Rackvernal Road, Midsomer Norton - 01761 412221 email address whithheld

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. There is a difference of opinion as to whether the forename's origin is due to Midsummer's Day (24 June) being the Feast Day of the Parish Church's Patron Saint, St John the Baptist, or related to the river Somer that runs through the town. 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.

Midsomer Norton is a town in Somerset, England, 10 miles (16.1 km) south-west of Bath, 10 miles (16 km) north-east of Wells, 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Frome, and 16 miles (26 km) south-east of Bristol. It has a population of 10,458. Along with Radstock it is part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton Radstock, and the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset.

The town, on the Mendip Hills has a long history, shown by the early churches, but really started to grow, and become a transport hub, with the development of the Somerset coalfield with several pits providing employment until their closure in the 1960s. The town's railway stations have also closed. Midsomer Norton is now home to printing and other industries and provides shopping and service industries for the surrounding area.

It has a rich cultural history and supports several music venues and bands. The town has four primary schools, two large secondary schools and a further education college. Midsomer Norton is home to a leisure centre and several sports clubs. It has been the birth place or home to several notable people.

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 really gave the town and area an impetus. There were a number of local mines - e.g. Norton Hill, and Welton. However the seams were thin and with the hilly nature around, not easily worked. Generations of miners who worked in the difficult conditions of the local collieries are remembered at the Radstock Museum. The coming of the railways, particularly the Bath extension of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&D) in 1874, transformed the conveyance of coal out of the area.

The town was previously served by a station on the S&D but this closed in 1966, and by a second station on the Bristol and North Somerset Railway at Welton in the valley. The railways were separate, the S&D being administered by the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway companies (later the London Midland and Scottish Railway and the Southern Railway) and the North Somerset being run by and then owned by the Great Western Railway. The stations were both called "Midsomer Norton and Welton" (the B&NSR station was originally called just "Welton"); under British Railways, the S&D station was renamed as Midsomer Norton South after a short period as Midsomer Norton Upper; and is currently being restored with occasional open weekends with engines in steam. The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust one day hopes to operate steam trains for a mile up to Chilcompton Tunnel but there remains much to do before this can happen.

Around 1866 a 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.