Somerton

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Somerton
Somerton shown within Somerset
OS grid reference	ST485285
District	South Somerset
Shire county	Somerset
Region	South West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Postcode district	TA11
Dialling code	01458
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
European Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Somerton and Frome
List of places: UK • England • Somerset

Coordinates: 51°03′13″N 2°44′10″W / 51.0535, -2.7361

Somerton is a town in the English county of Somerset, on the River Cary, near Yeovil and Street, 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Langport, and 7 south of Glastonbury, in the South Somerset district.

It has a wide market square surrounded by old stone houses and an octagonal, roofed Market Cross as a focal point at the centre.

Somerton was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Sumertone, meaning 'The sea-lake enclosure' from the Old English sae, mere and tun.^[1] An alternative suggested origin is from the Anglo-Saxon Sumer-tūn, meaning summer farmstead.^[2]

It was reputedly the capital of the Kingdom of Wessex from 871 to 901 AD, although this is not supported by modern research.^[3]

Contents 1 History 2 Landmarks 2.1 Church 2.2 Somerton Court 3 Education 4 Culture 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

The earliest historical reference to the town is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which records in 733 that the King of Wessex lost control of Somerton to Ethelbald, King of Mercia.^[2] The town returned to West Saxon royal control in the ninth century.^[3] The town's name was subsequently extended to the people in the area it controlled and the area became known as Somerset, although Somerton soon ceased to be the most important settlement and never grew into a large town. It was, briefly, the county town of Somerset from the late thirteenth century.

A tithe barn was built to house the tithes of crops and produce paid to the Rector of the parish church, who was the Abbot of Muchelney Abbey in the Middle Ages. After the Reformation, in which Muchelney Abbey was closed in 1539, the tithes were paid to Bristol Cathedral. In the 20th century it was turned into private houses.^[4][5]

Glove making was a major industry in the town which also produced ropes and twine. There was also a brewery in the town.

Before the days of National Insurance and the Health Service, Provident Societies were important in most rural communities. Somerton Men's Club, one of these, flourished for over a century. Every summer there was a Club Day which was a local holiday with a church service, processions and a fair in the market square.

Many historical tales have grown up about Somerton, notably the myth that it once possessed a castle, but this stems from a confusion with Somerton Castle in Lincolnshire.

The Hurcott mine was used from the Victorian era until 1953 to extract gypsum.^[6]

In 1906, a railway station opened on the Castle Cary Cut-Off which was built by the Great Western Railway. It was closed in 1962.

When the Marconi Company built the radio stations known as the Imperial Wireless Chain for the Post Office during 1925-26, they also established their own transmitting station at Dorchester with a receiving station 30 miles (48 km) away at Somerton.^[7]

Somerton was hit by a (misdirected) bomb during World War II, resulting in the loss of lives at the Cow and Gate Dairy. A memorial at the dairy site (later to become a district council depot, and recently bought by the Town Council for possible use as the site of a new hall) commemorates those killed.

[edit] Landmarks

The village's most noted feature is its roofed market cross (the Butter Cross) in the Square which was rebuilt in 1673.^[8] It belonged to the Earl of Ilchester until they found they could not afford to repair it during World War I, when it was given to the town.

The Square has many buildings of interest, including the so-called "Town Hall" or "Market Hall", next to the Butter Cross, although the building has never fulfilled the function.^[2][9] Also on the square are the church and the Lady Smith Memorial Hall, also known as the "Parish Rooms", which was built in 1902,^[10] and 17th century Market House, which is now a restaurant,^[11] The Red Lion was opened by the Earl of Ilchester in 1768 as a model coaching inn. It closed in 1995 and, after a period of neglect, it has been redeveloped as town houses.^[12][13]

[edit] Church

The Anglican Church, St Michael's and All Angels, has origins in 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 dressing. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.^[14]

It is notable for a carved roof, with lions and a small cider barrel purportedly carved by the monks of Muchelney Abbey. Sir John Betjeman 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 design. In the triangular spaces above each beam are twenty-two dragons facing each other in pairs. 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 and altar table are Jacobean woodwork.^[15]

[edit] Somerton Court

Somerton court has 12th century origins. It has had various owners including Edward IV's brother, the Duke of Clarence. Later Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, sold the estate in 1530 and was in 1597 by James Fisher. His son rebuilt it, and it remianed in the family until 1808 when it was sold, renamed "Somerton Court", and updated with Gothic battlements and turrets in place of the former gabled dormers. It was enlarged in the 19th century by the Hall-Stephenson family and was sold in 1927 and 1970.^[16][17] The house is set in 55 acres of parkland and gardens.

[edit] Education

Somerton has two schools - the County Infants' school on Etsome Terrace and the Monteclefe CEVA Junior school on Kirkham street.

[edit] Culture

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Somerton has almost doubled in size during the last 25 years but it has not lost its community spirit and still retains a village atmosphere.

Like many quaint country towns in this area, Somerton has little to offer in the way of entertainment. During the 1980s, escalating into the mid 1990's, local children began to amuse themselves by congregating at the fire station, the park behind the station, various car parks and areas around the town square to drink alcohol and abuse drugs. Crime and drug abuse escalated until cctv cameras were installed all over the town, an open container ban was also put into use, banning all open alcohol containers from town streets and public areas. At the time these were experimental tactics, now common place in the UK.

In the past few years, projects aiming to modernize Somerton have been undertaken with a great deal of success. The Square was heavily revamped, creating a central parking area with easy access to the local amenities. The effect has been enormous, redefining Somerton as a less archaic village and allowing more contact and socialization between residents and visitors.

Somerton is also the name of the mansion in which the orgy takes place in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut (1999).

[edit] References

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

[edit] External links

• Somerton community website
• Somerton Web Museum
• The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey: Somerton, by Miranda Richardson
• Photos of Somerton in 3d (Anaglyphs)