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99-772: The Somerset Trained Bands were a part-time military force in the county of Somerset in South West England from 1558 until they were reconstituted as the Somerset Militia in 1662. They were periodically embodied for home defence, for example in the army mustered at Tilbury during the Armada Campaign of 1588. They fought of the Battle of Newburn in the Second Bishops' War and their units saw considerable active service for both sides during

198-405: A harquebusier 's (a lighter type of cavalry) was a mere one pound and six shillings (equivalent to £313.296 in 2024). During the latter half of the 16th century, the heavy "knightly" lance gradually fell out of use perhaps because of the widespread adoption of the infantry pike . Also, the lance required a great amount of practice to perfect its use, whilst proficiency in the use of firearms

297-584: A national park in 1954, under the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act . The highest point in Somerset is Dunkery Beacon on Exmoor, with a maximum elevation of 519 metres (1,703 feet). Over 100 sites in Somerset have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest . The 64 km (40 mi) coastline of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary forms part of

396-466: A " horseman's pick " (a type of war hammer ). By the mid-16th century, Barding (horse armour) largely fell into disuse on the battlefield. Therefore, it was more commonly used for ceremonial purposes such as parades or festivals . The armour of a cuirassier was very expensive; in England, in 1629, a cuirassier's equipment cost four pounds and 10 shillings (equivalent to £1,084.487 in 2024) , whilst

495-715: A Colonel of Horse After the Restoration of the Monarchy , the English Militia was re-established by the Militia Act 1661 under the control of the king's lords-lieutenant, the men to be selected by ballot. This was popularly seen as the 'Constitutional Force' to counterbalance a 'Standing Army' tainted by association with the New Model Army that had supported Cromwell's military dictatorship, and almost

594-570: A few as field regiments. The Somerset Trained Bands split between the two parties. Armed with the King's Commission of Array, Sir Ralph Hopton , Member of Parliament for Wells , raised the TBs there in July 1642, but when he rode into Shepton Mallet with a company of horse on 1 August and attempted to call out the TBs there, he was confronted by William Strode , MP for Ilchester , who claimed authority over

693-698: A few weeks, most French regiments stopped wearing the cuirass, as it served no real purpose in this new war. It was not however formally withdrawn until October 1915. The Russian and German cuirassiers ceased to exist when the Imperial armies in both countries were disbanded; respectively in 1917 (due to the Russian Revolution ) and in 1918 (due to the Treaty of Versailles ). The French cuirassiers continued in existence after World War I, although without their traditional armour and reduced in numbers to only

792-578: A long history of settlement, and are known to have been settled by Mesolithic hunters. Travel in the area was facilitated by the construction of one of the world's oldest known engineered roadways, the Sweet Track , which dates from 3807 BCE or 3806 BCE. The exact age of the henge monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown, but it is believed to be Neolithic . There are numerous Iron Age hill forts , some of which, like Cadbury Castle and Ham Hill , were later reoccupied in

891-483: A much smaller scale, polearms (including sergeants equipped with spontoons and halberds ). It also had some psychological effect for the wearer (effectively making the cuirassier more willing to plunge into the thick of fighting) and the enemy (adding intimidation), while it also added weight to a charge, especially in cavalry versus cavalry actions. Napoleonic French cuirasses were originally intended to be proof against three musket shots at close range; however, this

990-573: A partial remedy to the frequent numerical inferiority of his cavalry arm. Only two cuirassier regiments were raised during the English Civil War , the Lifeguard of the Earl of Essex and the ' London lobsters ,' though individuals within other regiments did serve in full armour. With the refinement of infantry firearms, especially the introduction of the powerful musket , the usefulness of

1089-411: A population of 965,424. After Bath (101,557), the largest settlements are Weston-super-Mare (82,418), Taunton (60,479), and Yeovil (49,698). Wells (12,000) is a city, the second-smallest by population in England. For local government purposes the county comprises three unitary authority areas: Bath and North East Somerset , North Somerset , and Somerset . Bath and North East Somerset Council

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1188-410: A unitary authority for the non-metropolitan county, with the powers of both a district and county council, renamed Somerset Council . The two existing unitary authorities were not altered. A previous attempt to reorganise the county as a unitary authority 2007 was rejected following local opposition. Somerset's local government records date to 1617, longer than those of any other county; a meeting of

1287-781: Is a member of the West of England Combined Authority . The centre of Somerset is dominated by the Levels , a coastal plain and wetland. The north-east contains part of the Cotswolds uplands and all of the Mendip Hills , which are both national landscapes ; the west contains the Quantock Hills and part of the Blackdown Hills , which are also national landscapes, and most of Exmoor , a national park . The major rivers of

1386-469: Is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 °C (33.8 °F) or 2 °C (35.6 °F) are common. In the summer

1485-406: Is bordered by the Bristol Channel , Gloucestershire , and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east and the north-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 . Somerset is a predominantly rural county, especially to the south and west, with an area of 4,171 km (1,610 sq mi) and

1584-731: Is drained by the River Parrett while land to the north is drained by the River Axe and the River Brue. The total area of the Levels amounts to about 647.5 square kilometres (160,000 acres) and broadly corresponds to the administrative district of Sedgemoor but also includes the south west of Mendip district . Approximately 70% of the area is grassland and 30% is arable. Stretching about 32 kilometres (20 mi) inland, this expanse of flat land barely rises above sea level. Before it

1683-473: Is in the law code of King Ine who was the Saxon King of Wessex from 688 to 726 CE, making Somerset along with Hampshire , Wiltshire and Dorset one of the oldest extant units of local government in the world. An alternative suggestion is the name derives from Seo-mere-saetan meaning "settlers by the sea lakes". The same ending can also be seen in the neighbouring Dorset . The Old English name

1782-675: Is part of a larger coalfield which stretches into Gloucestershire . To the north of the Mendip hills is the Chew Valley and to the south, on the clay substrate, are broad valleys which support dairy farming and drain into the Somerset Levels. There is an extensive network of caves , including Wookey Hole, underground rivers, and gorges , including the Cheddar Gorge and Ebbor Gorge . The county has many rivers, including

1881-459: Is the chief settlement of the county's only extant borough ). The largest urban areas in terms of population are Bath, Weston-super-Mare , Taunton, Yeovil and Bridgwater . Many settlements developed because of their strategic importance in relation to geographical features, such as river crossings or valleys in ranges of hills. Examples include Axbridge on the River Axe , Castle Cary on

1980-719: Is used in the motto of the county, Sumorsǣte ealle , meaning "all the people of Somerset". Adopted as the motto in 1911, the phrase is taken from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle . Somerset was a shire of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex , and the phrase refers to the wholehearted support the people of Somerset gave to King Alfred in his struggle to save Wessex from Viking invaders. Somerset settlement names are mostly Anglo-Saxon in origin (for example, Bath , Somerton , Wells and Keynsham ), but numerous place names include British Celtic elements, such as

2079-464: The Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, but convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection. Most of

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2178-516: The Bath and West of England Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures and Commerce was founded in 1777 to improve farming methods. Despite this, two decades later agriculturist John Billingsley conducted a survey of the county's agriculture in 1795 and found that agricultural methods could still be improved. Coal mining was an important industry in north Somerset during

2277-570: The Battle of Sedgemoor at Westonzoyland , the last pitched battle fought in England. Arthur Wellesley took his title, Duke of Wellington from the town of Wellington ; he is commemorated on a nearby hill by a large, spotlit obelisk , known as the Wellington Monument . The Industrial Revolution in the Midlands and Northern England spelled the end for most of Somerset's cottage industries. Farming continued to flourish, and

2376-507: The Council of State . The establishment of The Protectorate saw Oliver Cromwell take control of the militia as a paid force to support his Rule by Major-Generals . From now on the term 'Trained Band' began to be replaced by 'Militia'. On 15 February 1650 commissions were issued for the field officers (colonels, lt-colonels and majors) of the reorganised Somerset Militia (two regiments each of horse and foot), including Sir Alexander Popham as

2475-842: The Early Middle Ages . On the authority of the future emperor Vespasian , as part of the ongoing expansion of the Roman presence in Britain, the Second Legion Augusta invaded Somerset from the south-east in 47 CE. The county remained part of the Roman Empire until around 409 CE, when the Roman occupation of Britain came to an end. A variety of Roman remains have been found, including Pagans Hill Roman temple in Chew Stoke , Low Ham Roman Villa and

2574-650: The English Civil War . The English militia was descended from the Anglo-Saxon Fyrd , the military force raised from the freemen of the shires under command of their Sheriff . It continued under the Norman kings , and was reorganised under the Assizes of Arms of 1181 and 1252 , and again by King Edward I 's Statute of Winchester of 1285. The legal basis of the militia was updated by two acts of 1557 covering musters ( 4 & 5 Ph. & M. c. 3) and

2673-582: The European Parliament . Cuirassiers Cuirassiers achieved increased prominence during the Napoleonic Wars and were last fielded in the opening stages of World War I (1914–1918). A number of countries continue to use cuirassiers as ceremonial troops. The French term cuirassier means "one with a cuirass " ( French : cuirasse ), the breastplate armour which they wore. The first cuirassiers were similar in appearance to

2772-594: The Palaeolithic period, and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at Cheddar Gorge . Bones from Gough's Cave have been dated to 12,000 BCE, and a complete skeleton, known as Cheddar Man , dates from 7150 BCE . Examples of cave art have been found in Aveline's Hole . Some caves continued to be occupied until modern times, including Wookey Hole . The Somerset Levels —specifically dry points at Glastonbury and Brent Knoll —also have

2871-713: The River Cary , North Petherton on the River Parrett , and Ilminster , where there was a crossing point on the River Isle . Midsomer Norton lies on the River Somer ; while the Wellow Brook and the Fosse Way Roman road run through Radstock. Chard is the most southerly town in Somerset and one of the highest, though at an altitude of 126 m (413 ft) Wiveliscombe is the highest town in

2970-511: The Roman Baths that gave their name to the city of Bath . After the Romans left, Britain was invaded by Anglo-Saxon peoples. By 600 CE they had established control over much of what is now England, but Somerset was still in native British hands. The British held back Saxon advance into the south-west for some time longer, but by the early eighth century King Ine of Wessex had pushed

3069-680: The Second World War the county was a base for troops preparing for the D-Day landings . Some of the hospitals which were built for the casualties of the war remain in use. The Taunton Stop Line was set up to repel a potential German invasion. The remains of its pill boxes can still be seen along the coast, and south through Ilminster and Chard . A number of decoy towns were constructed in Somerset in World War ;II to protect Bristol and other towns. They were designed to mimic

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3168-452: The armour could not protect against contemporary flintlock musket fire, it could deflect shots fired from long range, stop ricochets , and offer protection from all but very close-range pistol fire. More importantly, in an age which saw cavalry used in large numbers, the breastplates (along with the helmets ) provided excellent protection against the swords and lances of opposing cavalry and infantry equipped with bayonets , and, on

3267-642: The heavy cavalry branch of their army in 1868. Influenced by the French example, the Belgian Army created two regiments of cuirassiers in 1830 and then for reasons of economy they were converted to lancers in 1863. By the end of the 19th century, the German and Russian cuirassiers used the breastplates only as part of their peacetime parade dress, but the French regiments still wore the cuirass and plumed helmet (both with cloth covers) on active service during

3366-537: The 18th and 19th centuries, and by 1800 it was prominent in Radstock . The Somerset Coalfield reached its peak production by the 1920s. All the pits have now been closed, the last in 1973. Most of the surface buildings have been removed, and apart from a winding wheel outside Radstock Museum , little evidence of their former existence remains. Further west, the Brendon Hills were mined for iron ore in

3465-726: The 18th century; for example British cavalry entered the War of the Spanish Succession without body armour, although they readopted it during the conflict. Cuirassiers played a prominent role in the armies of Austria , and of Frederick the Great of Prussia . By the time of the French Revolutionary Wars , few heavy cavalry regiments, except those of Austria, wore the cuirass on campaign. The twelve Austrian cuirassier regiments in existence between 1768 and 1802 (when

3564-576: The 6th and 9th Regiments had served in the Crimean War but had not actually encountered the enemy. Accordingly, the prospect of action against the Prussian Army, which included 10 cuirassier regiments of its own, was seen as an opportunity for a strongly traditional branch of the French cavalry to prove its continuing relevance. In the event, in a series of massed charges against Prussian infantry and artillery at Froeschwiller and Rezonville,

3663-569: The Axe, Brue , Cary, Parrett, Sheppey , Tone and Yeo . These both feed and drain the flat levels and moors of mid and west Somerset. In the north of the county the River Chew flows into the Bristol Avon . The Parrett is tidal almost to Langport , where there is evidence of two Roman wharfs. At the same site during the reign of King Charles I , river tolls were levied on boats to pay for

3762-720: The French cuirassiers suffered very heavy losses for little return. In 1914, the German Army still retained cuirassiers (ten regiments including the Gardes du Corps and the Guards Cuirassiers ); as did the French (twelve regiments) and the Russian (four regiments, all of the Imperial Guard) armies. The Austrians had dispensed with breastplates in 1860 and formally abolished the twelve Kuirassier regiments as

3861-543: The French used iron-skulled helmets for their cuirassiers), replaced the bicorne hat. A resurgence of armoured cavalry took place in France under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte , who increased the number of armoured regiments from one to, ultimately, sixteen (fourteen cuirassier regiments plus two Carabiniers-à-Cheval regiments). During the first few decades of the 19th century most of the major states of Europe, except Austria which had retained its armoured cavalry, readopted

3960-461: The King had to concede a settlement with the Scots. Control of the militia was one of the areas of dispute between Charles I and Parliament that led to the English Civil War . When open war broke out between the King and Parliament, neither side made much use of the trained bands beyond securing the county armouries for their own full-time troops; some trained bands were used as garrison troops, only

4059-624: The Mendips, covers a smaller geographical area than the Somerset Levels; and forms a coastal area around Avonmouth . It too was reclaimed by draining. It is mirrored, across the Severn Estuary , in Wales, by a similar low-lying area: the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels . In the far west of the county, running into Devon, is Exmoor , a high Devonian sandstone moor , which was designated as

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4158-481: The Napoleonic Wars as a part of their full dress uniforms, but never had occasion to wear the armour in battle.. However as late as 1887 these regiments were still wearing cuirasses on maneuvers in "field day order". Cuirassiers were generally the senior branch of the mounted portion of an army, retaining their status as heavy cavalry—"big men on big horses". Their value as a heavy striking force during

4257-765: The Napoleonic Wars ensured that the French, Russian, and Prussian armies continued to use cuirassier regiments throughout the 19th century. The Austrian cuirassiers were abolished in 1868. For the reasons of both climate and cost, cuirassiers of the 19th century type seldom appeared outside of Europe and Latin America . However Ranjit Singh 's Sikh Army (the Khalsa ) of the 1830s included two regiments of cuirassiers equipped and armed in French fashion. Four hundred carabinier cuirasses were imported from France while helmets and uniforms were manufactured in Wazirabad . Though

4356-523: The Netherlands campaign of 1794, using breastplates taken from store. The Austrian cuirassiers traded protection for mobility by wearing only the half-cuirass (without back plate) and helmet. Napoleon believed it sufficiently useful that he had cuirassier-style armour issued to his two carabinier regiments after the Battle of Wagram . The Russians, having abandoned Austrian-style half-cuirasses in 1801, reissued full cuirasses in 1812 for all Army and Guard cuirassier regiments, with troops receiving them during

4455-506: The Quarter Sessions held at Wells in that year decided that a room should be provided "for the safe keeping of the records of the Sessions". As of 2024 , following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies , the ceremonial county of Somerset is divided into 11 parliamentary constituencies , each returning one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons .     Conservative     Labour     Liberal Democrat From 1984 to 1994, Somerset

4554-429: The Severn Estuary. In the mid and north of the county the coastline is low as the level wetlands of the levels meet the sea. In the west, the coastline is high and dramatic where the plateau of Exmoor meets the sea, with high cliffs and waterfalls. Along with the rest of South West England , Somerset has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature

4653-446: The Somerset contingent joined the force assembled against the Rising of the North . Although the militia obligation was universal, this assembly confirmed that it was impractical to train and equip every able-bodied man, so after 1572 the practice was to select a proportion of men for the Trained Bands , who were mustered for regular training (the 1558 regiment in Somerset was an early example of this). The Armada Crisis in 1588 led to

4752-421: The boundaries of the West Saxon kingdom far enough west to include Somerset. The Saxon royal palace in Cheddar was used several times in the 10th century to host the Witenagemot . The nature of the relations between the Britons and the Saxons in Somerset is not entirely clear. Ine's laws demonstrate that the Britons were considered to be a significant enough population in Wessex to merit provisions; however,

4851-424: The cavalry, dating back through the Franco-Prussian War to the campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Before the war, it had been argued within the army that the cuirass should be limited to parade dress, but upon mobilisation in 1914 the only concession made to active service was the addition of a cover of brown or blue cloth over the shining steel and brass of the metal equipment to make the wearer less visible. Within

4950-421: The command of: The county sent off 600 men to join Queen Elizabeth I 's bodyguard, and in July the whole contingent marched to join the royal army at Tilbury , where the Queen gave her Tilbury speech on 9 August. In the 16th Century little distinction was made between the militia and the troops levied by the counties for overseas expeditions. However, in 1590 the commissioners of musters in Somerset wrote to

5049-453: The counties of Gloucester and Somerset ... and that it should be a county by itself ". The present-day northern border of Somerset (adjoining the counties of Bristol and Gloucestershire) runs along the southern bank of the Avon from the Bristol Channel, then follows around the southern edge of the Bristol built-up area, before continuing upstream along the Avon and then diverges from the river to include Bath and its historic hinterland to

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5148-424: The county are the Avon , which flows through Bath and then Bristol, and the Axe , Brue , and Parrett , which drain the Levels. There is evidence of Paleolithic human occupation in Somerset, and the area was subsequently settled by the Celts , Romans and Anglo-Saxons . The county played a significant part in Alfred the Great 's rise to power, and later the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion . In

5247-399: The county. The county contains several-miles-wide sections of the Avon green belt area, which is primarily in place to prevent urban sprawl from the Bristol and Bath built up areas encroaching into the rural areas of North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, and Mendip districts in the county, as well as maintaining surrounding countryside. It stretches from the coastline between

5346-490: The crown, with fortifications such as Dunster Castle used for control and defence. Somerset came under the political influence of several different nobles during the Middle Ages. During the Wars of the Roses, an important magnate was Humphrey Stafford, earl of Devon whose wider influence stretched from Cornwall to Wiltshire. After 1485, one of the county's most influential figures was Henry VII's chamberlain Giles Daubeney . Somerset contains HM Prison Shepton Mallet , which

5445-481: The cuirass for some of their heavy cavalry in emulation of the French. The Russians fielded two divisions of armoured cavalry, but most other states armoured a few senior regiments: Prussia three regiments, the Kingdom of Saxony three, the Kingdom of Westphalia two, Spain one ( Coraceros Españoles ) and the Duchy of Warsaw one. The three Household Cavalry regiments of the British Army ( 1st and 2nd Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards ) adopted cuirasses shortly after

5544-403: The cuirassiers. The change from cavalry reliant on firearms to shock-capable close combat cavalry reliant mainly on the sword was often attributed to Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in the 1620s and early 1630s. Gustavus Adolphus also reduced the number of ranks in a cavalry formation from the previously usual six to ten, for pistol-based tactics, to three to suit his sword-based shock tactics, or as

5643-422: The first few weeks of World War I. Amongst ceremonial units the Spanish Escolta Real (Royal Escort) Squadron, the Argentinian Presidential Bodyguard, and the Italian Cuirassier ( Corazzieri ) Corps all wore cuirasses as part of their mounted full dress in the early 20th century. The retention of cuirasses as part of their field uniform by the French Army in 1914 reflected the historic prestige of this branch of

5742-555: The fully armoured Late Medieval man-at-arms . They wore three-quarter armour that covered the entire upper body as well as the front half of the legs down to the knee. The head was protected by a close helm , burgonet , or lobster-tailed pot helmet, usually worn with a gorget for the neck. The torso was protected by a breast and back plate, sometimes reinforced by a plackart . The arms and shoulders were fully armoured with pauldrons , rerebraces , elbow couters , and vambraces . Armoured gauntlets were often abandoned, particularly for

5841-414: The landscape of Somerset falls into types determined by the underlying geology. These landscapes are the limestone karst and lias of the north, the clay vales and wetlands of the centre, the oolites of the east and south, and the Devonian sandstone of the west. To the north-east of the Somerset Levels, the Mendip Hills are moderately high limestone hills. The central and western Mendip Hills

5940-446: The late 19th century; this was taken by the West Somerset Mineral Railway to Watchet Harbour for shipment to the furnaces at Ebbw Vale . Many Somerset soldiers died during the First World War , with the Somerset Light Infantry suffering nearly 5,000 casualties. War memorials were put up in most of the county's towns and villages; only nine, described as the Thankful Villages , had none of their residents killed. During

6039-614: The later medieval period its wealth allowed its monasteries and parish churches to be rebuilt in grand style; Glastonbury Abbey was particularly important, and claimed to house the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere . The city of Bath is famous for its Georgian architecture, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The county is also the location of Glastonbury Festival , one of the UK's major music festivals. Somerset's name derives from Old English Sumorsǣte , short for Sumortūnsǣte , meaning "the people living at or dependent on Sumortūn ( Somerton )". The first known use of Somersæte

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6138-408: The laws also suggest that Britons could not attain the same social standing as the Saxons, and that many were slaves. In light of such policies, many Britons might have chosen to emigrate to places such as Brittany while those who remained would have had incentives to adopt Anglo-Saxon culture. After the Norman Conquest , the county was divided into 700  fiefs , and large areas were owned by

6237-423: The lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west. The ceremonial county of Somerset is currently governed by three unitary authorities : Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES), North Somerset Council , and Somerset Council . B&NES is also part of the West of England Combined Authority . Modern local government in Somerset began in 1889, when an administrative county

6336-420: The maintenance of horses and armour ( 4 & 5 Ph. & M. c. 2) under the Lord Lieutenant , assisted by the Deputy Lieutenants and Justices of the Peace (JPs). The entry into force of these Acts in 1558 is seen as the starting date for the formal county militia in England. In that year Somerset had an organised regiment of 1000 men in 10 companies, each under a nominated captain and 'petty captain'. In 1569

6435-403: The maintenance of the bridge. The Somerset Levels (or Somerset Levels and Moors as they are less commonly but more correctly known) are a sparsely populated wetland area of central Somerset, between the Quantock and Mendip hills. They consist of marine clay levels along the coast, and the inland (often peat based) moors. The Levels are divided into two by the Polden Hills . Land to the south

6534-430: The mobilisation of the trained bands and out of 12,000 able-bodied men Somerset furnished 4000 armed and trained, with 50 lancers, 250 light horsemen, and 60 ' petronels ' (the petronel was an early cavalry firearm), with in addition 1000 untrained 'pioneers'. The trained footmen were organised into five regiments, each of 400 'shot' and musketeers, 280 ' Corslets ' (body armour, signifying pikemen ) and 120 billmen , under

6633-454: The nighttime geometry of "blacked out" streets, railway lines, and Bristol Temple Meads railway station , to encourage German bombers away from these targets. One, on the German radio navigation beam flight path to Bristol, was constructed on Beacon Batch . It was laid out by Shepperton Studios , based on aerial photographs of the city's railway marshalling yards . The decoys were fitted with dim red lights, simulating activities such as

6732-445: The north of the Avon, before meeting Wiltshire at the Three Shire Stones on the Fosse Way at Batheaston . Somerton took over from Ilchester as the county town in the late thirteenth century, but it declined in importance and the status of county town transferred to Taunton about 1366. The county has two cities , Bath and Wells , and 30 towns (including the county town of Taunton, which has no town council but instead

6831-414: The north, where the River Avon formed the border with Gloucestershire, except that the hundred of Bath Forum , which straddles the Avon, formed part of Somerset. Bristol began as a town on the Gloucestershire side of the Avon, but as it grew it extended across the river into Somerset. In 1373 Edward III proclaimed "that the town of Bristol with its suburbs and precincts shall henceforth be separate from

6930-456: The northern border of Somerset. The Bristol Channel has the second largest tidal range in the world. At Burnham-on-Sea , for example, the tidal range of a spring tide is more than 12 metres (39 feet). Proposals for the construction of a Severn Barrage aim to harness this energy. The island of Steep Holm in the Bristol Channel is within the ceremonial county and is now administered by North Somerset Council. The main coastal towns are, from

7029-464: The number was reduced) unusually wore only a front plate. This reduced the burden of the weight carried by the individual trooper, but left his back unprotected during a swirling cavalry melee . Most heavy cavalry from c. 1700 to c. 1785 wore the tricorne hat, which evolved into the bicorne , or cocked hat, towards the close of the century. In the first two decades of the 19th century, helmets, often of hardened leather with brass reinforcement (though

7128-606: The ports of embarkation. 'Coat and conduct money' was recovered from the government, but replacing the weapons issued to the levies from the militia armouries was a heavy cost on the counties. With the passing of the threat of invasion, the trained bands declined in the early 17th Century. Later, King Charles I attempted to reform them into a national force or 'Perfect Militia' answering to the king rather than local control. The Somerset Trained Bands of 1638 consisted of 4000 men armed with 2403 muskets and 1597 corslets; they also mustered 82 Cuirassiers and 218 Harquebusiers . Somerset

7227-501: The property of unpopular landowners, and were accused of being 'West Country clownes'. At the Battle of Newburn , roughly 800 raw Somerset musketeers under Lunsford were holding two hurriedly-erected breastworks or 'sconces' on the south side of the River Tyne . Around 300 Scottish cavalry made a probe across the fordable river and were driven off by the concentrated fire of the musketeers. The Scots then began an intense cannonade of

7326-434: The protection afforded by full armour became greatly lessened. By the mid-17th century, the fully armoured cuirassier was becoming increasingly anachronistic. "It will kill a man to serve in a whole cuirass" commented a late 17th century observer. The cuirassier lost his limb armour and entered the 18th century with just the breast and backplate. Body armour, was restricted to a cuirass , which fell in and out of use during

7425-467: The rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August

7524-406: The right hand, as they interfered with the loading of pistols. Long tassets , instead of a combination of short tassets with cuisses , protected the front of the thighs and knees, and riding boots were substituted for lower leg armour ( greaves and sabatons ). Weapons included a pair of pistols in saddle holsters (these were the primary weapons instead of a lance ), a sword , and sometimes

7623-538: The rivers Frome and Avon, and names of hills. For example, an Anglo-Saxon charter of 682 refers to Creechborough Hill as "the hill the British call Cructan and the Anglo-Saxons call Crychbeorh ". Some modern names are wholly Brittonic in origin, like Tarnock , Priddy , and Chard , while others have both Saxon and Brittonic elements, such as Pen Hill . The caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during

7722-406: The sconces with their superior artillery. Although Lunsford kept his men in their defences for a while, they eventually broke and ran, many throwing away their weapons, and their gunpowder store blew up. The Scottish cannon and cavalry drove back a counter-attack by English cavalry, and they crossed the river. By early evening the whole Royal army was in full retreat to Newcastle and shortly afterwards

7821-565: The secretary of state saying that they had been advised by lawyers that their commissions to levy men were invalid, except in time of rebellion or invasion. Nevertheless, between 1585 and 1602 Somerset supplied 1194 men for service in Ireland , 1200 for France , and 460 for the Netherlands . The counties usually conscripted the unemployed and criminals rather than send the trained bandsmen. The men were given coats and money to conduct them to

7920-499: The six regiments that had been most decorated during the war. Five of these units had achieved their distinctions serving as "cuirassiers à pied " or dismounted cavalry in the trenches. The surviving cuirassier regiments were amongst the first mounted cavalry in the French Army to be mechanised during the 1930s. One cuirassier regiment still forms part of the French Army in the modern day. The development of firearms, which reduced

8019-453: The stoking of steam locomotives . Burning bales of straw soaked in creosote were used to simulate the effects of incendiary bombs dropped by the first wave of Pathfinder night bombers; meanwhile, incendiary bombs dropped on the correct location were quickly smothered, wherever possible. Drums of oil were also ignited to simulate the effect of a blazing city or town, with the aim of fooling subsequent waves of bombers into dropping their bombs on

8118-521: The summer 1812 and wearing cuirasses at Borodino . After the Battle of Tarutino the Pskov dragoon regiment received captured French cuirasses and was officially upgraded to a cuirassier regiment. Despite being metallurgically more advanced than the plate armour of old, the Napoleonic era cuirass was still quite cumbersome and hot to wear in warm weather; however, the added protection that it gave to

8217-673: The towns of Portishead and Clevedon , extending eastwards past Nailsea , around the Bristol conurbation, and through to the city of Bath. The green belt border intersects with the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) along its south boundary, and meets the Cotswolds AONB by its eastern extent along the Wiltshire county border, creating an extended area protected from inappropriate development. Much of

8316-656: The trained bands under Parliament's Militia Ordinance. A street fight broke out, Hopton and the Royalist supporters were chased out of town and shortly afterwards the whole county. The Somerset TBs divided as follows: As Parliament tightened its grip on the country after winning the First Civil War it reorganised the militia to counterbalance the power of the Army. New Militia Acts in 1648 and 1650 replaced lords lieutenant with county commissioners appointed by Parliament or

8415-412: The two districts and non-metropolitan county became part of the new ceremonial county of Somerset. On 1 September 2019 the non-metropolitan districts of West Somerset and Taunton Deane merged, with the new district being called Somerset West and Taunton . In 2023, the non-metropolitan county was reorganised by abolishing the four districts and their councils and reconstituting Somerset County Council as

8514-486: The wearer and the imposing appearance of an armoured cavalryman were factors favouring its retention. The last occasions when cuirassiers played a major tactical role as shock cavalry wearing traditional armour was during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871). The French cuirassiers numbered 11 regiments at the outbreak of war but had not seen active service since the Battle of Waterloo . A brigade comprising

8613-412: The west to the north-east, Minehead , Watchet, Burnham-on-Sea, Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon and Portishead . The coastal area between Minehead and the eastern extreme of the administrative county's coastline at Brean Down is known as Bridgwater Bay , and is a National Nature Reserve . North of that, the coast forms Weston Bay and Sand Bay whose northern tip, Sand Point , marks the lower limit of

8712-641: The whole burden of home defence and internal security was entrusted to the militia. The militia was reformed in 1662 and by 1679 the Somerset Militia once again consisted of five regiments of foot and one of horse. In 1685 it was heavily engaged in the Monmouth Rebellion . The mounted 'petronels' of the Elizabethan Somerset Trained Bands wore coats of a uniform colour, and the footmen of the period usually wore blue cassocks and red caps. A wide range of uniform colours

8811-496: The wrong location. The Chew Magna decoy town was hit by half a dozen bombs on 2 December 1940, and over a thousand incendiaries on 3 January 1941. The following night the Uphill decoy town, protecting the airfield at Weston-super-Mare , was bombed; a herd of dairy cows was hit, killing some and severely injuring others. The boundaries of Somerset are largely unaltered from medieval times. The main change has been in

8910-509: Was England's oldest prison still in use prior to its closure in 2013, having opened in 1610. During the English Civil War , Somerset was largely Parliamentarian , with key engagements being the Sieges of Taunton and the Battle of Langport . In 1685, the Monmouth Rebellion was played out in Somerset and neighbouring Dorset. The rebels landed at Lyme Regis and travelled north, hoping to capture Bristol and Bath, but they were defeated in

9009-544: Was considerably more easily acquired. The lancer or demi-lancer , when he had abandoned his lance, became the pistol-armed cuirassier or reiter . The adoption of the pistol as the primary weapon led to the development of the stately caracole tactic, where cuirassiers fired their pistols at the enemy, then retired to reload whilst their comrades advanced in turn to maintain the firing. Following some initial successes, this tactic proved to be extremely ineffective as infantry, with superior firearms and numbers, could easily outgun

9108-414: Was created and Somerset County Council was established; Bath was administered separately as a county borough . In 1974, the county and council were abolished and replaced by two two-tier non-metropolitan counties , Somerset and Avon . Somerset was governed by a reconstituted county council and five districts : Mendip , Sedgemoor , South Somerset , Taunton Deane and West Somerset . Taunton Deane

9207-497: Was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1972 and covers 198 km (76 sq mi). The main habitat on these hills is calcareous grassland , with some arable agriculture. To the south-west of the Somerset Levels are the Quantock Hills which was England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designated in 1956 which is covered in heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands with plantations of conifer and covers 99 square kilometres. The Somerset Coalfield

9306-765: Was drained, much of the land was under a shallow brackish sea in winter and was marsh land in summer. Drainage began with the Romans, and was restarted at various times: by the Anglo-Saxons ; in the Middle Ages by the Glastonbury Abbey , during 1400–1770; and during the Second World War, with the construction of the Huntspill River . Pumping and management of water levels still continues. The North Somerset Levels basin, north of

9405-461: Was granted borough status that same year. Avon consisted of six districts, of which three were created from areas formerly part of Somerset: Woodspring , Wansdyke , and Bath . In 1996, Avon was abolished and its districts were renamed and reorganised into unitary authorities . Woodspring was renamed 'North Somerset' and Wansydyke and Bath were abolished and a new district covering the same area created, named 'Bath and North East Somerset'. In 1997

9504-435: Was never achieved in practice. The regulations eventually recognised this, and cuirasses were subsequently only expected to be proof against one shot at long range. The utility of this armour was sometimes disputed. Prussian cuirassiers had abandoned the armoured cuirass before the Napoleonic Wars, but were reissued with it in 1814. During this period, a single British cavalry regiment (Royal Horse Guards) wore cuirasses during

9603-635: Was ordered to send 2000 men overland to Newcastle upon Tyne for the Second Bishops' War of 1640. However, substitution was rife and many of those sent on this unpopular service would have been untrained replacements and conscripts. Like many other contingents, the Somerset men were disorderly, complaining about pay, food and conditions. As his regiment passed through Warwickshire , Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Lunsford and his officers admitted that they had killed some of their men in self-defence. Sir John Beaumont's regiment, conscripted in Somerset, Bristol , and Wiltshire , marauded through Derbyshire , attacking

9702-485: Was represented by Conservative Margaret Daly as part of the Somerset and Dorset West constituency for elections to the European Parliament . From 1994 to 1999, Somerset was represented by Liberal Democrat Graham Watson as part of the Somerset and North Devon constituency for elections to the European Parliament . From 1999 to 2020, Somerset was part of the South West England constituency for elections to

9801-486: Was used during the Civil Wars. By 1650 red coats were becoming standard. Somerset Somerset ( / ˈ s ʌ m ər s ɪ t , - s ɛ t / SUM -ər-sit , -⁠set ), archaically Somersetshire ( / ˈ s ʌ m ər s ɪ t . ʃ ɪər , - s ɛ t -, - ʃ ər / SUM -ər-sit-sheer , -⁠set- , -⁠shər ) is a ceremonial county in South West England . It

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