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The Crescent is a street in Taunton, a town in the English county of Somerset. Construction began in 1807, during a period of extensive redevelopment in the town, driven by the Market House Society and the Member of Parliament Sir Benjamin Hammet. Lined on the eastern side by a Georgian terrace, the street follows a shallow crescent shape, broken in the middle by Crescent Way and a bit further south by St George's Place. It links Upper High Street, at its southern end, with Park Street and Tower Street to the north. On the western side, Somerset County Council have their offices in the County Hall, erected in 1935, and extended in the 1960s. The Georgian terrace, the Masonic Hall, and the County Hall are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as listed buildings. ==History== During the 17th and 18th centuries Taunton suffered, first due to the Civil War (1642–1651), during which two thirds of the town was burnt down, and then the decline of the cloth industry upon which the town's economy relied. In the late 18th century, the Taunton Market House Society formed with the aim of improving Taunton town centre, most notably the Market House. Benjamin Hammet, a prominent member of the society, was elected as a Member of Parliament for Taunton in 1782, and tried to start clearing the slums in the town centre.〔 In 1770, the old Market House was knocked down and replaced, and less than ten years later, Hammet Street was built, to connect the Market square with the Church of St Mary Magdalene. The Crescent formed part of Hammet's plan for Taunton. It was built to the north of Upper High Street, in what was known at the time as Paul's Field. It follows a shallow crescent shape, which Nikolaus Pevsner notes is "hardly noticeable". Although Hammet died in 1800, the foundation stone was placed in 1807 by William Kinglake,〔 as part of a ceremony that was attended by "an immense number of persons." The ''Monthly Magazine'' noted that the street was intended to add to the "ornament, respectability, and advantage" of Taunton,〔 while the ''Taunton Courier'' reported that the houses were intended for "genteel families". When the street was built, each end featured a cottage with high iron gates which limited traffic to residents and their visitors. The footpaths were less restricted, but featured "three or four posts between which a corpulent person had difficulty in squeezing."〔 These gates and posts have since been removed. The Crescent comprised a terrace of houses along the street's eastern side; the other side was not built on and was eventually converted into parkland.〔 In 1822, a Catholic chapel, known as St George's Chapel was built at the southern-end of the terrace, the first Catholic church built in Taunton since the Reformation.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=History )〕 The Catholic congregation moved out to a larger church in 1878 and the chapel was bought by the Freemasons, who converted it into a Masonic Lodge. In 1935, County Hall was built on the open side of The Crescent, providing Somerset County Council with more space than their previous offices at Shire Hall. Early plans for further buildings at the site did not come to fruition, but County Hall was extended in the 1960s to cover most of the open land in front of The Crescent.. Despite the work done by Hammet, the area between The Crescent and the High Street was still considered a slum until it was redeveloped around the Second World War. During this period, the General Post Office (GPO) built "Telephone House", a telephone exchange and office building, replacing the houses in the middle of the terrace.〔 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「The Crescent, Taunton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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