Taunton () is the
county town
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
of
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
, lord_ ...
, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570.
Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation,
Taunton Castle
Taunton Castle is a castle built to defend the town of Taunton, Somerset, England. It has origins in the Anglo Saxon period and was later the site of a priory. The Normans then built a stone structured castle, which belonged to the Bishops of ...
, which later became a
priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...
. The
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
built a castle owned by the
Bishops of Winchester. Parts of the inner ward house were turned into the
Museum of Somerset and Somerset Military Museum. For the
Second Cornish uprising of 1497
The Second Cornish uprising occurred in September 1497 when the pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck landed at Whitesand Bay (Cornwall), Whitesand Bay, near Land's End, on 7 September with just 120 men in two ships.
Warbeck had seen the potent ...
,
Perkin Warbeck
Perkin Warbeck ( 1474 – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive, ...
brought an army of 6,000; most surrendered to Henry VII on 4 October 1497.
On 20 June 1685 the
Duke of Monmouth crowned himself King of England here in a rebellion, defeated at the
Battle of Sedgemoor
The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between the Kingdom of England and rebels led by the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685, and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerse ...
.
Judge Jeffreys led the
Bloody Assizes
The Bloody Assizes were a series of trials started at Winchester on 25 August 1685 in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor, which ended the Monmouth Rebellion in England.
History
There were five judges: Sir William Montague (Lord Chief Bar ...
in the Castle's Great Hall.
The
Grand Western Canal
The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal, bypassing Land ...
reached Taunton in 1839 and the
Bristol and Exeter Railway
The Bristol & Exeter Railway (B&ER) was an English railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. It was built on the broad gauge and its engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in stages between 1841 and 1844. It was allied with ...
in 1842. Today it hosts
Musgrove Park Hospital,
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Somerset. Founded in 1875, Somerset was initially regarded as a minor ...
, is the base of
40 Commando
40 Commando RM is a battalion-sized formation of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of Commander in Chief Fleet. Their barracks are at Norton ...
,
Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
, and is home to the
United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is the UK's agency for providing hydrographic and marine geospatial data to mariners and maritime organisations across the world. The UKHO is a trading fund of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and is ...
on Admiralty Way. The popular
Taunton flower show has been held in
Vivary Park
Vivary Park is a public open space in Taunton, Somerset, England.
The Sherford Stream, a tributary of the River Tone, flows through the park, which is located near the centre of the town. It contains two main wide open spaces, as well as a wa ...
since 1866, and on 13 March 2022,
St Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and
resurre ...
parish church was elevated to the status of
Taunton Minster.
History
The town name derives from "Town on the
River Tone
The River Tone is a river in the English county of Somerset. The river is about long. Its source is at Beverton Pond near Huish Champflower in the Brendon Hills, and is dammed at Clatworthy Reservoir. The reservoir outfall continues through ...
or Tone Town.
Cambria Farm
Cambria Farm is the site of a Bronze, Iron Age, Roman rural settlement, between Ruishton and Taunton, Somerset, England.
A survey of the site was carried by Context One in 2007 out prior to the construction of a Park and ride close to Junction 25 ...
, which now hosts a
park and ride close to the
M5 motorway Junction 25, was the site of
Bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
and
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
settlement and a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
farm. There was a
Romano-British village near the suburb of ''Holway''. Taunton was important in
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
times
as a
burh
A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...
with a
mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAES g ...
.
King
Ine of Wessex
Ine, also rendered Ini or Ina, ( la, Inus; c. AD 670 – after 726) was King of Wessex from 689 to 726. At Ine's accession, his kingdom dominated much of southern England. However, he was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecessor ...
threw up an earthen castle about 700, but it was levelled in 722 by his queen,
Æthelburg of Wessex
Æthelburg (also Æthelburh or Ethelburga) (ca. 673–740) was Queen of Wessex by marriage to King Ine of Wessex. Perhaps most famed for her act in 722, when she destroyed the stronghold of Taunton (which had been built by Ine) in an attempt to f ...
, to prevent seizure by rebels.
A monastery was founded before 904.
The
bishops of Winchester owned the manor, and obtained the first charter for their "men of Taunton" from
King Edward King Edward may refer to:
Monarchs of England and the United Kingdom
* Edward the Elder (–924)
* Edward the Martyr (–978)
* Edward the Confessor (–1066)
* Edward I of England (1239–1307)
* Edward II of England (1284–1327)
* Edward III o ...
in 904, freeing them from all royal and county tribute. Some time before Domesday, Taunton became a borough with privileges and a population of some 1,500,
including 64
burgesses governed by a
portreeve appointed by the bishops.
Somerton took over from
Ilchester as
county town
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
in the late 13th century, but declined; the county-town status passed to Taunton about 1366. Between 1209 and 1311 the Bishop of Winchester's manor of Taunton expanded two-and-a-half times.
The parishes of Staplegrove, Wilton and Taunton were part of
Taunton Deane
Taunton Deane was a local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. Its council was based in Taunton.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Ta ...
hundred.
In 1451, during the
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
, Taunton saw a skirmish between the
Earl of Devon, and
Baron Bonville.
Queen Margaret and her troops passed through in 1471 to defeat at the
Battle of Tewkesbury.
In the
Second Cornish uprising of 1497
The Second Cornish uprising occurred in September 1497 when the pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck landed at Whitesand Bay (Cornwall), Whitesand Bay, near Land's End, on 7 September with just 120 men in two ships.
Warbeck had seen the potent ...
most Cornish gentry supported
Perkin Warbeck
Perkin Warbeck ( 1474 – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive, ...
's cause and on 17 September a Cornish army some 6,000 strong entered
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
before advancing on Taunton.
Henry VII sent his chief general,
Giles, Lord Daubeney, to attack the Cornish. When Warbeck heard that the King's scouts were at
Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...
he panicked and deserted his army. On 4 October 1497, Henry VII reached Taunton, where he received the surrender of the remaining Cornish army. Ringleaders were executed and others fined a total of £13,000.
Taunton Castle
Taunton Castle is a castle built to defend the town of Taunton, Somerset, England. It has origins in the Anglo Saxon period and was later the site of a priory. The Normans then built a stone structured castle, which belonged to the Bishops of ...
changed hands several times in the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
of 1642–1645, as did the town. During the
Siege of Taunton it was defended by
Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to:
Sportspeople
* Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player
* Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer
* Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player
* Rob Blake (born 19 ...
from July 1644 to July 1645, and suffered destruction of many medieval and Tudor buildings.
On 20 June 1685, the
Duke of Monmouth crowned himself King of England at Taunton during the
Monmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...
. In the autumn of that year
Judge Jeffreys lived in the town during the
Bloody Assizes
The Bloody Assizes were a series of trials started at Winchester on 25 August 1685 in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor, which ended the Monmouth Rebellion in England.
History
There were five judges: Sir William Montague (Lord Chief Bar ...
that followed the
Battle of Sedgemoor
The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between the Kingdom of England and rebels led by the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685, and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerse ...
.
The town lacked a charter of incorporation until 1627.
This was renewed in 1677, but lapsed in 1792 due to vacancies in the corporate body, and was not reincorporated until 1877. The medieval fairs and markets (a weekly market remains) were celebrated for the sale of woollen cloth called "Tauntons" made in the town. On the decline of the woollen industry in the west of England, silk-weaving was introduced at the end of the 18th century.
In 1839 the
Grand Western Canal
The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal, bypassing Land ...
reached Taunton, aiding southward trade,
[Helen Harris (1996) ''The Grand Western Canal'', Devon Books, ] which was enhanced by the arrival of the railway in 1842.
A permanent military presence came to
Jellalabad Barracks
Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلالآباد, ) is the list of cities in Afghanistan, fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about ...
in 1881.
In the Second World War, the
Bridgwater and Taunton Canal
The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal is a canal in the south-west of England between Bridgwater and Taunton, opened in 1827 and linking the River Tone to the River Parrett. There were a number of abortive schemes to link the Bristol Channel ...
formed part of the
Taunton Stop Line, set to curb any advance of a German invasion.
Pillboxes can still be seen along its length.
A fire aboard a to London
sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car.
...
train approaching Taunton in 1978 killed 12 passengers and injured 15 others.
Regeneration
Taunton was rated "strategically important" in the government's Regional Spatial Strategy, allowing
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 counc ...
to receive funding for large-scale regeneration projects.
In 2006, the council revealed plans dubbed "Project Taunton". This would see regeneration of the areas of Firepool, Tangier, the retail town centre, the cultural quarter, and the River Tone, to sustain Taunton as business hub in the South West.
The Firepool area, just north of the town centre by the main railway station, includes vacant or undeveloped land. The Council is promoting sustainable, high-quality, employment-led
mixed-use development
Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...
to attract 3,000 new jobs and 500 new homes.
In Tangier, a brownfield area between
Bridgwater & Taunton College and the bus station, the project proposes to build small offices and more riverside housing.
The "Cultural Quarter" is the area along the river between Firepool and Tangier. The plans are to extend riverside retail and attract smaller, boutique businesses such as those found at Riverside.
Plans for the town centre include more pedestrianisation and greater sizes and numbers of retail units.
Several sites along the River Tone are set for renovation. Firepool Weir lock, long silted up, was to be dredged in 2011
to allow boats to pass from the navigable section of the Tone through Taunton to the
Bridgwater and Taunton Canal
The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal is a canal in the south-west of England between Bridgwater and Taunton, opened in 1827 and linking the River Tone to the River Parrett. There were a number of abortive schemes to link the Bristol Channel ...
. Goodland Gardens received a makeover and a new café, The Shed, opened. Projects to develop Somerset Square (a paved area next to the
Brewhouse Theatre
Taunton Brewhouse (previously The Brewhouse) is the largest theatre and arts centre in Taunton, the county town of Somerset, England.
The building opened on 28 March 1977, on the banks of the River Tone, and offers a purpose-built 352-seat audito ...
) and Longrun Meadow (a country park near Bridgwater & Taunton College) have been put forward.
Traffic congestion was identified as an obstacle to further economic growth.
Part of the strategy was a new road infrastructure consisting of a £7.5 million link road to ease traffic in the town centre (Taunton's "Third Way"), completed in 2011, and a Northern Inner Distributor Road linking Staplegrove Road, the station and Priory Avenue at a planned cost of £21 million, opened in 2017.
Governance
Borough Council
Taunton was the main settlement and centre of the
local government district of
Taunton Deane
Taunton Deane was a local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. Its council was based in Taunton.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Ta ...
. The district, formed on 1 April 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, by merging 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 Taunton,
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
urban district
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
,
Taunton Rural District
Taunton 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 Taunton Deane district.
The p ...
, and
Wellington Rural District, was granted
borough status
Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, s ...
in 1975, perpetuating the mayoralty of Taunton. The district was named as an alternate form of the
Taunton hundred. Taunton Deane Council, once based at the
Municipal Buildings in Corporation Street, moved to modern facilities at Deane House on Belvedere Road in spring 1987.
Taunton Deane merged with
West Somerset
West Somerset was a local government district in the English county of Somerset. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 34,900 in an area of ; it was the least populous non- unitary district in England. According to f ...
to form
Somerset West and Taunton in 2019.
County Council
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 counc ...
, based at
County Hall in Taunton, consists of 55 councillors. The town has broadly six electoral divisions, each with a single county councillor: Taunton North; Taunton East; Taunton South; Bishop’s Hull & Taunton West; Comeytrowe & Trull, Monkton & North Curry (which includes rural areas). Three are Liberal Democrats, two are Conservative and one is an independent.
On 18 March 2022 the Government confirmed that Somerset’s county council and four district councils will be replaced by a single
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 governmen ...
from 1 April 2023 with elections for the new authority’s 110 councillors (2 per electoral division) taking place on 5 May 2022. The new unitary authority will be called Somerset Council.
Parliament
Taunton Deane
Taunton Deane was a local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. Its council was based in Taunton.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Ta ...
is a
county constituency of the
House of Commons. It is based on the town, but extends to
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
and small villages and parts of
Exmoor. The current MP is
Rebecca Pow
Rebecca Faye Clark (born 10 October 1960), known as Rebecca Pow, is a British politician serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environmental Quality and Resilience since October 2022. She served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary o ...
of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
.
Geography
Taunton lies on the
River Tone
The River Tone is a river in the English county of Somerset. The river is about long. Its source is at Beverton Pond near Huish Champflower in the Brendon Hills, and is dammed at Clatworthy Reservoir. The reservoir outfall continues through ...
between the
Quantock,
Blackdown and
Brendon hills. The area is known as the Vale of Taunton. It is surrounded by many other large towns and cities seen on this directional compass:
Taunton is 38 miles (61 km) south-west of
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, 28 miles (45 km) north-east of
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, 63 miles (102 km) north-east of Plymouth and 40 miles (64 km) north-west of
Weymouth.
Geology
The Taunton area has
Permian
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...
red sandstones and
breccia
Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix.
The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of di ...
outcrop 295–250 million years old. Rocks of
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
age (248–204 million years ago) underlie much of Somerset's moors and levels.
Nature reserves
The several
local nature reserves in and around Taunton are protected under Section 21 of the
National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949
The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the National Parks Commission which later became the Countryside Commission and then the Countryside Agency, which became ...
. South Taunton Streams is an urban wetland. The northern suburbs include the Children's Wood riverside reserve, a movement corridor for animals such as
otters along the banks of the Tone. Birds include the
kingfisher,
dipper,
grey wagtail,
mute swan
The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home ...
,
grey heron
The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern ...
and
reed warbler
The ''Acrocephalus'' warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Acrocephalus''. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler famil ...
and butterflies the
small
Small may refer to:
Science and technology
* SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language
* Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back
* ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication
* <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text ...
and
large skipper,
marbled white,
small heath and
small copper, along with
dragonflies and
damselflies
Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along ...
.
Weirfield Riverside, a nature reserve along the
River Tone
The River Tone is a river in the English county of Somerset. The river is about long. Its source is at Beverton Pond near Huish Champflower in the Brendon Hills, and is dammed at Clatworthy Reservoir. The reservoir outfall continues through ...
, has
alder and
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
woodland, bramble, scrub and rough grassland. The wetter, flood-prone areas include
hemlock water-dropwort
''Oenanthe crocata'', hemlock water-dropwort (sometimes known as dead man's fingers) is a flowering plant in the Apiaceae, carrot family, native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It grows in damp grassland and wet woodland, often along ri ...
, and
yellow flag. Silk Mills Park and Ride offer landscaping and ponds in three areas by the Tone. The woodland and grassland support aquatic and marginal vegetation, with various birds, bats, reptiles and
invertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s. Frieze Hill Community Orchard has turned from
allotments to rough grassland and
orchard
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...
. Among the apples grown are
Kingston Black and
Yarlington Mill
Yarlington Mill is a traditional cider apple cultivar originating from the village of Yarlington, in the North Cadbury area of Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, ...
.
Climate
Like most of
South West England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...
, Taunton has a temperate climate, wetter and milder than the rest of the country.
The annual mean temperature is about .
Seasonal temperature variation
Seasonal lag is the phenomenon whereby the date of maximum average air temperature at a geographical location on a planet is delayed until some time after the date of maximum insolation (i.e. the summer solstice). This also applies to the minimu ...
is less extreme because of the adjacent sea. The summer months of July and August have mean daily maxima of about . In winter, mean minimum temperatures of or are common.
In the summer the
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
high pressure affects the south-west of England, but
convective
Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convect ...
cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the sunshine hours. Annual sunshine rates are slightly under the regional average of 1,600 hours.
Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by
Atlantic depressions or by
convection
Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convec ...
– in autumn and winter by the former, which are then at their most active. In summer, much rainfall results from the sun heating the ground, leading to convection, showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is about . Some 8–15 days of snowfall are typical. November to March have the highest mean winds and June to August the lightest. The prevailing wind direction is from the south-west.
Demography
The town of Taunton (which for population estimates includes the
unparished area or former
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 ...
plus the neighbouring parishes of
Bishop's Hull
Bishop's Hull is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the western suburbs of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. It includes the areas of Rumwell, Rumwell Park, Roughmoor and Longaller and is close to the ...
,
Comeytrowe
Comeytrowe is a civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the south western suburbs of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish has a population of 5,463. The parish includes the area of Galmington.
History
The suburb ...
,
Norton Fitzwarren, Staplegrove,
Trull
Trull is a village, electoral ward and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated near Taunton. The parish which includes Dipford has a population of 2,288.
History
The name Trull is thought to derive from the word ''Trendle'' meaning circl ...
and
West Monkton) had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001.
Taunton includes Holway, once a village in its own right as one of the ''Five
Hundreds of Taunton Deane'', the Infaring division or district of three districts that made up Taunton Deane.
Taunton is the largest town in the Somerset shire county and forms part of the larger
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
of Taunton Deane, which includes the town of
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
and surrounding villages. This had an estimated population of 109,883 in 2010.
The figures here are for the Taunton Deane area.
In 2011, Taunton built-up area had a population of 60,479
and the surrounding borough of Taunton Deane one of 110,187.
Of Taunton's residents 91.6 per cent were White British in 2011,
compared with 93.4 per cent for Taunton Deane.
Taunton's ethnic mix resembles that of South West England – 91.8 per cent White British in the same year. It is also matches other major regional centres like
Poole
Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
and
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
. The larger urban area, extending to
Monkton Heathfield Monkton may refer to:
Places
;United Kingdom
*Monkton, Devon, England
*Monkton, Kent, England
* Monkton, Pembroke, Wales
* Monkton, South Ayrshire, Scotland
* Monkton, Tyne and Wear, England
* Monkton, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales
;Canada
* Monkton, O ...
,
Norton Fitzwarren and Bathpool, had a 2011 population of 64,621.
Economy
Taunton Deane had low unemployment of 4.1 per cent compared with a national average of 5.0 per cent in 2005.
Taunton is home to the
United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) is the UK's agency for providing hydrographic and marine geospatial data to mariners and maritime organisations across the world. The UKHO is a trading fund of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and is ...
(UKHO), a
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
body responsible for providing
navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
al and other
hydrographic information for national, civil and defence requirements. The UKHO is located on Admiralty Way and has a workforce of about 1100. At the start of the Second World War, chart printing moved to Taunton, but the main office did not follow until 1968. Taunton holds the head offices of Debenhams,
Western Provident Association,
Viridor
Viridor Ltd (from the Latin 'to become green') is a recycling, renewable energy and waste management company in the United Kingdom, owned by KKR (previously owned by Pennon Group).
History
The company was formed in 1956 as Harrison Western Ltd ...
and CANDAC. Other professional services are based at Blackbrook near the motorway junction.
The first store of the multinational
New Look clothing retailer opened in Taunton in 1969. Taunton is also famed for
cider
Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...
.
Landmarks
Gray's Almshouses in East Street, founded by Robert Gray in 1615 for poor single women, are red brick buildings bearing the arms of Robert Gray, dated 1635, and another arms of the Merchant Tailors. A small room used as a chapel has original benches and a painted ceiling. It has been classed by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
as a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
St Margaret's Almshouses
St Margaret's Almshouses are part of a 12th-century leper colony in Taunton, Somerset, England.
History
The building was founded as a leper hospital in the 12th century, Somerset Historical Environmental Records dates it to between 1174 and 1180 ...
was founded as a
leper colony
A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. '' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Af ...
in the 12th century.
Glastonbury Abbey acquired patronage of it in the late 13th century and rebuilt it as
almshouses
An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...
in the early 16th. From 1612 to 1938 the building continued as such, cared for by a local parish. In the late 1930s it was converted into a hall of offices for the
Rural Community Council
The rural community councils (RCCs) were established in rural England during the twentieth century to promote rural community life.
Each shire county now has one, although some are relative newcomers. The RCCs also form a national coalition calle ...
and accommodation for the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen. It later fell into disrepair. The
Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust
The Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust (SBPT) works to save the architectural heritage of Somerset, England.
The Trust is an independent body and consists of up to 18 Trustees who hold Board meetings 3 times a year. It is a Building Preservati ...
with Falcon Rural Housing purchased and restored it for use as four units of social housing. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The grounds of
Taunton Castle
Taunton Castle is a castle built to defend the town of Taunton, Somerset, England. It has origins in the Anglo Saxon period and was later the site of a priory. The Normans then built a stone structured castle, which belonged to the Bishops of ...
include the
Somerset County Museum and
The Castle Hotel, which incorporates the Castle Bow archway. With the municipal buildings they form a three-sided group just beyond the Castle Bow archway from Fore Street. The centre of the square is a car park, and a plain brick Mecca Bingo hall fills the west side of it.
The frontage of the Fore Street
''Tudor Tavern'', now a
Caffè Nero
Caffè Nero is an Italian-influenced coffeehouse company headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1997 by Gerry Ford, currently the company runs more than 1,000 coffee houses in eleven countries: the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Cyprus, Croat ...
branch, dates from 1578, but the rest is thought to be from the 14th century.
The riverside area north of the centre is edged by
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqua ...
supermarket, retirement housing and the
Brewhouse Theatre
Taunton Brewhouse (previously The Brewhouse) is the largest theatre and arts centre in Taunton, the county town of Somerset, England.
The building opened on 28 March 1977, on the banks of the River Tone, and offers a purpose-built 352-seat audito ...
. Towards the centre are the Zinc Nightclub, Bridge Street and Goodlands Gardens. A current regeneration programme north of Bridge Street will include redeveloping the
County Cricket Ground, which hosted open-air concerts for
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
in 2006 and 2012 and for
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...
in 2014.
Shopping
Hankridge Farm, a retail park close to the M5 motorway, has stores that include
Currys PC World,
Oak Furniture Land
Oak Furnitureland is a British furniture retailer specialising in fully assembled hardwood cabinet and dining furniture, and sofa ranges. The company has stores across the UK, with its headquarters located in Swindon in Wiltshire, England.
Histo ...
,
Hobbycraft,
Halfords
Halfords Group PLC is the UK's largest retailer of motoring and cycling products and services. Through Halfords Autocentre, they provide vehicle servicing, MOT, maintenance and repairs in the United Kingdom.
Halfords Group is listed on the Lond ...
,
B&Q,
The Range and the town's second
Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales.
Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...
. There is a Venue in the park with restaurants, an
Odeon cinema and a
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018.
The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...
bowling alley. It is now known as Riverside Retail Park.
Taunton has three other such parks. Belvedere is near the town centre. St Johns is just off Toneway, towards the motorway, and consists of two units, occupied by
DFS, joined by Go Outdoors in April 2014. Taunton's second largest retail park is Priory Fields in Priory Avenue, with eight units and an anchor store,
Wickes
Wickes is a home improvement retailer and garden centre, based in the United Kingdom with more than 230 stores throughout the country. Its main business is the sale of supplies and materials, for homeowners and the building trade. It is listed ...
. It was redeveloped in 2003 to modernise a rather worn-out retail park and increase retail floor space.
The Old Market was a farmers' market in the Parade in front of Market House, but then moved to the Firepool area, although cattle trading on the site ceased only in 2008. A large indoor shopping centre to the east of the Parade covers a site that was once a pig market. Although its official name is now Orchard, and before that the Old Market Centre, locals still call it the Pig Market; one existed there from 1614 to 1882.
County Walk is a small indoor shopping arcade in the town centre with an anchor supermarket,
Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales.
Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...
, and several other large national retailers such as
Subway
Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to:
Transportation
* Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems
* Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle
* Subway (George Bush Interconti ...
,
Costa Coffee, and
Savers
Savers, Inc. headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, U.S., is a privately held for-profit thrift store retailer offering second hand merchandise. An international company, Savers has more than 315 locations throughout the United States of Ameri ...
.
Public parks
Taunton's public parks include
Vivary Park
Vivary Park is a public open space in Taunton, Somerset, England.
The Sherford Stream, a tributary of the River Tone, flows through the park, which is located near the centre of the town. It contains two main wide open spaces, as well as a wa ...
, Goodlands Park and Victoria Park. The most notable is Vivary, on land that was once a medieval
fish farm
upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Fish farming or ...
or ''
vivarium'' for
Taunton Priory and
Taunton Castle
Taunton Castle is a castle built to defend the town of Taunton, Somerset, England. It has origins in the Anglo Saxon period and was later the site of a priory. The Normans then built a stone structured castle, which belonged to the Bishops of ...
.
Fronted by a pair of
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
gates from the
Saracen Foundry
The Saracen Foundry, Possilpark, Glasgow c.1890
The Saracen Foundry was the better-known name for the Possilpark, Glasgow–based foundry company W MacFarlane & Co. Ltd, founded and owned by Walter MacFarlane. MacFarlane's was the most importan ...
of Glasgow, it contains the Sherford Stream, a Tone tributary that flows through the park, which is near the town centre.
It has two main open spaces and a
war memorial dating from 1922, a miniature
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
, tennis courts, two children's playgrounds, a
model railway track added in 1979, and an 18-hole, 4620-yard, par-63 golf course. The park includes trees, rose beds and
herbaceous borders, with some 56,000 spring and summer
bedding plants In horticulture, bedding is temporary planting of fast-growing plants into flower beds to create colourful displays, during spring, summer or winter. Plants used for bedding are generally annuals, biennials or tender perennials; succulents are gai ...
used each year.
The rose garden includes the
Royal National Rose Society Provincial Trial Ground.
Taunton Flower Show held annually in the park since the 19th century. It has been described as "The
Chelsea of the West", and draws some 24,000 visitors over two days.
Goodlands Gardens, in the centre of the town, is behind the
Debenhams department store and
The Castle Hotel.
Pride Rainbow Path
The Pride Rainbow Path in Goodland Gardens, Taunton town centre, runs alongside the
River Tone
The River Tone is a river in the English county of Somerset. The river is about long. Its source is at Beverton Pond near Huish Champflower in the Brendon Hills, and is dammed at Clatworthy Reservoir. The reservoir outfall continues through ...
. Designed by Jenny Keogh and Liz Hutchin of GoCreate,
it opened on 28 June 2021 to mark the anniversary of the
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of Ju ...
, which served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement. It is believed to be the first such path in the UK.
[ The opening coincided with the first Taunton ]Pride
Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...
in July 2021 and the Pride inspired Art Trail.
While using the traditional LGBTQ+
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is ...
colours, the far end of the 62-metre path includes a chevron of the progress colours: black, brown, light blue, pink, and white stripes to reflect ethnic diversity. The path has been designed not to require maintenance for 15 years.[ It was funded by Taunton's Emergency Town Centre Recovery Fund and is intended to reflect Taunton's commitment to inclusivity and diversity.
]
Transport
Rail
Taunton railway station
Taunton railway station is a junction station on the route from London to Penzance, west of London Paddington station. It is situated in Taunton, Somerset, and is operated by Great Western Railway. The station is also served by CrossCountry ...
is on the Bristol to Exeter line
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in S ...
, the Reading to Taunton line, and the Cross Country Route
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
. It is served and operated by Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
and served by CrossCountry
CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the Cross Country franchise.
The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
, with services to Manchester Piccadilly
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...
, , , , London Paddington
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services pro ...
, , and . There is generally a fast and a slow train each hour to Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter St Davids and a train an hour to London Paddington.
The old rail route to is now a heritage
Heritage may refer to:
History and society
* A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today
** Cultural heritage is created by humans
** Natural heritage is not
* Heritage language
Biology
* Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...
West Somerset Railway
The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which is ...
with services between and Minehead. The Buses of Somerset route 28 links the stations at Taunton and Bishops Lydeard.
In 2009, Project Taunton, the authority responsible for Taunton's regeneration project, revealed proposals for Taunton metro rail
Taunton Metro Rail (TMR) was a light rail network proposed in 2009 to use a combination of existing rail infrastructure and the construction of new infrastructure in and around Taunton, Somerset.
Proposal
Project Taunton, the authority respo ...
, under a transport sustainability plan. They were not implemented.
Road
Taunton has road links with the M5 motorway junctions 25 (Taunton) and 26 (Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
) close to the town, and other major roads such as the A38 and A358. The Taunton bypass section of the M5, between the two junctions, opened in April 1974 and relieved the town of heavy holiday traffic on the A38. Taunton Deane services
Taunton Deane services is a double sided motorway service station on the M5 motorway near Taunton, England. It is owned by Roadchef.
Location
The services are located between junctions 25 and 26 of the M5 motorway in Somerset. There are two si ...
use that motorway section.
A strong economy increases traffic; in 2011 the County Council foresaw a sharp rise from 2001 levels. Two major roads opened: the Third Way (A3807) linking Bridge Street and Castle Street in 2011, and the Northern Inner Distributor Road (A3087) between Staplegrove Road and Priory Avenue in July 2017.
2011 M5 crash
On the evening of 4 November 2011, 34 vehicles met with an accident near junction 25 of the M5 motorway northbound, on the north-eastern edge of the town at West Monkton. Seven people were killed and a further 51 injured.
Buses and coaches
Many local services are provided by The Buses of Somerset: town services and routes to Minehead
Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...
, Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...
, Weston-Super-Mare and elsewhere. Other services are provided by Hatch Green Coaches. Services were also operated by Webberbus until the firm closed on 12 May 2016. Taunton bus station was in Tower Street from 1953 until 2020. Most services now terminate at stops on The Parade or Castle Way.
A park-and-ride service is run by The Buses of Somerset between the Taunton gateway near the M5 Motorway and Silk Mills on the north-west side of town.
Berrys Coaches
Berrys Coaches is a coach operator based in Taunton, Somerset. It was established in 1920 and is still a family owned business today.
Superfast coach services
Berrys started operating a service between Somerset and London following deregulati ...
, based in Taunton, operates several "Superfast Services" to London. National Express Coaches
National Express is an intercity and Inter-regional coach operator providing services throughout Great Britain. It is a subsidiary of National Express Group. Most services are subcontracted to local coach companies. The company's head office is ...
runs long-distance coach services to many destinations.
Air
The nearest airports are Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
and Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, both within of Taunton.
Trams
Taunton Tramway
The Taunton Tramway was an electric street tramway in Taunton, the county town of Somerset, England. It operated a fleet of six narrow gauge tramcars on a single route of between 1901 and 1921 when the tramway closed due to a dispute over the c ...
opened on 21 August 1901. Six double-decker cars operated on a gauge line between the railway station and the depot at East Reach. In 1905 the service was withdrawn for two months while the track was improved; the cars were replaced by six single-decker cars and the old double deckers sold to Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...
. A short extension beyond the station to Rowbarton opened in 1909, making the line long. However, the price of its electricity was due to rise in 1928 to a level the firm refused to pay, and it offered to sell out, but this was not accepted. The electricity was cut off on 28 May 1921 and the system closed.
Canal
The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal
The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal is a canal in the south-west of England between Bridgwater and Taunton, opened in 1827 and linking the River Tone to the River Parrett. There were a number of abortive schemes to link the Bristol Channel ...
is a navigable waterway that links Taunton with Bridgwater, opened in 1827. Having been closed to navigation in 1907, it re-opened after restoration in 1994.
Education
State secondary schools in Taunton include The Castle School, Heathfield Community School
Monkton Wood Academy is an Academy (England and Wales) located at West Monkton in the outskirts of Taunton, England. It had 1,192 pupils aged 11 to 18, of which 78 were in the sixth form, in 2015, and has an Arts College specialist status. The h ...
, Bishop Fox's School and The Taunton Academy. Further education is offered by Richard Huish College
Richard Huish College is a further education and sixth-form college in Taunton, Somerset, England. Located on a single site in South Road, about a mile from the centre of Taunton, it offers A-level courses, apprenticeships and vocational courses ...
, The Taunton Academy (sponsored by Richard Huish College) and Bridgwater and Taunton College
Bridgwater and Taunton College is a further education college based in the heart of Somerset, England, with main centres in Bridgwater, Taunton and Cannington. It educates approximately 3000 students between the ages of 16–18 in academic and ...
. Heathfield Community School
Monkton Wood Academy is an Academy (England and Wales) located at West Monkton in the outskirts of Taunton, England. It had 1,192 pupils aged 11 to 18, of which 78 were in the sixth form, in 2015, and has an Arts College specialist status. The h ...
has a post-16 further education college specialising in performing arts and technical theatre called The SPACE (The Somerset Performing Arts Centre for Education). Heathfield Community School is also a teaching school and the base of Taunton Teaching Alliance. The Taunton campus of Bridgwater and Taunton College is a partner of Plymouth University
The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...
and includes University Centre Taunton. There are three co-educational independent schools: Queen's College, King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom:
*King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge
*King's College London, a constituent of the University of London
It ca ...
and Taunton School
Taunton School is a co-educational independent school in the county town of Taunton in Somerset in South West England. It serves boarding and day-school pupils from the ages of 13 to 18.
The current headmaster is Lee Glaser, appointed in the aut ...
.
In March 2009, it was found that Jim Knight, Minister of State for Schools and Families, had approved the closure of Ladymead Community School and the nearby St Augustine of Canterbury RC/CoE School in the Priorswood area of Taunton. They gave way in September 2010 to the Taunton Academy.
Young people with special educational needs are provided for by two special schools and one complex Pupil Referral Unit
In the UK, a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) (previously known as Pupil Re-integration Unit by some Local Education Authorities) is an alternative education provision which is specifically organised to provide education for children who are not able to a ...
(PRU). Sky College caters for boys aged 10–18 who have social, emotional and mental-health difficulties. Selworthy School has pupils of 4–19 who have complex and multiple learning difficulties, while the Taunton Deane Partnership College is a complex PRU for children in Key Stages 2, 3 and 4, with a Medical Tuition Service, Outreach & Advisory Service and an Area Access Team.
Health services
Taunton is within Somerset Primary Care Trust and home to Musgrove Park Hospital, within Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. This is one of two district hospitals in Somerset, alongside Yeovil District Hospital
Yeovil District Hospital is a healthcare facility in Yeovil, Somerset, England. It is managed by Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The hospital has its origins in a general dispensary established at the suggestion of Dr El ...
. A Nuffield Hospital also lies in the town, run privately by Nuffield Health
Nuffield Health is the United Kingdom's largest healthcare charity. Established in 1957 the charity operates 31 Nuffield Health Hospitals and 114 Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing Centres.
It is independent of the National Health Service and ...
. The town has several medical surgeries and a family planning clinic, an occupational health centre and a chiropractic clinic.
Religious sites
The Taunton Minster Church of St Mary Magdalene, built of sandstone more in the South Somerset style, retains an attractive painted interior, but its prime feature is a 15th and 16th-century tower rebuilt in the mid-19th century. It is one of the country's best examples and a landmark 158 feet (48 m) high. It was termed by Simon Jenkins
Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992.
Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...
, "the finest in England. It makes its peace with the sky not just with a coronet but with the entire crown jewels cast in red-brown stone." It holds 12 bells and 3 bells "hung dead" for the clock.
Close by is the parish church of St James near the centre of Taunton close. The oldest parts are early 14th century; there are fragments of 15th-century glass in the west end. Like St Mary's, it has a sandstone tower, but built to a less impressive design. It too was rebuilt in the 19th century, in this case due to building defects in the original. It backs onto the County Ground.
The church of St John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...
was built in 1858 to serve the poor of the town. The church of St Andrew, built 1878, serves the area of Rowbarton.
In the later 17th century, Taunton had two Dissenting places of worship: "Paul's Meeting" and the Baptist Meeting. The former was built at the top of Paul Street soon after 1672 on a bowling green behind the ''Three Cups Inn'', now The County Hotel, and rapidly became one of the largest congregations in the county. After Mayor Timewell sacked both Paul's Meeting and the Baptist Meeting in 1683, the dissenters were driven to worship in private houses on the outskirts of Taunton, where their assemblies were regularly raided by the Justices of the Peace. Paul's Meeting survived attempts to turn it into a workhouse, and with the coming of William III William III or William the Third may refer to:
Kings
* William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198)
* William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702)
* William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
and Mary II
Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694.
Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife ...
, followed by the Toleration Act 1688
The Toleration Act 1688 (1 Will & Mary c 18), also referred to as the Act of Toleration, was an Act of the Parliament of England. Passed in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, it received royal assent on 24 May 1689.
The Act allowed for f ...
, it reopened. Hugh Willoughby, 15th Baron Willoughby of Parham
Hugh, 15th Baron Willoughby of Parham (1713 – 17 January 1765) was an English peerage, nobleman and hereditary peer of the House of Lords. He was born in 1713, the eldest son of Charles Willoughby, 14th Baron Willoughby of Parham and Hester, ...
, was educated in early life at Taunton Dissenters' Academy.[Hugh, Lord Willoughby, a neglected society president, P. J. W Higson, p. 170.] The Baptist Meeting became the Baptist New Meeting, registered in 1691 and rebuilt in 1721 as Mary Street Chapel.
Taunton Unitarian Chapel
Taunton Unitarian Chapel is on Mary Street, Taunton, Somerset, England. It was built in the early 18th century as a Baptist chapel, but later adopted Unitarianism. The exterior was extensively renovated in the 19th century in an Italianate style. ...
, dating from 1721, stands in Mary Street. Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...
, while living at Nether Stowey
Nether Stowey is a large village in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England. It sits in the foothills of the Quantock Hills (England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), just below Over Stowey. The parish of Nether Stowey ...
away, came to the chapel to preach several times. Dr Malachi Blake, who founded the Taunton and Somerset Hospital in East Reach, Taunton, was also a preacher there, attending in 1809 a celebration of the 50th year of George the Third's reign. The chapel retains its original interior, including Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
oak pillars in Corinthian style. The pew
A pew () is a long bench (furniture), bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating Member (local church), members of a Church (congregation), congregation or choir in a Church (building), church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom.
Overview
...
s and pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
are also in oak. There is an early 18th-century candelabra
A candelabra (plural candelabras) or candelabrum (plural candelabra or candelabrums) is a candle holder with multiple arms.
Although electricity has relegated candleholders to decorative use, interior designers continue to model light fixtures ...
.
St George's, the town's Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
church, dates from the mid-19th century. It was the second Catholic church built in Taunton since the Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, replacing a smaller St George's Chapel
St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...
. The main building is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building, while the clergy house is Grade II listed.
Culture
Taunton town centre has the Brewhouse Theatre
Taunton Brewhouse (previously The Brewhouse) is the largest theatre and arts centre in Taunton, the county town of Somerset, England.
The building opened on 28 March 1977, on the banks of the River Tone, and offers a purpose-built 352-seat audito ...
. It closed in February 2013 due to financial difficulties, but reopened in April 2014 under the Taunton Theatre Association (TTA), which was granted the 61-year lease that Taunton Deane Borough Council had bought on the site and its contents from the administrator. Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre is a professional theatre based at Heathfield Community School
Monkton Wood Academy is an Academy (England and Wales) located at West Monkton in the outskirts of Taunton, England. It had 1,192 pupils aged 11 to 18, of which 78 were in the sixth form, in 2015, and has an Arts College specialist status. The h ...
, hosting touring theatre, dance and comedy, and productions by South West schools and colleges. Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre also runs community classes. The Creative Innovation Centre CIC has an arts and culture venue in the town centre.
Several concerts a year are held at Taunton's largest church, St Mary Magdalene. In recent years The Sixteen, The Tallis Scholars and Gabrieli Consort
Paul McCreesh (born 24 May 1960) is an English conductor.
Paul McCreesh is the founder and artistic director of the Gabrieli Consort & Players. With them he has performed in major concert halls and festivals across the world. He has been the ...
have all performed to full audiences. Taunton also has several choirs and orchestras that perform in the town's churches and school chapels. Many music and drama groups are members of the Taunton Association of Performing Arts (TAPA), which produces a diary and calendar of performances in and about the town.
Taunton has three radio stations: BBC Somerset, Tone FM
Tone FM (styled ToneFM) is a community radio station based in Taunton, Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preced ...
and Apple FM
Apple 98.5FM (official call sign 3APL) is a community radio station licensed to Bacchus Marsh, Victoria.
History
The first test broadcast of this station in October 1986 coincided with the celebrations for the 150th year since the founding of ...
.
Since 2001 Taunton has been the base of a domestic violence charity, the ManKind Initiative
The ManKind Initiative is a domestic violence charity based in the United Kingdom and is at the forefront of providing support for male victims of domestic abuse and violence. Since becoming a charity in 2001, it has provided a helpline, training ...
, to help male victims of domestic abuse.
Cultural references
Taunton is mentioned in '' The Remains of the Day'' by Kazuo Ishiguro
Sir Kazuo Ishiguro ( ; born 8 November 1954) is a British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and moved to Britain in 1960 with his parents when he was five.
He is one of the most cr ...
, ''Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' is a 1974 spy novel by British author John le Carré. It follows the endeavours of taciturn, aging spymaster George Smiley to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service. The novel has receive ...
'' by John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...
, and Evelyn Waugh's '' Scoop''. It was given the fictitious name "Toneborough" by Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...
.
Sport
Taunton Rugby Football Club
Taunton Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Taunton, Somerset. The first XV, Taunton Titans, play in National League 1, having achieved promotion in 2020. The second XV (The Warriors) play in the Somerset Premier Leag ...
(RFC), based in Taunton, currently play in National League 1, having achieved back-to-back promotions in 2009 and 2010 and then again in 2020. It played at Priory Park Sports Ground from 1935 to 2001, before moving to the Commsplus Stadium.
The County Ground was originally home to Taunton Cricket Club, formed in 1829. It played at the County Ground until 1977, before moving to Moorfields, Taunton, in conjunction with Taunton Vale Hockey Club, since when the County Ground has been solely used by Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Somerset. Founded in 1875, Somerset was initially regarded as a minor ...
(CCC). Somerset CCC was formed in 1875, but did not achieve first-class status until 1891. The County Ground has a capacity of 8,500; the ends are called the River End and the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End. It is the current home of the England women's cricket team
The England women's cricket team represents England and Wales in international women's cricket. Since 1998, they have been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by the Women's Cricket Association ...
. The Somerset Cricket Museum is nearby.
Taunton Cricket Club has since 2002 been located at the new Taunton Vale Sports Club Ground
Taunton Vale Sports Club (usually referred to as "Taunton Vale", "Vale" or "TVSC")''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'' (2013) p 607 is a multi use community sports club located in Taunton, Somerset. Taunton Vale HC, Taunton Cricket and Taunton Vale T ...
in Staplegrove, which features two cricket field
A cricket field is a large grass field on which the game of cricket is played. Although generally oval in shape, there is a wide variety within this: some are almost perfect circles, some elongated ovals and some entirely irregular shapes with l ...
s. The Taunton Vale ground is also a regular home venue for Somerset's Second XI. Taunton Deane Cricket Club has a ground adjacent to Vivary Park, while Taunton St Andrews Cricket Club is based at the nearby Wyvern Sports and Social Club. All three clubs play in the West of England Premier League or one of its feeder leagues.
Taunton Town Football Club (FC) plays at Wordsworth Drive. An earlier Taunton Town FC played at Priory Park in the 1930s, however the current team was formed in 1947 by local businessmen as ''Taunton FC'', changing to the current name in 1968, and played its first friendly fixture in 1948. For most of its history, Taunton belonged to the Western League. It spent a six-season spell in the Southern League from 1977, and after a further period in the Western League, returned to the Southern League in 2002, after winning the FA Vase
The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...
in 2001. The club won the Division One South and West league title in 2017/18 and narrowly missed out on further promotion in 2018/19. The club went on to become the 2021/22 champions of the Southern League Premier Division South, securing promotion to the National League South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
for the first time in the Club’s history on 23 April 2022.
Somerset Vikings
Somerset Vikings RLFC are a rugby league team from the county of Somerset in England. They play in the West of England Rugby League.
The team play at Hornets RFC Weston-super-Mare. On a full artificial pitch.
In 2004/5 the Vikings became a clu ...
is a rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
club formed in 2003 as part of the Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...
's plans to develop the game beyond its traditional north-of-England areas. Initially the side was made up of a mixture of Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
based in Taunton and Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
with local rugby union players keen to try the 13-man code. It plays at Hyde Park, also home to Taunton RFC.
The Taunton Tigers
The Taunton Tigers are a charity-funded basketball team competing in the English Basketball League (EBL) Division 3 South League. The team is based in Taunton, Somerset and play all their home games at Wellsprings Leisure Centre, which has a cap ...
is a semi-professional basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
team competing in the English Basketball League
The National Basketball League, or NBL for short, is a league competition representing semi-professional and amateur basketball clubs from England and Wales. It forms levels 2 to 4 on the British basketball pyramid, in line with the Scottish B ...
Men's Division 1. The team plays its home games at Wellsprings Leisure Centre, which seats 500.
Taunton Racecourse
Taunton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Orchard Portman, two miles south of Taunton, Somerset, England. Opened in 1927, Taunton is the youngest National Hunt course in England, and the last racecourse to be opened in Bri ...
is close to the Blackdown Hills
The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1991.
The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand wit ...
, about from the centre of Taunton. Although racing had been held in the area before, the first race at thi site was held on 21 September 1927. The Orchard Stand and Paddock Stand provide catering facilities and are used for meetings and conferences on days when racing is not taking place. Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...
was held at the Priory Park Sports Ground and County Cricket ground in the past.
Notable residents
The following were born or have lived in Taunton:
* Colin Addison
Colin Addison (born 18 May 1940) is an English former professional footballer and manager.
Born in Taunton, Somerset, Addison started his playing career with York City before moving to Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Sheffield United. His man ...
(born 1940), professional footballer and manager born in Taunton
* Jenny Agutter (born 1952), actress born in Taunton
* Joseph Alleine
Joseph Alleine (baptised 8 April 1634 – 17 November 1668) was an English Nonconformist pastor and author of many religious works.
Life
Alleine belonged to a family that had originally settled in Suffolk. As early as 1430, some of the descendant ...
(1634–1668), Nonconformist pastor and author
* William Larkins Bernard William Larkins Bernard (born Taunton, 1 October 1843, died 22 July 1922) was an English architect, active in Bristol and London member of the FRIBA.
Career
Bernard was apprenticed to Charles Edward Davis, of Bath, Somerset, between 1863 and 1868 ...
(1843–1922), architect born in Taunton
* Pattie Boyd (born 1944), actress and model; former wife of George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
, then Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
* Jos Buttler (born 1990), England cricketer
* Carole Cadwalladr
Carole Jane Cadwalladr (; born 1969) is a British author, investigative journalist and features writer. She is a features writer for ''The Observer'' and formerly worked at ''The Daily Telegraph''. Cadwalladr rose to international prominence in ...
(born 1969), author and Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning investigative journalist
* Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host.
He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...
(born 1917), author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, educated at Huish school
* Matt Colton (born 1975), mastering engineer, studied in Taunton
* Deborah Criddle
Deborah Criddle Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 10 May 1966) is a British para-equestrian who won three gold medals at the 2004 Summer Paralympics and three medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Personal life
Criddle was born o ...
(born 1966), a Taunton-born para-equestrian winner of three golds at the Athens 2004 Summer Paralympics
)
, nations = 136
, athletes = 3,806
, events = 519 in 19 sports
, opening = 17 September
, closing = 28 September
, opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos
, cauldron = Georgios Toptsis
, stadium = Olympic ...
and three medals at the London 2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...
in London. She currently lives in nearby Trull
Trull is a village, electoral ward and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated near Taunton. The parish which includes Dipford has a population of 2,288.
History
The name Trull is thought to derive from the word ''Trendle'' meaning circl ...
.
* John Crockford (c. 1823–1865), publisher
* William Crotch (1775–1847), composer and Principal of the Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
, is buried at Bishops Hull Church, Taunton.
* Stephen Daldry (born 1960), three times Academy Award nominee and Tony Award-winning stage and film director and producer
* Samuel Daniel
Samuel Daniel (1562–1619) was an English poet, playwright and historian in the late- Elizabethan and early- Jacobean eras. He was an innovator in a wide range of literary genres. His best-known works are the sonnet cycle ''Delia'', the epi ...
(1562–1619) a poet, playwright and historian, born "near Taunton".
* Charles George Gordon (1833–1885), UK army general known as Gordon of Khartoum, attended the former Fullands School.
* Sir Benjamin Hammet
Sir Benjamin Hammet (''c.'' 173622 July 1800) was an English businessman, banker and politician, who served as Member of Parliament from Taunton (1782–1800), and as High Sheriff of London.
Contemporary accounts state that he was a footman, s ...
(c. 1736–1800), businessman, banker and Taunton native, served as its MP in 1782-1800, and as High Sheriff of London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. He was elected Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...
in 1797 but declined to serve
* Antony Hewish
Antony Hewish (11 May 1924 – 13 September 2021) was a British radio astronomer who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974 (together with fellow radio-astronomer Martin Ryle) for his role in the discovery of pulsars. He was also awarded the ...
(1924-2021), astronomer and Nobel Prize for Physics winner
* Rebecca Huxtable
Rebecca 'Beccy' Huxtable (born 12 August 1981) is a British radio personality and producer, best known for her work as an assistant producer and co-host of ''The Scott Mills Show'' with Scott Mills on BBC Radio 1. She left the show in January 20 ...
(born 1981), Taunton-born radio personality and producer, formerly co-producing ''The Scott Mills Show
''Scott Mills'' was a British Sony Radio Academy Award, award-winning radio show broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022. It was hosted by Scott Mills, with contributions from Chris Stark. Other contributors have included Mark Chapman (broa ...
'' on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
* Alexander William Kinglake
Alexander William Kinglake (5 August 1809 – 2 January 1891) was an English travel writer and historian.
He was born near Taunton, Somerset, and educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar in 1837, an ...
(1809–1891), barrister, travel writer and historian, was born at Wilton House near Taunton.
* Scott Laird
Scott Benjamin Laird (born 15 May 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back and midfielder for Southern League Premier Division South club Weston-super-Mare. He is also the club's assistant manager.
Laird began his ...
(born 1988), footballer with Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...
* Jack Leach
Matthew Jack Leach (born 22 June 1991) is an English professional cricketer who plays internationally for the England Test cricket team. In domestic cricket, he represents Somerset. Leach made his Test debut in 2018. He plays as a left-arm ort ...
(born 1991), Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Somerset. Founded in 1875, Somerset was initially regarded as a minor ...
and England cricketer
* Lee Martin (born 1987), Taunton-born footballer with Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club () is a professional football club in Bermondsey, South East London, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name ...
* Deborah Meaden
Deborah Sonia Meaden (born 11 February 1959) is a British businesswoman and TV personality who ran a multimillion-pound family holiday business, before completing a management buyout. She is best known for her appearances as a 'Dragon' on the B ...
(born 1959), Taunton-born business mogul, philanthropist and star of the TV series '' Dragons Den
* William Ellis Metford
William Ellis Metford (4 October 1824 – 14 October 1899) was a British engineer best known for designing the Metford rifling used in the .303 calibre Lee–Metford and Martini–Metford service rifles in the late 19th century.
Life
He was b ...
(1824–1899), Taunton-born engineer known for the Metford rifling in the .303 Lee-Metford service rifle of the late 19th century
* Ciara Michel
Ciara Kathleen Michel (born 2 July 1985) is a British/American volleyball player who plays as a middle blocker. Born in Taunton, Somerset Michel learned to play volleyball in Miami, Florida after her parents moved there when she was aged 10. In ...
(born 1985), member of Team GB
Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation's poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the BOA. I ...
Olympic volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
squad, the first to play in the Olympic Games
* John Mole (born 1941), poet and jazz musician born in Taunton
* Frank Montague Moore (1877–1967), Taunton-born painter and first director of the Honolulu Museum of Art
* Alfred B. Mullett
Alfred Bult Mullett (April 7, 1834 – October 20, 1890) was a British-American architect who served from 1866 to 1874 as Office of the Supervising Architect, Supervising Architect, head of the government agency, agency of the United States Treas ...
(1834–1890), architect to Abraham Lincoln, born in Taunton
* James Northcote
James Northcote (22 October 1746, in Plymouth – 13 July 1831, in London) was a British painter.
Life and work
Northcote was born in Plymouth, and was apprenticed to his father, Samuel Northcote, a watchmaker. In his spare time, he drew and ...
(born 1987), actor and film producer, was a pupil of King's College, Taunton
(Strong and faithful)
, established = 1880
, closed =
, type = Independent day and boarding
, religious_affiliation = Church of England
, president =
, head_label ...
.
* Justin Pipe (born 1971), professional darts player
* James Purefoy (born 1964), Taunton-born actor, starred in the joint HBO/BBC series ''Rome''.
* Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards (born 7 March 1952) is an Antiguan retired cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Batting generally at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely ...
(born 1952), Antigua
Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...
n-born West Indies cricketer resident in Taunton while playing for Somerset, 1974–1986
* Gary Rhodes (1960–2019), celebrated head chef at the Castle Hotel, Taunton
The Castle Hotel at Taunton is a hotel with two restaurants, Castle Bow Restaurant and BRAZZ, located in the centre of Taunton, Somerset, England. The business is located in a Grade II listed 18th-century reconstruction of the former 12th-century ...
, 1986–1990
* Andy Robinson (born 1964), Taunton-born England rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
international and head coach, now head coach of Scotland
* Ivor Salter
Ivor Charlie Salter (22 August 1925 – 21 June 1991) was an English actor who appeared in character roles in numerous United Kingdom television productions and films from the early 1950s until the 1980s often appearing as a police constable.
H ...
(1925-1991), actor, born in Taunton
* Miranda Shearer
Miranda Rose Shearer (born 11 May 1982) is an English author.
Writings
Miranda Shearer has written two books. She wrote the first book ''My Turn To Cook'' at the age of 18 for her former boyfriend to take to university. It was re-published under t ...
(born 1982), author born in Taunton, since resident in Spaxton
Spaxton is a small village and civil parish on the Quantock Hills, Quantocks in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England.
History
Spaxton was part of the Hundred (county subdivision), hundred of Cannington (hundred), Cannington.
T ...
, Over Stowey
Over may refer to:
Places
*Over, Cambridgeshire, England
*Over, Cheshire, England
*Over, South Gloucestershire, England
* Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England
** Over Bridge
*Over, Seevetal
Over is a village in the municipality of Seevet ...
and Taunton
* Juno Temple
Juno Temple (born 21 July 1989) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films ''Notes on a Scandal'' (2006), ''Atonement'' (2007), ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008), ''The Three Musketeers'' (2011), ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), '' Mag ...
(born 1989), actress
* Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard (1873–1956), Taunton-born military officer involved in founding the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
* Marcus Trescothick (born 1975), England cricketer, recipient of the Taunton Deane Citizenship Award in 2005
* Sir Charles Trevelyan, 1st Baronet
Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan, 1st Baronet, (2 April 1807 – 19 June 1886) was a British civil servant and colonial administrator. As a young man, he worked with the colonial government in Calcutta, India. He returned to Britain and took ...
(1807–1886), Governor of Madras, born in Taunton
* James Turle
James Turle (5 March 1802 – 28 June 1882) was an English organist and composer, best known today as the writer of several widely sung Anglican chants and the hymn tune "Westminster" sung to the words of Frederick William Faber "My God, how wond ...
(1802–1882) an organist and composer.
* Phil Vickery (born 1961), celebrity chef
* Frederick Porter Wensley (1865–1949), chief constable of Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...
CID
CID may refer to:
Film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film
* ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film
Television
* ''CID'' ( ...
, born in Taunton
* David Henry Wilson
David Henry Wilson (born 1937, in London) is an English writer. As an author he is best known for his children's stories such as the '' Jeremy James'' series. Wilson has also had a number of plays produced in the United Kingdom, both for childr ...
(born 1937), writer known for children's stories such as the ''Jeremy James'' series
* Jeremy Wright
Sir Jeremy Paul Wright , MP (born 24 October 1972) is a British lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General for England and Wales from 2014 to 2018 and as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2018 to 2019. A ...
(born 1972), born in Taunton and attending Taunton School, became Attorney General for England and Wales and a Conservative MP
Twinning
Taunton is twinned with Lisieux
Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland.
Name
The name of the town derives from the l ...
in France, Königslutter
Königslutter am Elm is a town in the district of Helmstedt in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Geography
It is located on the northeastern slopes of the Elm hill range, within the Elm-Lappwald Nature Park, about east of Brunswick, west of the distric ...
in Germany, and Taunton, Massachusetts
Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount ...
in the US.
See also
*
References
External links
*
Social, economic and political data on Taunton from the Vision of Britain website
Taunton regeneration
{{Authority control
County towns in England
Market towns in Somerset
Towns in Taunton Deane
Unparished areas in Somerset