Chapter 2
During the Saxon period Somerset did not escape the raids of the Danes; and in the reign of Alfred it was the scene of one of the most eventful crises in English history. Alfred, after many battles against the invaders, had at last seen Guthrum their leader retire from Wessex into Mercia. But in 878, in midwinter, Guthrum suddenly surprised Chippenham and made himself master of Wessex, and Alfred was forced to withdraw to the fens of Athelney. To the narrow limits of the "Isle of the Nobles" the Saxon dominions in the W. were for some months reduced. Here in the Eastertide of 879 Alfred, in the words of the "Saxon Chronicle," "wrought a fortress [of which perhaps the Mump at Borough Bridge is the site], and from that work warred on the (Danish) army, with that portion of the men of Somerset that was nearest."[3] Seven weeks after Easter, Alfred emerged from his place of refuge to join the men of Somerset, Wilts, and Hants, who had gathered in force at "Ecgbryhtes Stane" (Brixton Deveril in Wilts). Putting himself at their head, he covered the distance that separated him from the foe in two stages; for, halting for the night at "Iglea," the next day he defeated the Danes at "Ethandune," and then besieged and reduced their fortress or fortified camp. Guthrum, after his defeat, was baptised at Aller; and at Wedmore subsequently a treaty of peace was concluded between him and Alfred. The site of the battle of "Ethandune" is unfortunately difficult to determine. There is an Edington in Somerset on the Polden Hills; and the fact that the battle was followed by Guthrum's baptism at Aller and the treaty at Wedmore (places near the Somerset Edington) is in favour of this being the scene of the encounter. Those who accept this identification assume that the Danes had moved from Chippenham to the Poldens, and here, whilst watching Athelney, were taken in the rear by Alfred, whose single night-halt at "Iglea" on the march from Brixton Deveril is placed at Edgarley, a locality near Glastonbury.[4] But the distance between Brixton Deveril and Glastonbury seems too great to be accomplished by a large body of men along indifferent roads in a single day; and by many authorities "Ethandune" is identified with Edington, near Westbury, or Heddington, W. of Melksham, both in Wilts. However this may be, it was from the Somerset marshes that Alfred issued forth to his victory, and it was at a Somerset town that he secured the fruits of it.
The importance of Somerset during the reign of the Saxon kings who succeeded Alfred is evidenced by the many noteworthy incidents that are connected with its chief city, Bath, and its great abbey of Glastonbury. It was at Bath that King Edgar was crowned in 973; and at the same place at a later date (1013) the Danish king, Sweyn, received the submission of the western thegns. At Glastonbury were buried three of the Saxon kings, Edmund (son of Edward the Elder), Edgar, and Edmund Ironside. Here too was born Dunstan, who was so prominent an ecclesiastic in the reigns of the first Edmund and five of his successors. He was made abbot of the abbey by Edmund, and, after becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, was buried at Glastonbury (988). Two other Somerset men who filled the see of Canterbury during the Saxon period were Ethelgar and Alphege.
Under the Plantagenets the history of the county was not very eventful, though some localities suffered severely in the disturbances of the Norman period. In William Rufus' reign it was the scene of several of the movements directed against the king in favour of his brother Robert. The powerful baron-bishop, Geoffrey of Coutances, with his nephew Robert of Mowbray, after seizing Bristol, burnt Bath, but was unsuccessful in the siege of Ilchester (1088). On the death of Henry I. Somerset favoured the claims of Matilda, and the castles at Cary, E. Harptree, and Dunster were held by their owners for her against Stephen, to the no small discomfort of their respective neighbourhoods. Castle Cary and Harptree were taken by Stephen, but he seems to have regarded Dunster (defended by William of Mohun) as impregnable.
In Tudor times Somerset witnessed the attempt made on the throne by Perkin Warbeck in 1497, who was supported by Lord Audley of Nether Stowey and other Somerset gentlemen. The pretender advanced from Devonshire to seize Taunton; but when Henry VII. entered Somerset, passing in his progress through Bath, Wells (where he stayed with the Dean), and Glastonbury, to Taunton, Warbeck lost heart and fled. When captured and brought into Henry's presence he was spared; but the king's clemency did not extend to his supporter Lord Audley, who was executed on Tower Hill.
During the Great Rebellion in the 17th cent. Somerset was the field of many important operations. At the outbreak of war in August 1642, the royal cause was maintained by the Marquis of Hertford, who was supported by Lord Powlett, Sir Ralph Hopton, Sir John Stawell, and other leading gentlemen of the county. But the sympathies of the yeomen and manufacturers were with the Parliament, and Hertford had to withdraw from Wells, where he had taken up his position, to Sherborne. In 1643, however, the king's Cornish army entered Somerset, and was joined by the Marquis and Prince Maurice at Chard; and the Royalists then rapidly became masters of Taunton, Bridgwater, and Dunster. To oppose them, Sir William Waller was despatched to the West, and a cavalry skirmish between the two forces took place on the Mendips near Chewton. Waller's main army was posted at Bath; and the Royalists, advancing by way of Wells and Frome, had another skirmish near Claverton. They kept E. of Bath and reached Marshfield in Gloucestershire, 5 m. N. of the city. Then on July 5 Waller gave battle on Lansdowne Hill, and was forced to retire back to Bath, abandoning a quantity of arms and stores; but the triumph of the victors was clouded by the loss of Sir Bevil Grenville, who was killed in the fight. (The monument to him on the site of the encounter was erected in 1720.) The next year the king's cause in Somerset was less prosperous, for Taunton was lost, and repelled all the efforts of Colonel Wyndham, Governor of Bridgwater, to recover it. In 1645 the siege of Taunton was undertaken by Goring. The town was defended by Blake, who vowed (it is said) that he would eat his boots before he would surrender it, but he was saved from that extremity by Fairfax. On the approach of the latter Goring drew off from Taunton, and fixed his quarters at Langport, where he was attacked and defeated. This success on the part of Fairfax not only saved Taunton, but enabled him to besiege Bridgwater, which was defended by Wyndham with little resolution, and fell on July 23, within a fortnight of Goring's defeat at Langport. Fairfax also took Nunney Castle; and as in 1646 Dunster, the last place in Somerset supporting the king, also submitted, the entire county passed into the hands of the Parliament. Dunster was defended by another Wyndham, but he offered a much more prolonged resistance than his brother at Bridgwater, and withstood the besiegers for 160 days. After the execution of the king the small rising in favour of Charles II., under Colonel Penruddock and Sir Joseph Wagstaff, was crushed near Chard in 1655.
In the reign of James II. Somerset was the soil upon which was fought the last battle that has taken place in England. In 1680, the Duke of Monmouth, in the course of a tour through the county, greatly ingratiated himself with its people; and at Whitelackington held a great reception under a gigantic chestnut tree, which was standing as recently as 1897, when it was unfortunately blown down. When in 1685 Charles II. died, and Monmouth made his attempt to disturb the succession of James, it was to Somerset that he looked for support. After landing at Lyme, he entered the county at Chard, and passing through Ilminster, was proclaimed king at Taunton and Bridgwater. From the latter town (where he had stayed at the castle), he started on his luckless campaign, which was wholly confined within the borders of Somerset. He proceeded through Glastonbury (where some of his troops bivouacked in the Abbey), Wells, and Shepton Mallet, intending to attack Bristol, but at Keynsham he turned aside on finding the city defended by the Duke of Beaufort. He threatened Bath, but it refused to surrender; and he thereupon retired to Norton St Philip, intending to enter Wilts. There he had a skirmish with the advanced guard of the royal forces which had marched from London to meet him; and shirking a more general engagement, he withdrew to Frome. The townspeople of Frome, like those of Taunton and Bridgwater, gave him their sympathy, but nothing else; and disappointed at the lack of support, and wearied with his march along miry roads in drenching rain, he abandoned the advance into Wiltshire. A report that a rising in his favour had taken place at Axbridge decided him to return to Bridgwater. On the way he again passed through Wells, where some of his men tore the lead from the Cathedral roof to make bullets, and inflicted other damage on the building. Soon after his arrival at Bridgwater, the royalist general, Feversham, with about 4000 troops, reached Weston Zoyland from Somerton, disposing some of his forces at the neighbouring villages of Middlezoy and Chedzoy. As the royal troops were said to be in a state of disorder, Monmouth, who had about 6000 men, very badly armed, determined to attack him by night; and late on Sunday, July 5, he started from Bridgwater under cover of darkness. But in the passage of some of the "rhines" which cut up the Sedgemoor plain a mismanaged pistol gave the alarm; and in the engagement that followed his ill-equipped followers, though they fought bravely, had little chance against the regulars, and more than 1000 of them fell on the field. The battle had a sad sequel for Somerset. James knew no clemency; and Jeffreys' bloody assize left a crimson trail across the country, which even time found some difficulty in obliterating. Macaulay estimates that the number of the rebels hanged by Jeffreys was 320, and though the assize extended into Hampshire, Dorset, and Devon, most of its victims were Somerset folk. A certain poetic justice may perhaps be discerned in the fact that when, in 1688, the Prince of Orange drove James from his throne, his march took him through Somerset, and he had a skirmish with the royal troops at Wincanton. In connection with Somerset's share in the events of James's reign, it deserves to be mentioned that Bishop Ken, of Bath and Wells, was among the seven prelates who presented the famous petition against the king's Declaration of Indulgence.
The ecclesiastical history of Somerset may be briefly related. When Cenwealh of Wessex (who had been converted to Christianity by the King of East Anglia) established the bishopric of Winchester, such parts of Somerset as belonged to the West-Saxon kingdom were included in that see. Ina divided his augmented territories between two bishoprics, Winchester and Sherborne, the latter including Somerset, with Wilts, Berks, and Dorset. The first Bishop of Sherborne was Aldhelm (705), who only filled the see for four years, dying at Doulting in 709. Ina also founded Wells, but as a collegiate church of secular canons, not as the cathedral of a diocese. It was not until 909 that Somerset had a bishop all to itself, who was styled the Bishop of the Somersaetas, with his seat at Wells (the first appointed being Aethelm.) In 1088, in accordance with the policy of removing bishoprics from localities of little importance, the see was transferred from Wells to Bath, the bishop (John de Villula) at the same time becoming the abbot of the monastery. In 1192 Bishop Savaric procured for the see the rich abbey of Glastonbury, and became its abbot; and he and his immediate successor, Joceline, the builder of the W. front of Wells, were styled Bishops of Bath and Glastonbury. In 1224, however, another change was made, and the bishop took his title from Bath and Wells, as he has done ever since. Up to the Reformation the title was justified, both the monks of Bath and the canons of Wells taking part in episcopal elections; but, with the suppression of its monastery, Bath naturally lost this distinction.
Of religious houses Somerset possessed a fair proportion. The chief were Glastonbury, Bath, Bruton, Dunster, Muchelney, Stogursey (which were Benedictine), Cleeve, Barlynch (Cistercian), Hinton, Witham (Carthusian), Taunton, Woodspring, Stavordale (Augustinian), Montacute (Cluniac). The Templars had a preceptory at Templecombe, and the Knights of St John had establishments at Bridgwater and Mynchin Buckland (near Durston).
[3] Thorpe's translation.
[4] See a paper on "Ethandune" by the Rev. C.W. Whistler (reprinted from "The Saga-book"--"Proceedings of the Viking Club," 1898), who thinks that the Danish fortress may have been Bridgwater.
VII. ANTIQUITIES
The principal antiquities of Somerset may be classified as (1) earthworks and other survivals of a primitive time; (2) the Roman remains at Bath and elsewhere; (3) the ecclesiastical and other buildings of the Middle Ages.
1. The British _camps_ are numerous. They are probably not the sites of permanent settlements, but were used for defensive purposes in times of war. The most notable are Worlebury (near Weston), Combe Down and Solsbury (near Bath), Hamdon, Brent Knoll, Masbury, Dolbury, Stantonbury, and the three Cadburys (near Sparkford, Tickenham, and Yatton respectively). Worlebury is remarkable for having a large number of pits sunk into the ground within its rampart. (Castle Neroche and Castle Orchard, which have usually been regarded as of British origin, are now thought to owe their fortifications to the Normans.)
The remains of _megalithic circles_ occur at Stanton Drew. There are _barrows_ at Stoney Littleton, Dundry, and Priddy. There is a lake-village of the _crannog_ type at Godney. Other antiquities of British origin that deserve notice are the Wansdyke and Pen Pits (the latter near Penselwood).
2. The most interesting Roman remains are at Bath, where a splendid system of _baths_ has been brought to light. _Villas_ and other buildings of Roman origin have been discovered at Whitestaunton and Wadeford (near Chard), Whatley (near Frome), Wellow, Newton St Loe, Bratton Seymour, Pitney, Camerton, etc. Traces of Roman _mines_ (such as tools and pigs of lead) have been found at Priddy and Blagdon, and an amphitheatre at Charterhouse-on-Mendip. Many of the British camps enumerated above have at different times been occupied by the Roman legions.
3. The ancient ecclesiastical buildings of Somerset are very interesting. Some of them, chiefly monastic foundations, are more or less in ruins--Glastonbury, Cleeve, Woodspring, Muchelney, Stavordale, Hinton Charterhouse. Of those that are still used for religious purposes, the most conspicuous are Wells Cathedral and Bath Abbey. But the parish churches, in their way, are almost as remarkable. Their excellence is largely due to the splendid building-stone which abounds in different parts of the county, especially near Bath, Dundry, Doulting, and Ham Hill. Of Saxon architecture Somerset has no example such as Wilts possesses in Bradford, though some of the ancient _fonts_ may possibly be of pre-Norman origin. The majority of early fonts, however, are _Norman_, and the number of them shows how thickly Norman churches once covered the country. But surviving instances of churches wholly or mainly Norman are rare: the best examples are Compton Martin, Christon, and Stoke-sub-Hamdon. There is herring-bone work at Elm and Marston Magna. Of Norman chancel arches and doorways retained when the body of the church has been re-constructed the examples are numerous; noteworthy are those at Glastonbury, Milborne Port, Stoke-Courcy, Lullington, Huish Episcopi, Portbury, St Catherine, South Stoke, Flax Bourton, Langridge, Clevedon, Chewton Mendip, Englishcombe. Wells Cathedral contains some splendid _Transitional_ work, of which there are also specimens at Clutton. Complete churches of the _Early English_ and _Decorated_ periods are few, but many buildings preserve specimens of these styles in combination with work of a later date. The W. front of Wells is a beautiful example of E.E., and windows of this period occur at E. Stoke, Bathampton, Chedzoy, Martock, Keynsham, Somerton. There are E.E. arcades at St Cuthbert's, Wells, and further illustrations of E.E. work are furnished by Compton Bishop, Creech St Michael, Stoke St Gregory, etc. Decorated windows are found at Ditcheat, Compton Dundon, Huish Champflower, Shipton Beauchamp, Barrington, Montacute, Brympton, and very fine ones in the choir and lady chapel at Wells. In many parish churches the chancels have been retained when the rest of the building was reconstructed, with the result that, whilst they often preserve early work, and are accordingly of the greatest interest, they appear relatively to their surroundings insignificant and mean.
But it is in _Perpendicular_ churches that Somerset is richest; and examples of this style are too abundant to require to be cited. It is, indeed, a source of wonder that funds and skilled workmen were forthcoming in sufficient quantity to erect or rebuild so many churches within a comparatively short period. It was upon the _Towers_ that the greatest skill of the Perp. builders was lavished. They are generally lofty, are often beautifully crowned with pinnacles and embattled or pierced parapets, and not unfrequently abound with niches and statuary. The quality of the tracery, however, varies with the stone employed; and the towers W. of the Quantocks are, as a rule, inferior to those of the centre and east of the county. Most have large external stair-turrets (commonly at the N.E. or S.E. angle), which, when carried above the parapet and surmounted by spirelets, add dignity to the plainer structures, but which are less appropriate where the pinnacles are sufficiently prominent and graceful to give of themselves an adequate finish. In the case of some of the finest towers the staircase is wisely suppressed before reaching the summit. In most instances the tower is at the W. end, and is square; but a few churches have octagonal towers, which are usually central (S. Petherton, Stoke St Gregory, Doulting, N. Curry, Barrington). _Spires_ are comparatively rare, but they occur at E. Brent, Congresbury, Bridgwater, Croscombe, Yatton, Pitminster, Castle Cary, Frome, Worle, Whatley, Porlock.
The classification of Somerset Perp. towers has often been attempted, perhaps most successfully by Dr F.J. Allen, with whom the late R.P. Brereton was in general agreement. By these careful observers they are grouped according to the number and character of the windows inserted in each stage. Adopting their principle of classification, though arranging the order of the classes rather differently, we should separate the best towers (viz. those that have _two_ or more windows _side by side_ on the W. front) into two main divisions, according as (I.) perpendicular, (II.) horizontal lines predominate. The first division (I.) has the windows of the belfry stage (_three_ or _two_ in number) prolonged as panels into the stage below. The group is a small one, but includes, perhaps, the finest towers in the county (Batcombe, Evercreech, Wrington, St Cuthbert's, Wells). The second division (II.) has the stages clearly marked off by string-courses or horizontal tracery, and may be subdivided into subordinate classes according as there are (i.) _three_ windows in _two_ tiers, the belfry and the stage below (Mells, Leigh-on-Mendip, Ilminster); (ii.) _three_ windows in _one_ tier (belfry) only (Bruton, Shepton, Cranmore, Winscombe, Banwell, Weston Zoyland, etc.); (iii.) _two_ windows in _three_ tiers, the belfry and two stages below (St Mary's, Taunton); (iv.) _two_ in _two_ tiers, the belfry and one stage below (Chewton Mendip, St John's, Glastonbury); (v.) _two_ in _one_ tier (belfry) only (St James', Taunton, Bishop's Lydeard, N. Petherton, Staple Fitzpaine, Huish Episcopi, Kingsbury Episcopi, Ile Abbots, etc.). A few towers have only one window in the belfry stage, but two in the stage below (Hemington, Buckland Denham). Among the towers with a single window in the belfry should also be noticed a few where the window is long enough, or placed low enough, to break the string-course that divides the topmost stage from the one beneath (Hinton St George, Norton-sub-Hamdon, Shepton Beauchamp, Curry Rivel).
Many Somerset churches are remarkable for their carved pulpits and churchyard crosses, or for their woodwork. Fine _stone pulpits_ are found at Kewstoke, Hutton, Wick St Lawrence, Worle, Locking, Loxton, Shepton, Cheddar, St Catherine. _Crosses_ with carved heads or shafts survive at Bishop's Lydeard, Crowcombe, Spaxton, Doulting, Broadway, Barton St David, Chewton Mendip, Stringston, Horsingtoo, Wedmore. Fine _screens_ are to be found at Dunster, Norton Fitzwarren, Long Ashton, Bishop's Lydeard, Long Sutton, Halse, Minehead, Banwell, Croscombe, Kingsbury. There are carved _oak pulpits_ at Trull and Thurloxton; remarkable Jacobean pulpits at Croscombe and Long Sutton, and quaint _bench ends_ at many places, especially at Bishop's Lydeard, S. Brent, Trull, Crowcombe, Spaxton, Milverton, Bishop's Hull, Stogumber, Broomfield. The finest _wood roof_ is at Shepton Mallet; there are others of great merit also at Somerton, Long Sutton, Martock, St Mary's, Taunton, Evercreech.
Good examples of _ancient glass_ occur at Trull, Nettlecombe, Curry Rivel, Winscombe, Broomfield, E. Brent. Interesting _brasses_ are preserved at Banwell, Hutton, Middlezoy, Tintinhull, Yeovil, Dowlishwake, St Decuman's, Beckington, Bishop's Lydeard.
Besides its stately churches, Somerset possesses some interesting specimens of mediaeval and Tudor _domestic architecture_. Amongst the best are Lytescary, Meare (fish house), Martock, Clevedon Court, S. Petherton, Barrington, Brympton, Dodington, etc. Ancient _hostelries_ survive at Norton St Philip, Glastonbury, and Dunster. _Castles_ are infrequent in the county, the chief remains being at Taunton, Dunster, and Nunney, and a few fragments at Stoke-Courcey, Harptree, Farleigh Hungerford, and Nether Stowey.
VIII. INDUSTRIES