"SOMERTON, a parish, post and market town in the hundred of Somerton, county Somerset, 5 miles North East of Longport railway station, and 7 miles South of Glastonbury. It is situated at the bridge over the river Carey, and on the high road from Wells to Taunton. The parish contains the townships of Somerton Borough, Somerton Earl, and Somerton Door, with the hamlets of Catsgrove, Highbrooks, and Midney. There was a castle here in the Saxon times, in which, subsequently, King John of France was confined by Edward III. In 877 the town was destroyed by the Danes, but being rebuilt, became the principal town of Somersetshire."

From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)

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Somerton has been a populated town for over 2000 years. It is situated on a low ridge between the rivers Yeo and Cary, overlooking a crossing of the latter. This is an ideal location to build a town due to the steep slopes of the valley of the river Cary, the borders of Sedgemoor to the north and the narrower cutting of the Mill Stream to the south. These all make ideal physical features for securing a town, as well as providing a flood free source of water.

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The first signs of Roman habitation in the area date to around 48 CE. The district was scattered with Roman villas, remains of which have been found in nearby Pitney and Low Ham. Nine Romano-British farmsteads or villas have been located in the area around Somerton which was a rich agricultural hinterland to the Roman town at Ilchester. Following the demise of the Roman Empire in Britain, the Celts enjoyed a brief 100 years of freedom and independence before the  Saxon hordes overran the town.

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They soon pillaged and destroyed the Roman villas in the area. The earliest written records are contained in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 733, when Aethelbald, King of Mercia occupied Somerton. In 860 Ethelred is thought to have visited and in 949 Somerton was the site of a meeting of the Witan. At that time Somerton was clearly the central place of a large royal estate but may not have been urban in character. The extent of the estate is not known.

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Somerton was to remain under the control of the Saxon kings until well after the Middle Ages. The town grew bigger and bigger and eventually, during the 7th century, may have become the capital of Wessex until Alfred the Great established Winchester as the new seat of government.  I say "may have" because some scholars dispute this claim, say that it did not become the capital until after 1255 when the market was granted. (Wessex was the predominant kingdom of the West Saxons, one of the original seven kingdoms, the Heptarchy, that struggled for pre-eminence in Anglo-Saxon England)

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The shire courts and gaol were transferred to Somerton from Ilchester in 1278 and 1280 respectively, which has been cited as the main cause for Ilchester's waning economy in the late 13th and 14th century. By 1290 a 'new borough' had been added, increasing the number of burgages, which by 1331 was worth £6 14s in rents by itself. The position as county town was short lived. The gaol was out of use by 1371 and the last visit of the circuit judges in 1530.

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The late 16th century saw a temporary decline in economic activity, however, in the early 17th century the economy of the town seems to have picked up again and the market increased in importance.  At this time  a growing number of inns were established around the market square, from 6 in 1620 to 17 in 1760, and a number of fine quality buildings were also built at this time. As well as being a successful market town well into the 18th century, Somerton enjoyed the benefits of the cloth industry as well as agriculture.

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The 19th brought new industries to the town, including the Somerton brewery on West Street, a collar factory on Broad Street, a gloving and shoe bindings factory, a cardboard box factory and quarrying for building stone.

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The railway line which passed through nearby Langport, was extended through Somerton in 1906, but the station was maintained for less than sixty years. So by the 20th century the town retuned to being a quiet, almost village like community, despite large modern housing developments, particularly around the west end of the town

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Today Somerton is a lovely mellow town with a wide 17th century square, with an octagonal market cross, town hall, elegant houses and inns. The Parish church dedicated to St Michael contains one of the finest wooden roofs in the county carved by the monks of nearby Muchelney Abbey.

A programme of events is held throughout the summer including the popular week long Somerton Arts Festival which takes place annually in July. The town has a fascinating audio trail which is available to hire from the local information centre.

Somerton is an ideal base for exploring the tranquil South Somerset countryside. A self guided 80 mile cycle route around South Somerset tours through Somerton on its way across the Somerset Levels.

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Close by is the River Parrett trail, a 50 mile footpath, which follows the course of the river from its source in Dorset across the Somerset Levels to the sea at Steart.

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There are pleanty of places to eat and sleep in the town and surrounding countryside making Somerton ideal for a relaxing Country Break.

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