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A
brief history of
Taunton
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THE
BEGINNING
Taunton began as a Saxon village and was
called Tone Tun. The Saxon word tun
means farm or estate. The word Tone is Celtic
and may mean roaring river. By the 10th
century Taunton had grown from a village into
a small town (although it
would seem very small to us with a population
of only a few hundred).
In AD 904 a charter (a
document granting the townspeople certain
rights) was given to Taunton by King Edward
the Elder (celebrated
in 2004-click here to read more).
Taunton was also
a fortified settlement called a burh.
In the late 9th century Alfred the Great
created a network of fortified towns across
his kingdom. These were called burhs
(from which our word borough is derived). The
burh of Taunton would have been
surrounded by a ditch and rampart with a
wooden palisade on top. By the 10th century
Taunton had a mint and a market, which was
held on The Parade.
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THE MIDDLE AGES
By the time of the Domesday
Book (1086) the population of Taunton was
about 1,500. That might seem very small to us
but settlements were tiny in those days, a
typical village had only 100 or 150
inhabitants. There were 3 watermills in
Taunton. One of these was the town mill, which
stood on the site of Goodland Gardens.
By the early 13th century there was a fulling
mill
where wool was woven and fulled. This means
the wool was pounded by wooden hammers in
water to thicken it, worked by a watermill .
From the 13th century Taunton was famous for
its wool industry and by the 15th century wool
from the town was being
exported to France through Lyme Regis. By the
late 16th century it was being exported as far
away as Africa.
In 1111 Taunton suffered
from a severe fire but soon recovered. (In
those days most buildings were of wood with thatched
roofs so fire was constant hazard. On the
other hand if buildings did burn they could be
easily replaced). About 1125 a priory or small
monastery was built. The bishop
of Winchester was lord of the manor of Taunton
and in 1138 he began building a castle next to
the priory. In 1158 the priory moved to a new
site, east of the town, outside its defences.
The priory is long gone but it lives on in the
street names Priory Avenue and
Priory Bridge. The monks of the priory are
believed to have built some new streets. It is
thought they laid out Canon Street, Middle
Street and St James Street.
By
the mid-13th century Taunton had two fairs.
These Middle Age fairs were like markets but
were held only once a year for a period of
several day and Taunton fairs would attract
buyers and sellers from all over Southwest
England. As well as the priory there was a
leper hospital at Taunton where Hamilton
Road stands today. Southwest of the town
were the vivaria or fish ponds belonging to
the lord of the manor, the Bishop. The vivaria
were on the site of Vivary Park. In
those days Taunton was a prosperous wool town
and from the end of the 13th century it sent 2
MPs to Parliament. The
tower of the church of St Mary Magdalene
was built in the years 1488-1514. In 1451
during the civil wars known as the wars of the
roses a battle was fought at Taunton. In 1497
a man named Perkin Warbeck attempted to
overthrow Henry VII and make himself king. His
men occupied Taunton castle but they fled when
a royal army approached.
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THE 16th AND 17th CENTURIES
In the 16th and 17th
centuries Taunton still relied on the wool
industry which continued to flourish. In 1522
a grammar school was founded in Taunton
(Click here to read more). Then in 1539
Henry VIII closed the priory. The power of the
Lord of the manor, the bishop of Winchester
gradually declined then in 1627 Taunton was
given a new charter. For the first time it was
given a corporation and a mayor and it was
made independent of the bishop. Grays
almshouses were built in 1635. Then in
1642 came civil war between king and
parliament. The town sided with parliament but
in June 1643 a royalist army approached Taunton
and the town surrendered without a fight. It
remained in royalist hands for a year. Then in
July 1644 Taunton was captured by
parliamentary troops. However, the royalists
had not given up. In October 1644 they
returned. They entered the town and the
parliamentary soldiers retreated into the
castle. The royalists laid siege to the castle
but they were unable to take it. They let when
they heard a parliamentary army was coming.
The royalists returned in April 1645. Again
they captured most of the town but were unable
to take the castle. This time much of the town
was burned in the fighting. Once again in May
1645 parliament sent troops to Taunton. Once
again the royalists fled when they heard the
parliamentarians were coming. This time they
did not return and soon after the king was
losing the war and it ended in 1646. Taunton
had been severely damaged by the sieges but
the town soon recovered.
In
1660, when Charles II became king he took away
the towns charter (no doubt remembering how
Taunton had supported parliament against his
father). However it was restored in 1677.
Charles II also ordered the destruction of
Taunton castle to prevent it being used as a
rebel base in the future. Then in 1685 the
Duke of Monmouth led a rebellion against King
James II. The people of Taunton welcomed the
Duke and young women presented him with
banners. He was also declared king on The
Parade and about 400 men from the town
joined his cause. However, the Duke was
defeated at the battle of Sedgemoor.
Afterwards George ‘hanging judge’ Jeffreys
held a court in Taunton Castle called
the Bloody Assizes. He tried 514
people. Of them 144 were sentenced to death
(although not all were actually executed).
Another 284 people were transported to the
West Indies. On a lighter note a new market
house was built in 1682 with assembly
rooms over it. The assembly rooms were used
for events like balls and card games.
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THE 18th CENTURY
In 1711 a cannonade of bells was added to
the tower of St Mary Magdalene to chime on
each hour. At the start of the 18th century
there were 3 market crosses in Taunton,
Chuse Cross, Ruish Cross and
High Cross. These were removed because
they impeded traffic. The last one,
High
Cross, was removed in 1770. A new market house
was built in 1772. In 1788 Sir Benjamin Hammet
built Hammet Street. He
also restored the castle. A museum opened in
the castle in 1778 and in the late 18th
century the wool manufacture in Taunton
declined but silk making was introduced into
the town in 1778. Taunton remained an
important market town.
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THE 19th CENTURY
In 1801 Taunton had a population of 5,794.
By the standards of the time it was a fair
sized town. A hospital was built in Taunton in
1812. Yet another new
market house was built in 1822. After 1821
Taunton had gas street lighting. After 1858 it
had piped water and in the 1870s sewers were
built. In the late 19th century public parks
were laid out. and the town expanded rapidly.
In the 1830s and 1840s the Trinity area was
built up. Trinity church being one of
these which was built in 1842. St John the
evangelist was built in 1863. St Andrews
was built in 1881. The railway reached Taunton
in 1842. Queens College was built in
1843, named after Queen Victoria. Taunton
school opened
in 1847 and Kings College opened in
1880. Jellalabad barracks were built in
1881 as a base for the Somerset Light
Infantry. (It was named after a place in
Afghanistan where the soldiers had
campaigned). Corporation Street was
laid out in 1894 and Somerset County
Cricket Club was founded in 1875. In the
later 19th century a new industry, making
shirt collars flourished. Other industries
included brewing and iron founding. In 1843
the county court was moved from Ilchester to
Taunton as the town grew more important but
even though since the Middle Ages Taunton had
sent 2 MPs to parliament, in 1884 the number
was reduced to one.
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THE 20th CENTURY
By
1901 the population of Taunton was over
19,000. Between 1901 and 1921 electric trams
ran in the town. The first public library in
Taunton opened in 1905 with the first cinema
in 1910 and the Priory Bridge in 1922.
The market had been held for
centuries on The Parade. In 1929 it was
moved to Priory Bridge Road. In 1935
Taunton was made the county town instead of
Weston Super Mare, an indication that Taunton
was growing in size and importance. From the
late 1930s there was an industry making
optical
equipment in Taunton. In 1939 about 4,000
schoolchildren were evacuated to Taunton from
nearby cities as it was believed the town
would be safe from German bombing. Happily
most of them soon returned home. In 1958 the
museum became the Somerset County Museum
and in 1974-75 the M5 motorway was built past
Taunton (Junction 25). Better communications
and transport routes meant the town grew more
rapidly and in the late 20th century
industries in Taunton included clothing,
textiles and cider making. Today tourism is a
major industry in the town. Taunton is also an
important regional shopping centre. The Old
Market shopping centre opened in 1982. County
Walk Centre opened in 1985 and today the
population of Taunton is 102,000.
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Getting Started
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or just passing through, our website is
designed for everyone. You can visit
the Site Map to see what pages
are included in this web site or browse around
using the multitude of links throughout or by
using the white main menu buttons. Whatever
your interest we welcome you to our website
and town a great place to shop, relax and
stay. |
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:: Taunton Highlights |
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Thinking of Going Out Tonight? |
Taunton's night life also utilizes the natural streetscape
and provides a pub and club circuit that ensures that
you'll always be seen at the right place at the right
time. Check out our Entertainment section for more
information. |
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Thinking of the Children |
Take a brief look at what is on offer for children. From
fun houses to interesting places to visit, sport venue's
and even events on offer throughout the school holidays.
Whatever their age, you can make it a day out that all
family members can enjoy. |
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