Portal:Somerset

The 1885 season was an annus horribilis for Somerset County Cricket Club. Captained by Edward Sainsbury, who had taken over from Stephen Newton, captain for the previous three seasons, they played six first-class cricket matches. Somerset's only win of the season came in their first match; all the other were lost. Two of the losses, those away against Gloucestershire and Surrey, number among the county's ten heaviest defeats. Somerset were unable to field a full team for their fourth match, which coupled with their poor results and lack of fixtures resulted in the club being stripped of its first-class status at the end of the season.

At an emergency meeting held in Taunton a new club secretary was appointed and wealthy benefactors were sought, but Sainsbury retained the club captaincy. Somerset played second-class cricket for five seasons, until their readmission to the first-class game for the 1891 season.

In their histories of Somerset County Cricket Club, Peter Roebuck and David Foot mostly gloss over the season; Roebuck includes a scorecard, but provides only two paragraphs of prose, while Foot only mentions the loss of first-class cricket. (Full article...)

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the Royal Air Force."

During his formative years, Trenchard struggled academically, failing many examinations and only just succeeding in meeting the minimum standard for commissioned service in the British Army. As a young infantry officer, Trenchard served in India and with the outbreak of the Boer War, he volunteered for service in South Africa. While fighting the Boers, Trenchard was critically wounded and as a result of his injury, he lost a lung, was partially paralysed and returned to Great Britain. On medical advice, Trenchard travelled to Switzerland to recuperate and boredom saw him taking up bobsleighing. After a heavy crash, Trenchard found that his paralysis was gone and that he could walk unaided. Following further recuperation, Trenchard returned to active service in South Africa. (Full article...)

1. Somerset (Unitary)
2. North Somerset (Unitary)
3. Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary)

Chard
Co-ordinates 50°52′22″N 2°57′31″W / 50.8728°N 2.9587°W / 50.8728; -2.9587

Chard is a town and civil parish. It lies on the A30 road near the Devon border, 15 miles (24 km) south west of Yeovil. The parish has a population of approximately 12,000 and, at an elevation of 121 metres (397 ft), it is the southernmost and highest town in Somerset. Administratively Chard forms part of the district of South Somerset.

The name of the town was Cerden in 1065 and Cerdre in the Domesday Book of 1086. Before the Norman Conquest, Chard was held by the Bishop of Wells. The town's first charter was from King John in 1234. Most of the town was destroyed by fire in 1577, and it was further damaged during the English Civil War. A 1663 will by Richard Harvey of Exeter established Almshouses known as Harvey's Hospital. In 1685 Chard was one of the towns in which Judge Jeffreys held some of the Bloody Assizes after the failure of the Monmouth Rebellion. textile manufacture was important in the Middle Ages. Chard claims to be the birthplace of powered flight and the development of articulated artificial limbs. Chard is a key point on the Taunton Stop Line, a World War II defensive line. The Chard Canal was a tub boat canal built between 1835 and 1842. Chard Branch Line was created in 1860 to connect the two London and South Western Railway and Bristol and Exeter Railway main lines and ran through Chard until 1965.

Local folklore claims that the town has a very unusual and unique feature, a stream running along either side of Fore Street, one stream eventually flows into the Bristol Channel and the other eventually reaches the English Channel. Chard reservoir, approximately a mile north east of the town, is a Local Nature Reserve, and Snowdon Hill Quarry a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. Major employers in the town include Numatic International Limited and the Oscar Mayer food processing plant.There are a range of sporting and cultural facilities, with secondary education being provided at Holyrood Academy and religious sites including the Church of St Mary the Virgin which dates from the late 11th century. (Full article...)

From Wikipedia's "Did You Know" archives:

• ... that Beckington Castle (pictured), built in the early 17th century, was not called a castle until 1839?
• ... that the Roman settlement at Gatcombe, in the modern English county of Somerset, may be the site of Iscalis described by Ptolemy?
• ... that some criminals were seen on television riding around Weston-super-Mare on an open-top bus?
• ... that Richmont Castle once overlooked the Chew Valley?
• ...that in 1737 cooper Charles Milsom discovered a spring in Lyncombe, Bath while fixing a fishpond, and styled himself as a doctor to market the spring water for its health-giving properties?

Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Article requests : Berwick, Common Moor, Neroche Forest, + all redlinks on sub lists of Grade II* listed buildings in Somerset & Scheduled Monuments in Somerset Add photos to Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Somerset Cleanup : Articles requiring cleanup Stubs : Improve Stub-Class articles including Category:Somerset geography stubs & Category:Somerset building and structure stubs Verify : West Country dialects Other : Remove any spam links you find in the "External links" section of articles you edit. Consider replacement of external links by pointing to DMOZ. See Template:dmoz for more info. Check external links & refs using the Checklinks tool.

Main project: WikiProject Somerset Parent projects: WikiProject UK geography, WikiProject England

Nearby projects: WikiProject Bristol, WikiProject Devon, WikiProject Dorset, WikiProject Wiltshire