is the
County Town of
Somerset ,
England . The town name derives from Town on the
River Tone — or Tone Town. It still holds a weekly market. Taunton
Parish has a
Population of 44,050.
Suburb s of the town include
Cotford St Luke ,
Norton Fitzwarren ,
Bishops Hull and
Staplegrove , giving a total population for the "Taunton Urban Area" of 58,241 according to the 2001 census, up 4.3% since 1991.
Twinned with the French town of
Lisieux .
There was perhaps a
Romano-British village near the suburb of
Holway , and Taunton was a place of considerable importance in
Saxon times. King
Ine Of Wessex threw up an earthen castle here about 700, and a monastery was founded before 904. The
Bishops Of Winchester owned the manor, and obtained the first charter for their "men of Taunton" from
King Edward in 904, freeing them from all royal and county tribute. At some time before the
Domesday Survey Taunton had become a borough with very considerable privileges, governed by a portreeve appointed by the bishops. It did not obtain a charter of incorporation until that of 1627, which was renewed in 1677. The corporation existed until 1792, when the charter lapsed owing to vacancies in the number of the corporate body, and Taunton was not reincorporated until 1877. The medieval fairs and markets of Taunton were celebrated for the sale of woollen cloth called "Tauntons" made in the town. On the decline of the west of England woollen industry, silk-weaving was introduced at the end of the 18th century. ''From the
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica ''
In the autumn of
1685 Judge Jeffreys was based in Taunton during the
Bloody Assizes that followed the
Battle Of Sedgemoor .
In
World War II the
Bridgwater And Taunton Canal formed part of the
Taunton Stop Line , designed to prevent the advance of a German invasion.
Pillboxes can still be seen along its length.
Taunton plays a role in ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy '' by
Douglas Adams and is also mentioned in ''
The Remains Of The Day '' by
Kazuo Ishiguro .
It is mentioned in "Scoop. A Novel about Journalists" by Evelyn Waugh (1938).
Taunton has also made an appearance in a number of other British comedy series, including ''
Monty Python's Flying Circus '', ''
Blackadder '', ''
Men Behaving Badly '', ''
Vic Reeves '' Big Night Out, and also The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer.
