Somerset is a county in the south west ofEngland. It is a rural county and transport infrastructure has been significant in industrial development. There is someheavy industry particularly related to the defence technologies and the county has several centres for stone quarrying, although the coalfield is now closed.
Agriculture and textile production continue to provide employment along with tourism.
Somerset has few industrial centres.Bridgwater was developed during theIndustrial Revolution as the West Country's leading port. TheRiver Parrett was navigable by large ships as far as Bridgwater. By then loading the cargoes onto smaller boats at Langport Quay, next to the Bridgwater Bridge, they could be carried further up river toLangport.[1] The Parrett is now only navigable as far asDunball Wharf; and the wharf is still in use today to unloadmarine gravels and sands. Bridgwater, in the 19th and 20th centuries, was a centre for the manufacture ofbricks and clay rooftiles,Bath bricks and latercellophane, but those industries have now closed. With its good links to the motorway system, Bridgwater has developed as a distribution hub for companies such asArgos, Toolstation and Gerber Juice.
TheSomerset Levels has historically been a large producer ofpeat, but ecological concerns have led to the search for alternative materials for applications, such aspotting ofplants.
AgustaWestland manufacture helicopters inYeovil. Helicopters were also built atWeston-super-Mare; it is now the home of a helicopter museum -The Helicopter Museum. Normalair Garratt, who built aircraft oxygen systems, are also based in the town; the company is now part ofHoneywell Aerospace.
Many towns have encouraged small-scalelight industries, such asCrewkerne'sAriel Motor Company, one of the UK's smallest car manufacturers.
Somerset was, and is, an important supplier of equipment and technology to support the defence of United Kingdom. ARoyal Ordnance Factory,ROF Bridgwater was built at the start of theSecond World War, between the villages ofPuriton andWoolavington, to manufacture explosives; and in 2007 is still operating, at a much reduced output, as part ofBAE Systems Land Systems and is due to close completely in 2008.Templecombe hasThales Underwater Systems; andTaunton presently has theUnited Kingdom Hydrographic Office andAvimo, which became part of Thales Optics. It has been announced twice, in 2006 and 2007, that manufacturing is to end at Thales Optics' Taunton site,[2] but theTrade Unions and Taunton Deane District Council are working to reverse or mitigate these decisions.Bath hadMinistry of Defence offices across several parts of the city but these had closed and transferred to Filton's Abbey Wood site near Bristol by March 2013; andNorton Fitzwarren is the home of40 Commando. Other high-technology companies include the optics company Gooch and Housego, atIlminster.
Agriculture and food and drink production continue to be major industries in the county, employing over 15,000 people. Apple orchards were once plentiful, and Somerset is still a major producer ofcider. The towns of Taunton andShepton Mallet are involved with the production of cider, especiallyBlackthorn Cider, which is sold nationwide, and there are specialist producers such asSheppy's CiderBurrow Hill Cider Farm andThatchers Cider.Gerber Products Company in Bridgwater are the largest producer of fruit juices in Europe, producing brands such as 'Sunny Delight' and 'Ocean Spray'. Development of the milk-based industries, such asYeo Valley Organic, has resulted in the production of ranges of desserts,yoghurts and cheeses,[3]includingCheddar cheese – some of which has theWest Country Farmhouse CheddarPDO.
Towns such asCastle Cary andFrome grew around the medievalweaving industry.Street developed as a centre for the production of woollenslippers and, later,boots andshoes, withC&J Clark establishing its headquarters in the town. C&J Clark's shoes are no longer manufactured there as the work was transferred to lower-wage areas in Asia, such asChina.[4] Instead, in 1993, redundant factory buildings were converted to formClarks Village, the first purpose built factory outlet in theUK. C&J Clark also had shoe factories, at one time at Bath, Bridgwater andMinehead, to provide employment outside of the main summer tourist season, but these satellite sites had been closed, in the late 1980s, before the main site at Street.Dr. Martens shoes were also made in Somerset, by theNorthampton-based R. Griggs Group, usingredundant skilled shoemakers from C&J Clark; this work has also been transferred to Asia.
Coal mining was an important industry in north Somerset during the 18th and 19th centuries, and by 1800 it was prominent inRadstock.[5] TheSomerset Coalfield reached its peak production by the 1920s. All the pits have now been closed, the last in 1973.[6] Most of the surface buildings have been removed, and apart from a winding wheel outsideRadstock Museum, little evidence of their former existence remains. Further west, theBrendon Hills were mined for iron ore in the late 19th century; this was taken by theWest Somerset Mineral Railway toWatchet Harbour for shipment to the furnaces atEbbw Vale in south Wales.[7]
The county has a long tradition of supplyingfreestone andbuilding stone. Quarries atDoulting supplied the freestone used in the construction ofWells Cathedral.Bath stone is also widely used.Ralph Allen promoted its use in the early 18th century, but it was used locally long before then. It was mined underground atCombe Down and Bathampton Down Mines, and as a result of cutting theBox Tunnel, at various locations inWiltshire, includingBox.[8][9][10] Bath stone is still used today, on a reduced scale; but more often as acladding, rather than a structural material.[8]
Further south,Hamstone is the colloquial name given to stone fromHam Hill, which is also widely used in the construction industry.
Blue Lias has been used locally as a building stone; and as a raw material forlime mortar andPortland cement.Puriton up to the 1960s had Blue Lias stone quarries, as did several otherPolden Villages. Its quarries also supplied a Lime mortar and Portland cement factory atDunball, adjacent to theKing's Sedgemoor Drain. Its derelict, early 20th century, remains were removed when theM5 motorway was constructed in the mid-1970s.[11]Keinton Mandeville was also heavily involved in quarrying; the village's quarries are now abandoned, but they are still remembered in the name of a Public House. Quarrying of blue lias is still undertaken atCharlton Mackrell andCharlton Adam.
Since the 1920s, the county has suppliedaggregates.Foster Yeoman is Europe's large supplier oflimestone aggregates, with quarries atMerehead Quarry. It has a dedicated railway operation,Mendip Rail, which is used to transport aggregates by rail from a group ofMendip quarries.
Much of the county is scenic and unspoilt. Tourism is a major industry, estimated in 2001 to support around 23,000 people.[12] Attractions include the coastal towns, from the west to the north east,Minehead,Watchet,Burnham-on-Sea,Weston-super-Mare,Clevedon andPortishead, with their various piers and beaches. Inland the county includes part of theExmoor National Park, theWest Somerset Railway (aheritage railway), and the museum of theFleet Air Arm atRNAS Yeovilton. The town ofGlastonbury has mythical associations, and the annual open-airGlastonbury Festival (actually inPilton), while the Cheddar Gorge hasshow caves open to visitors, as well as its locally produced cheese, although there is now only one cheese maker remaining in the village ofCheddar.
| Regional gross value added by the non-metropolitan county of Somerset at current basic prices. Figures are in millions of British pounds sterling.[13] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added[A] | Agriculture[B] | Industry[C] | Services[D] |
| 1995 | 4,601 | 298 | 1,608 | 2,695 |
| 2000 | 5,872 | 199 | 1,936 | 3,737 |
| 2003 | 6,586 | 215 | 1,956 | 4,416 |
Notes
