X-Nico

52 unusual facts about Somerset


Abbey104

Abbey104 (formerly known as Radio Sherborne) is a community radio station broadcasting on 104.7 FM to Sherborne and the surrounding areas in Dorset and Somerset.

Alfred Fuller

Fuller died in Hartford, Connecticut and is buried at Pleasant Valley Cemetery in Somerset, Nova Scotia.

Anthony Dominic Fahy

Between 1834 to 1836 he lived and worked with his Dominican brothers in the Saint Joseph Convent, in Somerset, Ohio.

Barnstaple Priory

Juhel endowed it with part of the demesne land of Barnstaple Castle as well as with the manors of Pilton and Pilland, members of the barony, which were contiguous and situated immediately to the north across the River Yeo.

Bath and District Saturday Football League

The B&DFL operates within a 12 mile radius of Bath and whilst the majority of its clubs are based in Bath there are teams from Keynsham and outer suburbs of Bristol as well as some of the smaller outlying villages around Bath.

Battle of Lansdowne

On 3 July, skirmishes took place at Claverton and at Waller's positions south and east of Bath.

Brislington Brook

The other briefly enters Bath and North East Somerset, then enters a shallow valley, passing underneath Saltwell Viaduct, which carries the A37 Wells Road.

Cambridge Colts

The team are now in the Fifth Round (the last 16) where they have been drawn at home to Weston-Super-Mare from Somerset.

Cannington Nunnery

Cannington Nunnery was established around 1138 and dissolved in 1536 in Cannington, Somerset, England.

Cephalanthera rubra

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the species was recorded from single sites in Somerset, Sussex and Kent, and a second Hampshire site (in the upper Test Valley).

Church of All Saints, Wrington

The Church of All Saints in Wrington, Somerset, England, has 13th-century foundations, and was remodelled with the addition of a west tower around 1450.

Church of St Andrew, Backwell

The parish is part of the benefice of Backwell with Chelvey and Brockley within the deanery of Portishead.

Church of St Andrew, Chew Magna

The Church of St Andrew in Chew Magna, Somerset, England dates from the 12th century with a large 15th-century pinnacled sandstone tower, a Norman font and a rood screen that is the full width of the church.

Church of St Bridget, Chelvey

Bridget's Church in Chelvey, Brockley, Somerset, England dates from the 12th century, and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.

Church of St John the Baptist, Churchill

The Church of St John the Baptist in Churchill, Somerset, England, was largely built around 1360 and is a Grade I listed building.

Church of St John the Baptist, Hinton Charterhouse

The parish is part of the benefice of Freshford, Limpley Stoke and Hinton Charterhouse within the archdeaconry of Bath.

Church of St Luke and St Andrew, Priston

The Church of St Luke and St Andrew in Priston, Somerset, England has a nave dating from the 12th century, on the site of an earlier Norman church.

Clutton

Clutton, Somerset, a village in Bath and North East Somerset, England

Corston

Corston, Somerset, village in the county of Somerset in the United Kingdom

Cossington

Cossington, Somerset is a village on the Polden Hills between Bridgwater and Street in Somerset

Crewkerne Castle

Crewkerne Castle (which is also known as Castle Hill or Croft Castle) was possibly a Norman motte and bailey castle on a mound that is situated north-west of the town of Crewkerne in Somerset, England.

DeForest Soaries

Additionally, he is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey, a position he has held since November 1990.

Down Ampney

Down Ampney was notable in medieval times as one of the principal seats of the powerful Hungerford family (their principal seat was at Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset) and a number of elaborate family monuments survive in the village church.

Drepanopterus

The only other fully described valid species is Drepanopterus abonensis, from the Upper Devonian of Portishead, Somerset.

Eliza Maria Gillespie

Eliza Maria first attended the school of the Dominican Sisters at Somerset, Ohio, and completed her studies at the Visitation Convent at Georgetown, D.C., in 1844.

Flag of Wiltshire

The six portions are also represent the six surrounding counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Dorset and Somerset.

Frances Freeling Broderip

He was born at Wells, Somersetshire, in 1814, educated at Eton, and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he took his B.A. 1837, M.A. 1839, became rector of Cossington, Somersetshire, 1844, and died at Cossington on 10 April 1866.

Francis Hawley, 2nd Baron Hawley

He succeeded his grandfather Lord Hawley in the barony in 1684, also inheriting large estates in Berkshire, Devon, Dorset and Somerset.

Gerry Sweeney

Subsequently Sweeney left football and worked as a postman in Portishead, Somerset.

Guild of St George

(A generous benefactor, Mrs Greg, who became a companion in the 1930s, gifted to the Guild her own nature diaries and other precious items, and Green Pastures bungalow in Holcombe, near Bath (sold in 1962-3)).

Harriet Waylett

The daughter of a tradesman in Bath, Somerset, Harriet Cooke was born there on 7 February 1798; her uncle was a member of the Drury Lane Theatre company, and Sarah Cooke was her cousin.

Highbury Hill, Clutton

Highbury Hill in Clutton, Somerset, England is the site of the earthwork remains of an Iron Age univallate hillfort.

Hugh Clifford, 2nd Baron Clifford of Chudleigh

Hugh Clifford, 2nd Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1663–1730) was baptized on 21 December 1663 in Ugbrooke and died on 12 October 1730 in Cannington, Somerset, England.

Jack Whicher

Detective Inspector Jonathan 'Jack' Whicher's fame had spread, and he was at the height of his powers when in July 1860 he was sent by Scotland Yard to assist the local police in the small village of Rode (then in Wiltshire) in investigating the murder of 3-year-old Francis Saville Kent.

James Lorimer Ilsley

He was born in Somerset, Nova Scotia, the son of Randel Ilsley and Catherine Caldwell.

Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen is an American gymnast from Somerset, Wisconsin.

Johnstone Street, Bath

Johnstone Street in the Bathwick area of Bath, Somerset, England was designed in 1788 by Thomas Baldwin, with some of the buildings being completed around 1805-1810 by John Pinch the elder.

Locking Castle

Locking Castle was a castle that once stood on Carberry Hill near the site of RAF Locking in Locking in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England.

Mississinewa River

The dustjacket explains that this county is located “east of Spoon River, west of Winesburg, and slightly north of Raintree County.” Its county seat is the actual rural town of Somerset next to the Mississinewa (River) Reservoir.

Purnell and Sons

Purnell and Sons was a small family printer based in Somerset which merged with other printers to become a large national publisher.

RAF Northleach

Glider Training School left RAF Stoke Orchard and RAF Northleach for good relocating to RAF Exeter, Devon and its satellite of RAF Culmhead, Somerset.

River Batherm

The River Batherm is a river which flows through Somerset and Devon in England.

Soda fountain

Many civilizations believed that drinking and/or bathing in these mineral waters cured diseases, and large industries often sprang up around hot springs, such as Bath in England or the many onsen of Japan.

Somerset, Kings County, Nova Scotia

Boardman Robinson (1876–1952) a well-known Canadian-American artist, illustrator and cartoonist of the early 20th century, was born in Somerset.

Somerset, New Jersey

Roy Hinson, first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1983 who played for eight seasons in the NBA.

Somerton Tunnel

Not far from the west end of the tunnel, in Long Sutton, there is an old derelict building which is said to have been used as an explosives store for the GWR engineers at the time of construction.

St Nicholas' Church, Brockley

St Nicholas' Church in Brockley, Somerset, England dates from the 12th century, and has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II* listed building.

Strides Arcolab

USA - The company has a soft gelatin capsule plant at Somerset, New Jersey, USA.

Taunton Tramway

Despite plans to build a network to neighbouring towns including Wiveliscombe, Wellington and North Petherton it started small with a route from Taunton railway station to the town centre.

The RiverBank

Locations have since been added in MarketPlace Foods and Somerset, Wisconsin and in Chisago City and Wyoming, Minnesota.

Who I Was Born to Be

In August 2013 Boyle performed the song during the opening ceremonies of the 2013 Special Olympics held at the Royal Crescent in Bath.

Wrinstone

Through her marriage to Simon de Raleigh, of Nettlecombe, Somerset, the Wrinstone manor passed to the de Raleighs, their descendants holding the manor for six generations.


AASC

Avon and Somerset Constabulary, the territorial police force covering Avon and Somerset, England

All Hallows School

All Hallows Preparatory School, East Cranmore, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England

Bath Preservation Trust

The Bath Preservation Trust is an independent charity based in Bath, Somerset, England which exists to safeguard the historic character of the city of Bath, the only complete city in the UK that (along with its environs) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and to champion its sustainable future.

Battle of Peonnum

The Saxons were victorious, and Cenwalh advanced west through the Polden Hills to the River Parrett, annexing eastern and central Somerset.

Bessie Blount

Elizabeth Blount, mistress of Henry VIII of England and mother of his son, Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset

Bruce Stewart

Bruce Hylton-Stewart (1891–1972), played first-class cricket for Somerset and Cambridge University between 1912 and 1914

Church of St Peter, Englishcombe

The Church of St Peter in Englishcombe, Somerset, England was probably built by Robert de Gournay in the 12th century.

Dickie Burrough

Herbert Dickinson "Dickie" Burrough, born at Wedmore, Somerset, on 6 February 1909, and died at Padstow, Cornwall, on 9 April 1994, played 171 first-class cricket matches for Somerset in a career that last for 20 years from 1927.

Drayton, Queensland

Thomas Alford, an early settler in the area who built a house, general store, and post office in the area, named the town after his home village in Somerset.

East Somerset Railway

At this stage, the main traffic became the through trains from Yatton to Witham and the East Somerset Railway station in Wells closed, with Wells (Tucker Street) becoming the station for the city on the line.

Fiddleford

In the hamlet there is also the beautiful mill and weir and the Fiddleford Manor, one of the oldest buildings in Dorset, probably dating from around 1370 and built by William Latimer, Royal Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset.

Fred Pontin

He formed a company to buy an old disused camp at Brean Sands near Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset in 1946.

Fred Wheldon

1901 was worse still, as he did not pass 51 in 26 innings, and 1902 was little better, but he returned to form at last in 1903 with 969 runs – the most of his career – including 112 against Somerset.

Gazebo

Examples of such structures are the garden houses at Montacute House in Somerset, England.

Harvest jug

They are traditional in the south-west of England, especially the ports of Barnstaple and Bideford in north Devon and Donyatt in Somerset.

International Tour de Toona

The event became the largest pro-am cycling event in North America and had stages spanning Blair, Cambria, Bedford, and Somerset Counties in Pennsylvania.

Jacob Rees-Mogg

In his long speech on the Sustainable Livestock Bill, he recited poetry; spoke of the superior quality of Somerset eggs, and mentioned the fictional pig, the Empress of Blandings, who won silver at the Shropshire Show three years in a row, before moving on to talk about the sewerage system and the Battle of Agincourt.

John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset

Somerset died in the Hospital of St Katharine's by the Tower.

Jon Callard

Callard taught physical education classes and sports classes at Downside School (Somerset) in the early to mid-1990s.

Ken Kinnersley

Kenneth Charles Kinnersley, born at Apia, Upolu, Samoa on 13 March 1914 and died at Clifton, Bristol on 30 June 1984, played first-class cricket for Somerset in 10 matches in the 1930s.

Laura Place, Bath

Laura Place Bathwick, Bath, Somerset, England, consists of four blocks of houses around an irregular quadrangle at the end of Pulteney Bridge.

Leigh House

Leigh House is 16th- or 17th-century house in Winsham, Somerset, England.

Leonard Sharland

After ten years there he moved to a country parish as Rector of St Mary’s, Hardington Mandeville, near Yeovil, Somerset.

Liber Exoniensis

It contains a variety of administrative materials concerning the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.

Lulsgate

Lulsgate Plateau, an outlier of the Mendip Hills in North Somerset, England

Neshanic

Neshanic Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated community within Branchburg Township, Somerset County

New Brunswick Marconi Station

New Brunswick Marconi Station (40.51529° N 74.48895° W) was located at JFK Boulevard and Easton Avenue just a few minutes from the New Brunswick border in Somerset, New Jersey.

Paul Spencer Sochaczewski

Gary Braver, bestselling author of Skin Deep, said “Paul’s writing in The Sultan and the Mermaid Queen has the humanity of Somerset Maugham, the adventure of Joseph Conrad, the perception of Paul Theroux, and a self-effacing voice uniquely his own.”

Pelagosaurus

Pelagosaurus was originally described from a specimen from Normandy, but the holotype for P. typus was discovered north of the town of Ilminster in Somerset, England.

Reading to Taunton line

The next junction on the right is at Witham, where the old East Somerset Railway carries stone trains from Merehead Quarry and continues to Cranmore.

Ron Davenport

Ronald Donovan Davenport (born December 22, 1962 in Somerset, Bermuda) is a former professional American football fullback in the National Football League.

Seymour Clark

Clark, a local club cricketer in Weston and a locomotive driver with the Great Western Railway, was called into the Somerset side for five matches when regular wicketkeeper Wally Luckes was ill.

Somerset Holmes

Both Jones and Campbell feel strongly that the 1996 Geena Davis movie The Long Kiss Goodnight was an unauthorized, and unpaid for, theft of the Somerset Holmes idea.

Somerset Mall

Somerset Collection (formerly Somerset Mall), an upscale mall in Michigan

Somerset, Kentucky

In 2004, Somerset was featured on the television series City Confidential.

Stokeleigh Camp

It has been suggested that Stokeleigh was connected with the Wansdyke, a series of defensive linear earthworks, consisting of a ditch and an embankment running at least from Maes Knoll in Somerset, to the Savernake Forest near Marlborough in Wiltshire, however there is little evidence for this.

The Sparagus Garden

Tom and his servant Coulter are from "Zumerzetshire," and inject into the play the kind of dialect humour typical of Brome's drama (Yorkshire dialect in The Northern Lass, Lancashire dialect in The Late Lancashire Witches).

Union Meetinghouse

Mercer Union Meetinghouse, Mercer, Maine, listed on the NRHP in Somerset County

Ursina

Ursina, Pennsylvania, a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States.

Wassailing

The West Country is the most famous and largest cider producing region of the country and some of the most important wassails are held annually in Carhampton and Dunster (Somerset) and Whimple (Devon), both on 17 January (old Twelfth Night).

Westhay Heath

This is the only site in Somerset where the nationally rare Marsh Harrier (Circus areuginosus) breeds.

William Fitz Reynold

His name is listed in the Somerset region and is also one of the earliest recorded members of the Reynolds family.

William Foord-Kelcey

Foord-Kelcey's brother John also played cricket for Oxford University and his nephew Osbert Mordaunt played for Somerset.

WNTW

WLLI, a radio station (990 AM) licensed to serve Somerset, Pennsylvania, United States, which held the call sign WNTW from 2004 to 2013