FAUNA AND FLORA
The really interesting fauna of Somerset belongs to a past age, when mammoths, elephants, and rhinoceroses, cave lions, bisons, bears, and hyaenas roamed over its surface. Their remains have been found in the caverns of Hutton, Bleadon, Banwell, and Wookey, and are preserved in Taunton Museum. Of the wild creatures which at present occur in the county, the only one which confers real distinction upon it is the red deer, which roams at large on both Exmoor and the Quantocks. Badgers are not uncommon near Dulverton and in the more uncultivated districts. The very diversified character of Somerset makes it the home of a large variety of birds, the Quantocks and Exmoor sheltering many of the predatory kinds, the long coast-line attracting numerous seafowl, and the fenny country of the centre affording a feeding ground for the different kinds of waders. Of the resident species which are comparatively uncommon elsewhere may be mentioned the hawfinch, the greater and lesser spotted woodpecker, the carrion crow, the raven, the buzzard, the hen-harrier, and the peregrine falcon. Among the regular visitors are included the white wagtail, the pied flycatcher, the nightjar, the black redstart, the lesser redpole, the snow bunting, the redwing, the reed, marsh, and grasshopper warblers, the siskin, the dotterel, the sanderling, the wryneck, the hobby, the merlin, the bittern, and the shoveller. As occasional visitors may be reckoned the wax-wing, golden oriole, cross-bill, hoopoe, white-tailed eagle, honey buzzard, ruff, puffin, great bustard, Iceland gull, glaucous gull, and Bewick's swan. Visitors that may be supposed to have reached the county only by accident have scarcely a claim to be noticed here, though perhaps allusion may be made to an Egyptian vulture seen at Kilve in 1825, and specimens of Pallas's sand-grouse observed near Bridgwater, Weston-super-Mare, and Bath.[[1] ]
As regards the flora the elevated position of parts of the county makes it the home of a number of plants which do not commonly occur in the South of England. Thus there are found on Exmoor the crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), the parsley fern (Cryptogramme crispa), and the oak fern (Phegopteris dryopteris). Asplenium septentrionale is found at Culbone; Listera cordata grows on Dunkery and near Chipstable; and the cranberry (Oxycoccus palustris) is said to occur at Selworthy and on the Brendons. On the other hand, Somerset likewise furnishes congenial conditions for those plants that love low-lying, marshy ground, and on the peat-moors in the Glastonbury district the flowering fern (Osmunda regalis) and the bog myrtle (Myrica Gale) are met with. Within the British Isles the following are found only in Somerset: Dianthus gratianopolitanus, Hieracium stinolepis, Verbascum lychnitis, and Euphorbia pilosa. Arabis stricta occurs only on the limestone near Clifton; Helianthemum polifolium is confined to Somerset and Devon; Pirus latifolia to Somerset and Denbigh.[[2] ]
HISTORY
Somerset gets its name from a Saxon tribe, but its earliest inhabitants, like those of the southern half of bur island generally, were Britons or Celts, and the Saxon invasion was preceded by the Roman. Reminders that the county was once occupied by a Welsh—speaking race occur in the constituents of many place-names, such as Pen Selwood, Maes Knoll, and the numerous combes (cp. Welsh cwm). The name of the British king, Arthur, is associated with Cadbury (near Sparkford); and the neighbouring villages of Queen Camel and West Camel recall the legendary Camelot. The earliest church at Glastonbury (Avalon) is believed to have been of British origin, and it is Arthur's reputed burial-place. In the dedication of the churches at Porlock (Dubricius or Dyfrig) and Watchet (Decuman or Tegfan) is preserved the memory of certain British saints, though these probably came on an evangelistic mission from the other side of the Bristol Channel. But of the primitive population the most trustworthy memorials are the numerous earthworks and other material remains which survive in various parts of the county, and these will be more appropriately noticed under another heading (see pp. [ 20-21]).
Of the Roman occupation the traces are more varied. Bath and Ilchester are Roman towns, and from and through them Roman roads run across the county. In constructing these, the Romans probably used in many instances existing British trackways. The principal was the Fosse Way (as it is called), entering the county near Chard from Seaton, and leaving it at Bath for Lincoln. Within Somerset it is still a very important artery of traffic. From near Chard a road is thought to have diverged from it to the N.W., towards the Quantocks, passing by Castle Neroche. The Fosse Way was, and is, cut at Ilchester by a road coming from Dorchester and continuing to Glastonbury, and near Masbury, on the Mendips, by a second, connecting Old Sarum with Axium (Uphill, near Brean Down). At Bath it was joined by two more roads, one coming from London and the other (the Via Julia) from Aust and South Wales. The road along the Mendips was doubtless largely used for the transport of the lead which was mined at Priddy and elsewhere, and shipped at Uphill. Somerset, during its occupation by the Romans, seems to have enjoyed tranquillity, for their villas, pavements, and other remains indicative of peaceful possession are not confined to the neighbourhood of their large cities (see p. [ 21]).
When the Saxons made themselves masters of England, Somerset became part of the kingdom of Wessex. Its subjugation was accomplished in three stages. The first is associated with the name of Ceawlin, who, after defeating the British at Deorham (in Gloucestershire), captured Bath, and by 577 reduced the northern part of the county between the Avon and the Axe. Englishcombe near Bath recalls this occupation, and the [ Wansdyke ] probably served as a barrier between Saxon and Briton. But between this conquered territory and Dorset, which was also Saxon, there still remained in the hands of the Britons a large strip of country; and from this they were not expelled until the time of Cenwealh (652), who defeated them in 658 at "The Pens" (identified by many with Penselwood), and drove them westward to the Parrett. Somerton now became the capital of the Somersaetas, the Saxon tribe that gave its name to the county (just as the Dorsaetas and Wilsaetas have done to Dorset and Wilts). The third stage of the conquest was completed by Ina (688-726), who subdued the rest of Somerset, forcing the British (whose king was Geraint) into Devon and Cornwall, and building Taunton as a fortress against them. Williton and Willsneck (in the Quantocks) perhaps preserve the name of the defeated Welsh. Ina is famous for more than his military prowess, for he was the first King of Wessex to issue written laws for the guidance of his subjects.
During the Saxon period Somerset did not escape the raids of the Danes; and in the reign of Alfred it was the scene of one of the most eventful crises in English history. Alfred, after many battles against the invaders, had at last seen Guthrum their leader retire from Wessex into Mercia. But in 878, in midwinter, Guthrum suddenly surprised Chippenham and made himself master of Wessex, and Alfred was forced to withdraw to the fens of Athelney. To the narrow limits of the "Isle of the Nobles" the Saxon dominions in the W. were for some months reduced. Here in the Eastertide of 879 Alfred, in the words of the "Saxon Chronicle," "wrought a fortress [of which perhaps the Mump at Borough Bridge is the site], and from that work warred on the (Danish) army, with that portion of the men of Somerset that was nearest."[[3] ] Seven weeks after Easter, Alfred emerged from his place of refuge to join the men of Somerset, Wilts, and Hants, who had gathered in force at "Ecgbryhtes Stane" (Brixton Deveril in Wilts). Putting himself at their head, he covered the distance that separated him from the foe in two stages; for, halting for the night at "Iglea," the next day he defeated the Danes at "Ethandune," and then besieged and reduced their fortress or fortified camp. Guthrum, after his defeat, was baptised at Aller; and at Wedmore subsequently a treaty of peace was concluded between him and Alfred. The site of the battle of "Ethandune" is unfortunately difficult to determine. There is an Edington in Somerset on the Polden Hills; and the fact that the battle was followed by Guthrum's baptism at Aller and the treaty at Wedmore (places near the Somerset Edington) is in favour of this being the scene of the encounter. Those who accept this identification assume that the Danes had moved from Chippenham to the Poldens, and here, whilst watching Athelney, were taken in the rear by Alfred, whose single night-halt at "Iglea" on the march from Brixton Deveril is placed at Edgarley, a locality near Glastonbury.[[4] ] But the distance between Brixton Deveril and Glastonbury seems too great to be accomplished by a large body of men along indifferent roads in a single day; and by many authorities "Ethandune" is identified with Edington, near Westbury, or Heddington, W. of Melksham, both in Wilts. However this may be, it was from the Somerset marshes that Alfred issued forth to his victory, and it was at a Somerset town that he secured the fruits of it.