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Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Bath & North East Somerset, England, south-west of Bath, north-east of Wells, north-west of Frome, and south-east of Bristol. It has a population of 10,997. Along with Radstock and Westfield it used to be part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton Radstock, but is now a town council in its own right.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Council make decision on Community Governance Review )〕 It is also part of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset. Midsomer Norton is characterised by the River Somer which runs the length of the town centre, the river itself was regenerated with new plant life during the summer of 2012 in a bid to improve the aesthetics of the town centre. The Town has a long history which can be seen through a number of early churches which remain, but really started to grow and become a transport hub with the development of the Somerset coalfield. For many years the coalmines provided employment for local men until they ceased operations in the 1960s, around the same time that the town's two railway stations also closed. Afterwards, good employment opportunities still remained for the town with elements of the print industry, and although some of these plants have also now begun to close, overall employment levels in the area remain very high. Midsomer Norton provides shopping and service industries for the surrounding areas and supports several music venues and bands. The town has four primary schools and two large secondary schools. Midsomer Norton is home to a leisure centre, several sports clubs and provides youth opportunities such as Scouts and Guides. It has been the birthplace or home to several notable people. ==History== "Norton" means 'north enclosure' from the Old English, while the use of its forename to distinguish it from other 'Nortons' is of late origin and not mentioned until 1334. Sources point to the town being situated midway between two branches of the Somer river; the Somer itself and Wellow Brook, which joins the Somer a short distance to the east near Radstock.〔 The spelling "Missomerys Norton" may be a variation 〔Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP 40/629; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/H5/CP40no629/aCP40no629fronts/IMG_0665.htm; third entry. line 3; the place where a trespass occurred, according to the plea.〕 Eilert Ekwall wrote that the village "is said to be so called in allusion to the festival held at midsummer on the day of St. John, the patron saint." John Wesley wrote of the appalling local road conditions which ensured it was reachable "only in midsummer." As Simon Winchester notes in his book ''The Map that Changed the World'', "...the roads on this part of Somerset were atrocious, thick with mud and as rough as the surface of the moon". In some church records the town is referred to as 'Norton Canonicorum' as an alternative to Midsomer Norton, and this may be because of the local Priory's link to Merton Priory in London until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1546.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Historical Note )〕 The parish was part of the hundred of Chewton.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SOM/Miscellaneous/ )〕 Following the Norman Conquest William the Conqueror gave large parts of north Somerset, including the manor or Norton to Geoffrey de Montbray, bishop of Coutances, and Norton was held under him by Ulveva. From about 1150 until 1300 the manor was held by de Lincoln. From 1387 the manor was held by the family of Thomas West, 1st Baron West and his descendants. The Duchy of Cornwall owned most of the mineral rights around Midsomer Norton and various small pits opened around 1750 to exploit these. Coal mining in the Somerset coalfield gave the town and area its impetus as an industrial centre. Around 1866 an obelisk monument with two marble plaques, was built at the site of St Chad's well, by mother of Frederick Stukeley Savage for the benefit of the poor. The obelisk was in the grounds of Norton House, however the house has since been demolished. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Midsomer Norton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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