Somerset

V

Places of Interest

The main centres of tourism are the coastal resorts, the inland towns of Wells and Glastonbury, the caves of Cheddar Gorge and Wookey Hole, the Quantock Hills, and Exmoor National Park. The coast from Minehead westwards to the Devon border has been named the Exmoor Heritage Coast. Walkers following the South West Coast Path along the same stretch of coast from its start at Minehead, pass through the village of Porlock, settled originally by the Saxon kings as a base for their hunting expeditions in Exmoor Forest. Steam trains run on the West Somerset Railway, re-opened in 1976, from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard. Wells is England's smallest city and an excellent centre for touring the Mendips. Wells Cathedral, built in the 12th-15th centuries, is part of a well-preserved medieval precinct. The west front is decorated with over 300 statues, which were originally coloured. Inside the cathedral there is a 14th-century astronomical clock.

Cheddar Gorge and the Wookey Hole caves have been heavily commercialized. Glastonbury, however, for centuries a much venerated pilgrim shrine, still exerts a mystical atmosphere; many still believe St Joseph of Arimathea went to Glastonbury with the Holy Grail of Arthurian legend (see History below). Montacute House, near Yeovil, is a fine Elizabethan mansion, built in the local Ham Hill stone and with its original walled garden. Hestercombe Gardens features three complete period gardens—Georgian landscape gardens, with lakes, temples, and woodland walks; a Victorian terrace garden, planted with formal flower beds and shrubbery; and formal Edwardian gardens, designed by Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll in 1904.

VI

Economy

Somerset is noted for its traditional industries, such as textiles and leatherware. These days the manufacturing sector also includes avionics, precision engineering, electronics, and defence among its industries. The only British helicopter manufacturer, Westland Helicopters, is based in Yeovil. Tourism is another important source of income. Historically, dairy farming has been the main source of revenue. The valley of Taunton Deane is famous for its apples and cider; Somerset “scrumpy”, a rough draught cider made from withered apples, is a speciality. Cheese has been made in the villages since the 16th century and has come to be known worldwide as “Cheddar” because originally it was sold to visitors to Cheddar Gorge. There is some market gardening and forestry. A breakdown of the employment structure shows that 26 per cent of all employees are in manufacturing; 64 per cent are in the service sector in areas such as business and financial services, tourism, and local and national government and agencies; and 5 per cent are connected with agriculture, forestry, and fishing.

Hinkley Point, near Bridgwater, is the site of two nuclear power stations—Hinkley Point A, a Magnox reactor which opened in 1965, and Hinkley Point B, an Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor (AGR), which opened in 1976. Hinkley Point A ceased generating electricity in May 2000 and was decommissioned in 2001.

VII

History

Somerset contains ample evidence of prehistoric settlement. A wealth of archaeological finds includes ancient earthworks, barrows, and traces of a lake settlement of stilt dwellings at Meare, near Glastonbury. In the Mendip caves, Stone Age flint implements and the bones of extinct mammals have been found. After the Romans overran the region in ad 43, the town of Ilchester (Lindinis) became an important military station along the Fosse Way, the Roman road which ran from Lincolnshire to south Devon. Later, under Saxon domination, the region became part of the kingdom of Wessex.

Legends abound concerning the foundation of Glastonbury. It seems certain that a Celtic monastery was established there before the Saxon conquest and that by the 10th century the abbey church had achieved some importance as the burial place of three kings. St Patrick of Ireland is also believed to have been buried there. Other legends claim that St Joseph of Arimathea brought the Holy Grail (the cup used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper) containing drops of Christ's blood to Glastonbury after the Crucifixion and built the first wood and wattle church there in about ad 60. The Glastonbury thorn, which flowers at Christmas, is said to have sprung from St Joseph's staff. The Arthurian legend was reinforced in 1191, when bones said to be those of King Arthur and his Queen Guinevere were uncovered and reburied in the abbey.

According to the Domesday Book of 1086 the abbey possessed great wealth, including lands in five countries. Destroyed by fire in 1184, rebuilding lasted until the 14th century. Following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536 to 1539, Glastonbury Abbey fell into ruin and was later used as building material; the parts that have survived include St Mary's Chapel and a fine 14th-century abbot's kitchen.

Ecclesiastical rivalry dominated the early Middle Ages. The abbey at Bath and the church at Wells, both founded by the Saxons, became locked in a lengthy dispute as to where the bishop should have his seat, after Somerset had been transferred from the see of Sherborne (Dorset) to the new diocese of Wells in 909. The dispute was not resolved until 1242, when the diocese was named Bath and Wells, which it remains today.

Somerset shared in the prosperity brought to the west of England by the wool trade, and later the cloth trade. In July 1685 the last battle to be fought on English soil took place at Sedgemoor, where James II won a famous victory over the Duke of Monmouth. In September of the same year, Taunton was one of the locations of the Bloody Assizes conducted by the notorious Judge George Jeffreys.

By the mid-18th century Bath had become a fashionable spa, presided over by the dandy “Beau” Nash and much frequented by royalty and the aristocracy. Local limestone was used to build the elegant Palladian-style crescents, terraces, and squares for which the city is known. The Romans had named the town Aquae Sulis, meaning “waters of Sul” (a Celtic god); their original baths were rediscovered in 1755. Today these baths, and the 18th-century Pump Room and Assembly Rooms (the latter restored after bomb damage in 1942), are a major tourist attraction.