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This article is about the town of Taunton in England. For the city in Massachusetts, see Taunton, Massachusetts. For other uses, see Taunton (disambiguation).
| Taunton | |
|
Taunton shown within Somerset | |
| Population | 58,241 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Taunton Deane |
| Shire county | Somerset |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TAUNTON |
| Postcode district | TA1, TA2, TA3, TA4 |
| Dialling code | 01823 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Taunton |
| List of places: UK • England • Somerset | |
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. Taunton civil parish has a population of 44,050.Somerset County Council, 2002. Population estimates. Suburbs of the town include Bishop\'s Hull, Staplegrove and Galmington, giving a total population for the "Taunton Urban Area" of 58,241 according to the 2001 census, up 4.4% since 1991. It is the largest town in Somerset, and the site of Musgrove Park Hospital.
It is home to the County Cricket Ground where Somerset County Cricket Club play. It is part of the annual West Country Carnival circuit. It hosts Taunton flower show, which has been held in Vivary Park since 1866. The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office is located in Taunton on Admiralty Way.
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The War Memorial and town centre, Taunton.
The town name derives from "Town on the River Tone" — or Tone Town.Charnock, Richard Stephen (1859). Local Etymology: A Derivative Dictionary of Geographical Names. Houlston and Wright, 266. There was perhaps a Romano-British village near the suburb of Holway,Toulmin, Joshua (1822). The History of Taunton, in the County of Somerset. J. Poole, 558. and Taunton was a place of considerable importance in Saxon times.A brief history of Taunton. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. King Ine of Wessex threw up an earthen castle here about 700, and a monastery was founded before 904.History of Taunton Castle in Somerset By Charles Oman. Britannia castles. Retrieved on 2007-11-21. The bishops of Winchester owned the manor, and obtained the first charter for their "men of Taunton" from King Edward in 904, freeing them from all royal and county tribute. At some time before the Domesday Survey Taunton had become a borough with very considerable privileges, and a population of around 1,500 governed by a portreeve appointed by the bishops. Somerton took over from Ilchester as the county town in the late thirteenth century,Somerton by Miranda Richardson. Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey. Retrieved on 2008-01-07. but it declined in importance and the status of county town transferred to Taunton about 1366.A town plan for Somerton (PDF). South Somerset Council. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
Taunton Castle changed hands several times during the great Civil War of 1642-45 but only along with the town.Taunton\'s History. Taunton Town Centre!. Retrieved on 2007-11-21. During the Siege of Taunton it was defended by Robert Blake, from July 1644 to July 1645. After the war, in 1662, the keep was demolished and only the base remains.Taunton Castle. Castles and fortifications of England and Wales. Retrieved on 2007-11-21. In the autumn of 1685 Judge Jeffreys was based in Taunton during the Bloody Assizes that followed the Battle of Sedgemoor.The battle of Sedgemoor. Britain Express. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
The town did not obtain a charter of incorporation until 1627, which was renewed in 1677. The charter lapsed in 1792 owing to vacancies for the members of the corporate body, and Taunton was not reincorporated until 1877. The medieval fairs and markets of Taunton (it still holds a weekly market today), were celebrated for the sale of woollen cloth called "Tauntons" made in the town. On the decline of the west of England woollen industry, silk-weaving was introduced at the end of the 18th century.From the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica
In 1839 the Grand Western Canal reached Taunton aiding trade to the south.Helen Harris (1996) The Grand Western Canal, Devon Books, ISBN 0-86114-901-7 In World War II the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal formed part of the Taunton Stop Line, designed to prevent the advance of a German invasion. Pillboxes can still be seen along its length.
Taunton Deane is a local government district with borough status which is based in Taunton. The district was formed on April 1, 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the municipal borough of Taunton, Wellington urban district, Taunton Rural District, and Wellington Rural District. The district was given the name of an alternate form of the Taunton hundred.
Taunton as the County Town also hosts the headquarters of Somerset County Council at County Hall.
Taunton is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Following the review of parliamentary representaton in Somerset, the Boundary Commission for England has created a modified Taunton constituency with the name change Taunton Deane, to reflect the district name. It is based on the town of Taunton but extends to include Wellington, many small villages and parts of Exmoor. Following a review of parliamentary representation in Somerset, this seat will be renamed Taunton Deane at the next UK general election. The current MP is Jeremy Browne, a member of the Liberal Democrats.Alphabetical List of Constituencies and Members of Parliament. House Of Commons Information Office. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
Residents of Taunton also form part of the electorate for the South West England constituency for elections to the European Parliament.UK MEPs for the South West. European Parliament UK Office. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.
Taunton lies on the River Tone between the Quantock, Blackdown and Brendon hills in an area known as the Vale of Taunton.
The Firepool area on the northern edge of Taunton town centre, adjacent to the main line railway station, currently includes a high proportion of vacant or undeveloped land. The Council is currently promoting a sustainable, high quality, employment-led mixed use development. The scheme also offers the opportunity to secure the development of a substantial number of residential units.Firepool Taunton. Firepool Taunton. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. These are intended to create more than 2,000 new homes in the town centre, at least 14,000 new homes across the whole of Taunton, 80,000m² of employment space, 50,000m² of new retail space and at least 7,000 jobs.Project Taunton. South West Regional Development Agency. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
In the Taunton area Permian (295-250 million years ago) red sandstones and breccia outcrop, while rocks of Triassic age (248-204 million years ago) underlie much of Somerset and form the solid geology to the Somerset Moors and Levels.Somerset. English Nature, Special Sites, Somerset Geology. Retrieved on 2006-10-30. Other nearby areas including the cultural quarter, Tangier and the town centre retail area fall within the regeneration plans of Project Taunton.Project Taunton. Project Taunton. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
Along with the rest of South West England, Taunton has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F) and shows a seasonal and a diurnal variation, but due to the modifying effect of the sea the range is less than in most other parts of the UK. January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 1 °C (33.8 °F) and 2 °C (35.6 °F). July and August are the warmest months in the region with mean daily maxima around 21 °C (69.8 °F).
The south-west of England has a favoured location with respect to the Azores high pressure when it extends its influence north-eastwards towards the UK, particularly in summer. Convective cloud often forms inland however, especially near hills, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. The average annual sunshine totals around 1,600 hours.
Rainfall tends to be associated with Atlantic depressions or with convection. The Atlantic depressions are more vigorous in autumn and winter and most of the rain which falls in those seasons in the south-west is from this source. Average rainfall is around 31 inches (787 mm)–35 inches (889 mm). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, with June to August having the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.About south-west England. Met Office. Retrieved on 2006-05-28.
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| Population ProfileUnited Kingdom Census 2001 (2001). Key Figures for 2001 Census: Census Area Statistics: Area: Bath and North East Somerset. statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved on 2007-12-12. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Census 2001 | Taunton Deane | South West England | England | ||
| Total population | 102,299 | 4,928,434 | 49,138,831 | ||
| Foreign born | 4.1 % | 9.4% | 9.2% | ||
| White | 98.4 % | 97.7% | 91% | ||
| Asian | 0.4 % | 0.7% | 4.6% | ||
| Black | 0.2 % | 0.4% | 2.3% | ||
| Christian | 75.9% | 74.0% | 72% | ||
| Muslim | 0.3% | 0.5% | 3.1% | ||
| Hindu | 0.1% | 0.2% | 1.1% | ||
| No religion | 15.7% | 16.8% | 15% | ||
| Over 75 years old | 9.5% | 9.3% | 7.5% | ||
| Unemployed | 2.4% | 2.6% | 3.3% | ||
Taunton civil parish has a population of 44,050.Somerset County Council, 2002. Population estimates. Suburbs of the town include Bishop\'s Hull, Staplegrove and Galmington, giving a total population for the "Taunton Urban Area" of 58,241Taunton Deane Parish population estimates. Somerset County Council. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. according to the 2001 census, up 4.4% since 1991.
The firgures below are for the wider Taunton Deane area.
| Population since 1801 - Source: A Vision of Britain through Time | |||||||||||||
| Year | 1801 | 1851 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1941 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population Taunton DeaneTaunton Deane: Total Population. A Vision of Britain Through Time. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. | 33,139 | 51,844 | 53,759 | 55,666 | 56,161 | 56,661 | 62,745 | 69,492 | 75,320 | 81,639 | 84,795 | 95,791 | 102,304 |
Taunton is home to the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office which is an organisation within the UK government responsible for providing navigational and other hydrographic information for national, civil and defence requirements. The UKHO is located in Taunton, Somerset on Admiralty Way and has a workforce of approximately 850 staff. At the start of the Second World War chart printing moved to Taunton but the main office did not move until 1968.Timeline of the UKHO (PDF). www.ukho.gov.uk. UKHO. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
Avimo is now part of Thales Optics. It has been announced twice, in 2006 and 2007, that manufacturing is to end at Thales Optics\' Taunton site,Shock at factory closure news. This is the West Country. Retrieved on 2007-10-29. but the Trade Unions and Taunton Deane District Council are working to reverse or mitigate these decisions.
Taunton is also involved with the production of cider.
Gray\'s Almshouses on Fore street were founded by Robert Gray in 1615 for poor single women.Gray\'s Almshouses, Taunton. Taunton Deane Borough Council. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. The red brick buildings bear the arms of Robert Gray, dated 1635, and another arms of the Merchant Tailors. A small room is used as chapel and has original benches and a painted ceiling. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.Gray\' s Almshouses. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
The grounds of Taunton CastleTaunton Castle. Images of England. Retrieved on 2007-11-05. include the Somerset County Museum and The Castle Hotel. Together with the municipal buildings they form a three-sided group of buildings just beyond an archway off Fore Street. The centre of the square is used as a car park, and a plain brick edifice of a bingo hall makes up the west side of it.
The area by the river is predominantly supermarkets and car parks. It is hoped that the development of the County Cricket Ground will render this part of town, with its attractive setting, livelier. The area has hosted a concert by Elton John.
Hankridge Farm is a retail park close to the M5 motorway, with large stores such as PC World and Halfords. In addition, there is a \'Venue\' on the park, with eating places, the Odeon cinema and Hollywood Bowl bowling.
The Old Market was a farmers market but this moved to the Firepool area. The Old Market is now an indoor large shopping centre in the centre of the town.
There are public parks dotted around Taunton, the most notable of which is Vivary Park, located near the centre of the town. It contains two main wide open spaces, as well as a war memorial, fountain, mini-golf course, tennis courts, a children\'s playground and located next to it is a golf course. Flowing through the park is a tributary of the River Tone.
Goodlands Park, located around the centre of the town, is behind the Debenhams department store.
Taunton railway station is on the Great Western Main Line and the Cross-Country Route. It is served and operated by First Great Western and is also served by CrossCountry, with services to Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, London, Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance, as well as the rest of the West Country. The former railway route to Minehead has become the heritage West Somerset Railway, with a bus service providing the normal link between Taunton and Minehead. Special rail events allow trains to run from Taunton along the heritage line to Minehead.
Taunton also has good road links, having the M5 motorway junctions 25 and 26 close to the town, as well as other major roads such as the A38 and A358. Taunton Deane services are located between junctions 25 and 26 on the M5.
The nearest airports are Exeter and Bristol, both within an hours car journey of Taunton.
Some of Taunton\'s town bus services are provided by First, who have regular services on routes across the town.
Cooks Coaches operate the Park and Ride scheme on the west side of the town called the \'Taunton Flyer\', including a dedicated service to Musgrove Park Hospital named the \'Musgrove Flyer\'. There are plans to expand this service from the Motorway at Junction 25.
State secondary schools in Taunton include Heathfield Community School, The Castle School, Bishop Fox\'s Community School and Ladymead Community School. State-funded Sixth Form teaching is provided by Richard Huish College. The coeducational independent schools in Taunton are King\'s College, Queen\'s College and Taunton School. Further education is provided by Somerset College of Arts and Technology.
The Mary Street Unitarian Chapel, which dates from 1721,Unitarian Chapel. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. is located on Mary Street in Taunton. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, while living Nether Stowey 16 miles (26 km) away, came to the chapel to preach on several occasions. Dr. Malachi Blake, who founded the Taunton and Somerset Hospital in East Reach, Taunton, was also a preacher at the chapel, attending in 1809 in celebration of the fiftieth year of George the Third\'s reign. The Chapel still has the original interior including Flemish oak pillars in the Corinthian style. The pews and pulpit are also in oak, and there is an early 18th century candelabra.Unitarian Chapel, Mary Street, Taunton. Western Union of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
In the latter part of the 17th century, Taunton had two dissenting places of worship: "Paul’s Meeting" and the Baptist Meeting.Bush, Robin, (1977). The Book of Taunton. Paul’s Meeting was built at the top of Paul Street soon after 1672 on part of a bowling green behind the Three Cups Inn, now The County Hotel, and rapidly became one of the largest congregations in the county. After Mayor Timewell sacked both Paul’s Meeting and the Baptist Meeting in 1683, the dissenters were driven to worship in private houses on the outskirts of Taunton, where their assemblies were regularly raided by the Justices. Paul’s Meeting survived attempts to turn it into a workhouse and, with the coming of William and Mary, followed by the Toleration Act of 1689, was reopened. The Baptist Meeting became the Baptist New Meeting was registered in 1691 and rebuilt in 1721 as Mary Street Chapel.
The Parish church of St. Mary Magdalene, built of sandstone more in the South Somerset style, preserves an attractive painted interior, but its most notable aspect is its 15th and 16th century tower (rebuilt in the mid-19th century), which is one of the best examples in the country and a 163 feet (50 m) tallLeete-Hodge, Lornie (1985). Curiosities of Somerset. Bodmin: Bossiney Books, 70. ISBN 0906456983. landmark.Church of Mary Magdalene. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. It was described by Simon Jenkins, an acknowledged authority on English churches, as “the finest in England. It makes its peace with the sky not just with a coronet but with the entire crown jewels cast in red-brown stone.”[citation needed] The tower itself has 12 bells and a clock mechanism. Two of the hammers on the clock mechanism are not striking.
The Parish church of St. James is also located near the centre of Taunton quite close to St. Mary Magdalene. The oldest parts of St. James Church are early 14th Century and there are fragments of 15th Century glass in the West end. Like St. Mary\'s it also has a sandstone tower but built to a much less impressive design. The tower was also like St. Mary\'s rebuilt in the 19th century (in this case thought to be due to building defects in the original tower)St James Church History. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.. The church backs onto the Somerset County Ground and forms a familiar backdrop to the popular Cricket ground.
The church of St John was built in 1864 to designs by Sir George Gilbert Scott.Church of St John. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
Taunton plays a role in The Hitchhiker\'s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and is mentioned in The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, Scoop by Evelyn Waugh and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré. Taunton has also made an appearance in a number of other British comedy series, including Monty Python\'s Flying Circus, Blackadder, Men Behaving Badly, Vic Reeves\' Big Night Out, and also The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer. Comedian Bill Bailey also mentions the town in his stand-up DVD Part Troll, claiming to have taken part in a teleportation experiment sponsored by Taunton Cider. Taunton was also mentioned in a 2007 Doctor Who episode, "The Shakespeare Code".
Thomas Hardy created an imaginary Wessex and renamed Taunton as Toneborough in his books and poems. He called the area Outer Wessex.
Taunton is home to a number of sport clubs and venues.
The County Ground was originally home to Taunton Cricket Club, which was formed in 1829 and playyed at The County Ground until 1977 before moving to Moorfields, Taunton in conjunction with Taunton Vale Hockey Club, after which it was solely used by Somerset County Cricket Club.http://taunton.play-cricket.com/home/home.asp Somerset CCC was formed in 1875, but the club did not achieve first class status until 1891. The County Ground has a capacity of 6,500 and the ends are called the River End and the Old Pavilion End, and one of the main stands is named after Ian Botham.http://www.fanzone.co.uk/A5572F/fanzone.nsf/0/3757BEA21C33C8A88025692A0043EB42?open The ground houses the Somerset County Cricket shop and museum, which also has various conference rooms http://www.somerset.gov.uk/celebratingsomerset/business/pages/conf_detail.asp?ID=290
Taunton Town F.C. are a football club, who play at Wordsworth Drive in the town. They were formed in 1947 by a few local businessmen as Taunton F.C., changing to the current name in 1968, and played their first friendly fixture in 1948. For most of their history, Taunton were members of the Western League. They spent a six-season spell in the Southern League from 1977, and after a further period in the Western League, returned to the Southern League in 2002, after winning the FA Vase in 2001. After the latest re-organisation of the English football league system, the club are currently members of the Southern League Division One South & West.
Somerset Vikings are a Rugby League Club who were formed at the beginning of 2003 as part of the RFL\'s plans to develop the game further beyond the traditional areas in the north of England. Initially the side was made up of a mixture of Royal Marines based in Taunton and Exeter together with a number of local rugby union players keen to try the 13-man code. The Vikings play at Hyde Park which is the home of the Taunton Rugby union club, which was formed in 1874.History. Taunton Rugby Club. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
The Taunton Tigers is a semi-professional basketball team competing in the English Basketball League Men\'s Division 1. The team play all their home games at Wellsprings Leisure Centre, which has a capacity of 500 seats.
Taunton Racecourse is close to the Blackdown Hills and about 2 miles (3 km) from the centre of Taunton. Although racing had been held in the area previously, the first race at the present site was held on 21 September 1927. The stands are called the Orchard Stand and the Paddock Stand which provide catering facilities and are used for meetings and conferences on days when racing is not taking place.
The following people were born or have lived in Taunton:
Taunton is twinned with:
| Ceremonial county of Somerset | |
|---|---|
| Somerset Portal | |
| Boroughs or districts | Mendip, Sedgemoor, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, West Somerset |
| Cities and towns | Axbridge, Bath, Bridgwater, Burnham-on-Sea, Chard, Clevedon, Crewkerne, Frome, Glastonbury, Highbridge, Ilminster, Keynsham, Minehead, Nailsea, North Petherton, Norton Radstock, Portishead, Shepton Mallet, South Petherton, Street, Taunton, Watchet, Wellington, Wells, Weston-super-Mare, Wincanton, Wiveliscombe, Yeovil See also: List of civil parishes in Somerset |
| Rivers | Aller, Avon, Axe, Barle, Brue, Cam Brook, Cary, Chew, Congresbury Yeo, East Lyn, Exe, Frome, Haddeo, Hoar Oak Water, Holford, Horner, Huntspill, Isle, Midford Brook, Parret, Severn Estuary, Sheppey, Somer, Tone, Washford, Wellow Brook, West Lyn |
| Topics | Culture of Somerset, Economy of Somerset, Geology of Somerset, History of Somerset Geographic areas: Blackdown Hills, Brendon Hills, Chew Valley, Exmoor, Mendip Hills, Polden Hills, Quantock Hills, Somerset Levels |
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