1.
Glastonbury Tor
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Glastonbury Tor is a hill near Glastonbury in the English county of Somerset, topped by the roofless St Michaels Tower, a Grade I listed building. The whole site is managed by the National Trust, and has designated a scheduled monument. The conical hill of clay and Blue Lias rises from the Somerset Levels and it was formed when surrounding softer deposits were eroded, leaving the hard cap of sandstone exposed. The slopes of the hill are terraced, but the method by which they were formed remains unexplained, artefacts from human visitation have been found, dating from the Iron Age to Roman eras. Several buildings were constructed on the summit during the Saxon and early periods, they have been interpreted as an early church. The head of a cross dating from the 10th or 11th century has been recovered. The original wooden church was destroyed by an earthquake in 1275, and its tower remains, although it has been restored and partially rebuilt several times. Archaeological excavations during the 20th century sought to clarify the background of the monument and church, the Tor is mentioned in Celtic mythology, particularly in myths linked to King Arthur, and has a number of other enduring mythological and spiritual associations. The origin of the name Glastonbury is unclear, but when the settlement was first recorded in the late 7th, of the latter name, Glestinga is obscure, and may derive from an Old English word or Celtic personal name. It may derive from a person or kindred group named Glast, the second half of the name, -burg, is Anglo-Saxon in origin and could refer to either a fortified place such as a burh or, more likely, a monastic enclosure. Tor is an English word referring to a rock or a hill. The Celtic name of the Tor was Ynys Wydryn, or sometimes Ynys Gutrin, at this time the plain was flooded, the isle becoming a peninsula at low tide. The Tor is in the middle of the Summerland Meadows, part of the Somerset Levels, the plain is reclaimed fen above which the Tor is clearly visible for miles around. It has been described as an island but actually sits at the end of a peninsula washed on three sides by the River Brue. The Tor is formed from rocks dating from the early Jurassic Period, the uppermost of these, forming the Tor itself, are a succession of rocks assigned to the Bridport Sand Formation. These rocks sit upon strata forming the hill on which the Tor stands, the various layers of the Beacon Limestone Formation. The Bridport Sands have acted as a caprock protecting the lower layers from erosion, the low-lying damp ground can produce a visual effect known as a Fata Morgana when the Tor appears to rise out of the mist. This optical phenomenon occurs because rays of light are bent when they pass through air layers of different temperatures in a steep thermal inversion where an atmospheric duct has formed
2.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
3.
Somerset
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Somerset is a county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the south-west. It is bounded to the north and west by the Severn Estuary and its traditional border with Gloucestershire is the River Avon. Somerset is a county of rolling hills such as the Blackdown Hills, Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills and Exmoor National Park. There is evidence of occupation from Paleolithic times, and of subsequent settlement in the Roman. The county played a significant part in the consolidation of power and rise of King Alfred the Great, and later in the English Civil War, the city of Bath is famous for its substantial Georgian architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Somersets name derives from Old English Sumorsǣte, short for Sumortūnsǣte, an alternative suggestion is the name derives from Seo-mere-saetan meaning settlers by the sea lakes. The Old English name is used in the motto of the county, Sumorsǣte ealle, adopted as the motto in 1911, the phrase is taken from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Somerset settlement names are mostly Anglo-Saxon in origin, but some hill names include Brittonic Celtic elements, for example, an Anglo-Saxon charter of 682 refers to Creechborough Hill as the hill the British call Cructan and we call Crychbeorh. Some modern names are Brythonic in origin, such as Tarnock, the caves of the Mendip Hills were settled during the Palaeolithic period, and contain extensive archaeological sites such as those at Cheddar Gorge. Bones from Goughs Cave have been dated to 12,000 BC, examples of cave art have been found in Avelines Hole. Some caves continued to be occupied until modern times, including Wookey Hole, the Somerset Levels—specifically dry points at Glastonbury and Brent Knoll— also have a long history of settlement, and are known to have been settled by Mesolithic hunters. Travel in the area was facilitated by the construction of one of the worlds oldest known engineered roadways, the Sweet Track, the exact age of the henge monument at Stanton Drew stone circles is unknown, but it is believed to be Neolithic. There are numerous Iron Age hill forts, some of which, like Cadbury Castle, on the authority of the future emperor Vespasian, as part of the ongoing expansion of the Roman presence in Britain, the Second Legion Augusta invaded Somerset from the south-east in AD47. The county remained part of the Roman Empire until around AD409, a variety of Roman remains have been found, including Pagans Hill Roman temple in Chew Stoke, Low Ham Roman Villa and the Roman Baths that gave their name to the city of Bath. After the Romans left, Britain was invaded by Anglo-Saxon peoples, by AD600 they had established control over much of what is now England, but Somerset was still in native British hands. The Saxon royal palace in Cheddar was used several times in the 10th century to host the Witenagemot. After the Norman Conquest, the county was divided into 700 fiefs, Somerset contains HM Prison Shepton Mallet, which was Englands oldest prison still in use prior to its closure in 2013, having opened in 1610. In the English Civil War Somerset was largely Parliamentarian, with key engagements being the Sieges of Taunton, in 1685 the Monmouth Rebellion was played out in Somerset and neighbouring Dorset
4.
Somerset Levels
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The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, South West England, running south from the Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Mendip Hills separate the Somerset Levels from the North Somerset Levels, the Somerset Levels consist of marine clay levels along the coast and inland peat-based moors, agriculturally, about 70 per cent is used as grassland and the rest is arable. Willow and teazel are grown commercially and peat is extracted, a Palaeolithic flint tool found in West Sedgemoor is the earliest indication of human presence in the area. The Levels were the location of the Glastonbury Lake Village as well as two Lake villages at Meare Lake, several settlements and hill forts were built on the natural islands of slightly raised land, including Brent Knoll and Glastonbury. In the Roman period sea salt was extracted and a string of settlements were set up along the Polden Hills. The discovery at Shapwick of 9,238 silver Roman coins, a number of Saxon charters document the incorporation of areas of moor in estates. In 1685, the Battle of Sedgemoor was fought in the Bussex area of Westonzoyland at the conclusion of the Monmouth Rebellion, as a result of the wetland nature of the Levels, the area contains a rich biodiversity of national and international importance. It supports a vast variety of plant and bird species and is an important feeding ground for birds and includes 32 Sites of Special Scientific Interest, the area has been extensively studied for its biodiversity and heritage, and has a growing tourism industry. People have been draining the area since before the Domesday Book, in the Middle Ages, the monasteries of Glastonbury, Athelney and Muchelney were responsible for much of the drainage. The artificial Huntspill River was constructed during the Second World War as a reservoir, the Sowy River between the River Parrett and Kings Sedgemoor Drain was completed in 1972, water levels are managed by the Levels internal drainage boards. Discussions have taken place concerning the possibility of obtaining World Heritage Site status for the Somerset Levels as a cultural landscape. It was suggested that if this bid were successful it could improve flood control, but only if wetland fens were created again, the plans were abandoned in 2010. The Somerset Levels form a region that has been designated as a national character area – No.142 – by Natural England. The Levels are mainly flat areas of plains and a coastal sand and clay barrier. There are some slightly raised parts, called burtles, as well as higher ridges, the Levels are about 20 feet above mean sea level. The general elevation inland is 10 to 12 feet O. D. with peak tides of 25 to 26 feet O. D. recorded at Bridgwater, large areas of peat were laid down in the Brue Valley during the Quaternary period after the ice sheets melted. The area is prone to floods of fresh water and occasional salt water inundations. Another severe flood occurred in 1872–1873, when over 107 square miles were underwater from October to March, Glastonbury Tor is composed of Upper Lias Sand
5.
River Alham
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The River Alham flows through Somerset, England. It rises at Higher Alham above Batcombe and runs through Alhampton, Milton Clevedon and it was known as the Alauna in Roman times. The river supported several mills between the Domesday Book and the 18th century, one of them, at Alhampton, has had an Archimedes screw turbine installed to generate hydro-electric power. Boulters Bridge, which spans the border between Ditcheat and West Bradley parishes, is of medieval origin and has designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument
6.
Whitelake River
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The Whitelake River is a small river on the Somerset Levels, England. The river rises between two low ridges, part of the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The confluence of the two streams that make the Whitelake River is on Worthy Farm which is the site of the Glastonbury Festival between the small villages of Pilton and Pylle. It flows west for approximately 10 kilometres until it joins the River Brue at Westhay, in the 1st millennium BC the land close to the confluence of the Whitelake River River Brue was the site of the Meare Pool which was located on low-lying levels just north of Meare. Its precise boundaries varied according to season, and, over the longer term, in early times the Meare Pool collected the waters of the rivers Brue and Sheppey, and discharged in a northerly direction into the Lower River Axe. In the later years of the 12th century the Abbey diverted the Brue to flow westwards, perhaps largely through natural channels, further reclamation was carried out in stages between about 1620 and 1740, with the new Cutts being built about 1660. The rivers Sheppey and Hartlake were canalised into the River James Wear, during 2010 Michael Eavis received a donation from British Waterways of timber from the old gates at Caen Hill Locks in Wiltshire. This was used to construct a new bridge over the Whitelake River which was dedicated to the memory of Arabella Churchill
7.
Bruton
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Bruton is a small town, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the River Brue along the A359 between Frome and Yeovil. It is seven miles south-east of Shepton Mallet, just south of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, ten miles north-west of Gillingham, the town and electoral ward have a population of 2,907. The parish includes the hamlets of Wyke Champflower and Redlynch, Bruton has a museum dedicated to the display of items from Brutons past from the Jurassic geology right up to the present day. The museum houses a table used by the author John Steinbeck to write on during his stay in Bruton. The River Brue has a history of flooding in Bruton. In 1768 the river very rapidly and destroyed a stone bridge. On the 28 June 1917,242.8 mm of rain fell in 24 hours at Bruton, in 1984 a protective dam was built 1 km upstream from the town. The river has been the site of several watermills and in 2003 the South Somerset Hydropower Group installed their first hydroelectric turbine at Gants Mill at nearby Pitcombe. It was the site of Bruton Abbey, a medieval Augustinian priory from which a wall remains in the Plox close to Bow Bridge, the Dovecote which overlooks Bruton was built in the sixteenth century. It was at one time used as a house, possibly as a watchtower and it is a Grade II* listed building and ancient monument. It is managed by the National Trust, the building was once within the deerpark of the Abbey and was adapted by the monks from a gabled Tudor tower. The conversion to be a dovecote took place around 1780 and it has over 200 pigeon holes. Bruton was part of the hundred of Bruton, Bruton is referenced in a well-known English folk song, The Bramble Briar. A very rare copy of an Inspeximus of Magna Carta was discovered in Bruton in the 1950s and claimed by Kings School, the sale of the schools copy to the Australian National Museum paid for a great deal of the building work at the school. Much of the history is exhibited at the Bruton Museum. The museum is housed in the Dovecote Building, in the towns High Street, the building also contains a tourist information office. The Bruton Museum Society was formed in 1989 and involved the community and it was initially housed in the basement of the Co-Op and then in a disused Coach House owned by the National Westminster Bank. The museum moved to its current location in 1999 after it was purchased by South Somerset District Council
8.
Glastonbury
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Glastonbury /ˈɡlæstənbri/ is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels,23 miles south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census, Glastonbury is less than 1 mile across the River Brue from Street, which is now larger than Glastonbury. Evidence from timber trackways such as the Sweet Track show that the town has been inhabited since Neolithic times. Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue and Sharpham Park approximately 2 miles west of Glastonbury, centwine was the first Saxon patron of Glastonbury Abbey, which dominated the town for the next 700 years. One of the most important abbeys in England, it was the site of Edmund Ironsides coronation as King of England in 1016, the Church of St John the Baptist dates from the 15th century. The Brue Valley Living Landscape is a project managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. Joseph is said to have arrived in Glastonbury and stuck his staff into the ground, the presence of a landscape zodiac around the town has been suggested but no evidence has been discovered. The Glastonbury Festival, held in the village of Pilton. The Neolithic people continued to exploit the reedswamps for their natural resources, tree-ring dating of the timbers has enabled very precise dating of the track, showing it was built in 3807 or 3806 BC. It has been claimed to be the oldest road in the world, the track was discovered in the course of peat digging in 1970, and is named after its discoverer, Ray Sweet. It extended across the marsh between what was then an island at Westhay, and a ridge of ground at Shapwick. The track is one of a network of tracks that crossed the Somerset Levels. Since the discovery of the Sweet Track, it has determined that it was built along the route of an even earlier track. Glastonbury Lake Village was an Iron Age village, close to the old course of the River Brue, on the Somerset Levels near Godney, some 3 miles north west of Glastonbury. The village was built in about 300 BC and occupied into the early Roman period when it was abandoned and it was built on a morass on an artificial foundation of timber filled with brushwood, bracken, rubble and clay. Sharpham Park is a 300-acre historic park,2 miles west of Glastonbury, the origin of the name Glastonbury is unclear but when the settlement is first recorded in the 7th and the early 8th century, it was called Glestingaburg. It may derive from a person or kindred group named Glast, upon arrival there he beholds a hovering mansion inhabited by handsomely dressed courtiers and King Gwyn on a throne of gold, holy water disperses the apparition. This is from Druid mythology, in which the mansion is made of glass so as to receive the spirits of the dead, accordingly, Williamson posits that the Tor was named after the glassy mansion of the dead
9.
Highbridge, Somerset
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Highbridge is a small market town situated on the edge of the Somerset Levels near the mouth of the River Brue. It is in the County of Somerset, and is approximately 20 miles north west of Taunton, Highbridge is in the District of Sedgemoor, being situated approximately 7 miles north of Bridgwater, the districts administrative centre. Highbridge closely neighbours Burnham-on-Sea, forming part of the parish of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge. In the 2001 census the population was 5,986, in the 2011 census the population of the town was included in the ward of Highbridge and Burnham Marine, which totalled 7,555. There is archaeological evidence of occupation around the Highbridge area at least as far back as the Roman period. A bridged crossing over the River Brue at this location has existed since the 14th century, the town that sprung up around this crossing takes it name from the bridge. An older name for the manor was Huish a contraction of the phrase Huish jaxta altum pontem. There are historical references to a wharf at this site and to usage of the river as part of the plan for the Somerset Levels by the Monks of Glastonbury. Highbridge grew in importance as a market and industrial town during the latter half of the 19th century. Since the 1970s close proximity to the M5 motorway has driven a growth in light industry, Highbridge was historically a hamlet and chapelry in the large ancient parish of Burnham. It briefly became a civil parish in 1894, but in 1896 the civil parish was abolished and divided between the new civil parishes of North Highbridge and Burnham Without. The town had by then expanded south of the River Brue into the parish of Huntspill, North Highbridge and South Highbridge together formed the Highbrige Urban District. The 1931 census listed a population of 2,585, in 1933 the Urban District was abolished and merged into Burnham-on-Sea Urban District. In the 1974 local government reforms, this became a parish within the new District of Sedgemoor. The civil parish is now known as Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge, with a town council. The joining of the two remains a contentious issue. Highbridge is within the Sedgemoor Non-metropolitan district which has traditionally been Conservative run since its creation in 1974, there is one electoral ward named Highbridge and Burnham Marine. The population taken at the 2011 census is identical to that shown above, Liberal Democrats fared well in Burnham and Highbridge areas until 1999, when the Conservatives re-took Sedgemoor, with the Liberal Democrats losing the seat of Highbridge to Labour
10.
Westhay Moor
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Westhay Moor is a 513. 7-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest 2.5 kilometres north-east of Westhay village and 4 kilometres from Wedmore in Somerset, England, notified in 1971. Westhay Moor is also notified as part of the Somerset Levels and Moors Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive and as a Ramsar Site, the low-lying swampy area of Westhay Moor has had peat laid down over older rocks for the last 10,000 years. The Neolithic people lived on the areas of higher ground but exploited the reed beds for materials. Peat extraction on the Somerset Levels has occurred since the area was first drained by the Romans, measures to improve the drainage were carried out in the Middle Ages largely by Glastonbury Abbey. In the 17th and 18th centuries further drainage work was undertaken including digging a series of rhynes, or ditches, Peat extraction peaked in the 1960s but has since declined. The geology of the moor and prolonged peat extraction has provided an environment which provides a habitat for a range of flora. Much of the nature reserve managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust is based around abandoned peatworkings which have now become flooded and it is particularly noted for the millions of starlings which congregate at the site. As the sea level changed following the Pliocene era, vegetation was laid down which was converted into peat. The peak of the formation took place in swamp conditions around 6,000 years ago. Westhay Moor forms part of the Somerset Levels and Moors which is important for its grazing and ditch system, over much of the moor, the water table is high throughout the year with extensive winter flooding occurring regularly. The level of the tables can be artificially lowered during active working of the peat excavations. Westhay Moor originally lay at the centre of the most northerly of the two lowland raised bogs that formed in the lower Brue Valley and they reached their greatest extent at the end of the Iron Age. The Neolithic people exploited the reedswamps for their resources and started to construct wooden trackways such as the Sweet. The Sweet Track, named after the peat digger who discovered it in 1970 and dating from the 3800s BCE, is the worlds oldest timber trackway, once thought to be the worlds oldest engineered roadway. The track was built between what was in the early 4th millennium BCE an island at Westhay and a ridge of ground at Shapwick. The remains of similar tracks have been uncovered nearby, connecting settlements on the peat bog including the Honeygore, Abbotts Way, Bells, Bakers, Westhay, the archaeology, history and geology of the Somerset Levels was displayed at the Peat Moors Centre until its closure in 2009. The centre also included reconstructions of some of the discoveries, including a number of Iron Age round houses from Glastonbury Lake Village. In prehistoric times there were two Meare Lake Villages situated within the lake, occupied at different times between 300 BCE and 100 CE, similar to the nearby Glastonbury Lake Village
11.
South Somerset
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South Somerset is a local government district in Somerset, England. The South Somerset district covers and area of 370 square miles ranging from the borders with Devon, Wiltshire and it has a population of approximately 158,000. The administrative centre of the district is Yeovil, the district was formed on 1 April 1974, and was originally known as Yeovil, adopting its present name in 1985. The Council covers the whole of the Yeovil constituency, and part of Somerton and it is currently Liberal Democrat controlled, and has Beacon Council status. Its main towns include, Bruton Castle Cary Chard Crewkerne Ilminster Langport Milborne Port Somerton Wincanton Yeovil The electoral wards include, Camelot, for a full list of schools see, List of schools in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset South Somerset District Council
12.
Bristol Channel
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The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean. It takes its name from the English city of Bristol, and is over 30 miles across at its widest point. Until Tudor times the Bristol Channel was known as the Severn Sea, the International Hydrographic Organisation defines the western limit of the Bristol Channel as a line joining Hartland Point in Devon to St. Govans Head in Pembrokeshire. The upper limit of the Channel is between Sand Point, Somerset and Lavernock Point, East of this line is the Severn Estuary. The Severn Estuary and most of the embayments around the channel are less than 10 m in depth. Within the channel, however, there is an E-W trending valley 20 to 30 m in depth that is considered to have formed by fluvial run-off during Pleistocene phases of lower sea level. The Bristol Channel is an important area for wildlife, in particular waders, at low tide large parts of the channel become mud flats due to the tidal range of 43 feet, second only to the Bay of Fundy in Eastern Canada. Development schemes have been proposed along the channel, including an airport and a barrier for electricity generation. The largest islands in the Bristol Channel are Lundy, Steep Holm, the islands and headlands provide some shelter for the upper reaches of the channel from storms. These islands are uninhabited and protected as nature reserves, and are home to some unique wild flower species. In 1971 a proposal was made by the Lundy Field Society to establish a marine reserve, on the Gower Peninsula, at its western extremity is the Worms Head, a headland of carboniferous limestone which is approachable on foot at low tide only. The beaches of Gower and North Devon, such as Croyde and Woolacombe, win awards for their quality and setting. In 2004, The Times Travel magazine selected Barafundle Bay in Pembrokeshire as one of the twelve best beaches in the world, in 2007, Oxwich Bay made the same magazines Top 12 best beaches in the world list, and was also selected as Britains best beach for 2007. The city of Swansea is the largest settlement on the Welsh coast of the Bristol Channel, other major built-up areas include Barry, Port Talbot and Llanelli. Smaller resort towns include Porthcawl, Mumbles, Saundersfoot and Tenby, the cities of Cardiff and Newport adjoin the Severn estuary, but lie upstream of the Bristol Channel itself. On the English side, the towns of Weston-super-Mare, Burnham-on-Sea, Watchet, Minehead. Barnstaple and Bideford are sited on estuaries opening onto Bideford Bay and it gives its name to the Channel, which forms its seaward approach
13.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
14.
Brewham
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The parish has a population of 441. The name of the villages comes from the settlement on the River Brue, later the manor was given to Bruton Abbey until the Dissolution of the Monasteries when it was granted to Sir Maurice Berkeley. In 1251 Robert de Musgrove was granted a licence by the king to enlarge Brewham Park, Brewham was part of the hundred of Bruton. The parish council has responsibility for issues, including setting an annual precept to cover the councils operating costs. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security. Conservation matters and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council, the village is part of Tower electoral ward. This ward stretches to Shepton Montague and Cucklington avoiding Wincanton, the total population of the ward at the 2011 census was 2,442. It is also part of Somerton and Frome county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, breeding butterflies typical of unimproved neutral grassland include small copper, meadow brown, grayling and ringlet. Within the parish and close to the border with Wiltshire is the 49 metres high King Alfreds Tower, the Church of Saint John the Baptist in South Brewham has 13th-century origins, however the current building is largely from the late 19th century. Media related to Brewham at Wikimedia Commons
15.
Burnham-on-Sea
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Burnham-on-Sea is a town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett and Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a fishing village until the late 18th century. It forms part of the parish of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge and shares a town council with its market town of Highbridge. According to the 2011 census the population of the parish was 19,576, of which the populations of the wards of Burnham Central and Burnham North, which made up most of the town, totalled 13,601. The position of the town on the edge of the Somerset Levels and moors where they meet the Bristol Channel, has resulted in a history dominated by land reclamation and sea defences since Roman times. Burnham was seriously affected by the Bristol Channel floods of 1607, there have been many shipwrecks on the Gore Sands, which lie just offshore and can be exposed at low tides. Lighthouses are hence prominent landmarks in the town, with the original known as the Round Tower built to replace the light on the top of the 14th century tower of St Andrews Church. The 110-foot pillar or High Lighthouse and the low wooden pile lighthouse or Lighthouse on legs on the beach were built to replace it, the towns first lifeboat was provided in 1836 by the Corporation of Bridgwater. A stone pier was built in 1858 by the Somerset Central Railway, soon afterwards, in 1860, a steamer service to Wales was inaugurated, but it was never a commercial success, and ended in 1888. Burnham-on-Sea railway station was the terminus of the Burnham branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway and it opened in 1858, closed to scheduled passenger traffic in 1951, and stopped being used for excursions in 1962. The former Great Western Railway station is now known as Highbridge, a second pier, built of concrete between 1911 and 1914, is claimed to be the shortest pier in Britain. The name Burnham is derived from Burnhamm, as it was called in the will of King Alfred, made up from the Old English words Burna meaning stream, on-Sea was added later as there are several other towns of the same name in England. The history of Burnham-on-Sea is the history of the reclamation of the Somerset Levels from the River Severn and the Bristol Channel. The Romans were the first peoples to try to reclaim the Somerset levels and this could have been in part to maintain navigational systems, to aid ships entering the River Parrett and what is now Highbridge. When the Romans left, the system of drainage they installed was not maintained, and it is likely that at the time of the Norman Domesday book, settlements existed at Burnham and Huntspill, their common boundary running along what is now the Westhill Rhyne. The church at Burnham and its lands were given to Gloucester Abbey in the 12th century, Burnham was part of the hundred of Bempstone. One of the earliest recorded incidents to affect the town was the Bristol Channel floods of 1607, in 1911 a concrete wall was built. Today the town is defended from flooding by a curved concrete wall
16.
Glastonbury Abbey
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Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction, the abbey was founded in the 7th century and enlarged in the 10th. It was destroyed by a fire in 1184, but subsequently rebuilt. The abbey controlled large tracts of the land and was instrumental in major drainage projects on the Somerset Levels. The abbey was suppressed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII of England, the last abbot, Richard Whiting, was hanged, drawn and quartered as a traitor on Glastonbury Tor in 1539. From at least the 12th century the Glastonbury area has been associated with the legend of King Arthur, Christian legends have claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century. In 1955 Ralegh Radfords excavations uncovered Romano-British pottery at the west end of the cloister, the abbey was founded by Britons and dates at least to the early-7th century. Dark Age occupation of the site is evidenced by pieces of wine jars that were imported from the Mediterranean. A medieval Christian legend claimed that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century and this fanciful legend is intimately tied to Robert de Borons version of the Holy Grail story and Glastonburys connection with King Arthur from the early-12th century. Glastonbury fell into Saxon hands after the Battle of Peonnum in 658, saxons under Cenwalh of Wessex conquered Somerset as far west as the River Parrett, perhaps with the intention of gaining control of the abbey. Cenwalh allowed the British abbot, Bregored, to remain in power, after Bregoreds death in 669, he was replaced by an Anglo-Saxon, Berhtwald, but British monks remained for many years. A glassworks was established at the site during the 7th century, Glastonbury was ravaged by the Danes in the 9th century. The contemporary reformed soldier Saint Neot was sacristan at Glastonbury before he founded his own establishment in Somerset, Dunstan became Archbishop of Canterbury in 960. In 967, King Edmund was interred at Glastonbury, in 1016 Edmund Ironside, who had lost England to Canute but held onto the title of King of Wessex, was also buried there. Cnuts charter of 1032 was written and promulgated in the church at Glastonbury. The medieval Glastonbury Canal was built about the middle of the 10th century to link the abbey with the River Brue, a distance of about 1.75 kilometres. Its purpose is believed to have been to transport stone to build the abbey, much of the building stone came from the abbeys quarries at Doulting, accessed by way of the River Sheppey at Pilton. In the 13th century, the head boatman transported the abbot in an eight-oared boat on visits to the abbeys nearby manors
17.
Sluice
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A sluice is a water channel controlled at its head by a gate. A mill race, leet, flume, penstock or lade is a sluice channelling water toward a water mill, the terms sluice, sluice gate, knife gate, and slide gate are used interchangeably in the water and wastewater control industry. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway, Sluice gates commonly control water levels and flow rates in rivers and canals. They are also used in treatment plants and to recover minerals in mining operations. Sluice gate refers to a gate allowing water to flow under it. When a sluice is lowered, water may spill over the top, usually, a mechanism drives the sluice up or down. This may be a simple, hand-operated, chain pulled/lowered, worm drive or rack-and-pinion drive, flap sluice gate A fully automatic type, controlled by the pressure head across it, operation is similar to that of a check valve. It is a gate hinged at the top, when pressure is from one side, the gate is kept closed, a pressure from the other side opens the sluice when a threshold pressure is surpassed. Vertical rising sluice gate A plate sliding in the vertical direction, radial sluice gate A structure, where a small part of a cylindrical surface serves as the gate, supported by radial constructions going through the cylinders radius. On occasion, a counterweight is provided, rising sector sluice gate Also a part of a cylindrical surface, which rests at the bottom of the channel and rises by rotating around its centre. Needle sluice A sluice formed by a number of thin needles held against a solid frame through water pressure as in a needle dam. The gates of a Guillotine lock work in a way similar to a sluice gate, in the mountains of the United States, sluices transported logs from steep hillsides to downslope sawmill ponds or yarding areas. Nineteenth-century logging was traditionally a winter activity for men who spent summers working on farms, where there were freezing nights, water might be applied to logging sluices every night so a fresh coating of slippery ice would reduce friction of logs placed in the sluice the following morning. Sluice boxes are used in the recovery of black sands, gold. They may be small-scale, as used in prospecting, or much larger, as in commercial operations, typical sluices have transverse riffles over a carpet, which trap the heavy minerals, gemstones, and other valuable minerals. Cast Iron Cast iron has been popular when constructing sluice gates for years and this material is great at keeping the strength needed when dealing with powerful water levels. Stainless Steel Stainless steel in most cases is lighter than the older cast iron material, fibre-reinforced plastic Rather recently a new technologies such as fibre-reinforced plastic are being used to build sluices. This modern technology has many of the attributes as the older ways while bringing in new attributes such as corrosion resistance, in the Somerset Levels, sluice gates are known as clyse or clyce
18.
Conservation biology
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It is an interdisciplinary subject drawing on natural and social sciences, and the practice of natural resource management. The conservation ethic is based on the findings of conservation biology, wilcox and Michael E. Soulé with a group of leading university and zoo researchers and conservationists including Kurt Benirschke, Sir Otto Frankel, Thomas E. Lovejoy, and Jared M. Diamond. The meeting was prompted by the concern over deforestation, disappearing species. Conservation biology and the concept of biological diversity emerged together, helping crystallize the modern era of conservation science, the inherent multidisciplinary basis for conservation biology has led to new subdisciplines including conservation social science, conservation behavior and conservation physiology. It stimulated further development of genetics which Otto Frankel had originated first but is now often considered a subdiscipline as well. The rapid decline of established biological systems around the means that conservation biology is often referred to as a Discipline with a deadline. Conservation biology is tied closely to ecology in researching the ecology of rare or endangered species. Conservation biologists work in the field and office, in government, universities, non-profit organizations, the topics of their research are diverse, because this is an interdisciplinary network with professional alliances in the biological as well as social sciences. Those dedicated to the cause and profession advocate for a response to the current biodiversity crisis based on morals, ethics. Conscious efforts to conserve and protect global biodiversity are a recent phenomenon, natural resource conservation, however, has a history that extends prior to the age of conservation. Resource ethics grew out of necessity through direct relations with nature and this social dilemma with respect to natural resource management is often called the Tragedy of the Commons. From this principle, conservation biologists can trace communal resource based ethics throughout cultures as a solution to communal resource conflict. For example, the Alaskan Tlingit peoples and the Haida of the Pacific Northwest had resource boundaries, rules and these rules were guided by clan elders who knew lifelong details of each river and stream they managed. There are numerous examples in history where cultures have followed rules, rituals, Conservation ethics are also found in early religious and philosophical writings. There are examples in the Tao, Shinto, Hindu, Islamic, in the bible, through Moses, God commanded to let the land rest from cultivation every seventh year. Before the 18th century, however, much of European culture considered it a view to admire nature. Wilderness was denigrated while agricultural development was praised, however, as early as AD680 a wildlife sanctuary was founded on the Farne Islands by St Cuthbert in response to his religious beliefs. Natural history was a preoccupation in the 18th century, with grand expeditions
19.
Somerset Wildlife Trust
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Somerset Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Somerset, England. The trust, which was established in 1964, aims to safeguard the wildlife and wild places for this and future generations. Examples include Westhay Moor, Long Wood and Langford Heathfield and it has over 20,500 members and 500 volunteers. The Somerset Wildlife Trust is part of the Wildlife Trusts partnership of 47 wildlife trusts in the United Kingdom, in 2010 the organisation won a Biffa Award for their Restoring Habitat for Dormice in Somerset scheme. In 2011 the Trust appealed for £100,000 from local residents, the Nature reserves include, List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset Somerset Wildlife Trust website Charity Commission. Somerset Wildlife Trust, registered charity no.238372
20.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
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The acronym SSSI is often pronounced triple-S I. Sites notified for their biological interest are known as Biological SSSI/ASSIs, SSSI/ASSIs may be divided into management units, with some areas including units that are noted for both biological and geological interest. Biological SSSI/ASSIs may be selected for reasons, which for Great Britain is governed by published SSSI Selection Guidelines. Within each area, a series of the best examples of each significant natural habitat may be notified. Sites of particular significance for various groups may be selected —each of these groups has its own set of selection guidelines. In Scotland, the authority is Scottish Natural Heritage, the role in Wales is performed by Natural Resources Wales. In the Isle of Man the role is performed by the Department of Environment, Food, Geological SSSI/ASSIs are selected by a different mechanism to biological ones, with a minimalistic system selecting one site for each geological feature in Great Britain. Each of these sites is described, with most published in the Geological Conservation Review series, almost all GCR sites are subsequently notified as geological SSSIs, except some that coincide with designated biological SSSI management units. If the exposure becomes obscured, the feature could in principle be re-exposed elsewhere, Conservation of these sites usually concentrates on maintenance of access for future study. These are features which are limited in extent or physically delicate—for example, they include small lenses of sediment, mine tailings, caves, if such features become damaged they cannot be recreated, and conservation usually involves protecting the feature from erosion or other damage. Following devolution, legal arrangements for SSSIs and ASSIs differ between the countries of the UK, the Isle of Man ASSI system is a separate entity. Scottish Natural Heritage publishes a summary of the SSSI arrangements for SSSI owners and occupiers which can be downloaded from the SNH website, legal documents for all SSSIs in Scotland are available on the SSSI Register, hosted by The Registers of Scotland. Further information about SSSIs in Scotland is available on the SNH website, SSSIs are also covered under the Water Resources Act 1991 and related legislation. An SSSI may be made on any area of land which is considered to be of special interest by virtue of its fauna, flora, SSSI notification can cover any land within the area of the relevant nature conservation body, including dry land, land covered by freshwater. The extent to which an SSSI/ASSI may extend seawards differs between countries, in England, Natural England may notify an SSSI over estuarial waters and further adjacent waters in certain circumstances. Access on to SSSIs is the same as for the rest of the countryside of the relevant country, most SSSIs/ASSIs are in private ownership and form parts of working farms, forests and estates. In Scotland, people may use their rights of access to visit SSSIs. When creating a new SSSI/ASSI the designation hs legal effect from the date of notification. g, in Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage must also notify the relevant community councils and community group having registered an interest in the land. )
21.
Shapwick Heath
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Shapwick Heath is a 394. 0-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and national nature reserve between Shapwick and Westhay in Somerset, notified in 1967. It is part of the Brue Valley Living Landscape conservation project, the project commenced in January 2009 and aims to restore, recreate and reconnect habitat. It aims to ensure that wildlife is enhanced and capable of sustaining itself in the face of climate change while guaranteeing farmers and it is one of an increasing number of landscape scale conservation projects in the UK. Shapwick Heath, part of the Avalon Marshes in the Somerset Levels Wetlands, the site supports a diverse community of terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates. National rarities are the Greater Silver Diving Beetle and the Lesser Silver Diving Beetle which is now confined nationally to the Brue Basin Peat Moors, the Sweet Track, an ancient causeway crosses the site. It is one of the oldest engineered roads known and the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe, the adjoining Shapwick Moor has been purchased by the Hawk and Owl Trust as a reserve. YouTube video - pictures and commentary on the Peat Moor visitors centre, BBC Somerset, Shapwick Heath gallery Shapwick Heath Trackway at Digital Digging
22.
Peat extraction on the Somerset Levels
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Peat extraction on the Somerset Levels, in South West England has occurred since the area was first drained by the Romans, and continues today on an area of less than 0. 5% of the total geography. The modern system in recycling land back to use and conservation has resulted in the creation of numerous Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Large areas of peat were laid down on the Somerset Levels, particularly in the River Brue Valley, the extraction of peat from the Moors is known to have taken place during Roman times, and has been carried out since the Levels were first drained. After the Romans left Britain, from this period forward, peat extraction was undertaken by hand by the owning or tenanted farmers, by the late Victorian period, the Eclipse Peat Company was the main commercial extractor of peat, operating initially across Shapwick Heath. In June 1961, on opening a new areas for peat extraction, carbon dated to the Neolithic period, it was given the name the Meare Heath Bow. There was an extensive 2 ft narrow gauge tramway operated by the Eclipse Peat Company to take workers to remote locations, developed from 1922, it was initially operated by horses. The tramway had its mainworks at the Broomfield Works, where from the 1930s the company constructed its own locomotives from kits supplied by R. A, listers of Dursley, based around either Lister diesel or J. A. P. The railway crossed both the Glastonbury Canal and the former Somerset Central Railway from Burnham-on-Sea to Wells, near Ashcott railway station. In 1949 a British Railways passenger train from Highbridge collided with an Eclipse narrow gauge diesel locomotive crossing on the level and left the track, the tramway was worked for a final time in 1983, after which all transport was undertaken by road. One of the locomotives, Lister 42494, is preserved at Twyford Waterworks. However, the resultant reduction in levels that resulted put local ecosystems at risk. The need to reduce the amount of peat extracted led to the need for mechanisation and this was the last year that hand-cutting was used to extract peat, and since this time all cutting has been done by machine. Peat extraction on the Somerset Moors continues today, although much reduced, presently the Fisons Eclipse Peat Works covers 3,000 acres, but only 1,100 acres are actually worked — less than 0. 5% of the entire area of the Somerset Levels. Employing 90 people, more are employed in the summer when the peat is turned by hand to allow it to dry, 70% of production is sold in various products to domestic gardeners, while 30% is used for commercial purposes. After the company has finished working an area, it is environmentally restored, the system has led to the creation of a number of Sites of Special Scientific Interest, giving a haven to wildlife on the levels
23.
Habitat
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A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant, or other type of organism. The term typically refers to the zone in which the organism lives and it is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds a species population. Every organism has certain habitat needs for the conditions in which it will thrive, habitat types include polar, temperate, subtropical and tropical. The terrestrial vegetation type may be forest, steppe, grassland, the word habitat has been in use since about 1755 and derives from the Latin third-person singular present indicative of habitāre, to inhabit, from habēre, to have or to hold. Habitat can be defined as the environment of an organism. It is similar in meaning to a biotope, an area of environmental conditions associated with a particular community of plants. Generally speaking, animal communities are reliant on specific types of plant communities, some plants and animals are generalists, and their habitat requirements are met in a wide range of locations. The small white butterfly for example is found on all the continents of the world apart from Antarctica and its larvae feed on a wide range of Brassicas and various other plant species, and it thrives in any open location with diverse plant associations. Disturbance is important in the creation of biodiverse habitats, in the absence of disturbance, a climax vegetation cover develops that prevents the establishment of other species. Lightning strikes and toppled trees in tropical forests allow species richness to be maintained as pioneering species move in to fill the gaps created. Similarly coastal habitats can become dominated by kelp until the seabed is disturbed by a storm, another cause of disturbance is when an area may be overwhelmed by an invasive introduced species which is not kept under control by natural enemies in its new habitat. Terrestrial habitat types include forests, grasslands, wetlands and deserts, within these broad biomes are more specific habitats with varying climate types, temperature regimes, soils, altitudes and vegetation types. Many of these habitats grade into each other and each one has its own communities of plants. A habitat may suit a particular species well, but its presence or absence at any particular location depends to some extent on chance, on its dispersal abilities, freshwater habitats include rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, marshes and bogs. Although some organisms are found across most of these habitats, the majority have more specific requirements, similarly, aquatic plants can be floating, semi-submerged, submerged or grow in permanently or temporarily saturated soils besides bodies of water. Marine habitats include brackish water, estuaries, bays, the sea, the intertidal zone. Further variations include rock pools, sand banks, mudflats, brackish lagoons, sandy and pebbly beaches, the benthic zone or seabed provides a home for both static organisms, anchored to the substrate, and for a large range of organisms crawling on or burrowing into the surface. A desert is not the kind of habitat that favours the presence of amphibians, with their requirement for water to keep their skins moist, nevertheless, some frogs live in deserts, creating moist habitats underground and hibernating while conditions are adverse
24.
Climate change
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Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts for an extended period of time. Climate change may refer to a change in weather conditions. Climate change is caused by such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics. Certain human activities have also identified as significant causes of recent climate change. Scientists actively work to understand past and future climate by using observations, more recent data are provided by the instrumental record. The most general definition of change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over long periods of time. Accordingly, fluctuations over periods shorter than a few decades, such as El Niño, the term climate change is often used to refer specifically to anthropogenic climate change. Anthropogenic climate change is caused by activity, as opposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of Earths natural processes. In this sense, especially in the context of environmental policy, within scientific journals, global warming refers to surface temperature increases while climate change includes global warming and everything else that increasing greenhouse gas levels affect. A related term is climatic change, in 1966, the World Meteorological Organization proposed the term climatic change to encompass all forms of climatic variability on time-scales longer than 10 years, regardless of cause. Change was a given and climatic was used as an adjective to describe this kind of change, when it was realized that human activities had a potential to drastically alter the climate, the term climate change replaced climatic change as the dominant term to reflect an anthropogenic cause. Climate change was incorporated in the title of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate change, used as a noun, became an issue rather than the technical description of changing weather. On the broadest scale, the rate at which energy is received from the Sun and this energy is distributed around the globe by winds, ocean currents, and other mechanisms to affect the climates of different regions. Factors that can shape climate are called climate forcings or forcing mechanisms, there are a variety of climate change feedbacks that can either amplify or diminish the initial forcing. Some parts of the system, such as the oceans and ice caps, respond more slowly in reaction to climate forcings. There are also key factors which when exceeded can produce rapid change. Forcing mechanisms can be internal or external. Internal forcing mechanisms are natural processes within the system itself
25.
Landscape scale conservation
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Landscape-scale conservation is a concept that has arisen in response to both the challenges of climate change and a perceived excessive focus on site based conservation. From an ecological perspective the principles of the approach owe much to the application of island biogeography, key reservoirs of biodiversity in the landscape are identified. Opportunities to link, complement or expand these sites are sought with the emphasis on the role of natural processes in their management, among the leading exponents of UK landscape scale conservation are the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There are 49 AONB in the UK, the starting point for all landscape scale conservation schemes must be an understanding of the character of the landscape. Landscape character goes far beyond an appreciation of an areas visual attractiveness, Landscape character requires careful assessment according to accepted methodologies. Landscape character assessment will contribute to the determination of what scale is appropriate in which landscape, a key inspiration for this approach was the Oostvaardersplassen near Amsterdam, a huge wetland landscape that is managed largely through natural processes. These principles have been applied in the UK, such as on the Essex Coast at Abbots Hall where managed retreat has been used to create new salt-marshes, in recent years studies have been carried out across the UK looking at much wider range of habitats. In Wales the Pumlumon Large Area Conservation Project focusses on upland conservation in areas of marginal agriculture, the North Somerset Levels and Moors Project addresses wetlands. There are several woodland based initiatives, often focusing on increasing linkages between existing woodland, an unusual approach is being taken in the Black Country where Black Country Living Landscape is applying these principals to an urban area. Landscape scale conservation is seen by some as an tool for adaptation to climate change, particularly in ensuring diverse. To others in the UK it is more visionary, an opportunity to plan for a landscape which answers the needs of people and wildlife in a crowded island
26.
Drainage basin
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A drainage basin or catchment area is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water. Drainage basins connect into other drainage basins at elevations in a hierarchical pattern, with smaller sub-drainage basins. Other terms used to describe drainage basins are catchment, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin and water basin. In closed drainage basins the water converges to a point inside the basin, known as a sink, which may be a permanent lake. The drainage basin acts as a funnel by collecting all the water within the covered by the basin. Each drainage basin is separated topographically from adjacent basins by a perimeter, drainage basins are similar but not identical to hydrologic units, which are drainage areas delineated so as to nest into a multi-level hierarchical drainage system. Hydrologic units are defined to allow multiple inlets, outlets, or sinks, in a strict sense, all drainage basins are hydrologic units but not all hydrologic units are drainage basins. Drainage basins of the oceans and seas of the world. Grey areas are endorheic basins that do not drain to the oceans, the following is a list of the major ocean basins, About 48. 7% of the worlds land drains to the Atlantic Ocean. The two major mediterranean seas of the world also flow to the Atlantic, The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico basin includes most of the U. S. The Mediterranean Sea basin includes much of North Africa, east-central Africa, Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the areas of Israel, Lebanon. Just over 13% of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Oceans drainage basin also comprises about 13% of Earths land. It drains the eastern coast of Africa, the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Burma, antarctica comprises approximately eight percent of the Earths land. The five largest river basins, from largest to smallest, are the basins of the Amazon, the Río de la Plata, the Congo, the Nile, and the Mississippi. The three rivers that drain the most water, from most to least, are the Amazon, Ganga, endorheic drainage basins are inland basins that do not drain to an ocean. Around 18% of all land drains to endorheic lakes or seas or sinks, the largest of these consists of much of the interior of Asia, which drains into the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea, and numerous smaller lakes. Some of these, such as the Great Basin, are not single drainage basins but collections of separate, in endorheic bodies of standing water where evaporation is the primary means of water loss, the water is typically more saline than the oceans. An extreme example of this is the Dead Sea, drainage basins have been historically important for determining territorial boundaries, particularly in regions where trade by water has been important
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Dorset
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Dorset /ˈdɔːrsᵻt/ is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the county, which is governed by Dorset County Council. Covering an area of 2,653 square kilometres, Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, the county town is Dorchester which is in the south. After the reorganisation of government in 1974 the countys border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth. Around half of the lives in the South East Dorset conurbation. The county has a history of human settlement stretching back to the Neolithic era. The Romans conquered Dorsets indigenous Celtic tribe, and during the early Middle Ages, the first recorded Viking raid on the British Isles occurred in Dorset during the eighth century, and the Black Death entered England at Melcombe Regis in 1348. During the Second World War, Dorset was heavily involved in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy, the former was the sailing venue in the 2012 Summer Olympics, and both have clubs or hire venues for sailing, Cornish pilot gig rowing, sea kayaking and powerboating. Dorset has a varied landscape featuring broad elevated chalk downs, steep limestone ridges, over half the county is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Three-quarters of its coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast Natural World Heritage Site due to its geological and it features notable landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door. Agriculture was traditionally the major industry of Dorset but is now in decline, there are no motorways in Dorset but a network of A roads cross the county and two railway main lines connect to London. Dorset has ports at Poole, Weymouth and Portland, and an international airport, the county has a variety of museums, theatres and festivals, and is host to one of Europes largest outdoor shows. It is the birthplace of Thomas Hardy, who used the county as the setting of his novels. Dorset derives its name from the county town of Dorchester, the Romans established the settlement in the 1st century and named it Durnovaria which was a Latinised version of a Common Brittonic word possibly meaning place with fist-sized pebbles. It is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in AD845 and in the 10th century the countys archaic name, the first human visitors to Dorset were Mesolithic hunters, from around 8000 BC. The first permanent Neolithic settlers appeared around 3000 BC and were responsible for the creation of the Dorset Cursus, from 2800 BC onwards Bronze Age farmers cleared Dorsets woodlands for agricultural use and Dorsets high chalk hills provided a location for numerous round barrows. During the Iron Age, the British tribe known as the Durotriges established a series of forts across the county—most notably Maiden Castle which is one of the largest in Europe. The Romans arrived in Dorset during their conquest of Britain in AD43, Maiden Castle was captured by a Roman legion under the command of Vespasian, and the Roman settlement of Durnovaria was established nearby
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River Wylye
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The River Wylye is a southern England chalk stream, with clear water flowing over gravel. It is popular with anglers for fly fishing, a half-mile stretch of the river and three lakes in Warminster are a local nature reserve. The Wylye rises below the White Sheet Downs just south of Maiden Bradley in Wiltshire and it then heads generally east south east, forming the Wylye Valley, into which the A36 road and the Wessex Main Line are also squeezed. The river forms part of the River Avon catchment, at Wilton it joins the River Nadder and eventually drains to the sea at Christchurch as part of the Avon. In parts the river flows through various SSSI, Steeple Langford Down Wylye, the Wylye valley is dotted with small chocolate box villages composed of thatched cottages and stone-built pubs. Both Wilton and Wiltshire are named after the river, there is also a village of Wylye. The River Wylye forms one of the five rivers referred to in the novel Sarum. gov. uk - Chalk River Valleys
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River Stour, Dorset
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The River Stour is a 61 mi river which flows through Wiltshire and Dorset in southern England, and drains into the English Channel. The catchment area for the river and its tributaries is listed as being 480 square miles and it is sometimes called the Dorset Stour to distinguish it from other rivers of the same name in Kent, Suffolk and the Midlands. According to Brewers Dictionary of Britain & Ireland, the name Stour rhymes with hour and derives from Old English meaning violent, fierce or the fierce one. The source of the river is fed from springs at Stourhead, in Wiltshire. It flows south into Dorset through the Blackmore Vale and the towns of Gillingham, at Marnhull the Stour is joined by the River Cale and then by the River Lydden. At Blandford Forum the river breaks through the ridge of the Dorset Downs. At Wimborne Minster it is joined by the River Allen, from source to estuary, the river falls approximately 750 feet over its 60 mi length. Because much of the course is across clay soil, the rivers waterlevel varies greatly. In summer, low water makes the river a diverse and important habitat. In winter, the river floods, and is therefore bordered by wide. Sturminster Marshall is famous for its mill and town bridge. There are many fish that live and use the river, which include, barbel, bream, chub, dace, grayling, perch, pike, roach, rudd, salmon, tench & trout. The harbour at Christchurch has also used to land oysters, crab, lobster and cuttlefish. Bass and mullet are known to use the estuary for feeding, downstream of Blandford Forum, the Stour is host to an insect known as the Blandford Fly which is known for leaving painful bites on humans. Attempts have been made to rid the fly from the area with a special spray used on the habitats of the fly. The harbour at Christchurch and the reaches of the Stour. The River Stour is navigable as far upstream as Tuckton and whilst there is a low bridge at Iford, spring tides have been known to penetrate a further 0.93 miles upstream as far as Blackwater Bridge. Boats can be hired from several yards and landings in the harbour, the Stour Valley Way is a designated long distance footpath that follows almost all of the course of the river
30.
English Channel
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The English Channel, also called simply the Channel, is the body of water that separates southern England from northern France, and links the southern part of the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 560 km long and varies in width from 240 km at its widest to 33.3 km in the Strait of Dover and it is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some 75,000 km2. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the English Channel as follows, a line joining Isle Vierge to Lands End. The southwestern limit of the North Sea, the IHO defines the southwestern limit of the North Sea as a line joining the Walde Lighthouse and Leathercoat Point. The Walde Lighthouse is 6 km east of Calais, and Leathercoat Point is at the end of St Margarets Bay. The Strait of Dover, at the Channels eastern end, is its narrowest point and it is relatively shallow, with an average depth of about 120 m at its widest part, reducing to a depth of about 45 m between Dover and Calais. Eastwards from there the adjoining North Sea reduces to about 26 m in the Broad Fourteens where it lies over the watershed of the land bridge between East Anglia and the Low Countries. It reaches a depth of 180 m in the submerged valley of Hurds Deep,48 km west-northwest of Guernsey. The eastern region along the French coast between Cherbourg and the mouth of the Seine river at Le Havre is frequently referred to as the Bay of the Seine. There are several islands in the Channel, the most notable being the Isle of Wight off the English coast. The coastline, particularly on the French shore, is indented, several small islands close to the coastline, including Chausey. The Cotentin Peninsula in France juts out into the Channel, whilst on the English side there is a parallel channel known as the Solent between the Isle of Wight and the mainland. The Celtic Sea is to the west of the Channel, the time difference of about six hours between high water at the eastern and western limits of the Channel is indicative of the tidal range being amplified further by resonance. It was never defined as a border and the names were more or less descriptive. It was not considered as the property of a nation, strangely, before the development of the modern nations, British scholars very often referred to it as Gaulish and the French one as British or English. The name English Channel has been used since the early 18th century. In modern Dutch, however, it is known as Het Kanaal, later, it has also been known as the British Channel or the British Sea having been called the Oceanus Britannicus by the 2nd-century geographer Ptolemy. The same name is used on an Italian map of about 1450, the Anglo-Saxon texts often call it Sūð-sǣ as opposed to Norð-sǣ
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Castle Cary
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Castle Cary is a small market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England,5 miles north west of Wincanton and 8 miles south of Shepton Mallet. The parish includes the hamlet of Dimmer, the town is situated on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. The site of Cary Castle is above the town and it was built either by Walter of Douai or by the following owners, the Perceval family, after the Norman conquest. It was besieged by King Stephen in 1138, and again in 1153, by 1468 the castle had been abandoned in favour of a manor house which was built beside it. The site was excavated in 1890 and demonstrated the foundations of a 24 square metres square tower, the parish was part of the hundred of Catsash. The manor was held by the Lovels and descended by marriage in 1351 to the St Maur family, the manor was bought in the 1780s by the Hoares of Stourhead in Wiltshire. The town grew around the mediaeval weaving industry and is home to a weaving factory. The Living History Group is an group of local amateur historians in the town who have published several books concerning the history of Castle Cary. In 1900, for example, Castle Cary cricket club provided five players for the Devon, the Cricket Club is to mark its 175th anniversary in 2012, with a celebration of the Castle Cary players who played in 1900, whilst the London Games take place. The town has become popular with people moving out of London. The high-speed railway line to London, good schools and services. On 19 June 2004, Castle Cary was granted Fairtrade Village status, on 29 May 2008 Castle Cary were hit by a rapid flash flood after a violent downpour shortly after midday. The local drainage was soon overwhelmed and roads were covered in several inches of water flowing towards the centre of town, water inundated the Horse Pond Inn, the White Hart public house and the Co-op supermarket. The parish council has responsibility for issues, including setting an annual precept to cover the council’s operating costs. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security. Conservation matters and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council, the town falls within the Non-metropolitan district of South Somerset, which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, having previously been part of Wincanton Rural District. The town is in the Cary electoral ward and this stretches south to the South Cadbury parish, and south west to Babcary. The total population of this ward at the 2011 census was 5,502 and it is also part of the Somerton and Frome county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
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Ditcheat
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Ditcheat is a village and civil parish 4.5 miles south of Shepton Mallet, and 2.5 miles north-west of Castle Cary, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish of Ditcheat incorporates three hamlets, Wraxall, Alhampton and Sutton, in the Domesday book of 1086, Ditcheat belonged to Glastonbury Abbey and contained 36 families. The parish of Ditcheat was part of the Whitstone Hundred and its primary infrastructure connections consist of the A37,1.5 miles west, connecting Bristol and Yeovil or the A371,1 mile east, connecting Shepton Mallet and Wincanton. It is situated near the River Brue which is crossed by Ansford bridge which dates from 1823, boulters Bridge which spans the River Alham is of medieval origin and has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The parish is close to the Roman Fosse Way, the parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. Conservation matters and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council and it is also part of the Somerton and Frome county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Abbey is a house, built as the rectory by John Gunthorpe who was rector of Ditcheat, Dean of Wells and Lord Privy Seal. The house was altered in 1667 for Christopher Coward, and given a new facade and rearranged internally in 1864–68, the Church of St Mary Magdalene has 12th-century origins. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, priors Leigh on the Alhampton Road is a former chapel, now a private home. Ditcheat is home to the operated by Paul Nicholls, trainer of Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning horses Kauto Star. William Alleine -minister Parish website Ditcheat in the Domesday Book Alhampton in the Domesday Book
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Baltonsborough
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Baltonsborough is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. According to the 2001 and 2011 census it had a population of 864, apart from Baltonsborough village, the parish also contains the hamlets of Ham Street, Catsham and Southwood. The ancient, and some would argue correct, name of the village is Ballsbury, in the 1980s there was some debate as to whether the village should rename itself Ballsbury in order to make the village name road signs shorter. The parish was part of the hundred of Glaston Twelve Hides, the parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept to cover the council’s operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security. Conservation matters and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council, the Gatehouse is a thatched house dating from the 16th century. Baltonsboroughs Church of St Dunstan was built in the 15th century to honour the most famous son of the village, the churchs simple Somerset tower is topped by an elaborate ironwork weather vane crafted by the local blacksmith in the 19th century. Every year the Baltonsborough Flower Show takes place on the playing fields. In 2015 comedian Russell Brand attended the Flower show while staying with his friend, St Dunstan, born in Ballsbury in 909, eventually became Archbishop of Canterbury and an important monastic reformer of the Anglo-Saxon period. Legends attached to Dunstan portray him nailing a horseshoe onto the devil, robert Jacob, Canadian politician Nicolas Cage, American film actor Baltonsborough Parish Council website Baltonsborough in the Domesday Book
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Street, Somerset
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Street is a large village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. The 2011 census recorded the parish as having a population of 11,805 and it is situated on a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills,2 miles south-west of Glastonbury. There is evidence of Roman occupation, the Society of Friends had become established there by the mid-17th century. One Quaker family, the Clarks, started a business in sheepskin rugs, woollen slippers and, later, boots and this became C&J Clark which still has its headquarters in Street, but shoes are no longer manufactured there. Instead, in 1993, redundant factory buildings were converted to form Clarks Village, the Shoe Museum provides information about the history of Clarks and footwear manufacture in general. The Clark familys former mansion and its estate at the edge of the town are now owned by Millfield School, Street is also home to Crispin School and Strode College. To the north of Street is the River Brue, which marks the boundary with Glastonbury, South of Street are the Walton and Ivythorn Hills and East Polden Grasslands biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Street has two swimming pools, one indoor which is part of the Strode complex, and the outdoor lido. Strode Theatre provides a venue for films, exhibitions and live performances, the Anglican Parish Church of The Holy Trinity dates from the 14th century and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. The settlements earliest known name is Lantokay, meaning the sacred enclosure of Kea, in the Domesday Book it was recorded as Strate, and also Lega, a name still used throughout the country in the modern form, Leigh. The centre of Street is where Lower Leigh hamlet was, and the road called Middle Leigh, the causeway is about 100 yards north of a Roman road. The parish of Street was part of the Whitley Hundred, quarries of the local blue lias stone were worked from as early as the 12th century to the end of the 19th century. It is a formation in southern England, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassic times and its age corresponds to the Rhaetian to lower Sinemurian stages of the geologic timescale, thus fully including the Hettangian stage. It is the lowest of the three divisions of the Lower Jurassic period and, as such, is given the name Lower Lias. It consists of thin blue argillaceous, or clay-like, limestone, the Blue Lias contains many fossils, especially ammonites. Fossils discovered in the lias include many ichthyosaurs, one of which has adopted as the badge of Street. There is a display of Street fossils in the Natural History Museum in London, the churchyard of the Parish Church has yielded one Iron Age coin, however the origin and significance is unclear, although the Dobunni were known to have produced coins in the area
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River Parrett
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The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. The Parretts main tributaries include the Rivers Tone, Isle, and Yeo, the 37-mile long river is tidal for 19 miles up to Oath. The fall of the river between Langport and Bridgwater is only 1 foot per mile, so it is prone to frequent flooding in winter, many approaches have been tried since at least the medieval period to reduce the incidence and effect of floods and to drain the surrounding fields. In Anglo-Saxon times the river formed a boundary between Wessex and Dumnonia and it later served the Port of Bridgwater, and enabled cargoes to be transported inland. The arrival of the led to a decline in commercial shipping. Mans influence on the river has left a legacy of bridges, the Parrett along with its connected waterways and network of drains supports an ecosystem that includes several rare species of flora and fauna. The River Parrett Trail has been established along the banks of the river, the River Parrett is 37 miles long, flowing roughly south to north from Dorset through Somerset. The two rivers give their names to Parrett and Axe Parish Council, from its source, the Parrett runs north through South Perrott and under the Salisbury to Exeter railway line before passing to the west of North Perrott and Haselbury Plucknett. It then runs through fields between Merriott to the west and West Chinnock and Chiselborough to the east, below Thorney Bridge the rivers banks have been raised to mitigate flooding. The sluice gate at the medieval village of Oath marks the rivers tidal limit. The river then crosses Southlake Moor, the next major landmark along the rivers course is Burrow Mump, an ancient earthwork owned by the National Trust. The river then arrives in Burrowbridge, where the old pumping station building was once a museum, flowing north, it passes Langmead and Weston Level SSSI, and on past the land-drainage pumping station at Westonzoyland. Further downstream the river passes the village of Huntworth before flowing under the M5 motorway at Dunwear. As it enters Bridgwater it passes under Somerset and Hamp Bridges, and past Bridgwater Castle, from Bridgwater to the sea is approximately 6 miles. The Kings Sedgemoor Drain empties into the River Parrett next to the wharf at Dunball, it enters via a clyce, the clyce has been moved about 0.3 miles downstream from its original position and now obstructs the entrance to the small harbour next to the wharf. The course of the river below Bridgwater is now somewhat straighter than in former times, the village of Combwich lies adjacent to a channel in the river known as Combwich Reach, from here the Parrett flows to the Bristol Channel past the Steart Peninsula. Cartographic evidence indicates that in the early 18th century the peninsula was longer than at present, a neck started to form in the peninsula, and by 1802 the tip had broken off to form Stert Island. Fenning Island also broke away but has rejoined the peninsula, much of the peninsulas northern end eroded away or now exists as islands visible at low tide within an intertidal area of mud known as the Stert Flats
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River Sheppey
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The River Sheppey has its source in a group of springs west of the village of Doulting, near Shepton Mallet in Somerset, England. It flows through the wetlands to the north of the Polden Hills, from Doulting, the Sheppey flows south west to Charlton, where parts of its course have been culverted. The river has been diverted underground for much, though not all and it reappears at Darshill and then flows south west through Croscombe to Dinder where it flows through the grounds of Dinder House which was built in 1801 and under a bridge which pre-dates the house. It then continues west past Dulcote, Woodford and Coxley, at Coxley it is joined by the Keward Brook which carries the water from the springs in Wells which fill the moat of the Bishops Palace. From Coxley, the river north through Hay Moor and North Moor, west through Ash Moor, then sharply south through Frogmore. At Lower Godney, it is channelled through the James Wear River and the Decoy Rhine to Westhay Level, the water quality is generally good, however, there have been some discharges from sewage treatment works in the area that can contribute to nutrient levels in rivers. Signs of nutrient enrichment are noticeable at times of low flow and it would appear that the Sheppey was only so called in the late 19th century. Prior to then, if it was called anything, it was probably Doulting Water or the River Brae, the Sheppey has been used in the past to power local industry, for example corn and textile mills in the Shepton Mallet area
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River Huntspill
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The River Huntspill is an artificial river, in the Somerset Levels, in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. It was built in 1940 to supply water to ROF Bridgwater. Huntspill Sluice at the western end, also known as West Huntspill Sluice. A large section of the river and its surrounding lands has been designated as a National Nature Reserve which is managed by the Environment Agency. The concept for the Huntspill River was first suggested by J. Aubrey Clark in 1853, at the outbreak of World War II a new explosives factory, ROF Bridgwater, was proposed. This would need 4.5 million imperial gallons of water per day. Louis Kelting, the Chief Engineer of the Somerset Catchment Board revived Clarks plans, in addition to supplying water to the factory an area of 45,000 acres was drained of which 4,000 acres regularly flooded. A 5-mile straight channel was excavated using a dragline excavator during the years of World War II. It was constructed as a priority war work, because of its importance to the munitions factory, the plans had been drawn up in late 1939, and by January 1940 the first excavations were being made. It ran from Gold Corner, where it was connected to the South Drain, to a new outfall on the estuary of the River Parrett, and had retention sluices at both ends, so that it acted as a long reservoir. It was intended that in the summer, when supply was lower, it would serve as a reservoir with water pumped from the moors, in winter as a drainage channel. The plans were for a 25-foot channel, with the earth used to create flood banks at its edges. At this depth, water could flow into it from the moors by gravity, because the underlying soil was peat, the weight of the flood bank caused it to rotate and push upwards in the bottom of the channel. Experiments were carried out to find the size for a stable channel. The flood banks could not exceed 15 feet in height, and had to be set back from the edge of the channel by at least 30 feet, because of the lack of depth, water from the South Drain had to be pumped into the river. The existing pumping station at Gold Corner could not cope with all the water from the drain, as well as water from the moors. Once the entire flow of the South Drain was entering the river, rather than allow it to silt up, it was enlarged, and Cripps sluice constructed where it met the Brue. A148 hectares stretch of the river, from Gold Corner to Huntspill Sluice, is a National Nature Reserve, the NNR is managed by the Environment Agency, rather than by Natural England, responsible for most of the other reserves in England
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River Axe (Bristol Channel)
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The River Axe is a river in South West England. The river is formed by water entering swallets in the limestone and rises from the ground at Wookey Hole Caves in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, and runs through a V-shaped valley. The geology of the area is limestone and the water reaches Wookey Hole in a series of channels that have eroded through the soluble limestone. The river mouth is in Weston Bay on the Bristol Channel, the river was navigable from the middle ages until 1915, and used for international trade. It is the second largest resurgence on Mendip, with a catchment area of 46.2 square kilometres. Some of the water is allogenic in origin i. e and it then passes through major cave systems such as Swildons Hole, Eastwater Cavern and St Cuthberts Swallet, around Priddy, but 95% is water that has percolated directly into the limestone. From Wookey Hole village the river flows through a ravine and then west through the village of Wookey, the Lower River Axe then runs north along the west most edge of Knowle Moor whilst the River Axe continues west through the same moor. The two channels meet again on the boundary between Knowle and Panborough Moors, the river continues northwest past Wedmore Moor and through Oxmoor, Stoke Moor and Monk Moor. The river passes through the settlement of Lower Weare and on to the south of Loxton, from this point until it passes between Uphill Cliff and Brean Down, then reaches the coast at Weston Bay, the river forms the northern boundary of the county. Tributaries of the Axe include three rivers called Yeo, the Cheddar Yeo, the Mark Yeo and the Lox Yeo. The name derives from a Common Brittonic word meaning abounding in fish, the name is cognate with pysg, the Welsh word for fish. The lower reaches of the Axe have a history of navigation from the harbour at Uphill through to the settlement of Weare, the current tidal limit of the Axe is the sluice gates at Bleadon and Brean Cross. In the Middle Ages overseas trade was carried out from the port of Rackley, Rackley is now a farm below Crook Peak and west of Axbridge, which also had wharves. In the 14th century a French ship sailed up the river and by 1388 Thomas Tanner from Wells used Rackley to export cloth and corn to Portugal, and received iron and salt in exchange. Bleadon had been a port, sometimes known as Lympsham Wharf, for many years. It was last used by the ketch Democrat in 1942, a series of 11 watermills were powered by the river but the only one which remains is at Burcott
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Tide
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Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth. Some shorelines experience a semi-diurnal tide—two nearly equal high and low tides each day, other locations experience a diurnal tide—only one high and low tide each day. A mixed tide—two uneven tides a day, or one high, Tides vary on timescales ranging from hours to years due to a number of factors. To make accurate records, tide gauges at fixed stations measure water level over time, gauges ignore variations caused by waves with periods shorter than minutes. These data are compared to the level usually called mean sea level. Tidal phenomena are not limited to the oceans, but can occur in other systems whenever a gravitational field varies in time. For example, the part of the Earth is affected by tides. Tide changes proceed via the following stages, Sea level rises over several hours, covering the intertidal zone, the water rises to its highest level, reaching high tide. Sea level falls over several hours, revealing the intertidal zone, the water stops falling, reaching low tide. Oscillating currents produced by tides are known as tidal streams, the moment that the tidal current ceases is called slack water or slack tide. The tide then reverses direction and is said to be turning, slack water usually occurs near high water and low water. But there are locations where the moments of slack tide differ significantly from those of high, Tides are commonly semi-diurnal, or diurnal. The two high waters on a day are typically not the same height, these are the higher high water. Similarly, the two low waters each day are the low water and the lower low water. The daily inequality is not consistent and is small when the Moon is over the equator. From the highest level to the lowest, Highest Astronomical Tide – The highest tide which can be predicted to occur, note that meteorological conditions may add extra height to the HAT. Mean High Water Springs – The average of the two high tides on the days of spring tides, mean High Water Neaps – The average of the two high tides on the days of neap tides. Mean Sea Level – This is the sea level
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Bow Bridge, Plox
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Bow Bridge is a 15th-century Packhorse bridge over the River Brue in Plox, Bruton, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building, the bridge may have been built as a link between the former Bruton Abbey, and its Court House in the High Street. On the parapet on the side of the bridge the remains of a carved shield can still be seen. It had acquired the name Bow Bridge by 1707, the narrow bridge of three arches is 42 inches wide. The main arch of the bridge is built from chamfered blocks of dressed stone, the bridge was restored after floods on 12 July 1982. List of Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset Media related to Bow Bridge, Bruton at Wikimedia Commons
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Packhorse bridge
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A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow masonry arches, multi-arched examples sometimes have triangular cutwaters that are extended upwards to form pedestrian refuges. Packhorse bridges were built on the trade routes that formed major transport arteries across Europe and Great Britain until the coming of the turnpike roads. Before the road-building efforts of Napoleon, all crossings of the Alps were on packhorse trails, travellers carriages were dismantled and transported over the mountain passes by ponies and mule trains. In the British Isles at least, the definition of a bridge is somewhat nebulous. Ernest Hinchliffe discusses the difficulty of defining a true packhorse bridge in A Guide to the Packhorse Bridges of England and he claims that before the eighteenth century bridges were described as horse bridges or cart bridges and his strict definition excludes the latter. He suggests that a classic packhorse bridge should generally be, less than 6 feet in width, built before 1800, on a recognised packhorse route
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Listed building
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A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
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Scheduled monument
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In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation used for protecting heritage assets from damage. The protection given to scheduled monuments is given under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, a heritage asset is a part of the historic environment that is valued because of its historic, archaeological, architectural or artistic interest. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. There are about 20,000 scheduled monuments in England representing about 37,000 heritage assets, of the tens of thousands of scheduled monuments in the UK, most are inconspicuous archaeological sites, but some are large ruins. According to the 1979 Act, a monument cannot be a structure which is occupied as a dwelling, as a rule of thumb, a protected historic asset that is occupied would be designated as a listed building. Scheduled Monuments are defined in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, in England, Wales and Scotland they are often referred to as a scheduled ancient monument, although the Act defines only ancient monument and scheduled monument. A monument can be, A building or structure, cave or excavation which is above or below the surface of the land, a site comprising any vehicle, vessel, aircraft or other moveable structure. In Northern Ireland they are designated under separate legislation and are referred to as a historic monument or a monument in state care. The first Act to enshrine legal protection for ancient monuments was the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 and this identified an initial list of 68 prehistoric sites, which were given a degree of legal protection. This was the result of strenuous representation by William Morris and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, which had been founded in 1877. Following various previous attempts, the 1882 legislation was guided through parliament by John Lubbock, the first Inspector of Ancient Monuments, as set up by the act, was Augustus Pitt Rivers. At this point, only the inspector, answering directly to the First Commissioner of Works, was involved in surveying the scheduled sites and persuading landowners to offer sites to the state. The act also established the concept of guardianship, in which a site might remain in private ownership, however the legislation could not compel landowners, as that level of state interference with private property was not politically possible. The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1900 extended the scope of the legislation to include medieval monuments, in a speech in 1907, Robert Hunter, chairman of the National Trust, observed that only a further 18 sites had been added to the original list of 68. Charles Peers, an architect, was appointed as Inspector in 1910 in the Office of Works becoming Chief Inspector in 1913. The job title Inspector is still in use, scheduling offers protection because it makes it illegal to undertake a great range of works within a designated area, without first obtaining scheduled monument consent. However, it does not affect the owner’s freehold title or other interests in the land
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Bruton Abbey
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Bruton Abbey in Bruton, Somerset was founded as a house of Augustinian canons in about 1127, and became an abbey in 1511, shortly before its dissolution in 1539. It was endowed with manors, churches and other properties in the area, according to the sixteenth century antiquary John Leland, Bruton was founded in about 1005 as a Benedictine monastery by Æthelmær the Stout, but it is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was founded as an Augustinian priory in about 1127, in 1260 the priory exchanged its French possessions for land held by the Abbey of Troarn at Runcton in Sussex and in Gloucestershire. There were many problems reported in the 15th century, John Schoyle became prior in 1419 and was accused in 1423 of having committed serious offences. In 1428 Bishop Stafford seems to have removed Schoyle from office, and in 1429 and his successor, Richard of Glastonbury, proved to be equally troublesome, in 1430 and again in 1444, inquiries were conducted into charges of immorality against the prior and the whole community. Under a later reforming prior various rules were introduced bans on the canons were sleeping away from the house without permission, on hunting and dice playing, Bruton became an abbey in 1511. There were problems both inside and outside the leading up to its dissolution in 1539. The abbot, Ely, was the subject of accusations and even plots against his life. The Dovecote which overlooks Bruton was built in the 16th century and it was at one time used as a house, possibly as a watchtower and as a dovecote. It is a Grade II* listed building and ancient monument and it is managed by the National Trust. The building was once within the deerpark of the Abbey and was adapted by the monks from a gabled Tudor tower, the conversion to be a dovecote took place around 1780. It has over 200 pigeon holes, on dissolution, the abbey was granted to a John Drew of Bristol, but later transferred to Sir Maurice Berkeley, who had risen rapidly as a member of the royal household. The latter built a house on the site incorporating some of the buildings, Sir Maurices impressive Renaissance tomb in the parish church, shared with his two wives, is retained in the later chancel. His Bruton branch of the Berkeley family produced a number of notable figures until the 18th century, including five Barons Berkeley of Stratton, an unusual feature is that the chancel was rebuilt in 1743 in a light, airy Rococo style, which contrasts with the medieval remainder. Houses of Augustinian canons, The priories of Bruton and Burtle Moor, A History of the County of Somerset, Volume 2, a Guide to the Abbeys of England And Wales, p81-82. The Travellers Guide to Medieval England, p132, Somerset Churches Trust Media related to Bruton Abbey at Wikimedia Commons List of monastic houses in Somerset
45.
Peat
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Peat, also called turf, is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter that is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem is the most efficient carbon sink on the planet because peatland plants capture the CO2 which is released from the peat. Sphagnum moss is one of the most common components in peat, soils that contain mostly peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding obstructs flows of oxygen from the atmosphere, Peatlands, particularly bogs, are the most important source of peat. That said, other less common types, including fens, pocosins. Landscapes covered in peat are home to specific kinds of plants including Sphagnum moss, ericaceous shrubs, because organic matter accumulates over thousands of years, peat deposits also provide records of past vegetation and climates stored in plant remains like pollen. This allows humans to reconstruct past environments and study changes in land use. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world, by volume, there are about 4 trillion cubic metres of peat in the world, covering a total of around 2% of the global land area, containing about 8 billion terajoules of energy. Over time, the formation of peat is often the first step in the formation of other fossil fuels such as coal. This is also the commonly used in the peat industry. At 106 g CO2/MJ, the carbon dioxide emission intensity of peat is higher than that of coal and natural gas, lastly, peat fires have been responsible for large public health disasters including the 1997 Southeast Asian haze. Peat forms when plant material does not fully decay in acidic and anaerobic conditions and it is composed mainly of wetland vegetation, principally bog plants including mosses, sedges, and shrubs. As it accumulates, the peat holds water and this slowly creates wetter conditions that allow the area of wetland to expand. Peatland features can include ponds, ridges, and raised bogs, most modern peat bogs formed 12,000 years ago in high latitudes after the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age. Peat usually accumulates slowly at the rate of about a millimetre per year, using Carbon-dating, scientists found that Peat in peatlands started forming 360 million years ago based on it currently containing 550 Gt of carbon. Peat material is either fibric, hemic, or sapric, fibric peats are the least decomposed and consist of intact fiber. Hemic peats are partially decomposed and sapric are the most decomposed, Phragmites peat is one composed of reed grass, Phragmites australis, and other grasses. It is denser than other types of peat
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Quaternary
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Quaternary is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy. It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.588 ±0.005 million years ago to the present, the Quaternary Period is divided into two epochs, the Pleistocene and the Holocene. The informal term Late Quaternary refers to the past 0. 5–1.0 million years, the Quaternary Period is typically defined by the cyclic growth and decay of continental ice sheets driven by Milankovitch cycles and the associated climate and environmental changes that occurred. The term Quaternary was proposed by Giovanni Arduino in 1759 for alluvial deposits in the Po River valley in northern Italy and it was introduced by Jules Desnoyers in 1829 for sediments of Frances Seine Basin that seemed clearly to be younger than Tertiary Period rocks. The Quaternary Period follows the Neogene Period and extends to the present, the Quaternary covers the time span of glaciations classified as the Pleistocene, and includes the present interglacial time-period, the Holocene. This places the start of the Quaternary at the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation approximately 2.6 million years ago, Quaternary stratigraphers usually worked with regional subdivisions. From the 1970s, the International Commission on Stratigraphy tried to make a single geologic time scale based on GSSPs, the Quaternary subdivisions were defined based on biostratigraphy instead of paleoclimate. This led to the problem that the base of the Pleistocene was at 1.805 Mya. The ICS then proposed to use of the name Quaternary altogether. The Anthropocene has been proposed as an epoch as a mark of the anthropogenic impact on the global environment starting with the Industrial Revolution. The Anthropocene is not officially designated by the ICS, however, the 2.6 million years of the Quaternary represents the time during which recognizable humans existed. Over this short period, there has been relatively little change in the distribution of the continents due to plate tectonics. The Quaternary geological record is preserved in detail than that for earlier periods. The climate was one of periodic glaciations with continental glaciers moving as far from the poles as 40 degrees latitude, there was a major extinction of large mammals in Northern areas at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. Many forms such as saber-toothed cats, mammoths, mastodons, glyptodonts, others, including horses, camels and American cheetahs became extinct in North America. Glaciation took place repeatedly during the Quaternary Ice Age – a term coined by Schimper in 1839 that began with the start of the Quaternary about 2.58 Mya and continues to the present-day. In 1821, a Swiss engineer, Ignaz Venetz, presented an article in which he suggested the presence of traces of the passage of a glacier at a distance from the Alps. This idea was initially disputed by another Swiss scientist, Louis Agassiz, a year later, Agassiz raised the hypothesis of a great glacial period that would have had long-reaching general effects
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Roman Britain
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Roman Britain was the area of the island of Great Britain that was governed by the Roman Empire, from AD43 to 410. Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC as part of his Gallic Wars, the Britons had been overrun or culturally assimilated by other Celtic tribes during the British Iron Age and had been aiding Caesars enemies. He received tribute, installed a king over the Trinovantes. Planned invasions under Augustus were called off in 34,27, in AD40, Caligula assembled 200,000 men at the Channel, only to have them gather seashells. Three years later, Claudius directed four legions to invade Britain, the Romans defeated the Catuvellauni, and then organized their conquests as the Province of Britain. By the year 47, the Romans held the lands southeast of the Fosse Way, control over Wales was delayed by reverses and the effects of Boudicas uprising, but the Romans expanded steadily northward. Around 197, the Severan Reforms divided Britain into two provinces, Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior, during the Diocletian Reforms, at the end of the 3rd century, Britannia was divided into four provinces under the direction of a vicarius, who administered the Diocese of the Britains. A fifth province, Valentia, is attested in the later 4th century, for much of the later period of the Roman occupation, Britannia was subject to barbarian invasions and often came under the control of imperial usurpers and imperial pretenders. The final Roman withdrawal from Britain occurred around 410, the kingdoms are considered to have formed Sub-Roman Britain after that. Following the conquest of the Britons, a distinctive Romano-British culture emerged as the Romans introduced improved agriculture, urban planning, industrial production, after the initial invasions, Roman historians generally only mention Britain in passing. Thus, most present knowledge derives from archaeological investigations and occasional epigraphic evidence lauding the Britannic achievements of an emperor, over the centuries Roman citizens settled in Britain from many parts of the Empire, such as Italy, Spain, Syria and Algeria. Britain was known to the Classical world, the Greeks, Phoenicians and Carthaginians traded for Cornish tin in the 4th century BC, the Greeks referred to the Cassiterides, or tin islands, and placed them near the west coast of Europe. The Carthaginian sailor Himilco is said to have visited the island in the 5th century BC, however, it was regarded as a place of mystery, with some writers refusing to believe it existed at all. The first direct Roman contact was when Julius Caesar undertook two expeditions in 55 and 54 BC, as part of his conquest of Gaul, believing the Britons were helping the Gallic resistance. The second invasion involved a larger force and Caesar coerced or invited many of the native Celtic tribes to pay tribute. A friendly local king, Mandubracius, was installed, and his rival, hostages were taken, but historians disagree over whether any tribute was paid after Caesar returned to Gaul. Caesar conquered no territory and left no troops behind but he established clients, Augustus planned invasions in 34,27 and 25 BC, but circumstances were never favourable, and the relationship between Britain and Rome settled into one of diplomacy and trade. Strabo, writing late in Augustuss reign, claimed that taxes on trade brought in annual revenue than any conquest could
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