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Athelney, Isle of
(Encyclopedia)Athelney, Isle of ăthˈəlnē [key], small area formerly surrounded by marshland, Somerset, SW England. King Alfred took refuge from the Danes there in 878 and founded a Benedictine abbey in 888. Rel...Cheddar
(Encyclopedia)Cheddar, village, Somerset, SW England. It is chiefly a tourist center. Limestone is quarried, and strawberries are grown. Nearby Cheddar Gorge towers c.400 ft (120 m) high, with imposing limestone cl...Exe
(Encyclopedia)Exe ĕks [key], river, c.55 mi (90 km) long, rising in the Exmoor, Somerset, SW England, and flowing S across the Cornwall peninsula, past Exeter to the English Channel at Exmouth. Salmon and shellfis...Camelot
(Encyclopedia)Camelot kămˈəlŏt [key], in Arthurian legend, the seat of King Arthur's court. The origin of the name is unknown. It has been variously located at Cadbury Camp, Somerset; Winchester; Camelford; and...Mendip Hills
(Encyclopedia)Mendip Hills, range of hills, c.25 mi (40 km) long, across N Somerset, SW England, extending SE from the vicinity of Hutton to the Frome valley. Primarily limestone, the hills have numerous caves (Woo...Baer, George Frederick
(Encyclopedia)Baer, George Frederick bâr [key], 1842–1914, American financier, b. Somerset co., Pa. Baer became legal adviser to J. Pierpont Morgan and held many posts as a key figure in the railroad-and-coal em...Tunstall, Cuthbert
(Encyclopedia)Tunstall or Tonstall, Cuthbert both: tŭnˈstəl [key], 1474–1559, English bishop. After studying at Oxford, Cambridge, and Padua, he entered the church and was rapidly advanced. A friend of Thomas ...Burghley, William Cecil, 1st Baron
(Encyclopedia)Burghley or Burleigh, William Cecil, 1st Baron both: bûrˈlē [key], 1520–98, English statesman. He first rose to prominence during the protectorate of Edward Seymour, duke of Somerset, and he serv...Bridgwater
(Encyclopedia)Bridgwater, town, Somerset, SW England, on the Parrett River estuary. It is a port for seaborne traffic and a market town. Bridgwater is the only place ...Yeovil
(Encyclopedia)Yeovil yōˈvĭl [key], town (1991 pop. 36,114), Somerset, SW England, on the Yeo River. It is a market town and a leather-making center. Glove making has been a local specialty since the 16th cent.; ...Browse by Subject
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