| Taunton | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
From the top to bottom-right, View of Taunton with the Minster on the right, Municipal Buildings, The Crescent, Vivary Park, Shire Hall | |
  Taunton Location within Somerset | |
| Population | 60,479 (2011 census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | ST228250 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TAUNTON |
| Postcode district | TA1, TA2, TA3 |
| Dialling code | 01823 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
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Taunton (/ˈtɔːntən/) is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621.[2] Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, owned by the Bishops of Winchester, which was rebuilt as Taunton Castle by the Normans in the 12th century. Parts of the inner ward house were turned into the Museum of Somerset and Somerset Military Museum. For the Second Cornish uprising of 1497, Perkin Warbeck brought an army of 6,000; most surrendered to Henry VII on 4 October 1497.[3][4] On 20 June 1685 in Taunton the Duke of Monmouth crowned himself King of England in a rebellion, defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor. Judge Jeffreys led the Bloody Assizes in the Castle's Great Hall.[5]
The Grand Western Canal reached Taunton in 1839 and the Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1842. Today it hosts Musgrove Park Hospital, Somerset County Cricket Club, is the base of 40 Commando, Royal Marines, and is home to the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office on Admiralty Way.[6] The popular Taunton flower show has been held in Vivary Park since 1866, and on 13 March 2022, St Mary Magdalene parish church was elevated to the status of Taunton Minster.[7]
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "2011 Census Key Statistics tables" (PDF). ONS 2011 census data. North Curry Action Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
britexwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Contact Us". Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ "Bath and Wells Diocese | Taunton has a Minster". www.bathandwells.org.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2022.