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How Cheddar inspired Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings

The author first visited the picturesque area of Somerset on his honeymoon in 1916.

• 5 mins

Taunton’s Tudor Tavern

The town's oldest listed domestic building is now a café.

• 8 mins

The Exmoor pub with famous connections

A president, a spy and a tragic ghost – the history of The Royal Oak in Withypool.

• 9 mins

In the cockpit of Concorde

The story of Yeovilton’s Concorde at the Fleet Air Arm Museum.

• 10 mins

The hidden past of Exmoor’s WW2 training site

A radar station and archaeological remains can be found on the North Hill site.

• 9 mins

Old Mother Leakey: the ghost of Minehead

A ghost, a bishop and mysterious shipwrecks around Minehead harbour.

• 10 mins

The Somerset bank with its own banknotes

It’s said Stuckey’s banknotes had a circulation second only to the Bank of England.

• 5 mins

The witchcraft trial of Julian Cox

Julian Cox was the last person to be executed in Taunton for witchcraft in 1663.

• 7 mins

The bootmaker whose inventions changed lives

Chard's James Gillingham found his calling after a local man was injured in an accident.

• 7 mins

The WW2 hero who didn’t carry a weapon

Arturo Fanconi from Ilminster was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal for saving lives.

• 7 mins

The chained library with books older than America

The Wells Cathedral library securely holds books, published before the 1800s, in chains.

• 7 mins

From Exmoor to Australia: The oldest ringing church bell

How a 16th century bell that chimed in Upton ended up in an rainforest wedding chapel.

• 8 mins

Reconstructing Somerset’s Roman Mosaics

Volunteers have spent five years reproducing Roman designs at Avalon Archaeology.

• 10 mins

Chard’s hanging tree

A hanging tree once stood between Tesco and B&Q in the town.

• 6 mins

80 years of Calverts in Taunton

The family-run furniture shop was established in 1944.

• 4 mins

Ilminster’s shooting club

The rifle group is thought to have started in the Victorian times.

• 9 mins

The haunting of Hestercombe

The ghost of Mrs Portman has been spotted in the historic house by visitors.

• 6 mins

26/12/2024

The best of our Secret Somerset series from 2024.

• 60 mins