Taunton

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 is located in Somerset
Taunton
Taunton
Location within Somerset
Population60,479 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid referenceST228250
Civil parish
  • Taunton
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTAUNTON
Postcode districtTA1, TA2, TA3
Dialling code01823
PoliceAvon and Somerset
FireDevon and Somerset
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Somerset
51°01′08″N 3°06′00″W / 51.019°N 3.100°W / 51.019; -3.100

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]

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference bush was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference britex was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Contact Us". Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  7. ^ "Bath and Wells Diocese | Taunton has a Minster". www.bathandwells.org.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2022.