precipitation mm = 56.5
|Apr precipitation mm = 47.3
|May precipitation mm = 48.9
|Jun precipitation mm = 57.2
|Jul precipitation mm = 48.9
|Aug precipitation mm = 56.6
|Sep precipitation mm = 64.5
|Oct precipitation mm = 67.9
|Nov precipitation mm = 65.8
|Dec precipitation mm = 83.3
|year precipitation mm = 724.5
|Jan rain days = 12.5
|Feb rain days = 10.2
|Mar rain days = 10.9
|Apr rain days = 9.2
|May rain days = 8.8
|Jun rain days = 8.5
|Jul rain days = 6.9
|Aug rain days = 8.6
|Sep rain days = 10.1
|Oct rain days = 11.3
|Nov rain days = 11.6
|Dec rain days = 12.6
|year rain days = 121.2
|Jan sun = 50.2
|Feb sun = 68.9
|Mar sun = 107.6
|Apr sun = 155.4
|May sun = 193.1
|Jun sun = 186.0
|Jul sun = 205.8
|Aug sun = 197.8
|Sep sun = 139.8
|Oct sun = 101.1
|Nov sun = 70.2
|Dec sun = 46.8
|year sun = 1522.7
|source 1 = Met Office<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcn45vme7 |title=Yeovilton 1981–2010 averages |publisher=Met Office |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526214259/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcn45vme7 |archive-date=26 May 2015 }}</ref>
|date=August 2010
}}

==Demography==
{{see also|List of settlements in Somerset by population}}

===Ethnicity=== 
For the overwhelming majority of Somerset’s history, the population of the ceremonial county was ethnically homogeneous, with the population being of White British ethnicity. In the 2021 census, the ceremonial county of Somerset had a usual resident population of 981,685. The ceremonial county of Somerset is divided between three unitary authorities: Somerset Council, which, in the 2021 census, had a usual resident population of 571,547, and North Somerset Council, which, in the 2021 census, had a usual resident population of 216,729, and Bath and North East Somerset Council, which, in the 2021 census, had a usual resident population of 193,409. In the 2021 census, the ethnic composition of the ceremonial county of Somerset comprised: 95.4% White; 1.9% Asian; 0.6% Black; 1.6% Mixed; and 0.5% Other.
* White (95.4%): English; Welsh; Scottish; Northern Irish or British (87.4%); Irish (0.5%); Gypsy or Irish Traveller (0.1%); Roma (0.1%); and Other White (4.6%).
* Asian (1.9%): Indian (0.6%); Pakistani (0.1%); Bangladeshi (0.1%); Chinese (0.4%); and Other Asian (0.6%).
* Black (0.6%): African (0.3%); Caribbean (0.1%); and Other Black (0.1%).
* Mixed (1.6%): White and Asian (0.5%); White and Black African (0.2%); White and Black Caribbean (0.4%); and Other Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups (0.4%).
* Other (0.5%): Arab (0.1%) and Any other ethnic group (0.4%).
<small>'''Note:''' Sub-group totals may not sum exactly to the group total due to rounding. Data for the ceremonial county are aggregated from its constituent unitary authorities.</small> 

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right;"
|+ Ethnic groups in Somerset (ceremonial county)
|-
! rowspan="2" | Ethnic Group 
! rowspan="2" |2001 Census<ref>{{cite web |title=KS006 - Ethnic group |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/construct/summary.asp?mode=construct&version=0&dataset=1606 |website=Nomis| publisher=Office for National Statistics | access-date=27 October 2025}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" |2011 Census<ref>{{cite web |title=KS201EW - Ethnic group |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/construct/summary.asp?mode=construct&version=0&dataset=608 |website=Nomis| publisher=Office for National Statistics | access-date=27 October 2025}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" |2021 Census<ref>{{cite web |title=TS021 - Ethnic group |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/construct/summary.asp?mode=construct&version=0&dataset=2041 |website=Nomis| publisher=Office for National Statistics | access-date=27 October 2025}}</ref>
|-
| White || 98.5% || 97.2% || 95.4%
|-
| Asian || 0.6% || 1.3% || 1.9%
|-
| Black || 0.2% || 0.3% || 0.6%
|-
| Mixed || 0.6% || 1.0% || 1.6%
|-
| Other || 0.1% || 0.2% || 0.5%
|}

<small>'''Note:''' The 2001 census figures for 'Asian' and 'Other' have been adjusted to reflect the 2011 reclassification of the Chinese ethnic group from 'Other' to 'Asian' to allow comparison across census years.</small> 

===Religion===

{{Pie chart
| thumb = right
| caption = Religion in Somerset (ceremonial county) (2021 United Kingdom census)
| label1 = [[Christianity]]
| value1 = 47.8
| color1 = DodgerBlue
| label2 = [[Irreligion|No religion]]
| value2 = 43.6
| color2 = Beige
| label3 = [[Islam]]
| value3 = 0.6
| color3 = Green
| label4 = [[Buddhism]]
| value4 = 0.4
| color4 = Yellow
| label5 = [[Hinduism]]
| value5 = 0.2
| color5 = Orange
| label6 = [[Judaism]]
| value6 = 0.1
| color6 = Grey
| label7 = [[Sikhism]]
| value7 = 0.0
| color7 = OrangeRed
| label8 = Other religion
| value8 = 0.6
| color8 = DeepPink
| label9 = Not stated
| value9 = 6.6
| color9 = Black
}}

In the 2021 census, the religious composition of the ceremonial county of Somerset comprised: 47.8% Christianity; 43.6% No religion; 0.6% Islam; 0.4% Buddhism; 0.2% Hinduism; 0.1% Judaism; 0.0% Sikhism; 0.6% Other religion; and 6.6% Not stated.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right;"
|+ Religion in Somerset (ceremonial county)
|-
! rowspan="2" | Religion 
! rowspan="2" |2001 Census<ref>{{cite web |title=KS007 - Religion |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/construct/summary.asp?mode=construct&version=0&dataset=616 |website=Nomis| publisher=Office for National Statistics | access-date=27 October 2025}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" |2011 Census<ref>{{cite web |title=KS209EW - Religion |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/construct/summary.asp?mode=construct&version=0&dataset=1607 |website=Nomis| publisher=Office for National Statistics | access-date=27 October 2025}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" |2021 Census<ref>{{cite web |title=TS030 - Religion |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/construct/summary.asp?mode=construct&version=0&dataset=2049 |website=Nomis| publisher=Office for National Statistics | access-date=27 October 2025}}</ref>
|-
| Christianity || 75.2% || 61.9% || 47.8%
|-
| No religion || 16.1% || 28.6% || 43.6%
|-
| Islam || 0.2% || 0.4% || 0.6%
|-
| Buddhism || 0.2% || 0.3% || 0.4%
|-
| Hinduism || 0.1% || 0.2% || 0.2%
|-
| Judaism || 0.1% || 0.1% || 0.1%
|-
| Sikhism || 0.0% || 0.0% || 0.0%
|-
| Other religion || 0.4% || 0.6% || 0.6%
|-
| Not stated || 7.6% || 8.0% || 6.6%
|}


===Population===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Population of Somerset since 1801
|-
!Year
|'''1801'''
|'''1851'''
|'''1901'''
|'''1911'''
|'''1921'''
|'''1931'''
|'''1941'''
|'''1951'''
|'''1961'''
|'''1971'''
|'''1981'''
|'''1991'''
|'''2001'''
|'''2011'''
|'''2021'''
|-
!Somerset CC area<ref>{{cite web |title=Somerset: Total Population |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=17483&st=Somerset |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106015144/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=17483&st=Somerset |archive-date=6 January 2012 |access-date=12 December 2007 |work=A Vision of Britain Through Time |publisher=Great Britain Historical GIS Project}}</ref>
|187,266
|276,684
|277,563
|280,215
|282,411
|284,740
|305,244
|327,505
|355,292
|385,698
|417,450
|468,395
|498,093
|529,972
|571,600<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=2021 Census Somerset Data |url=http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/census2021/ |website= Somerset Intelligence |publisher= [[Somerset Council]] |access-date=29 October 2022}}</ref>
|-
!BANES<ref>{{cite web |title=Bath and North East Somerset: Total Population |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=1008&st=Bath%20and%20North%20East%20Somerset |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106015428/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=1008&st=Bath%20and%20North%20East%20Somerset |archive-date=6 January 2012 |access-date=13 December 2007 |work=A Vision of Britain Through Time |publisher=Great Britain Historical GIS Project}}</ref>
|57,188
|96,992
|107,637
|113,732
|113,351
|112,972
|123,185
|134,346
|144,950
|156,421
|154,083
|164,737
|169,045
|176,015
|193,400<ref name="BANESppln-ONS">{{cite web |title=How the population changed in Bath and North East Somerset, Census 2021 - ONS |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censuspopulationchange/E06000022/ |website=www.ons.gov.uk |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=29 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
!North Somerset
|16,670
|33,774
|60,066
|68,410
|75,276
|82,833
|91,967
|102,119
|119,509
|139,924
|160,353
|179,865
|188,556
|202,566
|216,700<ref name="NSppln-ONS">{{cite web |title=How the population changed in North Somerset, Census 2021 - ONS |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censuspopulationchange/E06000024/ |website=www.ons.gov.uk |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=29 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
!Total
|'''261,124'''
|'''407,450'''
|'''445,266'''
|'''462,357'''
|'''471,038'''
|'''479,758'''
|'''520,396'''
|'''563,970'''
|'''619,751'''
|'''682,043'''
|'''731,886'''
|'''812,997'''
|'''855,694'''
|'''908,553'''
|'''981,700'''
|}

==Governance==
[[File:Somerset numbered districts 2019.svg|thumb|right|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).]]
The [[Ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial county]] of Somerset is currently governed by three [[unitary authority|unitary authorities]]: [[Bath and North East Somerset Council]] (B&NES), [[North Somerset Council]], and [[Somerset Council]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Somerset Records Office |url=http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/AboutSRO.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000843/http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/AboutSRO.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=24 September 2016 |website=The History of the Somerset Archives Service |publisher=Somerset Archives Service}}</ref> 
B&NES is also part of the [[West of England Combined Authority]].

Modern local government in Somerset began in 1889, when an [[Administrative counties of England|administrative county]] was created and [[Somerset County Council]] was established; Bath was administered separately as a [[county borough]]. 

In 1974, the county and council were abolished and replaced by two two-tier [[Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England|non-metropolitan counties]], Somerset and [[Avon (county)|Avon]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Local Government Act 1972 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/70/pdfs/ukpga_19720070_en.pdf |access-date=29 June 2023 |website=legislation.gov.uk }}</ref> Somerset was governed by a reconstituted county council and five [[Districts of England|districts]]: [[Mendip District|Mendip]], [[Sedgemoor]], [[South Somerset]], [[Taunton Deane]] and [[West Somerset]]. Taunton Deane was granted borough status that same year. Avon consisted of six districts, of which three were created from areas formerly part of Somerset: [[Woodspring]], [[Wansdyke (district)|Wansdyke]], and [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The English Non-Metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972, part 1; part 33 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1972/2039/made |access-date=29 June 2023 |website=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref>

In 1996, Avon was abolished and its districts were renamed and reorganised into [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authorities]]. Woodspring was renamed 'North Somerset', and Wansdyke and Bath were abolished, and a new district covering the same area was created, named 'Bath and North East Somerset'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995, part II |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/493/part/II/made |access-date=29 June 2023 |website=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref> In 1997 the two districts and non-metropolitan county became part of the new ceremonial county of Somerset.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lieutenancies Act 1997, schedule 1 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/23/schedule/1 |access-date=29 June 2023 |website=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref> On 1 September 2019 the non-metropolitan districts of West Somerset and Taunton Deane merged, with the new district being called [[Somerset West and Taunton]].<ref name="bbc29may18">{{cite news |date=29 May 2018 |title=Somerset councils merger approved by government |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-44289087 |url-status=live |access-date=30 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602205235/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-44289087 |archive-date=2 June 2018}}</ref>

In 2023, the non-metropolitan county was reorganised by abolishing the four districts and their councils and reconstituting Somerset County Council as a unitary authority for the non-metropolitan county, with the powers of both a district and county council, renamed [[Somerset Council]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Somerset (Structural Changes) Order 2022, part 2 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/329/part/2/made |access-date=29 June 2023 |website=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref> The two existing unitary authorities were not altered.<ref>{{cite web |title=Next steps for new unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/next-steps-for-new-unitary-councils-in-cumbria-north-yorkshire-and-somerset |access-date=1 January 2022 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> A previous attempt to reorganise the county as a unitary authority 2007 was rejected following local opposition.<ref>{{cite news |date=25 July 2007 |title=Unitary authority plan rejected |publisher=BBC |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/6915789.stm |url-status=live |access-date=25 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528144144/https://secure-uk.imrworldwide.com/cgi-bin/m?rnd=1622212904529&ci=bbc&cg=0&sr=1600x1000&ts=v51.js&cd=24&lg=en-US&je=n&ck=y&tz=0&ct=&hp=&tl=BBC%20NEWS%20%7C%20UK%20%7C%20England%20%7C%20Somerset%20%7C%20Unitary%20authority%20plan%20rejected&si=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F2%2Fhi%2Fuk_news%2Fengland%2Fsomerset%2F6915789.stm&rp= |archive-date=28 May 2021}}</ref>

Somerset's local government records date to 1617, longer than those of any other county; a meeting of the Quarter Sessions held at Wells in that year decided that a room should be provided "for the safe keeping of the records of the Sessions".{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

===UK Parliament===
{{As of|2024}}, following the [[2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies]], the ceremonial county of Somerset is divided into 11 [[Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom|parliamentary constituencies]], each returning one Member of Parliament (MP) to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]. 

{{legend2|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}|[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]|border=1px solid #aaaaaa}}
{{legend2|{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}|[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]|border=1px solid #aaaaaa}}
{{legend2|{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}|[[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]]|border=1px solid #aaaaaa}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!rowspan=1|Constituency
!colspan=2 class=unsortable|[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]
|-
|[[Bath (UK Parliament constituency)|Bath]]
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}" |&nbsp;
|[[Wera Hobhouse]]
|-
|[[Bridgwater (UK Parliament constituency)|Bridgwater]]
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" |&nbsp;
|[[Ashley Fox]]
|-
|[[Frome and East Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)|Frome and East Somerset]]
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}" |&nbsp;
|[[Anna Sabine]]
|-
|[[Glastonbury and Somerton (UK Parliament constituency)|Glastonbury and Somerton]]
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}" |&nbsp;
|[[Sarah Dyke]]
|-
|[[North East Somerset and Hanham (UK Parliament constituency)|North East Somerset and Hanham]] (partly in Gloucestershire)
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" |&nbsp;
|[[Dan Norris]]
|-
|[[North Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)|North Somerset]]
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" |&nbsp;
|[[Sadik Al-Hassan]]
|-
|[[Taunton and Wellington (UK Parliament constituency)|Taunton and Wellington]]
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}" |&nbsp;
|[[Gideon Amos]]
|-
|[[Tiverton and Minehead (UK Parliament constituency)|Tiverton and Minehead]] (partly in Devon)
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}" |&nbsp;
|[[Rachel Gilmour]]
|-
|[[Wells and Mendip Hills (UK Parliament constituency)|Wells and Mendip Hills]]
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}" |&nbsp;
|[[Tessa Munt]]
|-
|[[Weston-super-Mare (UK Parliament constituency)|Weston-super-Mare]]
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}" |&nbsp;
|[[Dan Aldridge]]
|-
|[[Yeovil (UK Parliament constituency)|Yeovil]]
| style="color:inherit;background:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}" |&nbsp;
|[[Adam Dance]]
|}

=== European Parliament ===
From 1984 to 1994, Somerset was represented by [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Margaret Daly]] as part of the [[Somerset and Dorset West (European Parliament constituency)|Somerset and Dorset West]] constituency for elections to the [[European Parliament]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aei.pitt.edu/5180/1/5180.pdf, |title=European Elections 14-17 June 1984: Results and Elected Members |website=Archives of European Integration, via University of Pitsburg |access-date=20 May 2025}}</ref>

From 1994 to 1999, Somerset was represented by [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] [[Graham Watson]] as part of the [[Somerset and North Devon (European Parliament constituency)|Somerset and North Devon]] constituency for elections to the [[European Parliament]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archives.eui.eu/en/isaar/639, |title=Watson, Graham |website=Historical Archives of the European Union (European University Institute) |access-date=20 May 2025}}</ref>

From 1999 to 2020, Somerset was part of the [[South West England (European Parliament constituency)|South West England]] constituency for elections to the [[European Parliament]].<ref>{{cite web |title=UK MEPs for the South West |url=http://www.europarl.org.uk/en/your_meps/list-meps-by-region/south-west.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317073032/http://www.europarl.org.uk/en/your_meps/list-meps-by-region/south-west.html |archive-date=17 March 2015 |access-date=26 May 2015 |publisher=European Parliament UK Office}}</ref>

===Civil parishes===
{{Main|List of civil parishes in Somerset}}

Almost all of the county is covered by the lowest/most local form of English local government, the [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]], with either a [[Parish councils in England|town or parish council]] (a city council in the instance of Wells) or a [[parish meeting]]; some parishes group together, with a single council or meeting for the group. The city of Bath (the area of the former county borough) and much of the town of Taunton are [[unparished area]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bath and North East Somerset Registration District |url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/bath%20and%20north%20east%20somerset.html |access-date=9 February 2022 |publisher=UK Births, Marriages, Deaths and Censuses on the Internet}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Mumby |first1=Daniel |date=1 April 2021 |title=Taunton could finally get a town council by 2023 |work=Somerset Live |url=https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/taunton-could-finally-town-council-5253118 |access-date=9 February 2022}}</ref>

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Somerset}}

[[File:somerset.dunster.arp.750pix.jpg|thumb|alt=A small single-story building with a pyramid shaped roof, to the side of a road lined with buildings. Some private small cars visible. Trees in the distance with the skyline of [[Dunster Castle]].|right|The [[Yarn Market, Dunster|Dunster Yarn Market]] was built in 1609 for the trading of local cloth.]]

Somerset has few industrial centres, but it does have a variety of light industry and high technology businesses, along with traditional agriculture and an increasingly important tourism sector, resulting in an unemployment rate of 2.5%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=3&b=3567644&c=Somerset&d=180&e=15&g=482799&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1197641980457&enc=1 |title=Somerset Key Figures for 2001 Census: Key Statistics |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=14 December 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212200612/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=3&b=3567644&c=Somerset&d=180&e=15&g=482799&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1197641980457&enc=1 |archive-date=12 February 2009 }}</ref> Tourism was estimated in 2013 to support around 26,000 people.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tourism in Somerset A Destination Management Plan 2015 - 2020 |url=https://somersetcc.sharepoint.com/sites/SCCPublic/Business%20%20and%20Economy/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2FSCCPublic%2FBusiness%20%20and%20Economy%2FDMP%2DVisit%2DSomerset%2D5%2DYear%2DDelivery%2DPlan%2Epdf&parent=%2Fsites%2FSCCPublic%2FBusiness%20%20and%20Economy&p=true&originalPath=aHR0cHM6Ly9zb21lcnNldGNjLnNoYXJlcG9pbnQuY29tLzpiOi9zL1NDQ1B1YmxpYy9FYlM4ZEZhZ2I3MUJucEVYalI5bXdNVUJZcnBpcHd4N1VjSWtuR1d6YUR6Q0NBP3J0aW1lPVI2WGE4cTBGMlVn |publisher=Visit Somerset |access-date=13 April 2021}}</ref>

Bridgwater was developed during the Industrial Revolution as the area's leading port. The River Parrett was navigable by large ships as far as Bridgwater. Cargoes were then loaded onto smaller boats at Langport Quay, next to the Bridgwater Bridge, to be carried further upriver to Langport;<ref name="lawrence">Lawrence, J.F. (2005). ''A History of Bridgwater''. (revised and compiled by J. C. Lawrence) Chichester: Phillimore & Co. {{ISBN|1-86077-363-X}}.</ref> or they could turn off at [[Burrowbridge]] and then travel via the River Tone to Taunton.<ref name="hadfield" /> The Parrett is now only navigable as far as [[Dunball]] Wharf. Bridgwater, in the 19th and 20th centuries, was a centre for the manufacture of bricks and clay roof tiles, and later [[cellophane]], but those industries have now stopped.<ref name="lawrence" />

With its good links to the motorway system, Bridgwater has developed as a distribution hub for companies such as [[Argos (retailer)|Argos]], [[Toolstation]], [[Morrisons]] and [[Gerber Products Company|Gerber Juice]]. [[Leonardo Helicopters]], formerly [[AgustaWestland]], manufactures helicopters in [[Yeovil]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.agustawestland.com/-/horseless-carriage-to-helicopter |title=History |publisher=AgustaWestland |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526213942/http://www.agustawestland.com/-/horseless-carriage-to-helicopter |archive-date=26 May 2015 }}</ref>{{cn|date=December 2024}} and Normalair Garratt, builder of aircraft oxygen systems, is also based in the town.<ref>{{cite book |title=Celebrating fifty years of Normalair&nbsp;— A brief history |last=Bednall |first=M.P }}</ref>

Somerset is an important supplier of defence equipment and technology. A [[Royal Ordnance Factory]], [[ROF Bridgwater]] was built at the start of the Second World War, between the villages of [[Puriton]] and [[Woolavington]],<ref name="cocroft">{{cite book |title=Dangerous Energy: The archaeology of gunpowder and military explosives manufacture |last=Cocroft |first=Wayne D. |year=2000 |publisher=English Heritage |location=Swindon |isbn=1-85074-718-0 }}</ref> to manufacture explosives. The site was decommissioned and closed in July 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk/news/2159743.sad_day_as_firm_sheds_workforce/ |publisher=Bridgwater Mercury |date=31 March 2008 |title=Sad day as firm sheds workforce |last=Colledge |first=Matthew |access-date=15 April 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211214058/http://www.bridgwatermercury.co.uk/news/2159743.sad_day_as_firm_sheds_workforce/ |archive-date=11 February 2009 }}</ref> [[Templecombe]] has [[Thales Underwater Systems]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://1stdirectory.co.uk/companies/thales-underwater-systems-ltd.htm |title=Thales Underwater Systems Ltd |publisher=1st Directory |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630225011/https://1stdirectory.co.uk/companies/thales-underwater-systems-ltd.htm |archive-date=30 June 2015 }}</ref> and Taunton presently has the [[United Kingdom Hydrographic Office]] and [[Avimo]], which became part of Thales Optics. It was announced twice, in 2006 and 2007, that manufacturing is to end at Thales Optics' Taunton site,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk/news/somerset_news/1449380.Thales_sells_part_of_business_to_Americans/ |title=Thales sells part of business to Americans |work=This is the West Country |date=6 June 2007 |access-date=10 July 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105154535/http://www.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk/news/somerset_news/1449380.Thales_sells_part_of_business_to_Americans/ |archive-date= 5 January 2012 }}</ref> but the trade unions and [[Taunton Deane|Taunton Deane District Council]] are working to reverse or mitigate these decisions. Other high-technology companies include the optics company Gooch and Housego at Ilminster. There are [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] offices in Bath, and [[Norton Fitzwarren]] is the home of [[3 Commando Brigade|40 Commando Royal Marines]]. The [[RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron)|Royal Naval Air Station in Yeovilton]], is one of Britain's two active [[Fleet Air Arm]] bases and is home to the Royal Navy's [[AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat]] helicopters and the Royal Marines Commando [[AgustaWestland AW101]] Merlins.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/bases-and-stations/air-stations/rnas-yeovilton/ |title=RNAS Yeovilton |work=Royal Navy |access-date=6 May 2021 |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506205711/https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/bases-and-stations/air-stations/rnas-yeovilton/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Cider apple orchards at Over Stratton - geograph.org.uk - 10970.jpg|thumb|A traditional cider apple orchard at [[Over Stratton]], with sheep grazing]]
Agriculture and food and drink production continue to be major industries in the county, employing over 15,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=3567644&c=Somerset&d=180&e=15&g=482799&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1197641980457&enc=1&dsFamilyId=27 |title=Somerset Industry of Employment&nbsp;— All People (KS11A) |work=2001 Census Key statistics: Office for National Statistics |access-date=14 December 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213072408/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=3567644&c=Somerset&d=180&e=15&g=482799&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1197641980457&enc=1&dsFamilyId=27 |archive-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> Apple orchards were once plentiful, and Somerset is still a major producer of [[cider]]. The towns of Taunton and [[Shepton Mallet]] are involved with the production of cider, especially [[Blackthorn Cider]], which is sold nationwide, and there are specialist producers such as [[Burrow Hill Cider Farm]] and [[Thatchers Cider]]. [[Gerber Products Company]] in Bridgwater is the largest producer of fruit juices in Europe, producing brands such as [[SunnyD|Sunny Delight]] and Ocean Spray. Development of the milk-based industries, such as [[Ilchester Cheese Company]] and [[Yeo Valley Organic]], have resulted in the production of ranges of desserts, [[Yogurt|yoghurts]] and cheeses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.burrows.co.uk/somerset/09WorM.htm |title=Mini profiles of the key industrial sectors in Somerset |work=Celebrating Somerset |access-date=26 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915132227/http://www.burrows.co.uk/somerset/09WorM.htm |archive-date=15 September 2008 }}</ref>

Traditional [[willow]] growing and weaving (such as [[basket weaving]]) is not as extensive as it used to be but is still carried out on the Somerset Levels and is commemorated at the [[Willows and Wetlands Visitor Centre]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.englishwillowbaskets.co.uk/visitor-centre |title=English Willow Baskets |access-date=7 June 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809213826/http://englishwillowbaskets.co.uk/visitor-centre |archive-date= 9 August 2013 }}</ref> Fragments of willow basket were found near the [[Glastonbury Lake Village]], and it was also used in the construction of several Iron Age causeways.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/opencountry_20041120.shtml |title=Somerset Levels |work=BBC Radio 4&nbsp;– Open Country |access-date=10 June 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060825202414/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/opencountry_20041120.shtml |archive-date=25 August 2006 }}</ref> The willow was harvested using a traditional method of [[pollarding]], where a tree would be cut back to the main stem. During the 1930s, more than {{convert|3600|ha|acre|abbr=off}} of willow were being grown commercially on the Levels. Largely due to the displacement of baskets with plastic bags and cardboard boxes, the industry has severely declined since the 1950s. By the end of the 20th century, only about {{convert|140|ha|acre|abbr=off}} were grown commercially, near the villages of Burrowbridge, Westonzoyland, and [[North Curry]].<ref name="robinwilliams" />

Towns such as [[Castle Cary]] and [[Frome]] grew around the medieval [[weaving]] industry. [[Street, Somerset|Street]] developed as a centre for the production of woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes, with [[C&J Clark]] establishing its headquarters in the village. C&J Clark's shoes are no longer manufactured there as the work was transferred to lower-wage areas, such as China and Asia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/content/articles/2005/01/10/clarks_feature.shtml |title=Clarks ends shoemaking in Somerset |work=BBC Somerset |access-date=29 October 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202224712/http://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/content/articles/2005/01/10/clarks_feature.shtml |archive-date= 2 December 2007 }}</ref>

[[File:Whatleyquarry.jpg|thumb|alt=Large expanse of exposed grey rock. Fence in the foreground.|right|Stone quarries are still a major employer in Somerset]]
The county has a long tradition of supplying [[Freestone (masonry)|freestone]] and [[:Category:Building stone|building stone]]. Quarries at [[Doulting]] supplied freestone used in the construction of [[Wells Cathedral]]. [[Bath stone]] is also widely used. [[Ralph Allen]] promoted its use in the early 18th century, as did [[Hans Price]] in the 19th century, but it was used long before then. It was mined underground at [[Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines]], and as a result of cutting the [[Box Tunnel]], at locations in Wiltshire such as [[Box, Wiltshire|Box]].<ref name="hudson">Hudson (1971). ''The Fashionable Stone''. Bath: Adams & Dart. {{ISBN|0-239-00066-8}}</ref><ref name="bezzant">Bezzant, Norman (1980). ''Out of the Rock..''. London: William Heinemann Ltd. {{ISBN|0-434-06900-0}}</ref><ref name="perkins">Perkins, J.W., Brooks, A.T. and McR. Pearce, A.E. (1979). ''Bath Stone: a quarry history''. Cardiff: Department of Extra-mural Studies, University College Cardiff. {{ISBN|0-906230-26-8}}</ref> Bath stone is still used on a reduced scale today, but more often as a [[Cladding (construction)|cladding]] rather than a structural material.<ref name="hudson" /> Further south, [[Hamstone]] is the colloquial name given to stone from Ham Hill, which is also widely used in the construction industry. [[Blue Lias]] has been used locally as a building stone and as a raw material for [[lime mortar]] and [[Portland cement]]. Until the 1960s, Puriton had Blue Lias stone quarries, as did several other Polden villages. Its quarries also supplied a cement factory at Dunball, adjacent to the [[King's Sedgemoor Drain]]. Its derelict, early 20th-century remains were removed when the [[M5 motorway]] was constructed in the mid-1970s.<ref name="image">(n/a)(1998).''Images of England: Bridgwater (Compiled from the collections at Admiral Blake Museum)''. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. {{ISBN|0-7524-1049-0}}</ref> Since the 1920s, the county has supplied [[Construction aggregate|aggregates]]. [[Foster Yeoman]] is Europe's largest supplier of limestone aggregates, with quarries at [[Torr Works|Merehead Quarry]]. It has a dedicated railway operation, [[Mendip Rail]], which is used to transport aggregates by rail from a group of [[Quarries of the Mendip Hills|Mendip quarries]].<ref name="shannon">Shannon, Paul (2007). "Mendip Stone", In: ''[[The Railway Magazine]]'', Vol. '''153''', No. 1,277, pp 22–26. (September 2007). {{ISSN|0033-8923}}.</ref>

In November 2008, a public sector inward investment organisation was launched, called [[Into Somerset]],<ref>[http://www.intosomerset.co.uk/ Somerset&nbsp;– Where you and your business can grow] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302042003/http://intosomerset.co.uk/ |date= 2 March 2009 }}&nbsp;– Into Somerset official website</ref> with the intention of growing the county's economy by promoting it to businesses that may wish to relocate from other parts of the UK (especially London) and the world. This is now part of the Heart of the South West Growth Hub.<ref>{{cite web |title=Heart of the South West Growth Hub |url=https://www.heartofswgrowthhub.co.uk/ |publisher=Heart of the South West Growth Hub |access-date=13 April 2021 |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413112009/https://www.heartofswgrowthhub.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Nuclear electricity===
[[Hinkley Point C nuclear power station]] is a project to construct a 3,200 MW two-reactor [[nuclear power]] station.<ref name="ITV.com report; 21 October 2013">{{cite web|title=Government closes 'historic' deal to build first nuclear plant in a generation |date=21 October 2013 |url=http://www.itv.com/news/2013-10-21/government-closes-historic-deal-to-build-first-nuclear-plant-in-a-generation-hinkley-point/ |publisher=ITV.com |access-date=31 December 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231034344/http://www.itv.com/news/2013-10-21/government-closes-historic-deal-to-build-first-nuclear-plant-in-a-generation-hinkley-point/ |archive-date=31 December 2013 }}</ref> On 18 October 2010, the British government announced that [[Hinkley Point]]&nbsp;– already the site of the disused [[Hinkley Point A nuclear power station|Hinkley Point A]] and (operational at the time) [[Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station|Hinkley Point B]] power stations&nbsp;– was one of the eight sites it considered suitable for future nuclear power stations.<ref>{{cite news|title=Nuclear power: Eight sites identified for future plants |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11564152 |publisher=BBC News |date=18 October 2010 |access-date=18 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019043151/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11564152 |archive-date=19 October 2010 }}</ref> [[NNB Generation Company]], a subsidiary of [[Électricité de France|EDF]], submitted an application for development consent to the [[Infrastructure Planning Commission]] on 31 October 2011.<ref>{{cite web
 |title       = Hinkley Point C New Nuclear Power Station
 |work        = Infrastructure Planning Commission
 |url         = http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/projects/south-west/hinkley-point-c-new-nuclear-power-station/
 |access-date  = 14 September 2009
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100919025001/http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/projects/south-west/hinkley-point-c-new-nuclear-power-station/
 |archive-date = 19 September 2010
}}</ref> A protest group, Stop Hinkley, was formed to campaign for the closure of Hinkley Point B and oppose any expansion at the Hinkley Point site. In December 2013, the [[European Commission]] opened an investigation to assess whether the project breaks state-aid rules.<ref name="European Commission">{{cite web|author=European Commission |url=http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/cases/251157/251157_1507977_35_2.pdf |title=State aid SA. 34947 (2013/C) (ex 2013/N)&nbsp;– United Kingdom Investment Contract (early Contract for Difference) for the Hinkley Point C New Nuclear Power Station |publisher=European Commission |date=18 December 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305153044/http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/cases/251157/251157_1507977_35_2.pdf |archive-date= 5 March 2016 }}</ref><ref name="wnn-20131218">{{cite news|url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP_Brussels_begins_Hinkley_investigation_1812131.html |title=Brussels begins Hinkley investigation |publisher=World Nuclear News |date=18 December 2013 |access-date=21 December 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222184832/http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP_Brussels_begins_Hinkley_investigation_1812131.html |archive-date=22 December 2013 }}</ref> On 8 October 2014 it was announced that the European Commission has approved the project, with an overwhelming majority and only four commissioners voting against the decision.<ref name="October decision">{{cite news|author=Alex Barker and Pilita Clark |url=https://www.ft.com/content/372216e6-4ec0-11e4-b205-00144feab7de |title=Brussels backs Hinkley Point C as cost forecasts soar' |newspaper=Financial Times |date=8 October 2014 |url-access=registration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010235737/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/372216e6-4ec0-11e4-b205-00144feab7de.html |archive-date=10 October 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Construction is underway and is projected to be completed in 2025.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Watt |first1=Holly |title=Hinkley Point: the 'dreadful deal' behind the world's most expensive power plant |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/21/hinkley-point-c-dreadful-deal-behind-worlds-most-expensive-power-plant |work=Guardian |date=21 December 2017 |access-date=13 April 2021 |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413112007/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/21/hinkley-point-c-dreadful-deal-behind-worlds-most-expensive-power-plant |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Emergency services==
All of the ceremonial county of Somerset is covered by the [[Avon and Somerset Police]], a police force which also covers Bristol and South Gloucestershire.<ref>{{cite web |title=Avon and Somerset Police |url=https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/ |publisher=Avon and Somerset Police |access-date=9 February 2022}}</ref> The police force is governed by the elected [[Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner]]. The [[Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service]] covers the area of the Somerset County Council as well as the entire ceremonial county of Devon.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.dsfire.gov.uk/about-us |publisher=Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service |access-date=9 February 2022}}</ref> The unitary districts of North Somerset and Bath & North East Somerset are instead covered by the [[Avon Fire and Rescue Service]], a service which also covers Bristol and South Gloucestershire. The [[South Western Ambulance Service]] covers the entire South West of England, including all of Somerset.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.swast.nhs.uk/welcome/about-us/welcome-to-south-western-ambulance-service-nhs-foundation-trust-swasft |publisher=South Western Ambulance Service |access-date=9 February 2022}}</ref> The [[Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance]] is a charitable organisation based in the county.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Charity |url=https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/3966415 |publisher=Charity Commission |access-date=9 February 2022}}</ref>

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Somerset}}

[[File:Cathedrale de wells front ouest.JPG|thumb|alt=Large ornate grey stone facade of a building. Symmetrical with towers on either side.|right|The west front of Wells Cathedral]]
In [[Matter of Britain|Arthurian legend]], [[Avalon]] became associated with [[Glastonbury Tor]] when monks at Glastonbury Abbey claimed to have discovered the bones of King Arthur and his queen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britainexpress.com/Myths/Glastonbury_King_Arthur.htm |title=King Arthur and Glastonbury |work=Britain Express |access-date=23 October 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123112749/http://www.britainexpress.com/Myths/Glastonbury_King_Arthur.htm |archive-date=23 November 2007 }}</ref> What is more certain is that Glastonbury was an important religious centre by 700 and claims to be "the oldest above-ground Christian church in the World"<ref name="glastabbey">{{cite web|url=http://www.glastonburyabbey.com/ |title=Glastonbury Abbey's official website |work=Glastonbury Abbey |access-date=23 October 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020035159/http://www.glastonburyabbey.com/ |archive-date=20 October 2007 }}</ref> situated "in the mystical land of Avalon". The claim is based on dating the founding of the community of monks at AD&nbsp;63, the year of the legendary visit of Joseph of Arimathea, who was supposed to have brought the Holy Grail.<ref name="glastabbey"/>

During the Middle Ages there were also important religious sites at [[Woodspring Priory]] and [[Muchelney Abbey]]. The present [[Diocese of Bath and Wells]] covers Somerset&nbsp;– with the exception of the Parish of [[Abbots Leigh]] with Leigh Woods in North Somerset&nbsp;– and a small area of Dorset. The [[cathedra|Episcopal seat]] of the [[Bishop of Bath and Wells]] is now in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in the city of Wells, having previously been at [[Bath Abbey]]. Before the [[English Reformation]], it was a Roman Catholic diocese; the county now falls within the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton]]. The [[Order of Saint Benedict|Benedictine]] monastery Saint Gregory's Abbey, commonly known as [[Downside Abbey]], is at [[Stratton-on-the-Fosse]], and the ruins of the former [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] [[Cleeve Abbey]] are near the village of [[Washford]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Somerset has traditions of art, music, and literature. [[William Wordsworth|Wordsworth]] and [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge|Coleridge]] wrote while staying in [[Coleridge Cottage]], [[Nether Stowey]].<ref name=webbio>{{cite web|url=http://www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/ww/bio.html |last=Everett |first=Glenn |title=William Wordsworth: Biography |work=The Victorian Web |access-date=7 January 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104222621/http://www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/ww/bio.html |archive-date= 4 January 2007 }}</ref> The novelist [[John Cowper Powys]] (1872–1963) lived in the Somerset village of [[Montacute]] from 1885 until 1894 and his novels ''Wood and Stone'' (1915) and ''[[A Glastonbury Romance]]'' (1932) are set in Somerset. The writer [[Evelyn Waugh]] spent his last years in the village of [[Combe Florey]].<ref>{{cite book | last= Waugh | first= Auberon | author-link= Auberon Waugh | title= Will this do? | page= 206 | publisher=Century |date=December 1991 | isbn= 0-7126-3733-8}}</ref>[[File:Tyntesfield 1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|alt=Yellow stone ornate facade of building with lower arched front to the left. In the foreground could be flowers in a formal garden.|Tyntesfield]]Traditional folk music, both song and dance, was important in the agricultural communities. Somerset songs were collected by [[Cecil Sharp]] and incorporated into works such as [[Gustav Holst|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]] specialising in [[Scrumpy and Western]] music.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/content/articles/2006/06/19/wurzels_big_summer_party_review_feature.shtml |title=Review: The Wurzels' Big Summer Party |work=BBC Somerset |access-date=21 October 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218174036/http://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/content/articles/2006/06/19/wurzels_big_summer_party_review_feature.shtml |archive-date=18 February 2009 }}</ref>

The [[Glastonbury Festival|Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts]] takes place most years in Pilton, near Shepton Mallet, attracting over 170,000 music and culture lovers from around the world to see world-famous entertainers.<ref>{{cite web|work=Contact Music |url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/extra-glastonbury-tickets-snapped-up_1028793 |title=Extra Glastonbury Tickets Snapped Up |date=22 April 2007 |access-date=22 October 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330220420/http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/extra-glastonbury-tickets-snapped-up_1028793 |archive-date=30 March 2010 }}</ref>
The [[Big Green Gathering]], which grew out of the Green fields at the Glastonbury Festival, is held in the Mendip Hills between [[Charterhouse, Somerset|Charterhouse]] and [[Compton Martin]] each summer.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Mark Adler |date=August 2006 |title=It's my party |journal=Mendip Times |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=14–15 |url=http://www.mendiptimes.co.uk/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416021759/http://www.mendiptimes.co.uk/ |archive-date=16 April 2007 }}</ref>
The annual [[Bath Literature Festival]] is one of several local festivals in the county; others include the [[Frome Festival]] and the [[Trowbridge Village Pump Festival]], which, despite its name, is held at [[Farleigh Hungerford]] in Somerset. The annual circuit of [[West Country Carnival]] is held in a variety of Somerset towns during the autumn, forming a major regional festival, and the largest Festival of Lights in Europe.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Evans |first1=Roger |first2=Peter |last2=Nichols |title=Somerset Carnivals: A Celebration of 400 Years |year= 2005|publisher=Halsgrove|location= Tiverton|isbn=978-1-84114-483-2}}</ref>

The county has several museums; those at Bath include the [[American Museum in Britain]], the [[Museum of Bath Architecture]], the [[Herschel Museum of Astronomy]], the [[Jane Austen Centre]], and the Roman Baths. Other visitor attractions which reflect the cultural heritage of the county include: [[Claverton Pumping Station]], [[Dunster Working Watermill]], the [[Fleet Air Arm Museum]] at Yeovilton, [[Nunney Castle]], [[The Helicopter Museum]] in Weston-super-Mare, [[King John's Hunting Lodge, Axbridge|King John's Hunting Lodge]] in [[Axbridge]], [[Blake Museum]] Bridgwater, Radstock Museum, [[Museum of Somerset]] in Taunton, the [[Somerset Rural Life Museum]] in Glastonbury, and [[Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum]].

Somerset has 11,500 [[listed building]]s, [[Scheduled monuments in Somerset|523 scheduled monuments]], 192 [[Protected area|conservation area]]s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.somerset-chamber.co.uk/index.php?opt=page&action=overview |title=Overview of Somerset |publisher=Somerset Chamber of Commerce and Industry |access-date=10 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322214242/http://www.somerset-chamber.co.uk/index.php?opt=page&action=overview|archive-date=22 March 2012 }}</ref> 41 parks and gardens including those at [[Barrington Court]], [[Holnicote Estate]], [[Prior Park Landscape Garden]] and [[Tintinhull Garden]], 36 [[English Heritage]] sites and 19 [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] sites,<ref name="rajan"/> including [[Clevedon Court]], [[Fyne Court]], [[Montacute House]] and [[Tyntesfield]] as well as [[Stembridge Mill, High Ham|Stembridge Tower Mill]], the last remaining thatched windmill in England.<ref name="rajan"/> Other historic houses in the county which have remained in private ownership or used for other purposes include [[Halswell House]] and [[Marston Bigot]]. A key contribution of Somerset architecture is its [[Somerset towers|medieval church towers]]. Jenkins writes, "These structures, with their buttresses, bell-opening tracery and crowns, rank with Nottinghamshire alabaster as England's finest contribution to medieval art."<ref>{{cite book |last= Jenkins|first=Simon|title= England's Thousand Best Churches|year= 2000|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn= 0-14-029795-2}}</ref>
[[File:Somerset Flag.svg|thumb|The flag designed to represent the historic county of Somerset in 2013]]
[[Bath Rugby]] play at the [[Recreation Ground (Bath)|Recreation Ground]] in Bath, and the [[Somerset County Cricket Club]] are based at the [[County Ground, Taunton|County Ground]] in Taunton. The county's highest-ranked football club is [[Yeovil Town F.C.|Yeovil Town]], currently playing in the [[National League (division)|National League]]. [[Thoroughbred horse racing|Horse racing]] courses are at [[Taunton Racecourse|Taunton]], [[Bath Racecourse|Bath]] and [[Wincanton Racecourse|Wincanton]].

The county is served by the regional ''[[Western Daily Press]]'' and local newspapers including the ''[[Weston & Somerset Mercury]]'', the ''[[Bath Chronicle]]'', ''[[Chew Valley Gazette]]'', ''[[Somerset County Gazette]],'' ''[[Clevedon Mercury]]'' ''[[Mendip Times]]'', and the ''West Somerset Free Press''. Television is provided by [[BBC West]] and [[ITV West Country]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/tv-broadcast-licences/current-licensees/channel-3/htv/ |title=Wales and West ITV |work=Ofcom |access-date=10 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119045155/http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/tv-broadcast-licences/current-licensees/channel-3/htv/ |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref> while southwestern parts of the county can receive [[BBC South West]]. Local radio stations are [[BBC Radio Somerset]], [[BBC Radio Bristol]] (in northern parts of the county), [[Heart West]], and [[Greatest Hits Radio South West]] in Yeovil.

A [[Flag of Somerset|flag representing the historic county of Somerset]] was registered with the [[Flag Institute]] following a competition in July 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/flags/Somerset/ |title=Somerset |publisher=Flag Institute |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130720090456/http://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/flags/Somerset/ |archive-date=20 July 2013 }}</ref>

==Transport==
{{Main|Transport in Somerset}}

[[File:Bristol airport overview.jpg|thumb|[[Bristol Airport]], which is located in North Somerset]]
Somerset has {{convert|6531|km|mi|abbr=on}} of roads. The main arterial routes, which include the M5 motorway, [[A303 road|A303]], [[A37 road|A37]], [[A38 road|A38]], [[A39 road|A39]], A358 and A361 give good access across the county, but many areas can only be accessed via narrow [[country lane]]s.<ref name="dandsfire"/>

Rail services are provided by the [[West of England Main Line]] through [[Yeovil Junction railway station|Yeovil Junction]], the [[Bristol to Exeter line]], [[Heart of Wessex line]] which runs from [[Bristol Temple Meads railway station|Bristol Temple Meads]] to [[Weymouth railway station|Weymouth]] and the [[Reading to Taunton line]]. The main train operator in Somerset is [[Great Western Railway (train operating company)|Great Western Railway]], with other services operated by [[South Western Railway (train operating company)|South Western Railway]] and [[CrossCountry]].

[[Bristol Airport]], located in North Somerset, provides national and international air services.

The [[Somerset Coal Canal]] was built in the early 19th century to reduce the cost of transportation of coal and other heavy produce.<ref name=hadfield/> The first {{convert|16|km|mi|0}}, running from a junction with the [[Kennet & Avon Canal]], along the [[Cam Brook#Cam Valley|Cam valley]], to a terminal basin at [[Paulton]], were in use by 1805, together with several tramways. A planned {{convert|11.7|km|mi|abbr=on}} branch to Midford was never built, but in 1815 a tramway was laid along its towing path. In 1871 the tramway was purchased by the [[Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway]] (S&DJR),<ref>{{cite web| title=Rivers and Canals | work=Somerset County Council: History of Somerset | url=http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Rivers.htm|access-date=29 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908072452/http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Rivers.htm|archive-date=8 September 2012}}</ref><ref name=athill>Athill, Robin (1967). ''The Somerset & Dorset Railway''. Newton Abbot, Devon: [[David & Charles]] {{ISBN|0-7153-4164-2}}.</ref> and operated until the 1950s.

The 19th century saw improvements to Somerset's roads with the introduction of [[Turnpike trusts|turnpikes]], and the building of canals and railways. Nineteenth-century canals included the [[Bridgwater & Taunton Canal]], [[Westport Canal]], [[Glastonbury Canal]] and [[Chard Canal]].<ref name="Dunning"/><ref name=hadfield/> The [[Dorset & Somerset Canal]] was proposed, but little of it was ever constructed and it was abandoned in 1803.<ref name=hadfield/>
[[File:Blue Anchor - 70021 (aka 70000) down South Wales Pullman.JPG|thumb|A steam locomotive and carriages, on the [[West Somerset Railway]], a heritage line of notable length, in spring 2015]]
The usefulness of the canals was short-lived, though some have now been restored for recreation. The 19th century also saw the construction of railways to and through Somerset. The county was served by five [[Railways Act 1921|pre-1923 Grouping]] railway companies: the [[Great Western Railway]] (GWR);<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=65| title=Railways Act 1921| author=HM Government| year=1921| work=The Railways Archive| publisher=(originally published by HMSO)| access-date=26 May 2015| archive-date=27 May 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527014919/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=65| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=thomas>[[David St John Thomas|St John Thomas, David]] (1960). ''A Regional history of the railways of Great Britain: Volume 1&nbsp;– The West Country''. London: Phoenix House.</ref> a branch of the [[Midland Railway]] (MR) to [[Bath Green Park railway station|Bath Green Park]] (and another one to Bristol);<ref name=smith>Smith, Martin (1992). ''The Railways of Bristol and Somerset''. Shepperton: [[Ian Allan Publishing]] {{ISBN|0-7110-2063-9}}.</ref> the S&DJR,<ref name=thomas/><ref name=awdry-237>[[Christopher Awdry|Awdry, Christopher]] (1990). ''Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies''. Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 237.</ref><ref name=casserley>Casserley, H.C. (1968). ''Britain's Joint Lines''. London: Ian Allan. {{ISBN|0-7110-0024-7}}.</ref> and the [[London & South Western Railway]] (L&SWR).<ref name=thomas/><ref name="williams1">Williams, R. A. (1968) ''The London & South Western Railway'', v. 1: The formative years, and v. 2: Growth and consolidation. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles, {{ISBN|0-7153-4188-X}}; {{ISBN|0-7153-5940-1}}</ref>

The former main lines of the GWR are still in use today, although many of its branch lines were scrapped as part of the [[Beeching cuts]]. The former lines of the S&DJR closed completely,<ref name=atthill>Atthill, Robin and [[Oswald Nock|Nock, O. S.]] (1967). ''The Somerset & Dorset Railway''. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. {{ISBN|0-7153-4164-2}}.</ref> as has the branch of the Midland Railway to Bath Green Park (and to [[Bristol St Philip's railway station|Bristol St Philips]]). The L&SWR survived as a part of the present West of England Main Line. None of these lines, in Somerset, are [[Railway electrification in Great Britain|electrified]]. Two branch lines, the West and [[East Somerset Railway]], were rescued and transferred back to private ownership as "heritage" lines. The fifth railway was a short-lived light railway, the [[Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Light Railway]]. The [[West Somerset Mineral Railway]] carried the iron ore from the Brendon Hills to Watchet.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Until the 1960s the piers at Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon, Portishead and Minehead were served by the [[paddle steamer]]s of [[P & A Campbell]] who ran regular services to [[Barry, Vale of Glamorgan|Barry]] and [[Cardiff]] as well as [[Ilfracombe]] and [[Lundy|Lundy Island]]. The original stone pier at Burnham-on-Sea was used for commercial goods; one of the reasons for the S&DJR was to provide a link between the Bristol Channel and the [[English Channel]]. The newer concrete pier at Burnham-on-Sea is claimed to be the shortest pier in Britain.<ref name=handley>Handley, Chris (2001). ''Maritime Activities of the Somerset & Dorset Railway''. Cleckheaton: Millstream Books. {{ISBN|0-948975-63-6}}.</ref> In the 1970s the [[Royal Portbury Dock]] was constructed to provide extra capacity for the [[Port of Bristol]].

For long-distance holiday traffic travelling through the county to and from Devon and Cornwall, Somerset is often regarded as a marker on the journey. North–south traffic moves through the county via the M5 motorway.<ref name=charlesworth>Charlesworth, George (1984). ''A History of British Motorways''. London: Thomas Telford Limited. {{ISBN|0-7277-0159-2}}.</ref> Traffic to and from the east travels either via the A303 road, or the M4 motorway, which runs east–west, crossing the M5 motorway just beyond the northern limits of the county.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

==Education==
{{See also|List of schools in Somerset}}
[[State school]]s in Somerset are provided by three [[local education authority|local education authorities]]: Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, and the larger Somerset County Council. All state schools are comprehensive. In some areas, primary, [[Infant school|infant]] and [[Junior school|junior]] schools cater for ages four to eleven, after which the pupils move on to secondary schools. There is a [[three-tier education|three-tier system]] of [[First school|first]], [[Middle school|middle]] and [[Upper school|upper]] schools in the Cheddar Valley,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hughsexey.somerset.sch.uk/downloads/extended_schools/Cheddar_Valley_Cluster_Map_Directory.pdf |title=Cheddar Valley cluster map directory |publisher=Sexeys School |access-date=21 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007033238/http://www.hughsexey.somerset.sch.uk/downloads/extended_schools/Cheddar_Valley_Cluster_Map_Directory.pdf |archive-date=7 October 2011 }}</ref> and in West Somerset, while most other schools in the county use the two-tier system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burrows.co.uk/somerset/13Lea.htm |title=Learning in Somerset |publisher=Celebrating Somerset |access-date=26 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211114359/http://www.burrows.co.uk/somerset/13Lea.htm |archive-date=11 February 2009 }}</ref> Somerset has 30 state and 17 independent secondary schools;<ref name="somschools">{{cite web |url=http://www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/learning/ |title=Education and Learning |publisher=Somerset County Council |access-date=18 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829151649/http://www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/learning|archive-date=29 August 2009 }}</ref> Bath and North East Somerset has 13 state and 5 independent secondary schools;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/educationandlearning/Schoolsandcolleges/schoolcontactdetails/ |title=Primary, Secondary and Specialist Schools |publisher=Bath and North East Somerset Council |access-date=18 December 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071211102920/http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/educationandlearning/Schoolsandcolleges/schoolcontactdetails/| archive-date = 11 December 2007}}</ref> and North Somerset has 10 state and 2 independent secondary schools, excluding [[sixth form college]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Education/Schools/Pages/Schools.aspx |title=Schools |publisher=North Somerset Council |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526233838/http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Education/Schools/Pages/Schools.aspx |archive-date=26 May 2015 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="margin-left: 1em; width: 30em;"
!colspan="2"|'''% of pupils gaining 5 grades A-C including English and Maths in 2006''' (average for England is 45.8%)
|-
!Education Authority || %
|-
|Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary Authority) ||52.0%
|-
|West Somerset ||51.0%
|-
|Taunton Deane ||49.5%
|-
|Mendip ||47.7%
|-
|North Somerset (Unitary Authority) ||47.4%
|-
|South Somerset ||42.3%
|-
|Sedgemoor ||41.4%
|}

Some of the county's secondary schools have [[Specialist schools programme|specialist school]] status. Some schools have sixth forms, and others transfer their sixth formers to colleges. Several schools can trace their origins back many years, such as [[The Blue School, Wells|The Blue School]] in Wells and [[Richard Huish College, Taunton|Richard Huish College]] in Taunton.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://creativesteps.org.uk/Colleges/RichardHuishCollege |title=Richard Huish College |work=Creative Steps |access-date=18 December 2007 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080402044858/http://creativesteps.org.uk/Colleges/RichardHuishCollege |archive-date=2 April 2008 }}</ref> Others have changed their names over the years such as [[Beechen Cliff School]] which was started in 1905 as the City of Bath Boys' School and changed to its present name in 1972 when the [[grammar school]] was amalgamated with a local [[secondary modern school]], to form a [[comprehensive school]]. Many others were established and built since the Second World War. In 2006, 5,900 pupils in Somerset sat [[General Certificate of Secondary Education|GCSE]] examinations, with 44.5% achieving 5 grades A-C, including English and Maths (compared to 45.8% for England).

[[Sexey's School]] is a state [[boarding school]] in [[Bruton]] that also takes day pupils from the surrounding area.<ref name="sexeyshistory">{{cite web | author=Sexey's School | title = Sexey's School&nbsp;— A Brief History | url = http://www.sexeys.somerset.sch.uk/index.php?main=history | access-date=1 July 2007|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070707163511/http://www.sexeys.somerset.sch.uk/index.php?main=history |archive-date = 7 July 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Somerset LEA also provides [[Special education#Special schools|special schools]] such as [[Newbury Manor School]], which caters for children aged between 10 and 17 with [[Special education in the United Kingdom|special educational needs]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.farleighcollege.co.uk/ |title=Farleigh College |publisher=Farleigh College |access-date=18 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009103431/http://www1.farleighcollege.co.uk/|archive-date=9 October 2007}}</ref> Provision for pupils with special educational needs is also made by the mainstream schools.

There is also a range of [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|private]] or [[Public school (United Kingdom)|public schools]]. Many of these are for pupils between 11 and 18 years, such as [[King's College, Taunton]], [[Wellington School, Somerset]], and [[Taunton School]]. [[King's School, Bruton]] was founded in 1519 and received royal foundation status around 30 years later in the reign of [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]]. [[Millfield]] is the largest [[Mixed-sex education|co-educational]] boarding school. There are also [[Preparatory school (United Kingdom)|preparatory schools]] for younger children, such as [[All Hallows Preparatory School|All Hallows]], and [[Hazlegrove Preparatory School]]. [[Chilton Cantelo School]] offers places both to day pupils and boarders aged 7 to 16. Other schools provide education for children from the age of 3 or 4 years through to 18, such as [[King Edward's School, Bath]], [[Queen's College, Taunton]], and [[Wells Cathedral School]], which is one of the five established musical schools for school-age children in Britain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wells-cathedral-school.com/ |title=Wells Cathedral School |publisher=Wells Cathedral School |access-date=18 December 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211232816/http://www.wells-cathedral-school.com/ |archive-date=11 December 2007 }}</ref>

Some of these schools have religious affiliations, such as [[Monkton Combe School]], [[Prior Park College]], [[Sidcot School]] which is associated with the [[Quakers|Religious Society of Friends]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sidcot.org.uk/about/index.html |title=About Sidcot |publisher=Sidcot School |access-date=18 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203034526/http://www.sidcot.org.uk/about/index.html |archive-date=3 December 2007}}</ref> [[Downside School]] which is a Roman Catholic public school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, situated next to the [[Order of Saint Benedict|Benedictine]] Downside Abbey,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.downside.co.uk/School/about_us/about_downside_school.php |title=About Downside School |publisher=Downside School |access-date=7 June 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112220455/http://www.downside.co.uk/School/about_us/about_downside_school.php |archive-date=12 November 2012 }}</ref> and [[Kingswood School]], which was founded by [[John Wesley]] in 1748 in Kingswood near Bristol, originally for the education of the sons of the itinerant ministers (clergy) of the [[Methodism|Methodist Church]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kingswood.bath.sch.uk/index.php |title=A Christian Ethos |publisher=Kingswood School |access-date=21 November 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080822113118/http://www.kingswood.bath.sch.uk/index.php |archive-date = 22 August 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Further and higher education===
A wide range of [[adult education]] and [[further education]] courses is available in Somerset, in schools, colleges, and other community venues. The colleges include [[Weston College]], [[Bridgwater College|Bridgwater and Taunton College]] (formed in 2016 when Bridgwater College and [[Somerset College of Arts and Technology]] merged, and includes the Taunton-based University Centre Somerset), [[Bath College]], [[Frome Community College]], Richard Huish College, [[Strode College]] and [[Yeovil College]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.go-somerset.co.uk/ |title=Somerset Colleges |publisher=Somerset Colleges |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406092320/http://www.go-somerset.co.uk/ |archive-date=6 April 2015}}</ref> Somerset County Council operates [[Dillington House]], a residential adult education college located in Ilminster.

The [[University of Bath]], [[Bath Spa University]], and [[University Centre Weston]] are higher education establishments in the north of the county. The University of Bath gained its Royal Charter in 1966, although its origins go back to the Bristol Trade School (founded 1856) and Bath School of Pharmacy (founded 1907).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bath.ac.uk/internal/staff/intro/history.html | author=University of Bath | title=History of the University | access-date=2 January 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080803044206/http://www.bath.ac.uk/internal/staff/intro/history.html |archive-date = 3 August 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> It has a purpose-built campus at [[Claverton, Somerset|Claverton]] on the outskirts of Bath, and has 15,000 students.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bath.ac.uk/about/organisation/facts-figures/ |author=University of Bath |title=Facts and figures |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325091103/http://www.bath.ac.uk/about/organisation/facts-figures/ |archive-date=25 March 2015 }}</ref> Bath Spa University, which is based at [[Newton St Loe]], achieved university status in 2005, and has origins including the Bath Academy of Art (founded 1898), Bath Teacher Training College, and the Bath College of Higher Education.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bathspa.ac.uk/about-us/our-vision-values-history-and-people/our-history |author=Bath Spa University |title=Our History |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310174239/http://www.bathspa.ac.uk/about-us/our-vision-values-history-and-people/our-history |archive-date=10 March 2013 }}</ref> It has several campuses and 5,500 students.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bibliographicdata.co.uk/index.php/bds_features/bdz-at-the-heart-of-two-academic-libraries/ |title=BDZ at the heart of two academic libraries |publisher=Bibliographic Data Services |access-date=18 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222111441/http://www.bibliographicdata.co.uk/index.php/bds_features/bdz-at-the-heart-of-two-academic-libraries/ |archive-date=22 December 2015 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Geography|<!-- Eurasia -->|Europe|<!-- Western Europe -->|<!-- Northern Europe -->|United Kingdom|England|Somerset}}
* [[Grade I listed buildings in Somerset]]
* [[Healthcare in Somerset]]
* [[List of English and Welsh endowed schools (19th century)#Somerset]]
* [[List of High Sheriffs of Somerset]]
* [[List of hills of Somerset]]
* [[List of tourist attractions in Somerset]]
* [[Lord Lieutenant of Somerset]]
* [[Outline of England]]
* [[West Country English]]

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|40em}}
* [[Victoria History of the Counties of England]]&nbsp;– ''History of the County of Somerset''. Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]], for: The Institute of Historical Research.
** Note: Volumes I to IX published so far; {{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/search/series/vch--som |title=Link to on-line version (not all volumes) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503195017/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/search/series/vch--som |archive-date=3 May 2015}}
** Volume I: ''Natural History, Prehistory, Domesday''
** Volume II: ''Ecclesiastical History, Religious Houses, Political, Maritime, and Social and Economic History, Earthworks, Agriculture, Forestry, Sport''
** Volume III: ''Pitney, Somerton, and Tintinhull hundreds''
** Volume IV: ''Crewkerne, Martock, and South Petherton Hundreds''
** Volume V: ''Williton and Freemanors Hundred''
** Volume VI: ''Andersfield, Cannington and North Petherton Hundreds (Bridgwater and Neighbouring Parishes)''
** Volume VII: ''Bruton, Horethorne and Norton Ferris Hundreds''
** Volume VIII: ''The Poldens and the Levels''
** Volume IX: ''Glastonbury and Street, Baltonsborough, Butleigh, Compton Dundon, Meare, North Wootton, Podimore, Milton, Walton, West Bradley, and West Pennard''
* {{Cite book |last=Adkins |first=Lesley and Roy |title=A Field Guide to Somerset Archaeology |year=1992 |publisher=Dovecote Press |location=Wimborne, Dorset |isbn=978-0-946159-94-9}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Aston |first1=Michael |author-link=Mick Aston |first2=Ian |last2=Burrow |title=The Archaeology of Somerset: A review to 1500 AD |year=1982 |publisher=Somerset County Council. |location=Somerset |isbn=0-86183-028-8 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Aston |first=Michael |author-link=Mick Aston |title=Aspects of the Medieval Landscape of Somerset & Contributions to the landscape history of the county |year=1988 |publisher=Somerset County Council |location=Somerset |isbn=0-86183-129-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/aspectsofmediaev0000unse }}
* {{Cite book |last=Bush |first=Robin |author-link=Robin Bush (historian) |title=Somerset: The complete guide |year=1994 |publisher=Dovecote Press |location=Wimborne, Dorset |isbn=1-874336-27-X |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/somersetcomplete0000bush }}
* {{Cite book |last=Costen |first=Michael |title=The origins of Somerset |year=1992 |publisher=Manchester University Press |location=Manchester |isbn=0-7190-3675-5 }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Croft |first1=Robert |first2=Mick |last2=Aston |title=Somerset from the air: An aerial Guide to the Heritage of the County |year=1993 |publisher=Somerset County Council |location=Somerset |isbn=978-0-86183-215-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dunning |first=Robert |title=Somerset Castles |year=1995 |publisher=Somerset Books |location=Somerset |isbn=0-86183-278-7 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Knight |first=Francis A. |title=Cambridge County Geographies: Somerset  |year=1909 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge|url=https://archive.org/details/cambridge-geographies-somerset}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Leach |first=Peter |title=Roman Somerset |year=2001 |publisher=The Dovecote Press |location=Wimborne, Dorset |isbn=1-874336-93-8 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Little |first=Bryan |title=Portrait of Somerset |year=1983 |publisher=Robert Hale Ltd |location=London |isbn=0-7090-0915-1 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Palmer |first=Kingsley |title=The Folklore of Somerset |year=1976 |publisher=Batsford |location=London |isbn=0-7134-3166-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/folkloreofsomers0000palm }}
* {{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Stephen |title=Somerset Place Names |year=1992 |publisher=The Dovecote Press Ltd |location=Wimborne, Dorset |isbn=978-1-874336-03-7}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Stansfield-Cudworth |first1=R. E. |title=Political Elites in South-West England, 1450–1500: Politics, Governance, and the Wars of the Roses |date=2009 |publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]]|location=[[Lewiston, New York]]|isbn=978-0-77344-714-1 |language=en }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Somerset}}
{{Wikivoyage|Somerset (England)|Somerset}}
* [http://www.visitsomerset.co.uk Official Somerset Tourism website]
* [http://www.somerset.gov.uk Somerset Council]
* {{Gutenberg|no=12287|name=Somerset}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071226220235/http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/ Somerset] at [[GENUKI]]
* [http://www.somersetday.com Somerset Day]

{{Geographic location
|title = '''Neighbouring counties'''
|Centre = Somerset
|North = [[Bristol]], [[Gloucestershire]]
|Northeast = [[Wiltshire]]
|East = [[Wiltshire]]
|Southeast = [[Dorset]]
|South = [[Devon]], Dorset
|Southwest = [[Devon]]
|West = ''[[Bristol Channel]]''<br />[[Devon]]
|Northwest = ''[[Severn Estuary]]''<br />''[[Bristol Channel]]''
}}
{{Somerset}}
{{England counties}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Somerset| ]]
[[Category:Ceremonial counties of England]]
[[Category:Counties of England established in antiquity]]
[[Category:Counties in South West England]]
[[Category:Unitary authority districts of England]]
[[Category:West Country]]