The Cliffs, Cheddar Gorge - 01934744689 cheddargorge@nationaltrust.org.uk

Cheddar was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Ceder, meaning 'Shear Water' from the Old English scear and Celtic dwr.

Cheddar Gorge is the largest gorge in the United Kingdom and includes several show caves. It has been the setting for a major centre of human settlement since Neolithic times, including a Saxon palace. It also provides a unique geological and biological environment which has been recognised by the designation of several Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

The village gave its name to Cheddar cheese and has also been a major centre for strawberry growing. It is now a major tourist destination and large village with several cultural and community facilities, including the Cheddar Show Caves Museum.

There is evidence of occupation from both the Neolithic and Roman periods in Cheddar. Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found in 1903. Older remains from the Upper Late Palaeolithic era have been found. There is some evidence of a Bronze Age field system at the Batts Combe quarry site. The remains of a Roman villa have been excavated in the grounds of the current vicarage.

In the 10th century, the Witenagemot met three times at the Saxon palace in Cheddar. The ruins of the palace were excavated in the 1960s. They are located in the grounds of The Kings of Wessex School, together with a 14th-century chapel dedicated to St. Columbanus. Roman remains have also been uncovered at the site.

As early as 1527 there are records of watermills on the river. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were several watermills which ground corn and made paper, with 13 mills on the Yeo at the peak, declining to seven by 1791 and just three by 1915. In the Victorian era it also became a centre for the production of clothing. The last mill, used as a shirt factory, closed in the early 1950s.

William Wilberforce saw the poor conditions of the locals when he visited Cheddar in 1789. He inspired Hannah More in her work to improve the conditions of the Mendip miners and agricultural workers. In 1801, 4,400 acres (18 km²) of common land were enclosed under the Inclosure Acts.