Taunton

Taunton. 1. A municipal and parliamentary borough (one member) of Somerset, is upon the Tone, in the valley called Taunton Deane, 45 miles S.W. of Bristol. A fortress was erected here in 710, and a castle was built upon its site by a Bishop of Winchester in the 12th century. In times past Taunton was one of the West of England "clothing" towns, and still has some manufactures of shirts, collars, gloves, and silk, and is the centre of an important agricultural district. The church of St. Mary Magdalen, built in 1500 and restored 1858-62, is renowned for its noble Perpendicular tower, 153 feet high. Other important buildings are the Elizabethan shire hall, the municipal buildings, the King's Oollege, the Independent College, other schools, and the barracks. The town is of much historic interest. In 1497 Perkin Warbeck was in it; in 1644 Blake; Monmouth made a triumphal entry, and in 1685 Judge Jeffreys held here the noted "Bloody Assize."

2. The capital of Bristol county, Massachusetts, U.S.A., is situated upon the river Taunton, 34 miles south of Boston. It owes its name to the fact of having been settled from Taunton, England, in 1637. Among its notable features are the park, the city hall, and the State lunatic asylum. It has foundries, cotton-mills, locomotive works, copper works, ship-yards, brick-fields, nail factbries, etc.