SOMERSETSHIRE, a county (maritime), bounded
on the north-west by the Bristol channel, on the southwest
by Devonshire, on the south-east by Dorsetshire,
on the east by Wiltshire, and on the north-east by
Gloucestershire. It extends from 50° 48' to 51° 27'
(N. Lat.), and from 2° 35' to 4° 5' (W. Lon.); and comprises
an area of one thousand six hundred and fortytwo
square English miles, or one million fifty thousand
eight hundred and eighty statute acres. The population,
in 1821, was 355,314. At the period of the Roman
Conquest, the district now forming the county of
Somerset was part of the territory of the Belgse, a
people of Celtic origin, who had migrated hither out of
Gaul, about three centuries before the commencement
of the Christian era. Between the native Britons and
this tribe continued hostilities existed, in consequence
of the efforts of the former to regain possession of the
territory which had been taken from them. About two
hundred and fifty years after the first settlement of the
Belgse, Divitiacus, King of the Suessones, brought over
to them from the continent a considerable army of
their fellow-countrymen, and a treaty was concluded
between the contending nations, in which a line of demarcation
between the territories of each was agreed
upon; this line consisted of a large and deep fosse defended
by a rampartj called Wansdike, parts of which
may still be traced: commencing at Andover, in Hampshire,
it traverses the county of Wilts, and, on approaching
Somersetshire, crosses the Avon near Binacre, and
again at Bathampton, whence it continues over Claverton
down to Prior Park, Inglish-Combe, Stanton-Prior,
Publow, Norton, and Long Ashton, and terminates on
the shores of the Bristol Channel at Portishead, being
eighty miles in length. Thus nearly the whole of Somersetshire
was included in the territory of the Belgse;
and of the three chief cities of that people, two, Bath
and Ilchester, were situated within its limits. In the
Roman division of the kingdom it was included in Britannia
Prima. On the abandonment of Britain by that
people, Somersetshire soon became the scene of sanguinary
contention between the Saxons and the Britons,
who were compelled gradually to retire into the fastnesses
of Wales. In the year 493, a large body of
Saxons, under the command of JElla and his three sons,
encamped on Lansdown, and laid siege to Bath; but
that city was relieved by the renowned King Arthur,
who attacked and, after a sanguinary conflict, defeated
the Saxon leader. About 520, Arthur again delivered
Bath from the assaults of these invaders, led by three
lieutenants of the Saxon chief, Cerdic, and repulsed
them with great slaughter. In 577, however, the Saxon
leaders Ceawlin and Cuthwin, the former of whom was
monarch of the newly-founded kingdom, of Wessex, led
their forces towards the north-eastern part of the county,
and advanced to Deorham, a village about eight miles
from Bath, in the county of Gloucester, where they defeated
three British kings, and added to their conquests
the three royal cities of Bath, Gloucester, and Cirencester.
In 658, a battle was fought at Pen between
a party of Danes and some Saxon forces. In the year.
775, Offa, King of Mercia, wrested the city of Bath from
the sovereignty of Wessex, and restored much of its ancient,
splendour. In 845, a great battle was. fought at
Stoke-Courcy between the Saxons under the conduct of
Elstan, Bishop of Sherborne, and an army of Danish
marauders, in which the latter were totally defeated. In
he early part of the reign of Alfred the Great, the
Danes, who had previously desolated almost every other
part of England, extended their ravages to this county.
In 8?3 they destroyed Glastonbury, and in 877 Somerton
shared the same fate. The king himself, having
recourse to flight and concealment, took refuge for
some time in the cottage of a neatherd, situated 011 a
spot of ground, a few acres in extent, surrounded by
water, and almost impassable marshes, at the confluence
of the rivers Parret and Tone, in this county. Here,
when the pursuit and search of his enemies had abated,
he collected a few faithfml adherents, built a habitation,
and constructed a long bridge, one end of which was fortified,
so as to prevent all hostile approach. From this
strong hold> called in Saxon Etheling-ege, or the Isle of
the Nobles, and now written Athelney, he made frequent
and sudden excursions, harassing the Danes, and
maintaining himself and his followers by the booty that
he acquired. His successes continuing, the number of
his followers increased; and the news of his preservation,
and his being in arms, having been spread
among the Saxons, a day was appointed for. a general
rising against the Danes. The place of rendez-
vous was at a spot called Egbert's Stone, on the eastern
side of the Forest of Selwood, in the vicinity of
Frome, where the Saxons accordingly assembled in
great numbers, and whence their monarch led them to
the great victory of Ethandune, in Wiltshire. After
the total subjection of these Pagan warriors, Alfred
brought their leader, Guthrum, to his court at Aller, on
the banks of the Parret, in this county, where he received
the rite of baptism. In gratitude for his complete
successes, Alfred founded a monastery in the
isle of Athelney, to the honour of our Saviour and St.
Peter the Apostle. In 918, Somersetshire was again visited
by the Danes, a band of whom landed at Porlock;
but being attacked with bravery by the inhabitants, the
greater part of them were killed, and the remainder
compelled to embark; another body landed at Watchet,
and there met with a similar reception. This latter
town, however, was plundered by them in 987; and
again in 997, when they burned it and slaughtered the
inhabitants. In 1001, a battle was fought between
the Danes and the Saxons at Pen, where also, in
1016, occurred a similar conflict, the Saxons being
commanded by Edmund Ironside. In 1052, in the
time of Edward the Confessor, Harold, afterwards king
of England, landed at Porlock from Ireland, on his return
from banishment, with a large body of troops
which he had there collected; and having formed an
intrenched camp in the vicinity of that town, which
he garrisoned, he marched into the interior with the
remainder of his troops, spreading desolation on every
side; at last, returning to his ships loaded with booty,
he set sail, after having fired the town of Porlock and
the adjacent woods. In the reign of William Rufus,
during the insurrection headed by Odo, Bishop of Baieux,
and other Norman barons, in favour of Robert, Duke of
Normandy, the city of Bath was plundered and burned
by the insurgents, who, however, received a check before
the walls of Taunton. No event peculiarly affecting this
county occurs on record from this period until the year
1607, when some of the low marshy tracts, for an extent
of twenty miles in length, and about four in breadth,
were overflowed by an irruption of the sea, and eighty
persons drowned.
In the great struggle between Charles I, and the
parliament, Somersetshire, owing to the strength of the
royal party in the south-west of England, was a scene
of active warfare. The first hostile encounter was a
skirmish which occurred at Martial's Elm, in 1642. In
1643, on July 5th, was fought the obstinately contested
battle of Lansdown, between a portion of the parliamenr
tarian army under the command of Sir William Waller,
and the king's forces under the Marquis of Hertford
and Prince Maurice, after which the former retired
into Bath. In 1644, Lieut. F. Doddington and Sir W.
Courtney, with some royalist' troopg, engaged with Lieutenant-
General Middleton and his forces, a few miles
from Bridg-water, where the latter were defeated, with
the loss of eighty men killed, and one hundred and forty
taken prisoners. In October, the loyal inhabitants of
this county petitioned the king for liberty to arm themselves
in his cause, which was granted; and in the same
year occurred an action at Aller, a few miles to the
north-west of Laiigport, between some royal and some
parliamentarian forces, commonly called the battle of
Aller-Moor. At Wiveliscombe, on February 9th, 1645,
Col. Lutterell, the parliamentarian sheriff of Devonshire,
with twenty men, was shot dead by the royalists; and
on the same day, Major Stephens, having advanced
from Taunton to drive Sir Francis Mackworth from
his quarters at Langport, was received so warmly by
the latter, that very few of his party escaped; the
Major and all the chief officers were made prisoners
and sent to Bristol. On March 20th of the same year,
a party of the parliamentarian forces from Taunton
having fixed their quarters at Wiveliscombe, were defeated
in a skirmish, which took place in a field near
Nettlecombe, by Col. Windham, the royalist commander
of Dunster castle, with a small body of horse. At
Langport, on July 12th, a party of the king's forces,
under Lord Goring, were defeated by the parliamentarians;
Nunney castle was afterwards burned by
the latter. In 1646, the siege of Dunster castle,
which had been some time commenced by the parliamentarians,
was suddenly raised by the royalists. Lord
Wentworth, Sir Richard Grenville, and Col. Webbe, who
routed the besiegers, many of whom were slain, and one
thousand taken prisoners.
Somersetshire was the principal theatre of the rebellion
in favour of the Duke of Monmouth, in 1685.
That ill-advised nobleman having landed at Lyme-Regis
in Dorsetshire, with scarcely a hundred followers, and
published his audacious manifesto, he was immediately
joined by great numbers, chiefly of the lower orders, insomuch
that, in four days, he found himself at the head
of two thousand horse and foot. Advancing by Axminster
towards Taunton, in this county, he received
considerable , reinforcements, and on his arrival was
welcomed by the people of the latter town with every
demonstration of joy. There he assumed the title of
king, and asserted the legitimacy of his birth: his forces
were now augmented to six thousand, and many others
who nocked to join him were dismissed for want of arms.
From Taunton he proceeded to Bridg-water, Wells, and
Frome, and was proclaimed king at all. He then returned
to Bridg-water, where being cordially received, he
resolved to fortify himself, and maintain his position
until he should receive further news from London. The
rapid approach of the king's forces, however, caused him
to alter his plan; on Saturday, July 4th, intelligence was
brought that the king's troops were encamped at Sedgemoor,
within a mile and a half of his own army. On the
following day he reconnoitred them, in company with
Lord Grey and other officers, and considering their position
extremely injudicious, he called a council of war, in
which it was determined to surprise the enemy in the middle
of the following night. The ill conduct and consequent
failure of this attack, and the unsparing slaughter of
the duke's misguided followers in the rout that followed
it, are well known. In the punishment subsequently
inflicted upon the favourers of this enterprise,
the people of Somersetshire were marked as principal
victims, the military executions of Kirk, although
not so numerous, exceeding in violence and barbarity
the judicial cruelties of Judge Jeffreys. In 1688, the
Prince of Orange, shortly after his landing at Torbay,
attacked a party of the royal guards at Wincanton,
and put many of them to the sword: this event is remarkable
as being the first and almost only instance
in which blood was spilt during the progress of that glorious
revolution.
This county is co-extensive with the diocese of Bath
and Wells, in the province of Canterbury, and is divided
into the archdeaconries of Bath, Wells, and Taunton,
the first having no archidiaconal court, and in the two
latter the bishop exercising jurisdiction concurrently with
the archdeacons; the first of which contains the two deaneries
of Bath, and Redcliffe with Bedminster; the second
those of Axbridge, Gary, Frome, Ilchester, Marston, and
Pawlett, and the jurisdiction of Glastonbury; and the last
those of Bridg-water, Crewkerne, Dunster, and Taunton t
the total number of parishes is four hundred and sixtynine,
of which two hundred and forty-one are rectories,
one hundred and thirty-eight vicarages, and the remainder
perpetual curacies. For purposes of civil government it
is divided into the hundreds of Abdick and Bulstone,
Andersfield, Bath-Forum, Bempstone, Brent with Wrington,
Bruton, Cannington, Carhampton, Catsash, Chew,
Chewton, Crewkerne, North Curry, Frome, Glaston-
Twelve-Hides, Hampton and\Claverton, Hartcliffe with
Bedminster, Horethorne, Houndsborough, Berwick and
Coker, Huntspill and Puriton, Keynsham, Kilmersdon,
Kingsbury (East and West), Martock, Mells and Leigh,
Milverton, Norton-Ferris, Petherton (North and South),
Pitney, Portbury, Somerton, Stone, Taunton and Taun-
ton-Dean, Tintinhull, Wellow, Wells-Forum, Whitestone,
Whitley, Williton and Freemannei-s, and Winterstoke.
It contains the cities of Bath and Wells; the
borough, market, and sea-port towns of Bridg-water
and Minehead; the borough and market-town of Taunton
the borough towns of Ilchester and Milborne Port;
the market and sea-port town of Watchet; the small
sea-port town of Poiioek; and the market-towns of
Axbridge, Bruton, Chard, Crewkerne, Dulverton, Dunster,
Frome-Selwood, Glastohbury, Ilminster, Langport-
Eastover, Milverton, Shepton-Mallet, Somerton, Wellington,
Wincanton, Wiveliscombe, and Yeovil. Two
knights are returned for the shire; two representatives
for each of the cities j and two for each of the
boroughs; the county members are elected at Ilchester.
Somersetshire is included in the western circuit:
the Lent assizes are held at Taunton j the summer
assizes at Bridg-water and Wells, alternately. The
quarter sessions are held on January llth and April
19th at Wells, on July 12th at Bridg-water, and on
October 18th at Taunton. There are one hundred and
thirty acting magistrates. The rates raised in the county
for the year ending March 25th, 1827, amounted to
£189,692.5.; the expenditure to £186,809.13.; of which
£ 163,225. 4. was applied to the relief of the poor.
To describe the variety of surface with some degree
of perspicuity, it is necessary to consider it as
divided into three districts: the first comprehends
the north-eastern portion of the county, included between
the harbours of Uphill and King-road, on the
west, and the towns of Bath and Frome on the
east: the next and central division, which is much
the largest, comprising the entire middle part of
the county, from the borders of Wiltshire and Dorsetshire
to the Bristol channel, is bounded on the northeast
by the Mendip hills, and on the- south-west by
the Quantock hills and the forest of Neroche: the
third forms the remaining western part of the county.
The general surface of the north-eastern district is'
finely varied by lofty hills, which command magnificent
views over the fertile plains that lie beneath them.
The western part of it, however, including the hundreds
of Winterstoke and Portbury, consists of low moorlands,
as they are called, which are subject to frequent
inundation, sometimes for several successive months;
but the herbage produced on them, when cleared from
stagnant water, is remarkably luxuriant. In the parishes
of Congresbury, Yatton, Banwell, Winseombe, Churchill,
and Puxton, there are not less than three thousand
acres, which, for the most part, discharge their waters
into the small river Yeo, and are under the inspection of
commissioners of sewers; at spring-tides the waters of
the river rise five feet above the level of the adjacent
lands. To the northward of these parishes lie nearly
four thousand acres, in the parishes of Kenn, Kingston-
Seymour, . Clevedon, Nailsea, and Chelvey, alike
subject to inundation, being secured from the sea by
a wall of stone, elevated about ten feet above the level
of the lands within: this wall is sometimes overflowed
by high tides, and when strong westerly winds
prevail at the equinoxes, it is frequently broken down
by the impetuosity of the waves, so that many hundred
aeresare laid tinder water. This tract, discharges
its waters by two rivers, called the Little Yeos, at the
mouths of which are sluices: it is also subject to
frequent land-floods. South-westward of these parishes
lie six others, liable to the same circumstance,
and discharging their waters by a sluice at Uphill.
Northward of these is Leigh, down, a tract of elevated
land of nearly three thousand acres, extending
from Clevedon to the Hot Wells, near Bristol; southeastward
of which is a vale of rich grass land, extending
from Bedminster, on the north-east, in a
south-westerly direction, to the low districts just mentioned.
The extensive mountainous range, called the
Mendip hills, stretches from Cottle's Oak, near the town
of Frome,' on the eastern side of the county, in a direction
nearly west-north-west, immediately northward of
Wells and Axbridge, to a place called Black Rock, on
the Bristol channel, near Uphill, a distance of more
than thirty miles. In the middle division, on the borders
of Wilts and Dorset, the lands are high, and chiefly
occupied either as sheep-walks, or in the production of
corn. The country around Shepton, Bruton, Castle-
Cary, Ilchester, Somerton, Langport, Petherton, and IIminster,
is exceedingly productive, both in corn and
pasture, and abounds with good orchards and fine luxuriant
meadows: westward of this extensive tract rise
the Polden and Ham hills, with a bold aspect. A dis->
tinguishing feature in this division is its marshes, or
fen lands, which are divided into two districts, called
Brent marsh, and the Bridg-water, or South marsh.
By far the greater part of Brent marsh, about twenty
thousand acres, has been drained and converted into
fine grazing and dairy lands: there yet remain considerable
tracts of turf bog, upon which much improvement
remains to be effected. The river Brue drains
the greater portion of this marsh, and has a barrier
against the tide, with sluices at Highbridge. The two
principal bogs of this district, comprising several thousand
acres, situated one on each side of this river,
a little to the westward of Glastonbury, are five or six
feet higher than the adjacent lands, and consist of a
mass of porous earth, saturated with, and floating in,
water: some parts of the drained lands are occasionally
subject to land-floodsi The Ax hasno barrier against
the tide; and the waters, both of this river and of the
Brue, are much obstructed in their progress towards the
sea by accumulations of mud. The divisions of property
are here marked by ditches eight feet wide at the
top, three feet and a half at the bottom, and five feet
deep, which discharge their waters into the rivers;
sluices are occasionally formed on them in time of
drought, to keep back the water for the use of the
cattle. The South marsh is bounded on the north-east
by the Polden hill, which extends chiefly between Bridgwater
and Glastonbury; on the south-east by Ham
hill and others; on the south-west by the river Parret;
and on the north-west by Bridg-water bay. That part
of it lying nearest the sea has a surface more elevated
than the interior, owing to the great deposit of
mud by the tides, in the course of successive ages; the
same observation is also applicable to Brent marsh.
The river Parret is the principal drain of this marsh;
but it has no barrier against the tides, the consequence
being that in rainy seasons many thousand acres are
laid under water for a considerable time, rendering the
herbage unwholesome, and the air unhealthy. Theses'
tracts having, in former times, been constantly subject
to occasional inundations from the sea, it was found
necessary to establish a Commission of Sewers, the
members of which should examine and inspect the
sea-banks, ditches, gutters, and sewers, and order the
requisite cleansings and repairs; the first commission
of this kind upon record was in 1304; and the like offices
are continued to the present day. Part of this marsh,
which has been more recently drained (about the end of
the last century), is called King's Sedgmoor, and contains
nearly fourteen thousand acres. There are other
tracts similar to this, on the borders of the rivers Tone
and Parret, nearly all of which were, in like manner,
and about the same period, drained and improved; viz.,
Normoor, near North Petherton; Stanmoor, Currymoory
West Sedgmoor, &c., near North Curry; West-moor, near
Kingsbury; and Wet-moor, near Muchelney; amounting
in the whole to about ten thousand acres, independently
of many other low enclosed tracts, which are
liable to occasional inundation.
The south-western division of the county has
nearly an equal proportion of lofty hills and fertile
slopes and vales. In the vale of Taunton-Dean, which
comprises thirty parishes, and the market-towns of
Taunton, Wellington, and Milverton, the prospect is
agreeably relieved by a mixture of arable and pasture
ground; but to the north-west are wild and mountainous
tracts. The Quantoclc hills, extending nearly
the whole of the distance between the town of Taunton
and the seaj the Brandon hills, to the westward
of these; and others in this part of the county,
are noted for their wild and picturesque scenery. The
highest point of the Quantock hills is one thousand
two hundred and seventy feet above the level of the
seaj and these heights command views, not only of
the fertile country immediately around them, but
also of the Welch coast: the elevation called Dundry-
beacon, situated near the sea, is the highest point
of land, being, accotding to the Ordnance survey, one
thousand six hundred and sixty-eight feet above the
level of the sea. Thus we find the surface of Somersetshire
varied by lofty hills and fertile plains; it is also
adorned by numerous noble woods. Some of the most
remarkable heights, besides those before-mentioned,
commanding very rich and extensive views, are, Broadfield
down, between Bristol andWrington; Dundry hill,
near Bristol; Lansdown, near Bath; White-down, to the
eastward of Chard; Black-down, to the south-westward
of the same town; and on the confines of Devon, the
hills of Hamden, Montacute, St. Michael's, and Brent-
Knoll; the Tor, near Glastonbury; Bratton, near
Minehead; Snowden, near Chard; Ash-Beacon; Bradley-
Knoll; Dundon hill; Halston Round hill; Moorlinch;
and North hill: fine views are also obtained
from Enmore castle, which commands the Mendip hills;
Hinton St. George; and the vicinity of Taunton. The
mountainous parts of the county have a smooth, undulating,
and rounded outline, seldom presenting cliffs, or
precipitous faces, except on the sea-shore. The extensive
line of sea-coast is very irregular; in some places
projecting in lofty and rocky promontories, and in
others receding into fine bays, with low and level
shores. From Stert-point, at the mouth of the Parret,
northward, the shore is for a considerable distance
entirely flat, and composed of vast sand-banks, repelling
the waters of the ocean, which anciently spread
over these shoals, and covered the extensive district
now called Brent Marsh. The general direction of
the Somersetshire coast, from the western extremity
until near the mouth of the Parret, is from west
to east; here, however, commence the shores of the
marshes of the middle district, which, extending in a
direction nearly from, north to south, form, with the
last-mentioned, the bay of Bridg-water, so called from
the sea-port of that name, situated some miles up the
river Parret. This bay is terminated on the north by
the promontory formed by Breane down; beyond this
are two smaller bays and promontories, between which
and the mouth of the Avon the coast runs nearly in
a north-easterly direction.
In such an extent and diversity of surface the climate
varies considerably. Near the sea-coast the winters
are never severe; and from Minehead and Dulverton,
on the west, to Milborne-Port and Wincanton,
on the east, the climate is mild and temperate, the
Quantock, Branden, and Dundry hills alone excepted.
Proceeding northward and ascending Poulden hill, it
changes, and becomes colder and more stormy; and
still further northward, on the Mendip hills, the cold
increases, and the air in winter is moist, and the weather
boisterous, the whole country being sometimes enveloped
in dense fogs; in summer, however, the air on
these hills is clear, salubrious, and invigorating; and it
also frequently happens that spring crops in the vales
are destroyed by frosts in April or May, while those on
the hills remain uninjured. In the beautiful and extensive
vale of Taunton-Dean, in the western part of the
county, the climate is peculiarly mild and serene; but
the north-western and mountainous parts of this division
are subject to great mutability in the state and temperature
of the atmosphere. In consequence of the contiguity
of the Bristol channel, which fills the air with
watery vapours, unfavourable to the ripening of corn,
considerable tracts of hilly country, which would otherwise
be employed in the production of grain, are kept
under grass; still, even in the more elevated tracts,
there is a very large portion of arable land. The seedtime
and harvest in the mountainous districts are
nearly a month later than in the vales; excepting only
as regards the seeds that are commonly sown in the
Autumn, which, in the first-mentioned tracts, on account
of the greater degree of cold, are put in the ground a
fortnight earlier than is generally done elsewhere.
For its general fertility Somersetshire is particularly
eminent; and the variety of soil is so great, that almost
every species may be found within its limits. That of the
moor-lands of the north-eastern division is, for the most
part, a deep and rich mixture of clay and sand, a marine
deposit. Leigh down has a thin gravelly soil, lying immediately
upon limestone, and frequently not more than
three inches from the surface, being therefore unfavourable
for tillage: that of Broadfield down, a few miles
further south, is of the same nature. The soil of the
Mendip hills is for the most part deep and loamy; but
tracts of an inferior quality, light, spongy, and black,
occasionally intervene; and the loam is sometimes intermingled
with pieces of stone, and with gravel, clay,
or other substances that alter its quality in different
degrees. The soil of the Polden and Ham hills is of
an inferior quality and a very thin staple. That of the
marshes, or moors, of the middle district is generally
very fertile, and consists of four kinds, viz., strong, dry,
and fertile clay, of considerable depth, which is esteemed
the most valuable; red earth, varying in depth
from one foot to six feet, and covering the black moory
earth; black moory earth, having a substratum of clay
at various depths; and what is called turf-bog, which
is of a light spongy texture, and so full of the fibrous
roots of plants that it is with difficulty cut with a
spade: under it is found a stratum of black earth,
from one to two feet thick; and next occurs the peat,
which is from three to fifteen feet in depth, full of flaggy
leaves and the hollow stalks of rushes, together with
bituminous matter; it is employed as the common
fuel of the district. Southward of this extensive level
is an elevated tract of great fertility, composed chiefly
of eea-sand and shells, well adapted for tillage. The
soil of the fruitful vale of Taunton-Dean is a rich loam,
interspersed in some places with clay, and in others
with sand, and that of some other parts of the western
division is little inferior; but the hills and forests are
for the most part left in a state of nature; the Quantock
hills have various thin soils, covering a thin
shaly rock, and sometimes limestone. The soil of Whitedown
is very various; that of Black-down consists of
a thin surface of black earth on a bed of sand and gravel.
On the sea-coast, for some distance westward of
the mouth of the river Parret, the remains of a forest
are discoverable at low water, which is described in the
Geological Transactions, Vol. III., p. 380.
In the north-eastern district lie proportion of arable
land is very small; in the middle division it is
greater, but almost wholly on the south-eastern side,
in the vicinities of Shepton-Mallet, Bruton, Castle-Gary,
Wincanton, Millborne-Port, Yeovil, Ilchester, South
Petherton, Crewkerne, Chard, and Ilminster; there is,
however, some on the hills near the great marshes also:
in the vale of Taunton, in the western part of the county,
is much arable land, and on the northern side, approaching
Watchet: the whole amounts to nearly three
hundred thousand acres. The rotations of crops are
various; those commonly cultivated are wheat, barley,
oats, beans, and peas, the produce of which varies
greatly. The wheat produced on the rising lands to
the south of Bridg-water marsh is of very superior
quality; and the best barley in the county is supposed
to grow in- the parishes of Chedzoy, Weston-Zoyland,
Middlezoy, and Othery, in the same district: on the
Mendip hills the favourite crop is oats, which are there
produced in abundance and of good quality. In the
north-eastern district turnips are seldom seen; but in
the arable parts of the middle division they are cultivated
to a great extent: vetches are sometimes grown.
The most common artificial grass is the broad clover:
sanfoin is much cultivated in the north-eastern districts,
as also are ray-grass, marl-grass, and White Dutch
clover; the marl-grass grows spontaneously on the
marl ground, and bears a striking resemblance to red,
or broad clover. Potatoes are very extensively cultivated
in different districts, more especially on the fertile soils
in the vicinity of Castle-Gary, where one hundred and
sixty sacks per acre is a common produce. In the parishes
of Wrington, Blagdon, Ubley, Compton-Martin,
and Harptree, in the north-eastern district, teasel is extensively
grown, chiefly on a strong rich clay; the produce
is very uncertain. The head of this plant, which
is composed of well-turned vegetable hooks, is used in
dressing cloth; and the manufactures of Somersetshire
and Wiltshire are for the most part supplied from these
parishes; large quantities are also exported from Bristol
to Yorkshire. Woad is also cultivated in this
district, chiefly in the vicinity of Keynsham, the
quality of which is much esteemed.: three or four
crops are commonly gathered in the season; the average
produce per acre is about a ton and a half. In
the rich, tract extending from Wincanton, by Yeovil, to
Crewkerne, a great deal of flax and hemp is grown.
Turkey rhubarb is occasionally cultivated in small quantities.
In some of the western parts of the county the
common mode of getting in the corn is by carrying it
on the backs of horses, a large wooden crook on each
side of the saddle being laden with the sheaves; this is
in consequence of the unevenness of the country, and
the steepness of the hills; even manure is carried upon
the land in a similar manner. The arable lands are
not near sufficient to supply the consumption of grain,
many thousand quarters being annually brought from
the counties of Wilts and Dorset. The grass lands are
of very great extent, occupying about six hundred thousand,
acres; and the plains are remarkable for their luxuriant
herbage, furnishing a supply of produce much
more than sufficient for consumption; London, Bristol,
Salisbury, and other markets, receiving great quantities
of fat oxen, sheep, and hogs, besides cider, cheese,
butter, and different other articles from this county.
Many of these tracts, when not chilled by an excess of
moisture, bear an almost perpetual verdure. In the
northern district, on the rich marsh land near the Bristol
channel, the grazing system prevails; in the vicinity of
Bristol and Bath, the meadows are almost universally
mown, while in the parts more remote. from those
towns, dairying is almost the only object: to whatever
purpose applied, these lands are respectively good and
profitable. Nearly the whole of the. rich marshes and
low lands of the middle division are under grass, and
applied partly to grazing and partly to dairying. In
the western part of the county, in the parishes of
Crowcombe, Stogumber, Monksilver, Nettlecombe, Dunter,
Dulverton, &c., are some irrigated meadows of
excellent quality, the greater part lying on steep declivities.
Lime is the principal manure: marl is applied
in those parts where it is found of good quality,
and some of the marsh farmers on the river Brue cut
openings in the banks of that river, in the winter, and
thus irrigate their land with the muddy water descending
from the hills. In parts of the county where
stone is easily procured the fences frequently consist of
stone walls, though they are commonly of white thorn;
the beech hedges about Dulverton, Dunster, &c., are not
only beautiful to the eye, but are an annual source of
profit, yielding much fuel.. The cattle of Somersetshire
form an object of great importance in its agricultural
economy. In the north-western district, the cows,
which are all for the dairy, are almost entirely of the
short-horned breed: both butter and cheese are made
here; many dairy farmers in the vicinity of Bath and
Bristol make butter and cheese of half-skimmed mills.
From Crewkerne, extending southward into Dorsetshire,
is one of those deep large vales for which this
county is remarkable, containing the villages of Clapton,
Seaborough, Wayford, Woolmington, &c., and in which
commences a district about twenty miles square (one
half in Dorsetshire, and the other in Somersetshire),
noted for supplying the summer markets at Exeter
with calves, which are there bought by the Devonshire
farmers, and, after being pastured three or four
years in that county, are sold to the Somersetshire graziers,
who fatten them for the London market: these
are of the kind called Devonshire cattle. The neat
cattle of Tatinton-Dean are of the North Devon breed,
and are held in high esteem by the graziers; and, indeed,
the oxen of the whole western district are remarkably
well shaped; they are,almost universally red, yoked at
three years old, and worked until they are five or six;
they perform the greater part of the agricultural labour;
in the other parts of the county alsOj oxen are
often. similarly employed. The summer-fattened oxen
are for the most part of the Devonshire kind, and bred
either in the northern part of that county, or the lower
parts of Somerset: the winter-fattened cattle are of an
inferior kind, partly home-bred and partly from Wales;
heifers are sometimes grazed in preference to oxen.
Lean cattle of the red Devonshire and Somersetshire
breed are bought at the fairs of this county by the
graziers of Leicestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire,
&c.; and besides the numerous fairs for the sale of
cattle., both in the counties of Somerset and Devon, a
large market is held every three weeks, during the
summer months, at Somerton, on the southern side of
the great central marshes, to which many lean cattle
are brought, together with an immense number of lean
sheep, the latter chiefly of the Dorsetshire breed; this
is a market for fat cattle also. In the vicinity of Bath
is a valuable breed of large sheep, some of which,
when fattened, weigh from thirty to forty pounds per
quarter. The Mendip hills have a native and very
hardy breed, with fine wool, which thrive on very
scanty pasturage; their flesh is also much esteemed.
In the south-eastern part of the middle division the
sheep are an improved sort of the Dorsetshire breed;
the number kept, chiefly in breeding flocks, is exceedingly
great. Many sheep of this kind are fed in tho
marshes, besides others of the. Mendip breed, and great
numbers from Dorsetshire. In Taunton-Dean they
are of the Dorsetshire breed; and in this western portion
of the county are two other kinds of sheep; one,
a native breed, without horns, well made, somewhat
resembling the Leicester sheep, and having a thick
fleece, which generally weighs about seven or eight
pounds, is found in the neighbourhood of Dulverton,
Bampton, Wiveliscombe, &c., and is highly esteemed
by the graziers in the marshes; many of them are
taken to the Bristol market; the fat wethers, at
two years old, weigh about twenty-five pounds per
quarter. The other is a small horned sort, which is
bought when young at South Molton in Devonshire,
and is kept on the Forest of Exmoor, or the adjoining
hills, for two or three years, merely for the sake of
their wool, the weight of the fleece seldom exceeding
four pounds; when fat, these sheep weigh from fourteen
to eighteen pounds per quarter. A few Leicester
sheep have been introduced into the county. The
extraordinary number of hogs fattened in the northeastern
district are, for the most part, procured from
the Bristol market, to which they are brought by men
from Wales, or by drovers; they are fed chiefly upon
whey, and their flesh is of a fine colour and delicate
flavour. The few bred are of different sorts, viz, the native
white breed, which has large ears and a long body,'
the Berkshire black and white kind; the Chinese breed;
and a mixed sort. But few horses are bred in the
county; the northern district is supplied by dealers, who
bring them from the great fairs in the North of England.
The great demand for poultry in the cities of
Bristol and Bath causes great attention to be paid in
the adjoining districts to the rearing and fattening of
all kinds of fowls. In the same tracts are also many
large pieces of garden-ground for supplying those cities
with vegetables; and in the vicinity of the town of Somerton
are numerous gardens, which supply the surrounding
markets, even as far as Wells and Shepton-
Mallet, with early peas, beans, potatoes, &c., and, in the
month of August, with great quantities of cucumbers.
The northern district contains innumerable orchards j
those which have a northern aspect, and are sheltered
from the westerly winds, are considered the most regular
in bearing; the fruit produced at the northern base
of the Mendip hills, as at Langford, Burrington, Rickford,
Blagdon, Ubley, Compton-Martin, and Harptree,
affords a strong and palatable cider: the favourite
apple is here the Court of Wick pippin, which takes its
name from the place where it was first cultivated. In
the middle division are also many orchards, from wbich
a considerable quantity of cider is made. In the vale
of Taunton-Dean cider of the very finest quality is made
with particular care.
The woods and plantations occupy about twenty
thousand acres j the north-eastern district is but partially
covered, and, according to the demand at the collieries,
the wood it contains is cut at very irregular intervals.
Kingswood, the timber of which is chiefly oak,
covers about two hundred and thirty acres. On the
northern declivity of the Mendip hills are some good
coppices, the principal of which are those of Blagdon,
Hasel, and Ubley; the scenery of these woods is very
picturesque, and being sheltered from the strong
south-westerly winds, their growth is rapid. On the
opposite declivity are other coppices, of which Stokewood
is the principal; these, from their exposed situation,
are less productive. In the eastern part of this
district are other woods, large and productive, such
as those of Mells, Leigh, Edford, Harwich, Compton,
Cameley, &c., being, from their vicinity to the coalworks,
very valuable; in the same part are also many
beautiful plantations. The vallies of the north-eastern
district are richly adorned with elms. In the easfcern
part of the middle division is an extensive chain of
woodland, several miles in length, from the parish of
East Cranmore, through Downhead, Cloford, Whattey,
Elm, &c., besides other woods of considerable size. On
the borders of Wiltshire was the large forest of Sel
wood, extending from Penscellwood to within three
miles of Frome, which was disafforested in the reign of
Charles I: it appears to have extended over a vale of
about twenty thousand acres, eighteen thousand of
which have been cleared and converted into arable and
pasture land, with a small portion of meadow; the remainder
continues in coppice woods, the chief sorts of
timber being oak and ash, while the underwood is principally
hazel, ash, alder, willow, and birch; the chief
natural defects of these woods are the coldness of the
soil upon which they are situated, and their exposure,
for the most part, to violent south-west winds: the
coal-pits near Mendip are a constant market for the
poles cut from the underwood. Numerous modern
plantations have been made in this tract, in which the
Scotch fir thrives best. The marsh lands have few
trees of any kind. On the declivities of the Quantock
and other hills, in the western part of the county, are
many coppice-woods, chiefly of oak. This district does
not otherwise abound with oak, but elms grow in the
hedge-rows, sometimes to a considerable size.
This county has different uncultivated wastes; in
the north-western district are several unenclosed com-
mons, the principal of which are Broadfield down and
Lansdown, the former containing about two thousand
five hundred acres, the latter nearly one thousand : the
surface of Lansdown is perfectly smooth, and it is remarkable
for its excellence in feeding sheep. The large
open tract called Leigh down, to the west of Bristol, is also
subject to a right of commonage, and is chiefly depastured
with sheep. More than one half of the ancient
royal forest of Mendip, on the hills of that name, is nowenclosed:
the remainder is covered to the extent of
several miles with heath and fern, and furnishes pasturage
for large flocks of sheep. On the highest partsof
this tract is a considerable flat, containing several
swamps, which often prove dangerous to travellers. In
the middle division, the largest unenclosed upland common
is the forest of Neroche, near Ilminster, containing
eight or nine hundred acres, and upon which different
parishes have a right of commonage without stint: the
next in size is White-down, near Chard; the low marshy
wastes comprise several thousand acres. At the wesfrern
extremity of the county, and partly in Devonshire,
is the great forest of Exmoor, extending from east
to west for a distance of ten or twelve miles, and from
north to south about eight, and containing nearly twentythousand
acres. Near the centre of this large tract
is an enclosed estate, called Simonsbath, of about two
hundred acres, with a dwelling-house, licensed and
frequented as an inn. On the summits of the hills,
more especially on the western and northern sides, are
swamps many acres in extent, in which turf is cut. The
small river Barl, which rises in the waste, runs on the
border of the Simonsbath estate, but loses its name
about two miles further eastward, on joining the Ex,
which rises in a low swampy spot of ground, about two
miles to the north-east of the above-mentioned estate,
and gives name to the forest: the Ex, at the confluence
of the Barl, becomes a considerable stream, and''soon
after, in its course southward, quits the county for
Devonshire: numerous small rivulets discharge themselves
into the above-mentioned streams, from every
quarter. Excepting a few willows and thorns by the
sides of these rivulets, not a tree or bush, out of the
limits of the Simonsbath estate, is any where to be seen.
The roads are in general, as might be expected in so
large a tract devoid of inhabitants, extremely bad, and
in some places scarcely passable. Upon this forest,
about twenty-two thousand sheep are depastured every
summer, and about four hundred small horses are
kept the whole year round; but the value of the latter
is so trifling, that very little profit is derived from
them. When the snow covers the ground to the depth
of many feet, these hardy animals are seen in droves,
traversing the narrow vallies and sheltered parts, gathering
their scanty fare from the banks of the rivulets
and warm springs; but the sheep are all driven off as
the severer part of the winter season approaches. At
Simonsbath, the forester has an annual sale for the
small horses that are bred on the surrounding hills;
and here also, in the month of May, he meets the
farmers from all the country round, who enter in his
books the number of sheep to be depastured on the
forest. There are also several hundred acres of uncultivated
land on the Quantock and Brandon hills,
and in some other parts. The wastes of that part
of Black-down which lies within this county are supposed
to exceed a thousand acres: the occupiers of
estates contiguous to these hills stock them with young
cattle in the summer months. In the northern district
the. fuel is chiefly coal; in the middle division much
turf is burned; while the western part of the county is
(supplied with coal from Wales, which, however, is of an
inferior quality.
The chief mineral productions are coal, lead, calamine,
limestone, freestone, and various other kinds of
stone -. fullers' earth, marl, and ochre, are also occasionally
found. The coal beds are the nearest to London
of any yet discovered, and constitute the most southern
deposit of that mineral in England. This deposit is
comparatively small, and lies northward of the eastern
parts of the Mendip hills: it may be divided into the
northern and the southern; the former including the
parishes of High Littleton, Timsbury, Paulton, Radstock,
and the northern part of Midsummer-Norton; the
latter, the southern part of Midsummer-Norton, Strat-
ton on the Foss, Kilmersdon, Babington, and Mells.
This southern division'/ comprises what', have long been
known as the Mendipcollieries, and it is probable that
they were once within the verge of theextensive forest
of Mendip, but they are now in the midst of old enclosures,
and their ancient name has become obsolete.
In the northern collieries the strata of coal dip about
nine, inches in the yard, their thickness varying from ten
inches to upwards of three feet; they are seldom worked
if less than fifteen inches. The coal is of excellent
quality: it is firm, of a strong grain, and commonly
raised in large pieces, which ensure its conveyance to
almost any distance without injury: in burning, it
makes a clear and durable fire. Bath is the principal
market for its consumption, to which may be
added the western parts of Wiltshire, and the adjacent
parts of Somersetshire . about fifteen hundred men and
boys are employed at the various collieries. The southern
division is worked on a more limited scale: the
strata here dip from eighteen to thirty inches in the
yard, while in some places they descend perpendicularly;
their number is twenty-five, varying in thickness from
six inches to seven feet, but they are seldom worked
when less than eighteen inches. The quality of the
coal raised in this district varies, some of it being
nearly equal to that of the northern collieries, but the
greater part is softer, of shorter grain, and less adapted
for distant carriage. The south-western parts of Wiltshire,
the northern parts of Dorsetshire, and the eastern
and southern parts of Somersetshire, are the chief
markets. At Clapton, a village lying to the north-west
of Leigh down, and west of Bristol, is a coal-work, possessing
the advantage of a land-level of forty-four
fathoms: at this pit are landed about two hundred
and forty bushels daily: the small coal is shipped at
Portishead point for Wales, where it is used in burning
lime. Under the rich and extensive vale lying to the
south-east of Leigh down are beds of coal thought to
be inexhaustible: some thousands of bushels are now
daily raised at the pits in this district. The principal
stratum is five feet thick, sometimes rather more: this
and the other strata generally dip towards the south,
about nine inches in the yard, seldom more than a foot
in the same extent: the rocks above the coal being full
of fissures, considerable inconvenience is experienced
from the influx of water. The Mendip hills, which
consist chiefly of limestone of that kind called, in mineralogical
language, mountainlimestone, are famous
for their mines, chiefly of lead and lapis calaminaris.
Those of the former metal are nearly exhausted, or, at
least, the deep working is so encumbered with water,
that little can be done in them. In former times, however,
many thousand pounds have been annually paid
to the see of Wells for the lord's share (one-tenth) of the
lead dug in the forest, in the parish of Wells only;
on Broadfield down also there are veins of lead. In
the parishes of Rowberrow, Shipham, and Winscombe,
are valuable mines of lapis calaminaris; this mineral
is sometimes found within a yard of the surface, and
is seldom worked deeper than thirty fathoms: between
four and five hundred miners are here constantly
employed in raising it. In the parishes of Compton-
Martin and East Harptree are mines of the same kind.
From these parishes, eastward, through the whole tract
of Mendip, to Mells, at its eastern extremity, are
also found marks and indications of calamine; and
at Merchant's hill, in the parish of Binegar, several
tons of it have been raised. The Mendip mines
are governed by a set of laws and orders, commonly
called Lord Choke's Laws, which were enacted in the
time of Edward IV., when, on some disputes arising,
that monarch sent Lord Choke, the Lord Chief Justice
of England, down to his royal forest of Mendip, and
the said laws and orders were agreed upon by the
lords royal of Mendip, viz., the Bishop of Bath, Lord
Glaston, Lord Benfield, the Earl of Chewton, and my
Lord of Richmond, at a great meeting then held at a
place called the Forge. According to these, the miners
are allowed to turn upon the forest as many cattle in
summer as they are able to keep in winter: but
before becoming such they must crave license of the
lord of the soil, where they purpose to work, or, in his
absence, of his officers, after which they proceed to break
the ground: a tenth part of the ore must be paid to
the lord, and a tenth part of the lead also, if it be
smelted on his territory; every lord of the soil ought to
hold a miner court twice a year, and to swear twelve
men of the same occupation, for the redress of misdemeanors;
the lord, or lords, may issue arrests for strife
between man and man, on account of their works, and
for obtaining the payment of their own duties; and if
any miner should by misfortune meet his death by the
earth falling in upon him, or by any other accident, the
other miners are bound to fetch him out of the earth, and
bring him to Christian burial, at their own costs and
charges; nor shall any coroner, or officer at large, have
to do with him in any respect. The mountain limestone
formation near Bristol, forming a feature in English
geology, constitutes the hills rising from beneath the
red marl to the west of Bristol, and forms a range of
considerable elevation, through which the Avon passes,
in its course to the Severn. These hills consist of a
prodigious number of strata, of very different natures,
but chiefly of limestone of several varieties, the dip of
which is about forty-five degrees. Some of the limestone
strata contain different organic remains; and an assemblage
of numerous strata, called the Black Rock, from
the colour of the limestone, which is here quarried for
paving-stones, contains numerous fossils and rounded
concretions, penetrated by petroleum, which sometimes
exudes from the rock. Yery few of these numerous
beds of limestone are quarried, and many of them will
not burn into good lime. Calamine, accompanied by
heavy spar and galena, is found in veins of calcareous
spar, crossing the limestone. Manganese is found in a
vein of iron-stone, crossing the limestone. The strata
alternating with the limestone are beds of clay of various
kinds, which sometimes contain nodules of coral
and geodes of iron-ore; thin beds of iron-stone and
quartzose sand are also found; besides a bed of coal
about two inches thick. The mountain limestone ranges
round Bristol, in almost every direction, forming a kind
of irregular basin, and reposes on the red sand-stone,
which visibly passes beneath it. On the top of the limestone
strata forming the cliffs, on the side of the Avon,
lies a yellowish sand-stone, which has sometimes the
appearance of a breccia, occurring also in some other
parts of the same district. The red clay in the neighbourhood
of Bristol contains gypsum, and abounds
with sulphate of strontian, in veins and large beds. Red
sand-stone is found under the limestone of the Mendip
hills. The mountainous part of the western district of
this county is formed of a series of rocks, differing much
in mineralogical character, but a great proportion of
them having the structure of sand-stones; some of the
finest of these sand-stones graduate into a fine-grained
slate, divisible into laminae as thin as paper, and having
a smooth, silky, and shining surface: their prevailing
colours are reddish brown and greenish grey, with many
intermediate mixtures; but some of the slaty varieties
are of a purplish hue, occasionally spotted with green. -
In many places large beds of limestone, full of madre- '
pores, are contained in the slate, which, towards the
external parts of the beds, is interstratified with limestone.
Copper, in the state of sulphuret and of ma-
lachite, and veins of hematite, are frequently met with;
and nests of copper-ore, of considerable magnitude, have
been found in the subordinate beds of limestone. The
Quantock hills, Grabbist hill, Croydon hill, Brendon hill,
and some others to the west of them, consist chiefly of
the kind of stone called grey wacke", in some places
interstratified with limestone: the quarries of limestone
in the eastern side of the Quantock hills are very numerous.
North hill, extending along the sea-shore from
Minehead to Porlock, and forming a very bold and precipitous
coast, is of grey wacke; and the whole of the
precipitous coast of the county presents a great variety
of mineralogical strata. Granite, of small grainy
occurs near the foot of a hill a few miles to the
north-east of Taunton, where it is quarried to a
small extent; the inhabitants of the neighbourhood
call it pottle-stone. The kind of limestone called by
mineralogists lias, and which extends in a direction
nearly north-east and south-west almost to the banks
of the Humber, commencing in Dorsetshire a little
to the west of Ilchester, passes by Bath, and occu
pies a large tract of this county; it is also found on
the coast of Somerset, whence it extends for some distance
inland; proceeding eastward, it first occurs a
little distance to the west of Watchet, and forms some
very high cliffs to the eastward of that place; the Polden
hills consist chiefly of lias: this stone burns into a very
strong quick lime, valuable, when made into mortar, for
its increasing hardness under water. Coombe down is
the place where the greatest quantity of freestone is
raised, in doing which the ground has been undermined
for several miles. The parishes of Midsummer-Norton',
Sutton on the Foss, Kilmersdon, Radstock, Timsbury;
High Littleton, Farmborough, Paulton, Stone-Easton,
Binegar, and Chilcompton, comprehend a tract of land
rendered remarkably fertile by the application of marl;
which is found at various depths from the surface, of a
black colour, and in inexhaustible quantities.
The principal manufactures are those of woollen
and worsted goods at Frome, Taunton, Wellington, and
Wiveliscombe; of gloves, at Yeovil, Stoke, and Martock;
of lace, at Chard and Taunton; of sillc, at Taun:
ton, Bruton, and Shepton-Mallet; of crape, at Taunton;
and of knit worsted stockings, at Shepton-
Mallet. Upon the Avon are several mills for preparing
iron and copper, and others for the spinning of worsted,
and the spinning and weaving of cotton. Many of
the lower classes derive cheap and wholesome food from '
the salmon and herring fisheries of Porlock, Minehead,
and Watchet, which are carried on to a considerable
extent: the other fish found off this coast, and.
which are occasionally taken at different places upon it,
are tublin, flounders, sand-dabs, hakes, pipers, solesj
plaice, skate, conger-eels, shrimps, prawns, crabs)
muscles, and star-fish. '
The chief rivers are the Lower Avon, the Parret;
the Tone, the Brue, and the Ax. The Lower Avon,
rising in the hilly district of North Wiltshire, after
forming, for some distance, the boundary between So-,
merset and Wilts, enters this county crossing the
north-eastern extremity of it. After partly encircling
the city of Bath, a few miles lower, it becomes the
north-eastern boundary of the county, and separates
it from Gloucestershire during the rest of its very irregular
course, which it pursues for the most part in
a north-westerly direction, by the town of Keynsham,
and the city of Bristol, to its junction at Kingroad
with the sestuary of the Severn, which there assumes
the name of the Bristol Channel. This river, besides
constituting the harbour of Bristol, is navigable for
small craft as high as Bath, a distance of sixteen
miles above that port. The Parret rises at South
Parret in Dorsetshire, and soon entering this county,
flows nearly northward by Crewkerne to Langport,
where it is joined on the east by the small river Yeo,
and assumes a north-easterly direction to Bridg-water,
having nearly midway between these towns received
the waters of the Tone from the west: forming the harbour
of Bridg-water, it thenceforward pursues a very devious
course, for the most part in a northerly direction,
and finally falls into Bridg-water bay, at Stert
point. The navigable part of its course commences
at Langport, whence to Stert point is a distance
of about twenty miles. The Tone rises in the Quantock
hills, near the town of Wiveliscombe, and, flowing
for some miles southward to the borders of Devon,
afterwards takes an easterly course by the town
of Taunton, where it becomes navigable to the Parret at
Boroughbridge, about eight miles from Taunton, and
near the centre of the county. The Brue rises on the
western borders of Wiltshire, not far from the town
of Bruton, past which it flows nearly in a south-westerly
direction; some miles lower, however, it assumes a
north-westerly course, and passes at a short distance
south-westward of Glastonbury, to the Bristol Channel,
near the mouth of the Parret: from the vicinity of
Glastonbury, the course of this river is entirely through
the marshes; it is navigable up to Hjghbridge, a distance
of two miles from its mouth. The Ax originates
in two small streams from the south-western side of
the Mendip hills, one of which has its source in the
natural cavern called Wokey Hole; its course is northwestward,
and for a considerable distance through the
marshes; passing to the south-west of Axbridge, it falls
into the Bristol Channel near Black Rock. The Ex
rises on Exmoor Forest, at the western extremity of this
county, which it soon quits for that of Devon. The
smaller streams are very numerous; they all flow
through fertile tracts, and the banks of many of them
are adorned with extensive ornamented grounds belonging
to the various seats of the nobility and gentry, with
which this county abounds; some of the principal are
the Yeo, the Cale, the Chew, the Frome, the Ivel, and the
BarL Of fish, the rivers contain salmon, trout, pike, perch,
roach, dace, eels, carp, tench, and gudgeons. The Kennet
and Avon canal enters the county from Bradford in
Wiltshire, and joins the Lower Avon at Bath. Previously
to the year \7Q&>, acts had been obtained for the following
canals, the construction of which was then in progress,
viz: the Somersetshire coal canal, which has two
branches, the one commencing at Paulton, the other at
Radstock, and both communicating with the Kennet and
Avon canal near Bath; the Dorset and Somerset canal,
which was never carried into execution, was intended
to commence near Nettlebridge, in the district of the
southern collieries, to pass through the town of Frome,-
and then to divide into two branches, one of them joining
the Kennet and Avon canal near Bradford, and
the other to pass through Wincanton, to the borders of
Dorsetshire; and the Ilchester and Langport canal. The
turnpike roads of this county are good. The road from
London to Wells, Bridg-water, andMinehead, enters the
county from Warminster in Wilts, and passes through
Frome, Shepton-Mallet, Wells, Glastonbury, Bridg-water,
Watchet, and Dunster, to Minehead. That from London
to Wells, through Marlborough, falls into the former at
Frome. The road from London to Exeter and Dartmouth,
by Taunton, enters from Stourhead in Wilts,
and passes through Castle-Cary, Somerton, Langport,
Taunton, and Wellington, to Cullompton in Devonshire:
this is also the road from London to Barnstaple and
Ilfracombe. The road from London to Bath, Bristol,
and Milford Haven, enters the county from Chippenham
in Wilts, and passes through Bath-Ford, Bath-Easton,
Bath, Keynsham, and Bristol, to New Passage in Gloucestershire.
That from London to Bath, through Devizes,
enters from Melksham in Wilts, and falls into
the last-mentioned road at Bath-Ford.
The remains of antiquity that have been found are
very various. The parish of Stanton - Drew, in the
north-eastern district, is remarkable as containing the
remains of four clusters of huge massive stones, forming
two circles, an oblong, and an ellipsis, which are supposed
to have anciently constituted a Druidical temple.
The ancient boundary called Wansdyke may be traced
in several places; in the vicinity of its course, near
Great Bedwin, celts and ancient instruments of war
have been discovered. Besides the Roman cities of
Bath and Ilchester, there are numerous places which,
although their names have been changed, or altered,
since that remote period, still bear evident marks
of Roman origin in the foundations of some of
their walls, and in various remains that have from
time to time been dug from them; such are Camalet,
Hamden, Wellow, Coker, Chilcompton, Conquest, Wiveliscombe,
Bath-Ford, Warley, Street, Long Ashton.,
Postlebury, South Petherton, Watergore, Wigborough,
Yeovil, Putsham, Kilton, Stogumber, Edington, Inglish-
Combe, &c. Among the many miscellaneous remains
of this people which have been discovered, more espcr
dally at Bath, are included temples, sudatories, tesselated
pavements, altars, hypocausts, and coins of different
ages. Traces of ancient encampments are still
visible at Blacker's hills, Bow-ditch, Brompton, Bury
Castle, and Burwalls; in the parish of South Cadbury,
near Chesterton, in the parish of Chew Magna,
Cowes Castle, Doleberry, Douxborough Castle, Godshill,
Hawkridge Castle, on Hampton down, Masbury,
Mearknoll, Modbury, on the forest of Neroche, Newborough,
Norton - Hautville, Stantonbury, Stokeleigh,
Tedbury, Trendle Castle, Turk's Castle, Wiveliscombe
Castle, and Worleberry. The principal Roman road was
the Fosse-way, which extended across this county from
Bath, in a south-westerly direction to Perry Street, on
the confines of Devonshire. In a direction nearly
parallel with this ran another road from the forest of
Exmoor, through Taunton, Bridg-water, and Axbridge,
to Portishead, whence there was a irajectus, or ferry,
across the Bristol Channel to the city of Isca Silitrum,
now Caerleon. On Salisbury hill are traces of the
earthworks thrown up at the time of the siege of Bath
by the Saxons. An encampment called Jack's Castle,
near Wilmington, is supposed to have been of Danish
formation. The intrenchments formed by the forces of
Harold, near Porlock, in 1052, are still to be seen.
According to Tanner, the number of religious houses
in the county of all denominations, before the Reformation,
including two Alien priories, was about forty-four.
There are remains of the abbey in the Isle of Athelney,
founded by King Alfred; of that of Banwell, founded
in the same reign; of those of Bath, Bruton, Cliff,
Glastonbury, Hinton, Keynsham, Muchelney, and "Wells;
of the priories of Barlinch, Barrow, Bath, Berkeley,
Buckland, Sordrum, Cannington, Chewton, Dunster,
Frome, Hinton-Charterhouse, Ilchester, Kewstoke,
Montacute, Portbury, Stavordale, Stogursey, Taunton,
Woodspring, and Yeanston j and of the nunneries
of Nunney, Walton, and Whitehall. Of ancient church
architecture, the most interesting specimens are in
the churches of Allen, Ashill, Axbridge, Barton St.
David, St. James at Bath, Bath-Easton, North Cadbury,
Camerton, Chew Magna, Crewkerne, Dunster,
Goathurst, Ilminster, Keynsham, Lansdown, Martock,
Nunney, St, Magdalene and St. James Taunton, Walton,
Wincanton, and Yeovil. The greater number of the
churches of Somersetshire exhibit fine specimens of
the decorated and later styles of English architecture;
from which it has been thought probable that they were
rebuilt by that prince, in reward for the zeal in his
cause displayed by its inhabitants. There are several
ancient chapels; and the fonts of Beckington, East
Camel, Corfe, and Pendomer, are remarkable for their
antiquity. Remains still exist of the ancient castles of
Bridg-water, Dunster, Montacute, Stoke under Hamdon,
Stowey, Taunton, and Walton. Combe-Sydenham,
near Stogumber, is a very ancient mansion, the seat of
the family of the Sydenhams. The more modern seats
of nobility and gentry are particularly numerous. Besides
the celebrated waters of Bath, there are mineral
springs of different properties at Alford, Ashill, Castle-
Cary, East Chinnock, Glastonbury, Queen-Camel, Wellington,
and Wells; at Nether Stowey is a petrifying
spring. In the Mendip hills, and surrounded by wild
and magnificent scenery, is Wokey Hole (so called from
the neighbouring village of Wokey), an extensive natural
cavern, the most celebrated in the West of England,
in which the waters of the Ax take their rise, issuing
from it in a clear and rapid stream; in the parish
of Cheddar, in the same district, is an immense chasm
in the hills, called Cheddar Cliffs, the scenery of which
is particularly rugged and striking. Mr. Collinson, in
his history of this county, mentions the following
birds as the most remarkable that are found in it,
or upon its coasts, viz., the heath-hen, the wild duck,
the curlew, the rail, the gull, and the wheat-ear; and
adds, that on Exmoor Forest, and some other lower
and uncultivated tracts, red deer are found. Somersetshire
abounds with rare and curious plants; on
the hilly wastes occur the dwarf juniper, the cranberry,
and the wortleberry, the last being here provincially
called hurts. The rocks on the coast have great
quantities of the lichen marinus, or sea-bread: in
the low moors grows the gale, or candleberry myrtle.
The county of Somerset gives the title of duke to the
family of Seymour.