X-Nico

55 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.

Ann Street Barry

Ann Street Barry (1734 – 29 November 1801), second wife of Spranger Barry, was born in Bath, England in 1734, the daughter of an apothecary.

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 Abbey Cemetery

The Anglican Bath Abbey Cemetery, officially dedicated as the Cemetery of St Peter and St Paul (the patron saints that Bath Abbey is dedicated to), was laid out by noted cemetery designer and landscape architect John Claudius Loudon (1783–1843) in 1843 on a picturesque hillside site overlooking Bath, 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 Lansdowne

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

Bruton Abbey

It was subsequently refounded as a house of Augustinian canons in 1135, by William de Mohun, who later became the Earl of Somerset.

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.

Cavendish Crescent, Bath

Cavendish Crescent in Bath, Somerset, is a Georgian crescent built in the early 19th century to a design by the architect John Pinch the elder.

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 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 Peter, Englishcombe

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

Cranmore chase

The winner of the race Benjamin was made a freeman of Batcombe and granted an annual stipend.

Dianthus

Dianthus gratianopolitanus - the Cheddar Pink - was chosen as the County flower of Somerset in 2002 following a poll by the wild flora conservation charity Plantlife.

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.

Easton Cowboys and Cowgirls

The club celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2012 with an international tournament at Berrow, Somerset, and hopes to have its own home ground in the future.

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 instead stood for election to the English House of Commons for Somerset in 1705 but was unsuccessful.

Geoffrey Ashe

Ashe has also helped demonstrate, through acting as secretary to a dig undertaken by Dr. Ralegh Radford in 1966-70, that Cadbury Castle in Somerset, identified as Camelot by the sixteenth-century antiquary John Leland, was actually refortified in the latter part of the fifth century, in works as yet unparalleled elsewhere in Britain at the time.

Goldcliff Priory

In 1334 the prior Phillip Gopillarius ("Philip de Gopylers") was charged—along with a monk, some clergy and fifty other persons from Newport, Nash, Goldcliff, Clevedon and Portishead—with stealing wine and other merchandise from a vessel wrecked at Goldcliff.

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)).

Guildford Cathedral

Inside, the cathedral appears to be filled with light, with pale Somerset limestone pillars and white Italian marble floors.

Hendrick Fisher

His homestead and grave are currently located near St. Andrew Memorial Church on Easton Avenue west of Davidson Avenue in the Somerset section of Franklin Township.

Henry Fane of Brympton

Henry Fane (1669–1726) of Brympton, Somerset was a great-grandson of Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland and father of Thomas Fane, 8th Earl of Westmorland.

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.

Jordan James

Jordan James (born 24 May 1980 in Bath, Somerset, England) is a Welsh rugby league international Captain and player, who currently plays for Wales and for Salford of Super League, he has previously played for Crusaders, South Wales Scorpions, Swinton, Widnes, Castleford, Sheffield Eagles and Wigan.

KZJK

Although they were licensed to the west Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park, the tower was located far east of the Twin Cities, in Somerset, Wisconsin.

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.

Newbridge Navigator

The company was later brought back to life as N.B. Yachts and the company moved its production facility from Bridport in Dorset UK to Chard in the county of Somerset UK.

North Somerset Council election, 2007

The 2007 North Somerset Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of North Somerset Unitary Council in Somerset, England.

North Somerset Council election, 2011

The 2011 North Somerset Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of North Somerset Unitary Council in Somerset, England.

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.

Saint Mary's Abbey, Colwich

When released in 1795, they settled in England, first in Dorset and then at Cannington in Somerset.

Somerset, Kentucky

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

On April 16, 2012, the ID Channel featured it on the show Sins and Secrets.

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.

Soo Line High Bridge

The Soo Line High Bridge is a steel deck arch bridge over the St. Croix River between Stillwater, Minnesota and Somerset, Wisconsin.

St Mary Magdalene's Church, Langridge

St Mary Magdalene's Church at Langridge in the parish of Charlcombe, Somerset, England dates from the 12th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

Stacey Tadd

Stacey Tadd (born 21 February 1989 in Bath, Somerset, England) is a British breaststroke swimmer.

The Abbey, Beckington

The Abbey, Beckington in Somerset, UK was built as a monastic grange and also used as a college for priests; the building was begun in 1502, but after the Dissolution of the Monasteries it became a private house.

The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society

It was founded at the instigation of Mr John Rye, a philanthropic retired medical man of Bath, Somerset and his servant Mr Charles Gee Jones, a former Bristol Pilot and Landlord of the Pulteney Arms in Bath, following the tragic loss of life from the Clovelly fishing fleet in a severe storm in November 1838.

Tolland, Connecticut

Alternatively, its name could have been taken after Tolland in Somerset, England.

UWE Stadium

Having left their long term home at Eastville Stadium in 1986, Bristol Rovers spent ten years in exile at Twerton Park in Bath.

Viscount Bridport

The 2nd Viscount represented West Somerset in Parliament as a Conservative.

West Somerset Council election, 2011

The 2011 West Somerset Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of West Somerset District Council in Somerset, England.

William Savery

At Bath, he met the English religious writer and philanthropist, Hannah More, and was introduced by her to the preeminent abolitionist of the time, William Wilberforce.

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

Banks Creek, Queensland

It is now part of Somerset Region and lies adjacent to the Brisbane River to the west of Lake Manchester.

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 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.

Cowick, Devon

By marriage the property passed to Amy Fraunceis (d.1703/4), daughter of John Fraunceis of Combe Flory, Somerset, and wife of Edmund Prideaux (1634-1702), MP, of Forde Abbey and from her to her daughter Katherine Prideaux, who had married in 1679 at Exeter Sir John Speke of Whitelackington, Somerset.

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.

Ernest Greswell

Ernest Arthur Greswell, born at Cuddalore, Madras, India on 8 June 1885 and died at Minehead, Somerset, England on 15 January 1962, played first-class cricket for Somerset in 12 matches between 1903 and 1910.

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 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.

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.

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.

John Cowper Powys

Powys was born in Shirley, Derbyshire, in 1872, the son of the Reverend Charles Francis Powys (1843–1923), who was vicar of Montacute, Somerset, for thirty-two years, and Mary Cowper Johnson, a descendent of the poet William Cowper.

John Stourton, 1st Baron Stourton

He was born at Witham Friary, Somerset, the son of Sir William de Stourton (abt 1373-18 Sep 1413), Speaker of the House of Commons, and Elizabeth Moigne.

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.

Jonathan Binns Were

Were was the third son of the late Nicholas Were, of Landcox, Somerset, and was born at Wellington, in that county.

KSJL

KYTY, a radio station (810 AM) licensed to serve Somerset, Texas, United States, which held the call sign KSJL from 1998 to 2007

Leigh House

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

Liber Exoniensis

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

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.

Lulsgate

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

Margaret Beaufort

Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford (c. 1427–1474), the daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (second creation) and the mother of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham.

Midsomer Murders

Many of the villages and small towns of the county have the word Midsomer in their name; this is inspired in part by the real county of Somerset, and specifically the town of Midsomer Norton.

Neshanic

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

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.

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.

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.

Sarah Parish

Parish was born in Yeovil, Somerset to Bill and Thelma Parish; she has a sister Julie and one brother, the musician John Parish.

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 Hospital

Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, New Jersey, which was originally known as Somerset Hospital.

Somerset Rebels

The Somerset management looked for a more solid line up given the greater emphasis on away wins and he was replaced by Jason Doyle who had spent the previous season at Elite League team Poole.

Somerset, Tasmania

The school follows the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum and is for students from kinder to grade 12.

Sonny Leitch

Leitch claims that his friend, the renowned safe-breaker Johnny Ramensky, told him that he had stolen a hoard of Nazi loot from the Rome area during the Allied march on Rome in 1944, and that this hoard was later kept at the Shepton Mallet military prison in Somerset, and the Royal Navy supply depot at Carfin, Lanarkshire, after the war.

South Somerset by-election, 1911

Sir Edward Strachey the Liberal MP since 1892, was raised to the peerage as Baron Strachie, of Sutton Court in the County of Somerset and accepted a seat in the House of Lords.

The Strange World of Gurney Slade

The name Gurney Slade is taken from the name of a district (and limestone quarry) in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, not far from the city of Wells.

Thomas Austin

Thomas Austin was born at Baltonsborough, Somerset, England, the youngest son of John Austin and Nancy, née Lucas.

TripleOne Somerset

Situated between Somerset Road and Devonshire Road, Group 2 Architects designed the PUB Building based on the concept of H-shaped block with a central service core and a naturally-ventilated lift lobby.

Ursina

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

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 Somerset

Sevens main character, Detective William Somerset, played by Morgan Freeman

WNTW

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

World Horse Welfare

Horses needing attention are taken into one of charities four Recovery and Rehabilitation Centres, based in Norfolk, Somerset, Lancashire and Aberdeenshire.