Somerset Postcodes — England (ENG)

Somerset

Somerset, a county in South West England, is bordered by Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south, and Devon to the south-west. It faces southeast Wales and is bounded by the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel to the north and west, respectively. The Avon serves as the county's traditional boundary with neighboring Gloucestershire. There are currently six council areas in Somerset, two of which are unitary authorities. However, with the merger of the four second-tier district councils on 1 April 2023, there will only be three unitary authorities in the county. Taunton is the county seat.

The Blackdown Hills, Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills, and Exmoor National Park make up the county of Somerset, which is also home to extensive, flat areas known as the Somerset Levels. Humans have lived in this area at least since the Paleolithic era, and there is also evidence of habitation by the Celts, Romans, and Anglo-Saxons. Throughout Alfred the Great's rise to power, as well as during the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion that followed, the county was vital. Bath's Georgian buildings have earned the city its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Climate of Somerset

In keeping with the rest of the South West of England, Somerset enjoys a moderate and wet climate.

Average yearly temperatures hover around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). The neighboring sea temperatures moderate the weather's seasonal swings, making it more comfortable than the rest of the United Kingdom. Highs average around 21 degrees Celsius (69.8 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout the summer months of July and August. During the coldest part of winter, it's not unusual for the temperature to drop to between 1 and 2 degrees Celsius (33.8 and 35.6 Fahrenheit). In the summer, the south-west of England is affected by the Azores high pressure, but convective cloud can form inland, lowering the amount of sunshine. The average annual sunshine hours are 1,500, which is lower than the area average of 1,600.

Yeovilton experienced 20 cloudy days in December 1998. Atlantic depressions and convection are mostly responsible for the precipitation in the south and west. The Atlantic depressions are more likely to bring precipitation in the fall and winter. The sun's warmth in the summertime causes convection, which in turn causes showers and thunderstorms, accounting for the vast majority of the year's precipitation. The typical annual rainfall totals about 700 millimeters (28 in). Average snowfall duration is between 8 and 15 days. The average wind speed is highest in the winter, from November to March, and lowest in the summer, from June to August. Mainly southerly winds are present.

Economy of Somerset

There aren't many manufacturing hubs in Somerset, but the county's 2.5% unemployment rate is supported by its historic agricultural sector, its growing tourism industry, and its diverse light industry and high technology enterprises.

In 2013, it was projected that about 26,000 individuals relied on tourism for their income.

During the height of the Industrial Age, Bridgwater rose to prominence as a major port for the surrounding region. Huge ships could travel the length of the River Parrett to Bridgwater. Near, cargo was transferred to smaller boats at Langport Quay, located next to the Bridgwater Bridge, and taken further up river to Langport; otherwise the journey might be diverted at Burrowbridge and continued down the River Tone to Taunton. As of right now, you can only go to Dunball Wharf on the Parrett. Bricks, clay roof tiles, and eventually cellophane were all produced at Bridgwater at the turn of the twentieth century, but those businesses have since died out. 

Businesses like Argos, Toolstation, Morrisons, and Gerber Juice have made use of Bridgwater's proximity to major highways to serve as a distribution center. Yeovil is home to both the helicopter-making company AgustaWestland and the aircraft-oxygen-system-constructing company Normalair Garratt.

Somerset is a major provider of military hardware and technologies. At the outset of World War II, the land between the towns of Puriton and Woolavington was used for the construction of a Royal Ordnance Factory called ROF Bridgwater, whose primary function was the production of explosives. In July of 2008, the station was shut down and declared defunct. Thales Optics is headquartered in Taunton, while the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office and Avimo are both based in Templecombe. Production cuts at Thales Optics' Taunton factory were announced in 2006 and 2007, although the trade unions and the Taunton Deane District Council are attempting to reverse or at least soften these choices. Gooch and Housego, an optics company based in Ilminster, is another example of a high-tech business in the area. Bath is home to defense ministry buildings, and nearby Norton Fitzwarren is where the 40th Commando Royal Marines train. The Royal Naval Air Station in Yeovilton is one of the two operational Fleet Air Arm bases in the United Kingdom. It is home to the Royal Navy's AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat helicopters and the Royal Marines Commando's AgustaWestland AW101 Merlins.

More than 15,000 people have jobs in the county's main industries of agriculture and food and drink production.

Somerset is still a large producer of cider, which dates back to the days when the county was covered with apple orchards. Specialty producers like Burrow Hill Cider Farm and Thatchers Cider can be found in addition to the larger-scale operations in the towns of Taunton and Shepton Mallet, which are responsible for the manufacture of Blackthorn Cider, a cider that is distributed all over the country. The Gerber Products Company, headquartered in Bridgwater, is the leading manufacturer of fruit juices in Europe. Its products include the well-known Sunny Delight and Ocean Spray brands. Growth in the dairy industry has led to the creation of a variety of sweets, yoghurts, and cheeses, many of which can be found at stores like Ilchester Cheese Company and Yeo Valley Organic. 

Although it is not as common as it once was, willow cultivation and weaving (including basket making) are still practiced on the Somerset Levels, and this heritage is celebrated at the Willows and Wetlands Visitor Centre.

Willow was utilized in the construction of various Iron Age causeways, and remnants of willow baskets have been discovered near the Glastonbury Lake Village. We used the time-honored technique of pollarding to get our willow. This entails cutting the tree down to its trunk. Around 3,600 ha (8,900 acres) of willow were cultivated for commercial purposes on the Levels in the 1930s. Since the 1950s, the sector has dropped dramatically, largely because plastic bags and cardboard boxes have replaced baskets. Near the towns of Burrowbridge, Westonzoyland, and North Curry, only approximately 140 hectares (350 acres) were farmed commercially by the turn of the century. 

The medieval textile industry spawned a number of towns, including Castle Cary and Frome. As a result of C&J Clark establishing its headquarters in the town, Street became a major hub for the manufacture of woollen slippers and, later, boots and shoes. The production of C&J Clark shoes has moved to China and other Asian countries because of lower labor costs.

Freestone and construction stone have been supplied by the county for decades. The freestone used to build Wells Cathedral came from quarries in Doulting. The use of bath stones has also increased in recent years. It had been in use for quite some time before Ralph Allen advocated for its usage in the early 18th century, and again when Hans Price did so in the 19th century. It was extracted from underground mines in Wiltshire at places like Box and Combe Down, and at Bathampton Down as a result of the construction of the Box Tunnel. Bath stone is still used today, albeit on a smaller scale, but typically as cladding as opposed to structural. Stone from Ham Hill is commonly referred to as "Hamstone" in the southern part of the United Kingdom, where it is also put to good use in the building industry. In its native region, Blue Lias has been put to use as a construction stone and a component of lime mortar and Portland cement. Blue Lias stone quarries operated at Puriton and a number of other Polden settlements until the 1960s. Additionally, a cement factory in Dunball, situated next to the King's Sedgemoor Drain, benefited from the abundance of stone. When the M5 highway was built in the mid-1970s, the abandoned buildings from the early 20th century were demolished. The county has been an important supplier of aggregates since the 1920s. Stone from the Merehead Quarry quarry is used by Foster Yeoman, a major provider of aggregates for the construction industry in Europe. Transportation of aggregates by rail from a cluster of quarries in Mendip is made possible by a specialized railway operation known as Mendip Rail. 

Into Somerset, a public sector inward investment organization, was established in November 2008 with the goal of expanding the county's economy by attracting businesses looking to relocate from other parts of the United Kingdom (particularly London) and around the world.