| Watchet | |
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  Watchet shown within Somerset |
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| Population | 4400[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | West Somerset |
| Shire county | Somerset |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WATCHET |
| Postcode district | TA23 |
| Dialling code | 01984 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Bridgwater |
| List of places: UK • England • Somerset | |
Watchet is a harbour town in West Somerset, England, situated 15 miles (24 km) west of Bridgwater, and 15 miles north west of Taunton. Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government West Somerset is a local government district in the English county of Somerset. Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of Subdivisions of England used for the purposes of Local government outside Greater London Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county The region, also known as the government office region, is currently the highest tier of local government sub-national entity of England, with only one South West England is one of the Regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area and extends from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to Constituent country is a phrase used often by official institutions in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity or grouping England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This list of sovereign states, alphabetically arranged gives an overview of States around the world with information on the extent of their Sovereignty. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system UK Postal codes are known as postcodes. UK postcodes are Alphanumeric. The, also known as the Taunton postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Bridgwater, Burnham-on-Sea, Chard, Crewkerne, The UK Telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, is the system used for assigning Telephone numbers in the United There are a number of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom. Avon & Somerset Constabulary is the Home Office Police force in England responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of Somerset and The fire service in the United Kingdom operates under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service or FRS, covering the counties of Devon and Somerset; it Divisions & Stations The trust is split into 2 divisions West - Devon and Cornwall including West Divisional HQ 999 and PTS Control at South West England is a Constituency of the European Parliament. This is a list of the 646 constituencies currently represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as at the 2005 general election Bridgwater is a Constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. A Gazetteer of place names in the United Kingdom showing each place's County, Unitary authority or council area and its geographical coordinates List of places --> List of cities in the United Kingdom List of towns in England Lists of places This is a list of cities, Towns Villages and hamlets in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. A harbor or harbour (see spelling differences) or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the Weather or are stored A town is a type of settlement ranging from a few to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands inhabitants although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan West Somerset is a local government district in the English county of Somerset. Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Bridgwater in Somerset, England, is a Market town, the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and the leading industrial Taunton is the County town of Somerset, England. The Unparished area (or former Municipal borough) of Taunton has a Population In 2002, the town's population was estimated to be 4,400. [1] The town lies at the mouth of the River Washford on Bridgwater Bay, part of the Bristol Channel, and on the edge of Exmoor National Park. The River Washford rises at near Luxborough in the Brendon Hills and flows through Somerset to the Bristol Channel at Watchet Bridgwater Bay is on the Bristol Channel, near Bridgwater in Somerset, England at the mouth of the River Parrett. The Bristol Channel ( Môr Hafren) is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset Exmoor is a National Park situated on the Bristol Channel coast of south west England
It is believed to be the place where Saint Decuman was killed and the 15th century, grade I listed, church is dedicated to him. Saint Decuman was one of the Celtic Saints who came to Somerset from South Wales during the 7th century arriving on a Raft (or his cloak with [2]
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the early port at Watchet being plundered by Danes led by Ohtor and Rhoald[3] in 987 and 997. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of Annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. It is known that it was in frequent use by small boats in 1564 possibly for the import of salt and wine from France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. [4] During the English Civil War Royalist reinforcements for the siege of Dunster Castle was sent by sea, but the tide was on the ebb and a troop of Roundheads rode into the shallows and forced the ship to surrender, so a ship at sea was taken by a troop of horse. The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War ( 1642 &ndash 1651 Dunster Castle is the historical home of the Luttrell family located in the small town of Dunster, Somerset, England ( " Roundheads " was the Nickname given to the Puritan supporters of Parliament during the English Civil War. [5]
The primitive jetty was damaged in a storm of 1659 and a larger, stronger pier was built in the early 18th century supported by local wool merchants, although by 1797 the largest export was kelp made by burning seaweed for use in glass making. Kelp are large Seaweeds ( Algae) belonging to the Brown algae and classified in the order Laminariales In the 19th century trade increased with the export of iron ore from the Brendon Hills, paper, flour and gypsum. Iron ores are rocks and Minerals from which Metallic Iron can be economically extracted The Brendon Hills are composed of a lofty ridge of hills in the west of Somerset, England. [4] This was aided by the coming of the West Somerset Railway. The West Somerset Railway (WSR is a Heritage railway that runs along the edge of the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England, between Bishops In the mid-1860s two independent railways terminated at Watchet railway station. Watchet railway station is a station on the West Somerset Railway, a heritage railway in Somerset, United Kingdom. The West Somerset Mineral Railway ran down from the iron mines on the Brendon Hills, and the West Somerset Railway came up from the Bristol & Exeter Railway at Norton Fitzwarren. History The line was built in stages between 1856 and 1861 the construction of the incline taking the last two years of this period The West Somerset Railway (WSR is a Heritage railway that runs along the edge of the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England, between Bishops The Bristol & Exeter Railway was a railway company formed to connect Bristol and Exeter. Norton Fitzwarren is a village and Parish in Somerset, England, situated two Miles north west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane Both lines made extensive use of the harbour at Watchet from where the iron ore was shipped across the Bristol Channel for smelting at Ebbw Vale in South Wales. For the Ebbw Vale in Australia see Ebbw Vale Queensland. Ebbw Vale (Glyn Ebwy is a town at the head of the valley formed by the South Wales (De Cymru is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south and Mid Wales and West Wales The mines and railway closed in 1898 and in 1900 and 1903 a series of gales breached the breakwater and East Pier with the loss of several vessels each time and subsequent repairs. [4]
Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner was written whilst travelling through Watchet and the surrounding area. Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( 21 October 1772 &ndash 25 July 1834) was an English Poet, Critic and philosopher The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (original The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere) is the longest major Poem by the English Poet Cleeve Abbey lies a short distance away. Cleeve Abbey is a Medieval Monastery located near the village of Washford, in Somerset, England.
There are several museums in the town including the Market House Museum which explores the town's history and the Watchet Boat Museum with local boats and associated artefacts. Watchet Boat Museum is a small museum in Watchet, Somerset. It is housed in an old victorian goods shed next to the station
Other usage
The word "Watchet" or "Watchet Blue" was used in the 16th century to denote a pale, greenish blue colour, based on the coloured alabaster found in the cliffs between Watchet and Blue Anchor. Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct Minerals Gypsum (a hydrous sulfate of Calcium) and Calcite Blue Anchor is a seaside village close to Carhampton in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. [5]
References
- ^ a b West Somerset Parish Population data (PDF) (2002). Retrieved on 2007-06-09. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits
- ^ Parish church of St Decuman. Images of England. Retrieved on 2008-03-01. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant
- ^ Waite, Vincent (1964). Portrait of the Quantocks. London: Robert Hale. ISBN 0709111584.
- ^ a b c Farr, Grahame (1954). Somerset Harbours. London: Christopher Johnson, 125-137.
- ^ a b Leete-Hodge, Lornie (1985). Curiosities of Somerset. Bodmin: Bossiney Books, 41-42. ISBN 0906456983.
External links
- Watchet Town Council
- The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey: Watchet, by Clare Gathercole
- The Watchet Boat Museum - the world's largest collection of flatner boats
- Watchet Carnival
- Photos of Watchet in 3D (Anaglyphs)
- History of Watchet Harbour development
- Watchet at the Open Directory Project
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