The Little History of Somerset E-Book

Mike Dean

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 210

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

More than 400 million years ago, the oldest rocks in Somerset were formed. On those rocks, a county was built over thousands of years; from prehistoric man and Roman invasion, through a Pitchfork Rebellion and two world wars to where we are today. Revolution, wassailing, Templars and alchemists – all can be found in this friendly guide to Somerset's colourful history.

Leseprobe

First published 2020

The History Press

97 St George’s Place, Cheltenham,

Gloucestershire, GL50 3QB

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

© Mike Dean, 2020

The right of Mike Dean to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the Publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 0 7509 9453 8

Typesetting and origination by The History PressPrinted in Turkey by Imak.

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CONTENTS

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1 The Beginnings of Somerset

2 Norman Somerset: William is Now in Charge

3 Medieval Somerset: Wool and Wealth

4 Tudor Somerset: A Religious Melting Pot

5 Stuart Somerset: King v Parliament

6 Georgian Somerset: Elegance and Poverty

7 Victorian Somerset: Getting Things Moving

8 A New Century: The March of Progress

9 The Winds of War

10 Modern Somerset: In with the New

Bibliography

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Dean is a retired primary school teacher and a registered Blue Badge Tour Guide for the West of England. A graduate of Bristol University, his hobbies include reading, walking, music and travel. He is a West Countryman by birth, with a lifelong interest in the history and traditions of the area. His first book, A Little Book of Bath, is published by The History Press. He lives in Keynsham, between Bristol and Bath.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my thanks to a number of people, without whose help this book could not have been written. The staff of the public libraries of Keynsham, Bath and Glastonbury have been helpful in locating books and other sources of information, and I am also grateful to City Archivist Colin Johnston and his colleagues at Bath Record Office. Also (and not least) to my wife, Gwyneth, for her encouragement and support, as well as for some helpful suggestions.

INTRODUCTION

This book is not intended to be an exhaustive or scholarly tome on the history of Somerset. For anyone wishing to study this fascinating and rewarding county in depth, there are several very comprehensive studies that will enable them to do so, and some of these are listed at the end of this book. My aim here has been to provide a general overview of Somerset’s history from earliest times to the present, in an accessible, readable and (I hope) interesting form. I have tried to cover all the major events, as well as some of the less well-known (but nonetheless important) ones. I’ve also included a few stories and anecdotes that I think help to bring the past to life.

To get to know an area it helps enormously if you know something of its past, and how it came to be the way it is. I hope that this book will help to increase the enjoyment and understanding of those visiting, or passing through, Somerset, as well, perhaps, as some who live here but maybe do not know their county as well as they would like. If it does this, it will have achieved what it set out to do.

1

THE BEGINNINGS OF SOMERSET

THE GROUND BENEATH YOUR FEET

Imagine yourself, about 200 million years ago, standing on the edge of a piece of land roughly where Swindon now stands and looking south-westwards. In front of you lies a large expanse of water, with, here and there, what appears to be a low-lying island sticking up above the surface. What you are looking at will one day be the West Country, and the part nearest to you will be Somerset.

The oldest rocks in Somerset were formed at an even earlier time – more than 400 million years ago. If you look at a geological map of the county you will see that most of its underlying rocks are of the sedimentary kind, such as limestone, sandstone, marl, lias and clay. The sediments of which these rocks are composed were deposited on the seabed during the period, millions of years ago, when what is now the south-western part of Britain was covered by warm, shallow seas. Under pressure, these deposits solidified and became rocks, which later seismic disturbances folded and pushed above the surface of the sea, where they gradually became land. This folding produced the ranges of hills that are such a feature of the county: the Mendips, Quantocks, Poldens and Blackdowns. These sedimentary rocks, because they were not subjected to intense heat, can often contain fossils of the plant and animal life that existed on earth long before the coming of humans. As recently as 2018, a jawbone found on a beach at Lilstock in Bridgwater Bay has been identified as that of a giant ichthyosaur, a creature that lived around 200 million years ago and was almost as large as a blue whale.

The outcome of all this geological upheaval is a county that has a great variety of scenery. It has a coastline that stretches from Avonmouth in the north-east to Sugarloaf Hill in the south-west, a distance of approximately 71 miles (115km) (this refers to the traditional county of Somerset, of which more later). Inland there are moors, hills and valleys, together with wetlands, woodlands and farmland, and the highest inland cliffs in the United Kingdom. The soft limestone rocks contain numerous cave systems and there are also extensive coal measures, laid down during the Carboniferous period (about 300 million years ago). These were created from dead plant matter, overlaid with rock and converted by heat and pressure into carbon deposits. All of these factors have contributed to Somerset’s fascinating history, and form the ‘bones’ of the county.

In the Mendip area, many of the limestone caves were blocked with permafrost during successive Ice Ages, making the limestone temporarily impermeable. Then, when the ice melted, the water was forced to the surface, where it carved out natural features such as the dramatic Cheddar Gorge, with its 500ft (140m) cliffs.

But what about the people?

THE EARLIEST HUMANS

The first evidence we have of human habitation in the area, in the form of flint tools and other artefacts, shows that people may have been living here as long as half a million years ago. These early humans, known as Homo Erectus, were probably ancestors of the Neanderthals, and occupied caves in places such as Cheddar and Burrington, where artefacts such as stone hand axes have been discovered (see illustration). Excavations at a quarry above Westbury-sub-Mendip have produced evidence of some of the earliest human habitation in Britain. These people were hunter-gatherers, foraging for food and hunting animals and birds for survival. Bison, reindeer, bears and smaller animals are known to have roamed the area, providing food, clothing and even primitive tools for these early communities. In Burrington Combe, not far from Cheddar, is a cave known as Aveline’s Hole. Here, in 1797, two men digging for a rabbit discovered a number of skeletons that were dated at more than 10,000 years old, making this the earliest known cemetery in Britain.

About 10,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age, forests covered much of the area, except for the higher hills. With the melting of the ice the subsequent rise in sea level caused much of the present Somerset Levels to become waterlogged, creating mudflats and marshes where fish and waterfowl were abundant (even today, some parts of Somerset are below present sea level). From this period comes Cheddar Man, who is sometimes regarded as the first ‘modern’ Briton, and whose skeleton is the oldest complete one to have been found in Britain. It was discovered in Gough’s Cave, Cheddar, in 1903. Damage to the skull suggests that he probably died by violence. Interestingly, recent DNA analysis from the skeleton has thrown up two matches with people living in the village of Cheddar today. It also tells us that these distant ancestors of ours probably had dark skin, blue eyes and dark curly hair.

Britain became an island about 8,000 years ago, when a further rise in sea level separated us from the rest of Europe. By about 4,500 BC a new wave of people from the Continent had moved into Britain. These Neolithic (or New Stone Age) folk, as we now call them, brought new ideas with them. They were farmers and stockbreeders, growing crops and raising animals in settled communities. They have left us tantalising clues about the way they lived and died, including their burial mounds, standing stones and stone circles, such as the one at Stanton Drew. Archaeologists are still not in complete agreement over the reasons for these stone circles, although it’s thought they were most likely constructed for religious or ritual purposes. These people also produced pottery and other artefacts, and, in Somerset, built wooden trackways to cross the marshy areas, one of which, known as the Sweet Track, dates from about 4,000 BC. It is about 2km in length and is believed to be one of the oldest in Europe. Signs of human activity have been found in places such as South Cadbury, and some caves in the Mendip Hills have shown evidence of occupation at that time.

The people of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age period produced a distinctive type of pottery used as drinking vessels, which has led to them being known as the ‘Beaker Folk’. The dead would usually be buried in pits, but more important individuals would be interred in long barrows, made of earth and containing wood- or stone-lined chambers, where bones or cremated remains would be deposited. A good example of a long barrow can be seen at Stoney Littleton, near the village of Wellow.

BRONZE AGE SOMERSET (ABOUT 2,500 BC–800 BC)

By the middle of the Bronze Age, ‘villages’ of stone huts with conical thatched roofs were being built, surrounded by a low wall. This more settled existence meant that the villagers had the time and leisure to produce much more elaborate artefacts, and, as the name suggests, they were workers in bronze, which is an alloy of copper and tin, and produced not only weapons but also ornaments, which they could trade with other communities. They also began to divide the landscape around them into small square or rectangular fields separated by low stone banks, traces of which can still be found on Exmoor. Plant and insect evidence tells us that temperatures in this period were, on average, 2–4 degrees cooler in winter and 2–3 degrees warmer in summer than today, which determined what crops they could grow (mostly wheat, barley, oats and pulses). In Somerset, evidence of these Bronze Age settlements has been found at such locations as South Cadbury, Brean Down and on Exmoor.

The dead were buried in smaller, round barrows, sometimes grouped together, as at Priddy Nine Barrows on the Mendips, and there are many other examples on Exmoor, such as Alderman’s Barrow near Exford.

IRON AGE SOMERSET (ABOUT 800 BC–AD 43)

This period saw a significant increase in population and, consequently, a greater demand on available resources. Iron, being harder and more durable, was replacing bronze as the principal material for making weapons and tools. Communities became more territorial, and we see the increasing construction of hill forts, such as those at Brent Knoll, Maesbury and Cadbury Castle. These were constructed on easily defensible positions, with good views all around, and defended by banks and ditches. Some of them were massive constructions that would have needed huge numbers of people to build them, and years to construct. The largest in the county (and one of the largest in Britain) is Ham Hill near Yeovil, which covers an area of 210 acres (85ha) and is 400ft (122m) high. Altogether there are about forty-seven of these hill forts in Somerset, most having been built during the fifth and sixth centuries BC. Hill forts are also known to have been part of a network of trade and exchange. Excavations at sites such as Cadbury Castle have unearthed examples of pottery from Devon and Cornwall and even amber from the Baltic. Late Iron Age smiths were producing beautiful and elaborate bronze and gold objects, which were often buried with important community leaders.

These Iron Age people are also known as ‘Celts’ (the origin of the name is unclear, but might have its origin in Greek, and mean ‘the tall ones’). The three main tribes occupying Somerset during this period were the Durotriges (who occupied the south of the county) the Dobunni in the north, and the Dumnonii in the west. They had a shared culture and seem to have co-existed more or less amicably. According to the Roman Solinus, writing in the third century AD, the Dumnonii did not use coins – none have been found during excavations – preferring to use barter as a means of trading. They would most likely have traded with the Silures of South Wales, who are known to have used the same system. The main religious site was at present-day Bath, where the hot springs were regarded as sacred and under the protection of a deity named Sulis (more will be said about this later, when we deal with the Roman period).

In the low-lying area known today as the Somerset Levels, lake villages were built, the most important being at Glastonbury and Meare. These were built on artificial ‘islands’ and consisted of circular houses with thatched roofs and walls of wattle and daub (this consists of woven branches plastered with a sticky material, usually containing clay, sand, straw and sometimes animal dung). The Glastonbury village had about fifteen houses and a population of around 200, and, being surrounded by water, was easy to defend. However, rising water levels eventually forced the abandonment of these villages, but excavations during the late nineteenth century revealed much evidence, including the remains of a dugout log boat. This, along with many other finds, is on display in the Lake Village Museum in Glastonbury High Street.

The remains of one of the largest Iron Age ‘roundhouses’ in Britain was discovered in 2009, during excavations at the location of a proposed ‘Park and Ride’ site at Taunton. These dwellings were similar in design to the Bronze Age huts, but tended to be larger, and the walls were made of upright timbers filled with wattle and daub, like the lake village houses.

THE ROMANS (WHAT DID THEY EVER DO FOR SOMERSET?)

Following the invasion carried out under the emperor Claudius in AD 43, the legions moved westwards, soon reaching what we now call Somerset. The fact that they encountered some pretty stiff resistance while bringing the area under their control can be guessed by the finding of early Roman military equipment at the sites of some of the hill forts, particularly Ham Hill. Here, pieces of armour, spear heads and ballista bolts have been unearthed (the ballista was a kind of giant crossbow). Cadbury Castle was also the scene of some fierce action, most likely against the second Augusta Legion under the command of Vespasian in about AD 60.

It is likely that some of the local tribes in Somerset were already trading with the Romans before the Claudian invasion, and some were quick to adopt the Roman lifestyle. The newcomers brought many innovations with them; they introduced vineyards (modern versions of which are enjoying considerable success in Somerset) and cereals such as spelt (also making a comeback). Apples, of the kind we are familiar with today, plums, pears, cucumber, carrots and many other crops were almost certainly brought here by the Romans. They established a number of towns in the West of England, including in Somerset. A particular attraction of this county was the presence of lead and silver in the area of the Mendip Hills, and the Romans mined these extensively in the locality of Charterhouse, where the remains of their workings can still be seen. A Roman lead ‘pig’ has been found in France, and it is thought that Mendip lead was probably used in the building of Rome’s Colosseum.

The Romans also established a number of rural sites in Somerset, most of them villas, or country estates, such as the one discovered in 1887 during the construction of the Somerset and Dorset Railway. The two most significant settlements in the county are those of Ilchester and Bath. At Ilchester, which the Romans called Lindinis, they first established a timber fort, or castra, and this was gradually developed into a stone-walled town that seems to have consisted mostly of private houses for wealthy owners.

Christianity had, of course, found its way into Britain before the coming of the Romans, but when, early in the fourth century, it became accepted within the Roman Empire, its influence began to spread more widely, although many still worshipped the old pagan gods. At the romantically named Pagan’s Hill, near Chew Stoke, the remains of a Romano–British temple were excavated in the early 1950s. The temple dated from the early third century and was probably dedicated to the Roman god Mercury. Somerset is also comparatively rich in Romano–British cemeteries, such as the one near Shepton Mallet, and villa sites, such as Dinnington, near Crewkerne, which was probably occupied by Christianised Romano–Britons.

But what did they sound like? As far as we can gather, the native language spoken in the area during this period was what is now called Southwestern Brythonic. This is a Celtic tongue, very similar to Cornish and Welsh (into which it eventually evolved), as well as old Breton. However, very little written evidence of this language remains, apart from a few inscribed stones and possibly a few of the ‘curse tablets’ found in excavations at Bath. Traces also survive in some words we still use today, especially those describing natural features, such as ‘coombe’ (cwm) – a valley, Avon (afon) – a river and ‘tor’ (twrr) – a lofty hill.

BATH LIKE A ROMAN

Easily the most important settlement in Somerset was at present-day Bath, where the presence of the only natural hot springs in Britain encouraged the Romans to settle and to establish a town that centred on the great baths complex. From about AD 80 until the early fifth century, Bath became famous throughout the Roman Empire as a social, religious and health spa resort. The temple built here was dedicated to Minerva, the Roman goddess of healing and wisdom, but the Celtic tribe who preceded the Romans in the area had believed the guardian of the waters to be a deity named Sul, or Sulis, so the Roman settlers simply linked the two deities together and named their town Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sulis). Although not large (the town was only about 23 acres [9.3ha] in extent) it attracted visitors in great numbers, and the local population gradually adapted to the Roman way of life.

When Roman occupation ended, the baths complex fell into ruin and was gradually built over. The Roman baths themselves were rediscovered in the late nineteenth century, and subsequent excavations have uncovered thousands of artefacts that give a fascinating insight into the lives of the Romano–British folk who lived and worked here. Burials were not permitted within the town walls, but many tombstones have been discovered outside the town that give a good idea of the community that once occupied the town. They range from a stone commemorating Successa Petronia, a 3-year-old girl, to one for an 80-year-old senator from Glevum (Gloucester).

Many offerings to the goddess were thrown into the sacred spring, as well as curses, inscribed on lead and sometimes written backwards (so that only a god would understand!). These were mostly requests for the goddess to punish someone who had wronged the donor in some way, such as theft. In the temple courtyard animals would be sacrificed on a stone altar, then their entrails would be inspected by the haruspex (or augurer) to try to determine what the future held. A messy business!

ROMAN ROADS

The Fosse Way

The great Roman road known as the Fosse Way ran from Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) in the south-west to Lincoln (Lindum) in the north-east, and for part of its 230-mile (370km) length it ran through Somerset. It was constructed in the mid-first century AD, probably for military purposes, and the name ‘fosse’ comes from the Latin ‘fossa’, meaning a ditch, after the defensive ditch that marked the western boundary of Roman-controlled Britain. Many miles of the modern A367 and the A37 roads in Somerset follow the line of the Fosse Way. For the construction of the road through Somerset the builders used the local Ham stone, the honey-coloured material that was later used for decorative carvings on many a Somerset church.

The Via Julia

Between Bristol and the mouth of the River Avon lies the settlement of Sea Mills, known in Roman times as ‘Abona’ or ‘Portus Abonae’. This was a small Roman port, which probably had links with the Roman town of Caerleon, on the other side of the Bristol Channel and almost opposite the mouth of the river. From Abona, a Roman road, believed to have been named the ‘Via Julia’, extended eastwards and linked with the important Roman spa town of Aquae Sulis (Bath).

FAKE OR FORTUNE?

In 1990, during excavations near Shepton Mallet for the building of a new warehouse, a small Roman cemetery was uncovered, and an amulet found. This bore the ‘Chi-Rho’ monogram (an early Christian symbol representing the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek), and was thought to be one of the earliest examples of a Christian artefact discovered in Britain. A copy was presented to the then Archbishop of Canterbury, but subsequent tests revealed the original to be almost certainly a hoax, possibly planted in an attempt to halt the construction of the warehouse (which was built anyway)!

Other finds have proved to be genuine. In April 2010 one of the largest hoards of Roman coins ever discovered in Britain was unearthed by means of a metal detector near Frome. Known as the ‘Frome Hoard’, it consisted of more than 52,000 coins dating from the third century AD. They have been valued at around £320,000.

THE SAXONS ARRIVE

After the end of Roman occupation in the early fifth century, the next wave of invaders was the Saxons, who came across the North Sea. They were a mix of people from Denmark, Holland and Germany. The name ‘Saxon’ probably derives from the ‘seax’, a kind of long knife or short sword favoured by their warriors (its name is still preserved in the counties of Essex and Sussex). As with the Romans before them, the Saxon culture and influence spread westwards, so that much of the West Country, including Somerset, became known as ‘Wessex’, the kingdom of the West Saxons. The spread and settlement of the Saxons was not always peaceful. The Anglo–Saxon Chronicle (begun in the ninth century) tells us that in AD 577 a great battle was fought at Deorham (Dyrham) in Gloucestershire, in which two Saxon chieftains, Cuthwine and Ceawlin, ‘slew three English kings’ and captured three towns, including Bath (or Bathanceaster, as it is called in the Chronicle).

To add to the troubles of the native Britons in Somerset, in 658 Cenwalh, the Saxon King of Wessex, invaded Somerset, and following the Battle of Peonnum, took control of the county as far west as the River Parrett. ‘Peonnum’ might have been Penselwood near Wincanton, or possibly Penn, near Yeovil.

We know from early records that the old Celtic place names were sometimes changed by the Saxon newcomers. For example, Biddisham, near Axbridge, had formerly been Tarnuc, and the Celtic settlement of Lantokai, near Glastonbury, had its name changed to the much more down-to-earth Leigh.

FIT FOR A KING

In the eighth and ninth centuries Somerset had no towns as we would recognise them. Royal centres, such as the one at Cheddar, would probably have just the palace and a few associated buildings. Such activities as trade and manufacture, which today we would associate with towns, would take place either here or in the monasteries. A typical Saxon palace would need to be of a sufficient size to accommodate the king and all his followers. It would be constructed of wood and might have two floors, the lower floor consisting of a long hall running the length of the building. Around this would be grouped stables, barns, storehouses, workshops and lodgings. Somerset would have had several of these royal palaces, although Cheddar is the only site so far where such a building has been positively identified.

Lower down the social ladder, a charter of 963 relates to a Saxon estate called Manworthy, near Milverton, and refers to a ‘hollow ditch’, or ‘hollow way’. These were ditches dug by each landowner to mark the boundaries of his property.

KING INE