Somerset, maritime county in South-west of England, bounded
north and north-east by the Bristol Channel and the
estuary of the Severn, and from north-east round to south-west by the counties of
Gloucester, Wilts, Dorset, and Devon; greatest length, north and south, 43
miles; greatest breadth, east and west, 67 miles; area, 1,049,812 acres,
population 469,101. The coast line is generally low and marshy in the
East, but lined with lofty slate cliffs in the West. The interior consists of
ranges of hills separated by valleys, or by extensive low marshy flats.
The principal ranges are the Mendip Hills, the Polden Hills, the
Quantock Hills, the Brendon Hills, and Exmoor. The chief rivers are the
Avon and the Parret (with its tributaries the Yeo or Ivel, Isle, and
Tone), the former forming the boundary on the North-east, the latter traversing
the centre of the county; the other streams are the Yeo, Ax, and Brue.
Both soil and climate are well adapted for agriculture, particularly in
the low alluvial tracts; and in the Vale of Taunton heavy crops of the
finest wheat are raised. The rich meadows rear large numbers of cattle,
and the hilly grounds are pastured with numerous flocks of sheep. In the
East of the county are some small isolated coalfields, the most southerly
in England, the quarries which furnish the famous Bath stone, and a
large development of magnesian limestone; the West of the county consists
chiefly of slaty rocks, forming the wild moorlands of Exmoor. The chief
minerals worked are lead, iron, and slate. The principal manufactures
are woollen and worsted goods, gloves, lace, linen, crape, silk, paper,
glass, and bath-bricks. There are salmon, herring, and other fisheries
in the Bristol Channel.
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An important chain of internal communication is formed by the Yeo and Parret navigation and the Glastonbury Canal. The county contains 40 hundreds, 2 liberties, 489 parishes with parts of 3 others, the parliamentary and municipal boroughs of Bath (2 members) and Taunton (1 member), and the municipal boroughs of Bridgwater, Chard, Glastonbury, Wells, and Yeovil. It is nearly co-extensive with the diocese of Bath and Wells. For parliamentary purposes it is divided into 7 divisions - viz., Northern, Wells, Frome, Eastern, Southern, Bridgwater, and Western or Wellington - 1 member for each division; the representation was increased from 6 to 7 members in 1885.