Pre-Roman There is evidence from
flint artefacts in a quarry at
Westbury-sub-Mendip that an ancestor of modern man, possibly
Homo heidelbergensis, was present in the future Somerset from around 500,000 years ago. There is some evidence of human occupation of southern England before the
last ice age, such as at
Kents Cavern in Devon, but largely in the
south east. The British mainland was connected to the continent during the ice age and humans may have repeatedly migrated into and out of the region as the climate fluctuated. There is evidence of human habitation in the caves at
Cheddar Gorge 11,000–10,000 years BC, during a partial thaw in the ice age. The earliest scientifically dated cemetery in
Great Britain was found at
Aveline's Hole in the
Mendip Hills. The human bone fragments it contained, from about 21 different individuals, are thought to be roughly between 10,200 and 10,400 years old. During this time the tundra gave way to
birch forests and
grassland and evidence for human settlement appears at
Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire and
Hengistbury Head, Dorset. At the end of the
last Ice Age the
Bristol Channel was dry land, but subsequently the sea level rose, resulting in major coastal changes. The
Somerset Levels were flooded, but the
dry points such as
Glastonbury and
Brent Knoll are known to have been occupied by
Mesolithic hunters. The landscape at this time was
tundra. Britain's oldest complete skeleton,
Cheddar Man, lived at Cheddar Gorge around 7150 BC (in the
Upper Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age), shortly after the end of the ice age; however, it is unclear whether the region was continuously inhabited during the previous 4000 years, or if humans returned to the gorge after a final cold spell. A
Palaeolithic flint tool found in West Sedgemoor is the earliest indication of human presence on the Somerset Levels. During the 7th millennium BC the sea level rose and flooded the valleys, so the
Mesolithic people occupied seasonal camps on the higher ground, indicated by scatters of flints.
Stonehenge,
Avebury and
Stanton Drew are perhaps the most famous Neolithic sites in the UK. The region was heavily populated during the Neolithic,
Bronze Age and
Iron Age periods. Many monuments, barrows and trackways exist. Coin evidence shows that the region was split between the
Durotriges,
Dobunni and
Dumnonii. The Iron Age tribe in Dorset were the Durotriges, "water dwellers", whose main settlement is represented by
Maiden Castle.
Ptolemy stated that
Bath was in the territory of the
Belgae, but this may be a mistake. The Celtic gods were worshipped at the temple of
Sulis at
Bath and possibly the temple on
Brean Down. Iron Age sites on the
Quantock Hills include major
hill forts at
Dowsborough and
Ruborough, as well as smaller earthwork enclosures, such as
Trendle Ring,
Elworthy Barrows and
Plainsfield Camp. At the time of the
Roman invasion, the inhabitants of the entire area spoke a
Brythonic Celtic language. Its descendant languages are still spoken to a greater or lesser extent in
Cornwall, Wales, and
Brittany.
Roman period – Europe's largest man-made earthwork During the
Roman era, the east of the region, particularly the Cotswolds and eastern Somerset, was heavily Romanised but Devon and Cornwall were much less so, though Exeter was a regional capital. There are villas, farms and temples dating from the period, including the remains at Bath. The area of
Somerset was part of the
Roman Empire from AD 47 to about AD 409. The empire disintegrated gradually, and elements of
Romanitas lingered on for perhaps a century. In AD 47, Somerset was invaded from the south-east by the
Second Legion Augusta, under the future emperor
Vespasian. The
hillforts of the
Durotriges at
Ham Hill and
Cadbury Castle were captured. Ham Hill probably had a temporary Roman occupation. The massacre at Cadbury Castle seems to have been associated with the later
Boudiccan Revolt of AD 60–61. Forts were set up at
Bath and
Ilchester. The lead and silver
mines at
Charterhouse in the Mendip Hills were run by the military. The Romans established a defensive boundary along the new military road known the
Fosse Way (from the Latin
fossa meaning "ditch"). The Fosse Way ran through
Bath,
Shepton Mallet,
Ilchester and south-west towards
Axminster. The road from
Dorchester ran through
Yeovil to meet the Fosse Way at Ilchester. Salt was produced on the
Somerset Levels near
Highbridge and
quarrying took place near Bath, named after the
Roman baths. Excavations carried out before the flooding of
Chew Valley Lake also uncovered Roman remains, indicating agricultural and industrial activity from the second half of the 1st century until the 3rd century AD. The finds included a moderately large
villa at Chew Park, where wooden writing tablets (the first in the UK) with ink writing were found. There is also evidence from the
Pagans Hill Roman Temple at
Chew Stoke. In October 2001 the
West Bagborough Hoard of 4th-century Roman silver was discovered in
West Bagborough. The 681 coins included two
denarii from the early 2nd century and 8
miliarensia and 671
siliquae all dating from AD 337 to 367. The majority were struck in the reigns of emperors
Constantius II and
Julian and derive from a range of mints including
Arles and
Lyon in France,
Trier in Germany, and Rome. In April 2010, the
Frome Hoard, one of the largest ever hoards of Roman coins discovered in Britain, was found by a metal detectorist. The hoard of 52,500 coins dated from the 3rd century AD and was found buried in a field near
Frome, in a jar below the surface. The coins were excavated by archaeologists from the
Portable Antiquities Scheme.
British kingdoms and the arrival of the Saxons the western end of
Wansdyke After the Romans left at the start of the 5th century AD, the region split into several Brittonic kingdoms, including
Dumnonia, centred around the old tribal territory of the
Dumnonii. The upper Thames area soon came under
Anglo-Saxon control but the remainder of the region was in British control until the 6th century.
Bokerley Dyke, a large defensive ditch on
Cranborne Chase dated to 367, delayed the
Saxon conquest of Dorset, with the Romano-British remaining in Dorset for 200 years after the withdrawal of the Roman legions. The Western
Wandsdyke earthwork was probably built during the 5th or 6th century. This area became the border between the
Romano-British Celts and the
West Saxons following the
Battle of Deorham in 577. The Anglo-Saxons then gained control of the Cotswold area; but most of Somerset, Dorset and Devon (as well as Cornwall) remained in British hands until the late 7th century. According to the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Saxon
Cenwalh achieved a breakthrough against the
British Celtic tribes, with victories at
Bradford-on-Avon (in the
Avon Gap in the Wansdyke) in 652, and further south at the
Battle of Peonnum (at
Penselwood) in 658, followed by an advance west through the
Polden Hills to the
River Parrett. The Saxon advance from the east seems to have been halted by battles between the British and Saxons, for example at the siege of Badon
Mons Badonicus (which may have been in the Bath district, perhaps at
Solsbury Hill), or
Bathampton Down. The Battle of
Bedwyn was fought in 675 between
Escuin, a
West Saxon nobleman who had seized the throne of
Queen Saxburga, and
King Wulfhere of
Mercia. The earliest fortification of
Taunton started for King
Ine of Wessex and
Æthelburg, in or about the year 710. However, according to the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle this was destroyed 12 years later.
Alfred the Great refortified Exeter as a defensive
burh, followed by new erections at
Lydford,
Halwell and
Pilton, although these fortifications were small compared to
burhs further east, suggesting that they were protection for the elite only.
9th century and the arrival of the Danes The English defeated a combined Cornish and Danish force at
Hingston Down (near Gunnislake) in 838.
Edward the Elder built similarly at
Barnstaple and
Totnes. But sporadic Viking incursions continued until the
Norman Conquest, including the disastrous defeat of the Devonians at the
Battle of Pinhoe. In 876 King Alfred the Great trapped a Danish fleet at
Arne and then drove it out; 120 ships were wrecked at
Studland. Although King Alfred had lands in Cornwall, it continued to have a British king. It is generally considered that Cornwall came fully under the dominion of the English Crown in the time of
Athelstan's rule, i.e. 924–939. In the absence of any specific documentation to record this event, supporters of Cornwall's English status presume that it then became part of England. However, in 944, within a mere five years of Athelstan's death,
King Edmund issued a charter styling himself "King of the English
and ruler of this province of the Britons". Thus we can see that then the "province" was a territorial possession, which has long claimed a special relationship to the English Crown.
Corfe Castle in 978 saw the murder of King
Edward the Martyr, whose body was taken first to
Wareham and then to
Shaftesbury. Somerset played an important part in stopping the spread of the Danes in the 9th century.
Viking raids took place for instance in 987 and 997 at
Watchet and the
Battle of Cynwit. King Alfred was driven to seek refuge from the Danes at
Athelney before defeating them in 878 at the
Battle of Ethandun, usually considered to be near
Edington, Wiltshire, but possibly the village of
Edington in Somerset. Alfred established a series of forts and lookout posts linked by a military road, or
Herepath, to allow his army to cover Viking movements at sea. The Herepath has a characteristic form which is familiar on the Quantocks: a regulation 20 m wide track between avenues of trees growing from
hedge laying embankments. A peace treaty with the Danes was signed at
Wedmore and the Danish king
Guthrum the Old was baptised at
Aller.
Burhs (fortified places) had been set up by 919, such as
Lyng. The
Alfred Jewel, an object about long, made of filigree gold,
cloisonné-enamelled and with a rock crystal covering, was found in 1693 at
Petherton Park,
North Petherton. This is believed to have been owned by King Alfred.
Monasteries and
minster churches were set up all over Somerset, with daughter churches of the minsters in manors. There was a royal palace at
Cheddar, which was used at times in the 10th century to host the
Witenagemot.
11th century In the late pre-Norman period, the east coast of modern-day England came under the growing sway of the
Norsemen. Eventually England came to be ruled by Norse monarchs, and the
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms fell one by one,
Wessex being conquered in 1013 by King
Sweyn Forkbeard. Sweyn's realms included
Denmark and
Norway, and parts of England such as
Mercia (an Anglian kingdom roughly coinciding with the
English Midlands), much of which, along with northern England, fell under the
Danelaw. Sweyn ruled Wessex, along with his other realms, from 1013 onwards, followed by his son
Canute the Great. But Cornwall was
not part of his realm of Wessex. A map by the American historian called "The Dominions of Canute" (pictured just above) shows that Cornwall, like Wales and Scotland, was part neither of Sweyn Forkbeard's nor of Canute's Danish empire. Neither Sweyn Forkbeard nor Canute conquered or controlled Scotland, Wales or Cornwall; but these areas were "client nations": subject to payment of a yearly tribute or
danegeld to Sweyn and later Canute, all three areas retained their autonomy from the Danes. Ultimately, the Danes lost control of Wessex in 1042 on the death of both of Canute's sons.
Edward the Confessor retook Wessex for the Saxons. In 1016
Edmund Ironside was crowned king at Glastonbury.
Middle Ages (1540–1596) on
Plymouth Hoe After the Norman Conquest the region was controlled by various Norman as well as
Breton lords and later by local gentry, a few of whom appear to have been descended from pre-Conquest families. In 1140, during the
civil war of
King Stephen's reign, the castles of Plympton and
Exeter were held against the king by
Baldwin de Redvers and this gave rise to the defensive castles at
Corfe Castle,
Powerstock,
Wareham and
Shaftesbury. The period saw the growth of towns such as
Truro,
Totnes,
Okehampton and
Plympton in the west of the region, but these were small compared with the established wealth of ancient
cathedral cities in the east of the region such as
Exeter,
Bath and
Wells. Wealth grew from sheep farming in the east of the region: church controlled estates such as
Glastonbury Abbey and
Wells became among the richest in England, while
tin and silver mining was important in Devon and Cornwall;
Stannary Parliaments with semi-autonomous powers were established. Farming prospered until it was severely hit by the
Black Death which arrived in
Dorset in 1348 and quickly spread through Somerset, causing widespread death, with mortality rates perhaps as high as 50% in places. The resulting labour shortage led to changes in feudal practices. Crafts and industries also flourished; the Somerset woollen industry was then one of the largest in England. Coal mining in the
Mendips was an important source of wealth while
quarrying also took place. Many parish churches were rebuilt in this period. Between 1107 and 1129
William Giffard, the Chancellor of King
Henry I, converted the bishop's hall in Taunton into
Taunton Castle. It passed to the king in 1233 and in 1245 repairs were ordered to its
motte and towers. During the 11th-century
Second Barons' War against
Henry III, Bridgwater was held by the barons against the King. During the
Middle Ages sheep farming for the wool trade came to dominate the economy of
Exmoor. The wool was spun into thread on isolated farms and collected by merchants to be woven, fulled, dyed and finished in thriving towns such as
Dunster. The land started to be enclosed and from the 17th century onwards larger estates developed, leading to establishment of areas of large regular shaped fields. During this period a
royal forest and hunting ground was established, administered by the Warden. The royal forest was sold off in 1818. harbour Where conditions were suitable, coastal villages and ports had an economy based on fishing. The larger ports such as
Fowey contributed vessels to the naval enterprises of the King and were subject to attack from the French in return. Bridgwater was part of the
Port of Bristol until the Port of Bridgwater was created in 1348, Historically, the main port on the river was at Bridgwater; the river being bridged at this point, with the first bridge being constructed in 1200.
Quays were built in 1424; with another quay, the
Langport slip, being built in 1488 upstream of the Town Bridge. In
Bristol the port began to develop in the 11th century. By the 12th century Bristol was an important port, handling much of England's trade with Ireland. During this period Bristol also became a centre of shipbuilding and manufacturing. Bristol was the starting point for many important voyages, notably
John Cabot's 1497 voyage of exploration to North America. By the 14th century Bristol was one of England's three largest
medieval towns after London, along with
York and
Norwich, with perhaps 15,000–20,000 inhabitants on the eve of the
Black Death of 1348–49. The plague resulted in a prolonged pause in the growth of Bristol's population, with numbers remaining at 10,000–12,000 through most of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the
Wars of the Roses, there were frequent skirmishes between the
Lancastrian Thomas Courtenay, Earl of Devon and
Yorkist William, Lord Bonville. In 1470,
Edward IV pursued
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick and
George, Duke of Clarence as far as Exeter after the
Battle of Lose-coat Field. The organisation of the region remained based on the shires and Church estates, which were largely unchanged throughout the period. Some of the most important nobles in the South West included the Courtenays Earl of Devon,
William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville, and
Humphrey Stafford, earl of Devon whose wider influence stretched from Cornwall to Wiltshire. After 1485, the Earl of Devon, Henry VII's chamberlain,
Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney and
Robert Willoughby, 1st Baron Willoughby de Broke were also influential. In 1497, early in
Henry VII's reign, the royal pretender
Perkin Warbeck, besieged Exeter. The
Cornish Rebellion of 1497 led by
An Gof and
Thomas Flamank ended in a march to
Blackheath in London where the
Cornish forces were massacred.
16th century Great disturbances throughout both Cornwall and Devon followed the introduction of
Edward VI's
Book of Common Prayer. The day after
Whit Sunday 1549, a priest at
Sampford Courtenay was persuaded to read the old
mass. This insubordination spread swiftly into serious revolt. The Cornish quickly joined the men of Devon in the
Prayer Book Rebellion and Exeter was besieged until relieved by Lord Russell. The Cornish had a particular motivation for opposing the new English language prayer book, as there were still many monoglot
Cornish speakers in West Cornwall. The
Cornish language declined rapidly afterwards and the
Dissolution of the Monasteries resulted in the eventual loss of the Cornish language as a primary language. By the end of the 18th century it was no longer a first language. The
Council of the West was a short-lived administrative body established by Henry VIII for the government of the western counties of England. It was analogous in form to the
Council of the North. The council was established in March 1539, with
Lord Russell as its Lord President. Members included Thomas Derby, Sir Piers Edgcumbe, Sir Richard Pollard and John Rowe. However, the fall of
Thomas Cromwell, the chief political supporter of government by Councils, and the tranquillity of the western counties made it largely superfluous. It last sat in summer 1540, although it was never formally abolished.
17th century The
Bristol Channel floods of 1607 are believed to have affected large parts of the
Somerset Levels, with flooding up to above sea level. In 1625, a House of Correction was established in
Shepton Mallet, and when it closed
HMP Shepton Mallet was England's oldest prison still in use. During the
English Civil War, Somerset was largely
Parliamentarian, although
Dunster was a Royalist stronghold. The county saw important battles between the
Royalists and the Parliamentarians, notably at
Lansdowne in 1643 and
Langport in 1645. Bristol was occupied by Royalist military, after they overran
Royal Fort, the last Parliamentarian stronghold in the city. During the
Siege of Taunton it was defended by
Robert Blake, from July 1644 to July 1645. After the war, in 1662, the keep was demolished and only the base remains. This war resulted in castles being
slighted (destroyed to prevent their re-use). In 1685,
the Duke of Monmouth led the
Monmouth Rebellion in which a force partly raised in Somerset fought against
James II. The rebels landed at
Lyme Regis and travelled north hoping to capture
Bristol and
Bath, Puritan soldiers damaged the west front of
Wells Cathedral, tore lead from the roof to make bullets, broke the windows, smashed the organ and the furnishings, and for a time stabled their horses in the nave. They were defeated in the
Battle of Sedgemoor at
Westonzoyland, the last battle fought on English soil. The
Bloody Assizes which followed saw the losers being sentenced to death or
transportation. At the time of the
Glorious Revolution,
King James II gathered his main forces, altogether about 19,000 men, at
Salisbury, James himself arriving there on 19 November 1688. The first blood was shed at the
Wincanton Skirmish in
Somerset. In Salisbury, James heard that some of his officers, such as
Edward Hyde, had deserted, and he broke out in a nose-bleed which he took as a bad omen. His commander in chief, the
Earl of Feversham, advised retreat on 23 November, and the next day
John Churchill deserted to William. On 26 November, James's daughter
Princess Anne did the same, and James returned to London the same day, never again to be at the head of a serious military force in England.
Modern history Since 1650, the City of
Plymouth has grown to become the largest city in Devon, mainly due to the naval base at
Devonport.
Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Devonport is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the
Royal Navy. HMNB Devonport is now the largest naval base in Western Europe. The large
Portland Harbour, built at the end of the 19th century and protected by
Nothe Fort and the
Verne Citadel, was for many years, including during the wars, another of the largest Royal Navy bases. The 19th century saw improvements to roads in the region with the introduction of
turnpikes and the building of canals and railways. The usefulness of the canals was short-lived, though they have now been restored for recreation.
Chard claims to be the birthplace of
powered flight, in 1848 when the
Victorian aeronautical pioneer
John Stringfellow first demonstrated that engine-powered flight was possible through his work on the
Aerial Steam Carriage.
North Petherton was the first town in England (and one of the few ever) to be lit by
acetylene gas lighting. Around the 1860s, at the height of the iron and steel era, a
pier and a deep-water
dock were built, at
Portishead to accommodate the large ships that had difficulty in reaching
Bristol Harbour. The
Portishead power stations were coal-fed
power stations built next to the dock. Industrial activities ceased in the dock with the closure of the power stations. The Port of Bristol Authority finally closed the dock in 1992, and it has now been developed into a marina and residential area. During the
First World War many soldiers from the South West were killed, and war memorials were put up in most of the towns and villages; only a few villages escaped casualties. There were also casualties – though much fewer – during the Second World War, who were added to the memorials. Several areas were bases for troops preparing for the 1944
D-Day landings.
Exercise Tiger, or Operation Tiger, was the code names for a full-scale rehearsal in 1944 for the
D-Day invasion of
Normandy. The British Government evacuated approximately 3,000 local residents in the area of
Slapton, now
South Hams District of
Devon. Some of them had never left their villages before. Bristol's city centre suffered severe damage from
Luftwaffe bombing during the
Bristol Blitz of World War II. The
Royal Ordnance Factory ROF Bridgwater was constructed early in
World War II for the
Ministry of Supply. The
Taunton Stop Line was set up to resist a potential German invasion, and the remains of its
pill boxes can still be seen, as well as others along the coast. ,
Exmoor Exmoor was one of the first British National Parks, designated in 1954, under the 1949
National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act. and is named after its main river. It was expanded in 1991 and in 1993 Exmoor was designated as an
Environmentally Sensitive Area. The
Quantock Hills were designated as an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1956, the first such designation in England under the
National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The
Mendip Hills followed with AONB designation in 1972.
World War II Much of the
Battle of the Beams was carried out at the
Telecommunications Research Establishment at
Worth Matravers in Dorset; the
H2S radar was developed by Sir
Bernard Lovell of Bristol. The
Gloster Meteor at
Newquay Air Museum is the oldest flying jet aircraft in the world.
Long Ashton Research Station in Somerset invented
Ribena (for population health in World War II) and improved cider.
Scientific heritage William Herschel, previously a clarinet player, of Bath discovered
infrared radiation on 11 February 1800, and the planet
Uranus in March 1781; he had made important improvements to the
reflecting telescope by increasing the mirror diameter. Herschel then built a 20-ft reflecting telescope and invented the
star count, working out that the
Milky Way is a disc, which he called a
grindstone, and that it is a galaxy. Sir
Arthur C. Clarke of
Minehead invented the idea of artificial
satellites; he sent a letter to
Harry Wexler who then developed the first
weather satellite TIROS-1. Sir
Arthur Eddington of Weston-super-Mare was the first to realise that
nuclear fusion powered the Sun; at the 1920
British Association meeting he said that the Sun converted hydrogen into helium, although the mechanism was not known until 1933.
James Bradley was an important astronomer from Gloucestershire, who discovered the
aberration of light.
Jan Ingenhousz, the Dutch biologist, discovered
photosynthesis in 1779 at
Bowood House in Wiltshire; on 1 August 1774,
Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen there too. A fossil of the oldest ancestor of the
Tyrannosaurus was found in Gloucestershire;
Mary Anning was a famous fossil collector from
Lyme Regis.
Edward Jenner, pioneer of vaccination, was from Gloucestershire.
Industrial heritage Sir
Benjamin Baker from Cheltenham jointly-designed the 1890
Forth Bridge.
William Murdoch in 1792 lit his house in Redruth with gas, the first in Britain.
Plasticine was invented 1897 in Bath by
William Harbutt.
Thomas Young of Somerset is known for his
double-slit experiment in optics, and in
solid mechanics for his famous
Young's modulus.
Henry Fox Talbot, inventor of a
negative-positive process in 1841, from Wiltshire made the first photograph in August 1835;
Nicéphore Niépce of France can claim the
first photo in 1826;
William Friese-Greene of Bristol is thought to be the
father of cinematography after inventing his
chronophotographic camera in 1889.
Hinkley Point A nuclear power station was a
Magnox power station constructed between 1957 and 1962 and operating until ceasing generation in 2000.
Hinkley Point B is an
Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) which was designed to generate 1250 MW of electricity (
MWe). Construction of Hinkley Point B started in 1967. In September 2008 it was announced, by
Électricité de France (EDF), that a third, twin-unit
European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) power station known as
Hinkley Point C is planned, to replace Hinkley Point B which was due for closure in 2016, now extended until 2022. In 1989 the
Berkeley nuclear power station was the first in the UK to be decommissioned. The
steam-generating heavy water reactor was developed at
Winfrith in Dorset.
Ted Codd, inventor of databases and
SQL, was from Poole.
Campden BRI at
Ebrington in north-east Gloucestershire was an important research centre for
canned food;
J. S. Fry & Sons of Bristol made world's first chocolate bar in 1847. The first
carpets were made in Britain in 1741 at
Wilton, Wiltshire. In 1698,
Thomas Savery of Devon developed an early
steam engine;
Thomas Newcomen from Dartmouth made another early steam engine in 1710.
Edward Butler, a farmer from Devon born in
Bickington in 1862, invented the petrol engine. ==Demographics==