Somerset, archaically Somersetshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, and the county town is Taunton.
Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sides of the River Parrett; it has been a major inland port and trading centre since the industrial revolution. Most of its industrial bases still stand today. Its larger neighbour, Taunton, is linked to Bridgwater via a canal, the M5 motorway and the GWR railway line.
The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the Somerset Levels to its mouth at Burnham-on-Sea, into the Bridgwater Bay nature reserve on the Bristol Channel, the Parrett and its tributaries drain an area of 660 square miles (1,700 km2) – about 50 per cent of Somerset's land area, with a population of 300,000.
Street is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, with a population of 12,709 in 2021. On a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, it is two miles southwest of Glastonbury. There is evidence of Roman occupation. Much of the history of the village is dominated by Glastonbury Abbey, and a 12th-century causeway from Glastonbury built to transport local Blue Lias stone to it.
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, owned by the Bishops of Winchester, which was rebuilt as Taunton Castle by the Normans in the 12th century. Parts of the inner ward house were turned into the Museum of Somerset and Somerset Military Museum. For the Second Cornish uprising of 1497, Perkin Warbeck brought an army of 6,000; most surrendered to Henry VII on 4 October 1497. On 20 June 1685 in Taunton the Duke of Monmouth crowned himself King of England in a rebellion, defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor. Judge Jeffreys led the Bloody Assizes in the Castle's Great Hall.
North Petherton is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the eastern foothills of the Quantocks, and close to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The town has a population of 6,730 as of 2014. The parish includes Hamp, Melcombe, Shearston, Woolmersdon and Huntworth.
Ian Richard Peregrine Liddell-Grainger is a British Conservative Party politician and former property developer. He was MP for Bridgwater from 2001 until 2010, and until 2024, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset. Through his mother, he is a great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, third cousin of Charles III and second cousin once removed of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
Burnham-on-Sea is a seaside town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett, upon Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small fishing village until the late 18th century when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort.
Wellington is a market town in Somerset, England. It is situated 7 miles (11 km) south west of Taunton, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills to the south of the town. The town had a population of 16,669, which includes the residents of the parish of Wellington Without, and the villages of Tone and Tonedale.
Bridgwater and West Somerset was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Ian Liddell-Grainger, a Conservative.
Catcott is a rural village and civil parish, situated close to Edington 7 miles (11.3 km) to the east of Bridgwater on the Somerset Levels to the north of the Polden Hills in Somerset, England.
Chilton Trinity is a village and civil parish on the River Parrett, 2 miles (3 km) north of Bridgwater in Somerset, England.
Writhlington School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–18 in Writhlington, Bath and North East Somerset, England. It is the main secondary school in the Radstock area, providing further education to local children and some pupils who live outside the catchment area. The school became an academy in October 2011.
The Grade I listed buildings in Somerset, England, demonstrate the history and diversity of its architecture. The ceremonial county of Somerset consists of a non-metropolitan county, administered by Somerset County Council, which is divided into five districts, and two unitary authorities. The districts of Somerset are West Somerset, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, Mendip and Sedgemoor. The two administratively independent unitary authorities, which were established on 1 April 1996 following the breakup of the county of Avon, are North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. These unitary authorities include areas that were once part of Somerset before the creation of Avon in 1974.
Brymore Academy is a boys' secondary school with academy status, located in Cannington, Bridgwater, Somerset, England. It is a day and boarding school for pupils aged 11 to 17 years and had 192 boys on the roll in 2015, 115 of them boarders. It was established in 1951 by Somerset County Council at a cost of £6,000 as a Secondary Technical School of Agriculture.
Bridgwater College Academy is a mixed all-through Academy which combines both primary and secondary education for pupils aged 3 to 16. The academy, which is sponsored by Bridgwater College, is located in Bridgwater, Somerset, England. It was established in September 2012 following the merger of East Bridgwater Community School with Sedgemoor Manor Junior and Infants schools.
Haygrove School is a co-educational secondary school in Bridgwater, Somerset, England, with 1,106 students aged between 11 and 16. It is located on Durleigh Road in Bridgwater.
Robert Blake School, formerly Robert Blake Science College, is a mixed secondary school in Bridgwater, Somerset, England.
The Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity at Chilton Trinity in the English county of Somerset was established in the 13th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.
