Somerton ( ) is a town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the English county of

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. It gave its name to the county and was briefly, around the start of the 14th century, the county town, and around 900 was possibly the capital of

Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...

. It has held a weekly market since the Middle Ages, and the main square with its

market cross A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. History Market crosses ...

is today popular with visitors. Situated on the River Cary, approximately north-west of

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

, Somerton has its own

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

serving a population of 4,697 as of 2011. Residents are often referred to locally as Somertonians. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Etsome, Hurcot, Catsgore, and Catcombe. Archaeological remains at Somerton are evidence of a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

settlement. The discovery of a high status cemetery in 2019, suggests that these local people adopted a more

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

lifestyle. During the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

era, Somerton was an important political and commercial centre. After the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

the importance of the town declined, despite being the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

of Somerset in the late thirteenth century and early fourteenth century. Having lost county town status, Somerton then became a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

in the Middle Ages, whose economy was supported by transport systems using the

River Parrett The River Parrett is a river that flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the So ...

, and later rail transport via the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

, and by light industries including glove making and

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

mining. In the centre of Somerton the wide market square, with its octagonal roofed market cross, is surrounded by old houses, while close by is the 13th century Church of St Michael and All Angels. Somerton also had links with Muchelney Abbey in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The BBC drama '' The Monocled Mutineer'' was filmed in Somerton from 1985 to 1986.

History

Archaeological evidence uncovered in 2019 indicates the existence of a

settlement which pre-dates any written records of the area. The

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are items buried along with a body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into an afterlife, or offerings to gods. Grave goods may be classed by researche ...

found suggest the local population were of a high status and adopted a Roman lifestyle, with the older and newer graves showing marked differences in burial customs. The earliest written reference to the town is in the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'', which records that in 733 the King of Wessex, Æthelheard lost control of Somerton to Æthelbald, King of

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

. Somerton was the site of the 949 meeting of the witan, a form of Anglo-Saxon parliament. The town returned to West Saxon royal control in the ninth century, and it was listed in the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

'' of 1086 as "Sumertone". The name may come from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

for "sea-lake enclosure", "summer town" or "summer farmstead". The Somerton name was extended to the people in the area it controlled, and this area became known as Somerset, although Somerton soon ceased to be the most important settlement and never grew into a large town. The parish was the largest in the Hundred of Somerton. It was, briefly, the

of Somerset from the late thirteenth century into the early fourteenth century. A building referred to as "Somerset castle" is believed to have been built around 1280 as a county gaol, with a visitor in 1579 describing the remaining portion as "an old tower embattled about castle-like". It was owned by Sir Ralph Cromwell between 1423 and 1433. Details are vague and visible remains have vanished, so its status as a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

and its very existence is in doubt, with one writer, D.J.C. King, feeling that people were confusing it with Somerton Castle in Lincolnshire. The Abbots of Muchelney Abbey held the rectorship of the parish church of Somerton during the

. They built a tithe barn, to house the

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

s of crops and produce paid by the parish to the town's rector. The abbey was dissolved in 1539 during the

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

, and the tithes and the tithe barn passed into the ownership of

Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bristol. The cathedral was originally an abbey dedicated to St ...

. In the 20th century the barn was converted into private housing. Somertonradiostation crop

Glove making was a major industry in the town in the early 19th century, along with the production of rope and twine. The Somerton Brewery, owned by a local landowner named Thomas Templeman, was first recorded under the Tithe Apportionment Act 1841. The brewery became a large producer in Somerset until its final closure around 1935. Before the

National Insurance National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...

and the Health Service was introduced, Somerton Men's Club acted as a local provident society within the area.

Gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

was extracted by hand at the Hurcott open-cast mine from the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

up until it closed down in 1953. In 1906, a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

opened on the Castle Cary Cut-Off which was built by the

. Whilst the line still remains in use, the station was closed in 1962. When the

Marconi Company The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 which was a pioneer of wireless long distance communication and mass media broadcasting, eventually becoming on ...

built the radio stations known as the

Imperial Wireless Chain The Imperial Wireless Chain was a strategic international communications network of powerful long range radiotelegraphy stations, created by the British government to link the countries of the British Empire. The stations exchanged commercial a ...

for the Post Office during 1925–26, they also established their own transmitting station at Dorchester with a receiving station away at Somerton. Somerton was hit by four

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

bombs on the morning of 29 September 1942 during the Second World War. The bombs were aimed at the Cow and Gate milk factory and it was largely destroyed. Ten nearby houses were badly damaged. Nine people were killed and thirty seven injured. A memorial at the dairy site commemorates those killed. Somerton also is home to large properties, like The Lynch Country House, a Grade II listed building, built in 1812 and St Michael's and All Angels Church.

Governance

Somerton is an

electoral division An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

electing two councillors to

Somerset Council Somerset Council, known until 2023 as Somerset County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England. Since 2023 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unita ...

. The electoral division is larger than the town, including several neighbouring parishes. The town also has a

with responsibility for some local issues. In October 2009, eleven of the town councillors resigned en masse, citing excessive criticism from local residents and in particular criticism from a hostile local weblog. In February 2012 the external auditor appointed by the Audit Commission published a critical "Report in the Public Interest" regarding the activities of Somerton Town Council in the fiscal year 2008 to 2009. The town was formerly part of South Somerset district from 1974 to 2023, and part of Langport Rural District from 1894 to 1974. Somerton is part of Glastonbury and Somerton constituency for elections to the House of Commons.

Geography

Somerton is situated on a plateau, above and to the south of the deep valley of the River Cary. The river flows west and then north through the Somerton Moor and then into

King's Sedgemoor Drain King's Sedgemoor Drain is an artificial drainage channel which diverts the River Cary in Somerset, England, along the southern flank of the Polden Hills, to discharge into the River Parrett at Dunball near Bridgwater. As the name suggests ...

on the

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

eventually joining the

near

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

. The town is from London, south from

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and north-west from

, just off the Dorset border. Somerton's hamlets include Etsome, Hurcot, Lower Somerton, Littleton and Midney. Great Breach Wood is a

biological Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI) and is situated just north-east from Somerton, near the hamlet of Littleton. Somerton's climate is typical of the

climate of south-west England The climate of south-west England is classed as oceanic (''Cfb'') according to the Köppen climate classification. The oceanic climate is typified by frequent cloudy skies, cool winters with cool summers and precipitation all year round, with ...

which is usually cool winters with warmer summers and precipitation all year round, with more rain experienced in winter.

Demography

The Somerton parish had a population of 5,500 as of 2021. In the 1801 census the population of the town was 1,145 and the first half of the 19th century saw strong growth (reflecting that seen elsewhere in England during this period), with the population rising to 2,140 in 1851. It however then began to drop, starting with a significant drop to 1,917 by the 1861 census. The population steadily fell until 1921, before steadily rising thereafter. It was not until 1961 that the population of Somerton had risen above its former population of 1851. The population has since continued to steadily increase.

Economy

A weekly market has been held in Somerton for much of its history. The cloth industry dominated the town's market from the 17th century until the 20th century, when agriculture took over as the leading industry. Some light industries and services, such as garage repair, physiotherapy, water treatment, and builders and decorators, are located in the

business park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typically ...

on Bancombe Road.

Landmarks

The main square, Market Place, with its

is today an attractive location for visitors. Market crosses have stood in the square since before 1390; the present Butter Cross, a roofed market cross, was rebuilt in 1673, and is Somerton's most noted feature. The structure was the property of the

Earls of Ilchester Earl of Ilchester is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1756 for Stephen Fox-Strangways, 1st Earl of Ilchester, Stephen Fox, 1st Baron Ilchester, who had previously represented Shaftesbury (UK Parliament constituency), S ...

who sold it to the town in 1916. It is a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. Next to the Butter Cross stands the Old Town Hall. Bordering the square are the church, and the Lady Smith Memorial Hall, also known as the "Parish Rooms", which was built in 1902, and named after Frances (nee Pinney), the late wife of Sir John Smith, who had died in 1895. The 17th century Market House is now a restaurant. The Red Lion was opened by the Earl of Ilchester in 1768 as a model coaching inn. It closed in 1995; after a period of neglect it has been redeveloped as town houses. From the early 1980s onwards projects aiming to improve Somerton for film industry purposes have been undertaken. The market square was heavily revamped, creating a central parking area with easy access to the local amenities. The BBC drama '' The Monocled Mutineer'' was filmed in Somerton from 1985 to 1986.

Somerton Court

Somerton Court was originally known as "Somerton Erleigh". The house has had various owners including

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

's brother, the

Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence was a substantive title created three times in the Peerage of England. The title Duke of Clarence and St Andrews has also been created in the Peerage of Great Britain, and Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Prince Leopold, Duke ...

, and

Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, Order of the Garter, KG (c. 1502 – 1537) was an English nobleman, active as a military officer in the north. He is now primarily remembered as the betrothed of Anne Boleyn, whom he was forced to give u ...

, who sold the estate in 1530. It passed through a number of hands until 1597 when it was purchased by James Fisher, whose son later rebuilt it in 1641. The court remained in the Fisher family's possession until 1808 when it was sold. Its new owner renamed the house "Somerton Court", and replaced the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a Roof pitch, pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the ...

s with Gothic

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

s and turrets. The house was later enlarged by the Hall-Stephenson family. During World War II it was occupied by Royal Navy WRENS. In the 1970s it was purchased by a local businessman Stuart Pattemore. In 1987 Somerton Court and the estate of and 4 cottages including The Dower House was purchased by Roger Byron-Collins when it was subject to extensive upgrading and extensions. It was resold in 2005. The Dower House was built in the early 19th century. The house now stands in grounds.

Transport

The town's former, and only,

was on the Castle Cary Cut-Off, once part of the

. Although the line still remains in use the station closed to passengers in 1962, and goods in 1964. The nearest station is now at

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

. On the outskirts of the town stands the impressive Somerton Viaduct. The closest main road from Somerton is the A303 road that runs near the town and stretches all the way into northern

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and finally joins the M3 motorway near

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...

The National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

file MT39/246 : "CLASSIFICATION: Renumbering of classified routes" The minor B3165 road runs through the town although the road is less commonly used and does not join to the A303 for another . Two B roads, the B3153 and B3165, run through Somerton; the B3165, mentioned earlier, starts in the town and runs southwards to the A372 Langport road. The A372 itself runs south-east to the junction of the A303 and A37 roads at Podimore services. The B3151 is also nearby, connecting Somerton with Street and Glastonbury to the north, and Ilchester to the south, and thus the A303 and A37 as well. The

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

is around away at junction 23 (

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West and ITV West Country. Television signals are received from the Mendip TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 102.6 FM and Greatest Hits Radio South West (formerly The Breeze) on 105.6 FM. The town is served by the local newspaper, Somerset County Gazette.

Religious sites

The Church of England parish church, St Michael and All Angels, has origins which date from the 13th century, with a major reshaping in the mid 15th century, and further restoration in 1889. It is built of local lias stone cut and squared, with

Hamstone Hamstone is a honey-coloured building stone from Ham Hill, Somerset, England. It is a well-cemented medium to coarse grained limestone characterised by marked bedding planes of clay inclusions and less well-cemented material which weather dif ...

dressing. It has been designated 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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

as a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The church is notable for a carved roof, with lions and a small

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...

barrel purportedly carved by the monks of Muchelney Abbey. Sir

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...

was also inspired by an inscription on the candelabra. The church is quite plain on the outside but inside is one of the finest wooden carved roofs in the county. It is shallow pitched with massive, richly decorated tie beams and short king posts. The whole area of the roof is divided into square carved panels set in the framework of the structural timbers which are decorated with carved bosses where they intersect. There are 640 panels each carved with the same

quatrefoil A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...

design. In the triangular spaces above each beam are dragon-like beasts. It is said there are bullet holes in the timbers, caused by soldiers who camped in the church in 1646 before the Battle of Langport. The 17th century

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, accesse ...

and

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

table are Jacobean woodwork. There are five other churches in the town, including Methodist and Catholic groups.

Education

A grammar school in Somerton was first founded in the 1570s, and later was endowed as the Somerton Free Grammar School. In 1903, it became Somerton Free Church of England School, before merging with Montclefe in 1963. Monteclefe National School was founded in 1851 by the Pinney family of Somerton Erleigh. Somerton Infants School and Monteclefe CEVA Junior school merged in September 2014 to form King Ina Academy, with Somerton Roundabout Preschool also amalgamating with the school, with the ultimate aim of having one building for the whole academy. Currently the institution is still based on two sites, however applications have been submitted to the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

to be granted permission to build a new, one-building free school for King Ina Academy on one of three possible sites, all of which are situated in the western outskirts of the town.

References

* ''Victoria History of the County of Somerset: Vol 3: Somerton'', R.W. Dunning (1974)

External links

Somerton Town Council