345 
SOME 
SO'MERSAULT, or Somerset, s. [somerset is the cor¬ 
ruption : soprasalto, sopra and salto, Ital.] A leap by 
which a jumper throws himself from a height, and turns over 
his head. 
He could doe 
The vaulter’s sombersalts. Donne - 
As when some boy, trying the somersaut, 
Stands on his head and feet, as he did lie 
To kick against earth’s spangled canopy. Browne. 
I will only make him break' his neck in doing a sommer- 
set. Beaum. and FI. 
SOMERSBY, a parish of England, in Lincolnshire ; 6 
miles north-west of Spilsby. 
SOMERSET, a maritime county of England, bounded on 
the north-west by the Bristol channel; on the north by 
Gloucestershire and the county and city of Bristol; on the 
east and south-east by Wiltshire and Dorsetshire; and on the 
south and west by Devonshire. Rs figure is irregular, some¬ 
what resembling a crescent, with its concavity towards the 
Bristol channel, and its northern horn cut off by the county 
of Gloucester. It may also be viewed as an oblong, stretch¬ 
ing from Bristol south-westwards to Devonshire, with a 
smaller additional portion or narrow neck projecting west¬ 
wards along the Bristol channel, and terminating in the 
Exmoor forest. From Bristol to the north-western border, 
beyond Taunton, the length is 40 miles, and the average 
breadth 30 miles; from Taunton to Exmoor the length is 30 
miles, and the average breadth 10 miles; and from Exmoor 
to Bath, the extreme length of the county is 70 miles. The 
sea-coast along the channel is very irregular, projecting in 
some places into rocky promontories, and in others forming 
fine bays, with flat and level shores. From Start point 
northwards, the coast is flat, and composed of vast sand¬ 
banks, which serve to keep off the inundations of the sea. 
Somersetshire lies within the parallels of 50. 49. and 51. 30. 
N. lat. and between the meridians of 2. 15. and 3. 50. W. 
long. It contains 1549 square miles, or 990,000 acres, with 
200 inhabitants to each square mile. It is divided into 43 
hundreds, 7 liberties, and 482 parishes; and contains two 
cities, Bath and Wells, and part also of Bristol ; five 
boroughs, Bridgewater, Ilchester, Milborne Port, Minehead, 
and Taunton; and 27 other market towns, viz., Axbridge, 
Bruton, Milverton, Castle Cary, Chard, Crewkerne, Dul- 
verton, Dunster, Frome Selwood, Glastonbury, Ilminster, 
Keynsham, Langport, North Cary, Pennsford, South Pether- 
ton, Porlock, Stogumber, Shepton Mallet, Somerton, Stowey, 
Watchet, Wellington, Wincanton, Wiveliscomb, Wrington, 
and Yeovil. It sends 16 members to Parliament, two for 
each of the cities and boroughs. 
Few districts of the kingdom present greater diversities of 
surface than Somersetshire. It possesses every gradation 
from the lofty mountain and barren moor, to the rich and 
highly cultivated vale, and thence descending to the unim¬ 
proved and unimprovable marsh and fen. From Taunton 
in the south-western part of the county, to the coast, extends 
northwards a range of high hills, called the Quantock hills, 
which slope on the east very gently towards Bridgewater and 
the river Parret, but descend rapidly on the west, into a 
cultivated vale of some extent. Westwards of this vale, and 
only terminating in the wild district of Exmoor forest, the 
county is entirely mountainous and hilly. It is divided into 
various ranges, running from east to west, and from which 
numerous lateral branches are detached. Between these 
occur steep valleys called here Combes, which form, when 
richly wooded, some of the most striking features of the 
beautiful scenery for which this coast is celebrated. The 
most conspicuous of these ranges of hills are Dunkery Bea¬ 
con, Brendon hill, Croydon hill, Grubbist hill, and North 
hill. From the town of Frome, again, on the north-east, 
another remarkable chain of hills, called the Mendip hills, 
stretch westwards to Axbridge and the coast; and between 
the Quantock and the Mendip hills lies a vast tract of low 
vale, and in many parts marsh land, extending from the coast 
Vol. XXIII. No. 1575. 
R S E T. 
nearly to the south-western borders of the county, and termi. 
nating in a range of high ground, which runs from Frome 
south-westwards, and with a bending line by Bruton, Yeovil, 
and Crewkerne, to Chard, and from Chard northwards to 
Taunton. Along the slope and skirts of the hills, this low 
land is dry and well cultivated, but from thence towards the 
coast it forms a vast and wide spreading district of water 
flooded lands, known by the name of the Marshes; in the 
middle of which, and separating them into two great divi¬ 
sions, rises boldly to view a range of high ground, called the 
Polden hills and Ham hill, which stretch from Langport 
and Somerton westwards, to the mouth of the Parret. From 
the Mendip hills, near the city of Wells, a track of high 
ground runs north-eastwards towards Bath, and on the east 
of this the land is again comparatively low level, except 
on the south of Bristol, where a range of downs extends 
southwards towards Wrington, and of which Broadfield 
Down and Dundry Down are the chief. The following 
heights have been measured in the trigonometrical survey : 
—-Dunkery Beacon, in Exmoor, and the highest land in 
the county, or almost in the west of England, 1668 feet; 
Bradley Knoll, 973 feet; Lansdown hill, near Bath, 813 
feet; Dundry Beacon, 700 feet; Ash Beacon, 655 feet; 
Dundun Beacon, 360 feet. The highest point of Quantock 
hills is elevated 1270 feet, and Grubbist hill 906 feet. The 
names of several other more detached hills are Leigh Down, 
near Bristol; White Down, near Chard ; and black Down, 
on the borders of Devonshire. The rivers of Somersetshire 
rise chiefly in these high grounds within the county, and 
are none of them of any great magnitude except the Avon, 
which rises in Wiltshire, and divides the county from Glou¬ 
cestershire. The principal others are the Parret, the Brue, 
and the Ax. Somersetshire, as might be Expected from so 
favourable a climate and soil, stands high in reputation for 
its agricultural and rural produce. The plains are remarkable 
for their luxuriant herbage, which furnishes not only a suffi¬ 
ciency for its own consumption, but also a considerable 
surplus for other markets. London, Bristol, Salisbury, and 
other parts of the kingdom, are annually supplied with fat 
oxen, sheep, and hogs, together with many other articles 
in great abundance. Nor are the hills by any means defi¬ 
cient in their arable productions'. But grazing and the dairy 
form the great objects of the husbandry of this district; grain 
not being raised to such an extent as to supply its own con¬ 
sumption, so that vast quantities are imported from the adja¬ 
cent counties of Wilts and Dorset. The oxen of this county 
are scarcely inferior in size to those of Lincolnshire; and the 
grain of the flesh is thought finer. The best goose feathers 
for beds come from the marshes here. Much cheese is made 
in the lower parts of the county ; and that of the Chedder 
district is said to exceed any in the kingdom. According to 
Mr. Billingsley, the extent of the various descriptions of land 
in the county is— 
Acres. 
Towns, roads, and rivers. 20,500 
Woods and plantations. 20,000 
Meadows and pasture land inclosed ..,.584,500 
Marsh and fen land uninclosed. 30,000 
Arable and convertible land inclosed ... .260,000 
Common fields.;. 20,000 
Uncultivated wastes. 65,000 
Since the above account, however, was drawn up, no 
less than 30,000 or 40,000 acres of marsh and fen land, 
and of common fields, have been divided, drained and in¬ 
closed. 
In the district of the county north of the Mendip hills 
grass land greatly preponderates over arable, and if not 
chilled by too much moisture, it may boast almost a perpetual 
verdure. On the rich marsh land here, along the Bristol 
channel, the grazing system entirely prevails: in the vicinity 
of Bristol and Bath, the scythe is in constant use; at a greater 
distance, nothing almost is seen but the milking pail; and to 
whichever of these purposes it is devoted, the land yields 
abundantly. Towards the coast, however, and along the 
4 T ' river 
