TAUNTON, a borough and market-town in the hundred of TAUNTON-and-TAUNTON-DEAN, county of SOMERSET, 11 miles (S. byW.) from Bridg-water, and 144 (W. by S.) from London, containing, according to the last census, 8534 inhabitants, which number has since increased to upwards of 10,000. This place, which was called by the Saxons Tantun, and subsequently Tawnton and Thoneton, from its situation on the river Thone, or Tone, is of great antiquity, and the discovery of several urns, containing Roman coins, in the neighbourhood has led to the conjecture that it existed in the time of that people; but the earliest authentic accounts refer to the period of the Octarchy, a castle having been built here for a royal residence by Ina, King of the West Saxons, about the year 700, in which he held his first great council. This castle was afterwards demolished by his queen, Ethelburga, after expelling Eadbricht, King of the South Saxons, who had seized it. The town and manor are supposed to have been granted to the church of Winchester in the following reign; and another castle is said to have been built, on the site of the first, by the Bishops of Winchester, in the reign of William the Conqueror, in which they principally resided for normyears. At this period Taunton had a mint, some of the coins bearing the Conqueror's effigy being still in existence. In the reign of Henry VII., in 1497, Pcrkiu Warbeck seized the town and castle, which he quickly abandoned, on the approach of the king's troops. In 1645, it again participated in civil war, being celebrated for the long siege it sustained, and the defence it made, under Colonel (afterwards the renowned Admiral) Blake, who held it for the parliament against ten thousand troops under Lord Goring, until relieved by Fairfax. On this memorable occasion a public thanksgiving was appointed by the Commons, who voted £500 to the Colonel, and & 1000 to the men under his command; but the inhabitants incurred the displeasure of the king, who, on his restoration, suspended its charter, and ordered the walls to be razed to the ground, which was so effectually done, that even their site is not now known. Taunton was again implicated in rebellious proceedings by its connexion with James, Duke of Monmouth, who was proclaimed king on the Cornhill of this town, June 21st, 1685; many of whose followers, after his defeat at Sedgmoor, were inhumanly put to death, on the same spot, by the brutal Kirke, without form of trial, besides those who were condemned by the merciless Judge Jeffreys, at the bloody assize which he held here in the following September. The town is situated in a central part of the singularly beautiful and luxuriant vale of Taunton-Dean, and is upwards of a mile in length; the principal streets, which terminate in the market-place, are spacious, well paved, and lighted with, gas by a company established in 1821; the houses, mostly built of brick, are generally commodious and handsome, and well supplied with excellent water. The respectability of the town, combined with the beauty of the surrounding country, has rendered it very attractive as a place of residence, and many redent improvements have been effected, amongst which the erection of a neat crescent and terrace may be particularly noticed, and the removal of some old houses at East Gate, which has rendered the entrance from London more spacious. The parade, in the centre of the town, is a fine open triangular space, enclosed with iron posts and chains, and on the east side of it is a wide street, erected by the late Sir Benjamin Hammet, which forms a handsome approach to St. Mary's beautiful church. A substantial stone-bridge of two arches crosses the Tone, and connects the town with the village of North-town, or Norton. Several detached villas, commanding beautiful views, have also been erected in the suburbs of Wilton, Staplegrove, West Monckton, and adjoining parishes. The Taunton and .Somerset Institution, established in 1823, possesses a small but valuable library, particularly works of reference; also various specimens in mineralogy, ornithology, zoology, &c.: it has likewise a noble and spacious public reading and news-room. The theatre, in Silver- street, is usually open two months in the year, and balls and concerts occasionally take place. Taunton was formerly noted for its woollen manufacture, being one of the first places into which that branch of trade was introduced, but it has long since given place to the silk trade, which was begun here, in 1778, and is now carried on to a considerable extent: the chief articles manufactured are, crapes, persians, sarsnets, and mixed goods; and, as nearly every cottage has a silk-loom, the trade furnishes employment to a great number of persons, principally females. Two patent lace-manufactories have been lately established. The river Tone is navigable, but its course to Bridg-waterbeing circuitous, and the navigation frequently interrupted, a canal, called the Taunton and Bridg-water canal, has been constructed, and has given increased activity to trade, considerable quantities of Welch coal being brought to the town, and, in return, the produce of the vale of Taunton being exported to Bristol and other parts of England. The markets are on Wednesday and Saturday, the latter being the principal; they are well supplied with fish from both channels, with every other kind of provisions, and with fruit in abundance. The old market-house, standing on the south side of the Parade, is a lofty brick building, supported on each side by an arcade, one of which is used as a corn market, and the other by various tradesmen: it contains the guildhall, and a handsome assembly-room, in which is a full-length portrait of George III. in his robes, presented by the late Sir Benjamin Hammet. The Parade is appropriated to the butchers, who form on it their market of moveable standings, placed in rows; on the west side is a handsome building of freestone, erected in 1821, in the lower part and rear of which is the market for fish, pork, poultry, and dairy produce; the upper being used as the library and reading-room, with a museum attached: it is of the Ionic order, the entablature supported by four handsome columns, and forms a great ornament to this part of the town. The last Saturday in every month is called the great market, including the sale of live stock. This is one of the towns which, by act of parliament, are obliged to make weekly returns of corn sold; the tolls of the markets are let for about £1400 per annum. There is an annual fair on the 17th of June, for horses and cattle. The town was for several centuries under the jurisdiction of portreeves and bailiffs, chosen at the courts of the Bishops of Winchester, as lords of the manor, which was formerly very extensive arid valuable, the rental, at the time of the Conquest, appearing, from a document found amongst the court rolls, to amount to nearly £700 per annum; it was, however, divided by the Conqueror, and portions of it distributed among his favourites. By the custom of the manor the wife is considered her husband's heir, and succeeds before the children, the youngest son before the eldest, and so on in other relations, the younger succeeding first. It continued in the possession of the Bishops of Winchester until the year 1822, when it was 'sold by Bishop Tomline to Thomas Southwood, Esq., at whose annual courts, held in the castle, two portreeves, who collect the lord's rents, two bailiffs, two constables, and six tythingmen, are chosen. A charter was granted, in 1627, by Charles I, vesting the civil power in a mayor, justice, aldermen, and burgesses; this was suspended by Charles II., but subsequently confirmed by him, and existed until the year 1792, when, in consequence of the corporation having suffered a majority of the members to die without filling up vacancies, and a majority being required to swear in the officers, none could be legally elected; whereby the charter became forfeited, and a fruitless application having been made to the Privy Council for its renewal, the tpwn is now under the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who hold a petty session on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the guildhall. The bailiffs convene, and usually preside at, public meeting and the constables have the distribution of most or the public charities. The Lent assizes for the county are held in the castle, as are also the Michaelmas general quarter sessions. A court for the recovery of small debts under 40s. is holden, in the same place, for the borough and hundred alternately, every week. The castle is supposed to be part of a stately edifice efected by William Giffard, Bishop of Winchester, in the reign of Henry I.; it was thoroughly repaired by Bishop Langton, towards the end of the fifteenth century, and, in addition to other improvements, the present assize hall was built, by Bishop Home, in 1577, since which period, various sums have been expended for keeping it in repair. The building consists of a south front, with a gateway in the centre, over which are two escutcheons, one bearing the arms of Henry VII., with the motto Five le roi Henri; the other the inscription Laus tlbi Xte., and T. Langto Winto, 1495, both in Saxon characters; at its east end is a circular tower. The inner court-yard is an irregular quadrangle, the east side being the shorter, and on the north side are the county courts, grand jury room, &c.: the acdess to it is through an open court, called Castle Green, formerly enclosed with two gates, but one only remains, over which is what was the porter's lodge, now occupied as a dwelling-house; besides these is another apartment, called the Exchequer chamber, where the rolls of the matoor are preserved; the walls are of great strength, and the grooves for the portcullis quite perfect. The moat was filled up in 1785, and the drawbridge removed. The only prison, besides a small place of temporary confinement, called the Nook, is the county bridewell, at Wilton, to confine malefactors until they can be taken before a magistrate. It was erected in 1754, and enlarged in 1815, being now capable of receiving eighty prisoners. Debtors, as well as criminals, are sent to the county gaol at Ilchester, and the latter also to Wilton and Shepton-Mallet prisons. This is a borough by prescription, and first sent members to parliament in the reign of Edward I., in 1295; the right of election is in the potwallers, or persons who boil their own pot, and have resided six months within the limits of the borough (which is not co-extensive with the town, comprising only a part of the parish of St. Mary Magdalene) and do not receive alms; the number of electors is about six hundred, and the bailiffs are the returning officers. Taunton comprises the parishes of St. James and St. Mary Magdalene, in the archdeaconry of Taunton, and diocese of Bath and Wells, but many of the houses extend into the adjoining parishes. The living of St. James' is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £1000 private benefaction, £800 royal bounty, and £1700 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of Sir T. B. Lethbridge, Bart.: the church, which is an ancient unadorned structure, with a quadrangular tower, was formerly the conventual church of the priory. The living of St. Mary Magdalene's is a vicarage, endowed with £600 private benefaction, and £600 royal bounty, and in the patronage of E. B. Portman, Esq.: the church, standing near the centre of the town, was originally a chapel to the conventual church of St. James, but was made parochial in 1308, under Walter Huselshaw, then Bishop of Bath and Wells; it is a spacious and mag- nificent edifice, in the decorated and later styles of English architecture, consisting of a chancel, nave, and five aisles, two of the latter having been probably added at a later date, separated by four rows of clustered columns supporting pointed arches: the quadrangular tower at the west end is an elegant structure in four compartments, containing thirteen windows, which, by the variety of their ornaments, add much to its lightness and beauty; it is one hundred and twentyone feet in height, exclusively of its pinnacles of thirtytwo feet, which are richly adorned with carved work, and the top crowned with most exquisitely delicate battlements; the whole forming a beautiful and conspicuous object for many miles round. There is a place of worship each for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, and Unitarians, and two for Wesleyan Methodists, one of them erected under the immediate direction of their founder, the Rev. John Wesley. The Roman Catholics have lately built a handsome chapel, with a portico supported by two Ionic pillars, and a facade ornamented with windows and pilasters of the same order; they have also a convent of Franciscan nuns, who emigrated from Brussels during the French Revolution in the last century, and first settled at Winchester, until they became possessed of their present residence, which is a noble building standing at the east end of the town, near the entrance from London, originally intended for a public hospital. The free grammar school was founded, in 1522, by Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester, and endowed, in 1554, by William Walbee, clerk, with property now producing about £36 per annum: the school-house is on the south side of the Castle green, and adjoining it is a house for the master, whose appointment is vested in the Warden of New College, Oxford; there are no boys on the foundation. The school in Middlestreet, in which eighty boys and fifty girls are clothed and instructed, is supported by voluntary subscription and there are also a school of industry and two infant schools. The almshouses at East Gate were founded, in 1635, by Robert Gray, Esq., a native of this town, and endowed by him with £2000; ten poor women and seven men are lodged in them, who, by direction of the founder, were to receive two shillings a week each, but additional benefactions have enabled the trustees to increase this allowance to three shillings a week. Huish's almshouses, on the north side of Hammet-street, founded and endowed by Richard Huish, Esq., for " thirteen poor, needy, maimed, impotent, or aged men," one of whom is appointed president, and reads prayers daily in the chapel attached to the building; he l-eceives seven shillings, and the rest five shillings, a week each, besides clothing and coal occasionally. Henley's and Pope's almshouses, and seventeen other tenements, are also appropriated to the rent-free residence of the poor, but are not en<- dowed. Of the other charities, the principal is that arising from the Town Lands, consisting of property to which no claimant appeared after a plague had raged in Taunton, which, together with some land and houKra purchased under bequests of John Meredith and Margery Acland, is vested in feoffees; the annual produce is about £360, and, after some deductions for expenses, the income from the Town Lands is distributed in money among the poor of the parish of St. Mary Magdalene; that from John Meredith's bequest, in clothing to' poor men and women; and that from Margery Acland's, in small sums to poor women; there are also many small sums, as well as bread and clothing, arising from various bequests, annually distributed. The Taunton and Somerset hospital was founded, in 1809, in commemoration of George III. entering upon the fiftieth year of his reign; it was opened on the 25th of March, 1812, and contains four wards, two for men and two for women, being capable of accommodating twenty-six patients. An eye infirmary, established in 1816, is supported by voluntary contributions and there is a society for the relief of lyingin women. Taunton is the birthplace of Samuel Daniel, the poet, born in 1562; and of the Rev. Henry Grove, in 1683, an eminent dissenting minister, who, in addition to other works, contributed some excellent papers to the Spectator. Amongst the bishops of Winchester who made it their occasional residence are the celebrated names of Cardinals Beaufort and Wolsey.