South Somerset is a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The South Somerset district covers an area of ranging from the borders with

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...

and

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

to the edge of the

Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to the south are ...

. It has a population of approximately 158,000. The administrative centre of the district is

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...

. On 1 April 2023, the district will be abolished and replaced by a new

unitary district A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

for the area at present served by

Somerset County Council Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county. On 1 April 2023 the county coun ...

. The new council will be known as

Somerset Council Somerset Council is the unitary authority that will replace Somerset County Council and four district councils (Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset, Mendip, and Sedgemoor) on 1 April 2023. History The Conservative governments of The ...

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, and was originally known as Yeovil, adopting its present name in 1985. It was formed by the merger of the

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in ...

s of

Chard Chard or Swiss chard (; ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'', Cicla Group and Flavescens Group) is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade ...

, along with

Crewkerne Crewkerne ( ) is a town and electoral ward in Somerset, England, southwest of Yeovil and east of Chard all in the South Somerset district. The civil parish of West Crewkerne includes the hamlets of Coombe, Woolminstone and Henley – and ...

and

Ilminster Ilminster is a minster town and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, with a population of 5,808. Bypassed in 1988, the town now lies just east of the junction of the A303 (London to Exeter) and the A358 (Taunton to ...

urban districts and the

Chard Rural District Chard was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of South Somerset. The parishes t ...

Langport Rural District Langport was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 to become part of South Somerset. The parishes whi ...

Wincanton Rural District Wincanton was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of South Somerset. The parish ...

and

Yeovil Rural District Yeovil was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of South Somerset. The parishes ...

. The district covers the whole of the Yeovil constituency, and part of

Somerton and Frome Somerton and Frome is a constituency in Somerset represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by David Warburton, who was elected as a Conservative, but currently sits as an Independent after losing the Conservative whip in ...

. The district is governed by the South Somerset District Council, last elected in the 2019 South Somerset District Council election. It is currently Liberal Democrat controlled, and has Beacon Council status.

Abolition

On 1 April 2023, the district council will be abolished and replaced by a new

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governme ...

for the area at present served by

. The new council will be known as

. Elections for the new council took place in May 2022, and it now will run alongside South Somerset and the other councils until their abolition in April 2023.

Towns

Its main towns include: * Bruton *

Castle Cary Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. History The word Cary derives from ...

Langport Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 1,081. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, a separate ...

* Milborne Port * Somerton *

Wincanton Wincanton ( or ) is a small town and electoral ward in South Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. The town and electoral ward has a popul ...

Wards

The

electoral wards The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and distr ...

include:

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...

and

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

Parishes

Major roads

* A30 * A37 *

A303 The A303 is a trunk road in southern England, running between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon via Stonehenge. Connecting the M3 and the A30, it is part of one of the main routes from London to Devon and Cornwall. It is a prim ...

* A357

Railway stations

* Bruton ( Heart of Wessex Line and Reading to Taunton Line),

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 mill ...

( Heart of Wessex Line and Reading to Taunton Line), Great Western Railway *

(

West of England Main Line The West of England line (also known as the West of England Main Line) is a British railway line from , Hampshire, to in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter; the line intersects with the Wessex M ...

), South Western Railway *

Templecombe Templecombe is a village in Somerset, England, situated on the A357 road five miles south of Wincanton, east of Yeovil, and west of Salisbury. The village has a population of 1,560. Along with the hamlet of Combe Throop, it forms the paris ...

(West of England Main Line), South Western Railway *

Yeovil Junction Yeovil Junction railway station is the busier, but less central, of two railway stations serving the town of Yeovil in England. The station is outside the town, in the village of Stoford. Although Yeovil is in Somerset, the station was in Dor ...

(West of England Main Line), South Western Railway *

Yeovil Pen Mill Yeovil Pen Mill railway station is one of two stations serving the town of Yeovil, Somerset, England. The station is situated just under a mile to the east of the town centre. The station is located south of , on the Heart of Wessex Line. The ...

( Heart of Wessex Line), Great Western Railway

Heritage Railways

* Chard branch line, former

line between

and

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by t ...

* Yeovil Railway Centre

Education

County schools (those which are not

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

) in the five non-metropolitan districts of the county are operated by

. For a full list of schools see: List of schools in Somerset

References

External links

South Somerset District Council
{{SW_England Non-metropolitan districts of Somerset