The modern name of the town is derived from that of the river Yeo at its eastern extremity which forms the border between Somerset and Dorset. "Quedam", the name of Yeovil's pedestrian shopping precinct recounts the town's Roman name. The largest town in South Somerset, its outdoor markets and increasingly rare if thriving livestock market serve as a reminder that, while the modern town relies on manufacturing, it roots are those of a market town.

Excavations of a two acre Roman site on the site of the present Westland Road in 1927/8 revealed a rough stone hearth, pottery and flakes of flint indicating occupation during the early Iron Age. A large part of the mordern Larkhill Road follows the line of the Roman road from the Fosseway at Ilchester to Dorchester which passed close to the modern town. The line of the Roman road was still discernable into the twentieth century from Larkhill Farm through Rustywell on Hendford Hill, along a lane which meets the Dorchester road. The area surround the Roman thoroughfare has yielded Roman coins, pottery and burials since the middle of the eighteenth century. During the laying of a water main on the site of the present Westland Road (ST547157) in 1916, a large hoarde of Roman coins was unearthed. An exploratory excavation was conducted in the area in 1917 by WRE Mitchelmore, and alderman of Yeovil, on land which had been purchased by the Town Council for housing development. The site was inspected in 1925 by Dr Mortimer Wheeler whose report resulted in the full-scale excavation of a two acre site in 1927 and 1928 conducted by Dr CA Ralegh Radford. Thirty rooms were discovered on a slight ridge which was surrounded by streams on three sides. The northern range consisted of a dwelling divided by a passage, another house on the east comprised a large hall and smaller rooms, with a verandah in front and and adjoining bath suite. The southern range, comprising a series of rooms, a thatched barn and a cellar, was more rudely constructed. The western side appears to have been occupied by a colonade opening on to a road, with a lesser road to the south. Large quantities of Roman pottery and numerous iron household objects were recovered from the site. The Romans must have occupied an earlier site as, below the level of their buildings, a rough stone hearth, pottery and flakes of flint indicate occupation during the early Iron Age. see also;   Roman Somerset

It is believed that the modern town was founded after the arrival of the Saxons in this part of Somerset in the eighth century. By the time of William I's Domesday Book of 1086 it probably had about a thousand inhabitants and is referred to as "Givele" or "Givle" which might mean "the river noble" from the Old English "ea" and "aerel".

In 1205 the town recieved a charter from King John allowing it to hold two annual fairs as well as markets and these would have attracted folk from a wide area in Somerset and Dorset and, by the early fourteenth century, the merchants of Yeovil had acquired the right to elect a portreeve to administer the affairs of the town. The population of the town may have been halved by the black death which struck in 1348 and the following year, a long-standing dispute over the markets between the townsfolk and the clergy errupted into violence in St Johns Church when the priests accompanying the Bishop of Wells on his visit were attacked. Yeovill was again ravaged by the plague in 1646.

Glove making at Yeovil is first mentioned in the early 14th century and this steadily grew to become the most important industry in the town.

In 1499 the town was built mainly in wood and thatch and a great fire destroyed 117 houses - a large proporton of the town. Yeovil suffered two severe fires in the 17th century; one in 1620 and another in 1643.

By the seventeenth century, Yeovil was an important market town, its market noted for cheese, hemp and linen thread. The glove making industry which had started early in the 14th century was still flourishing nd parchment was also manufactured.

The Duke of Monmouth led his unsuccessful rebellion in the West Country in 1685. After his defeat at the battle of Sedgemoor, King James II sought retribution on the rebels. His instrument was the infamous Judge Jeffreys who purged the West Country in the "Bloody Assizes" - eight of Monmouth's supporters were hung, drawn and quartered at Yeovil.

Famed for its glove making in the 18th century, Yeovil continued as a quiete market town serving the rural area surrounding it and the only event of historical note was the foundation of a grammar school in 1744.

By the first national census in 1801 (devised to count available manpower for the Napoleonic Wars), Yeovil's popultion had grown to about 2,800. If modest by today's standards, it was a considerable time at the time. The town grew rapidly during the nineteenth century, almost quadrupling its population to 11,000 by the turn of the century. The archaic government of the town, little changed since the Middle Ages, was abolished in 1830 when the Town Commissioners were formed with responsibility for cleaning, paving and lighting the streets. Gloving still flourished in the town with some three million pairs being made annually in the 1830s.

Parliamentary representation still followed the pattern established in the Middle Ages and "rotten boroughs" such as Old Saurm which were practically deserted returned two MPs while the emerging towns were unrepresented. Parliament's failure to pass the Great Reform Act in 1831 caused a riot in Yeovil which was only suppressed when troops were called out onto its streets to enforce order.

The Town Commissioners demolished the old Market House where indoor markets were held and the Shambles where the town's butchers had their shops and stalls in 1848. The following year they built the new Market Hall in the High Street (which burnt down in 1935) with a large meeting room on the first floor, accommodation for the market below, and the rear used as a corn exchange, a flax room, a cheese and bacon room and butchers stalls. The local economy, still rural, was given a boost in 1853 when the arrival of the railway allowed produce to be exported practically and cheaply.

Yeovil became a borough with a mayor in 1856. A hospital was built in 1872, piped water arrived in the 1870s and mains sewerage late in the nineteenth century.

A cheese and butter marketing company came to Yeovil in 1888 and, in 1901, it adopted the name "St Ivel". The St Ivel factory in Yeovil was closed in 1976 but the St Ivel brand remains as the chilled products arm with seven factories in the UK of Unigate, the dairy, fresh foods and distribution group. Its plant in Paignton, Devon, is the UK�s largest trifle manufacturer and also makes profiteroles and cheesecake - over 1 million desserts a week.

Petters oil engines began production in Yeovil in 1882 and, during World War I the company started to manufacture aeroplanes on the Westland site. > Rare Petter publicity postcard showing a Petter Standard Oil Engine - later cheaper versions were called the "Handyman", a name by which all hoizontal Petter oil engines came to be known. Reproduced here by kind permission of Mr Eric G Brain   image submitted by and copyright of webmaster on Mon., February 14, 2005 at 21:32h In 1915, Sir Ernest Petter offered the Petter Works to assist the war effort and, the Admiralty being in need of seaplanes, the company's Westland works was given over to aircraft production which continued after the end of the war. The Nautilus factory in Reckleford produced munitions. With the bombing of the Spitfire factories at Southampton, Spitfires and other aircraft were produced at the Westland site, prpeparing the way for Westland's domination of UK helicopter manufacture after the war. The town's aircraft industry made it a target for Luftwafe bombers during World War II; 49 people were killed and many of the town�s houses were damaged or destroyed.

The 20th century saw the disappearance of the traditional gloving industry which had grown in Yeovil since the Middle Ages to be replaced by new industries such as light engineering in the rapidly growing town of some 41,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by beautiful countryside in Somerset and adjacent Dorset, Yeovil is also vieing for a share of the tourist trade in the 21st century.

Yeovil was an important centre of the flax and hemp industries in South Somerset.

The upper part of Middle Street was formerly known as "Pit Lane" an it has been suggested that this may have been due to the existence of flax pits or tan pits in the vicinity.

Yeovil was well placed in the flax and hemp growing regions of South Somerset and North Dorset and the Rev. John Collinson in his "The History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset", published in 1791 during the boom in production encouraged by the government subsidy introduced in 1781 on every stone of flax and hemp produced, wrote that the "market here is very large for corn, cattle, and pigs, for bacon, cheese, butter, flax, and hemp. In the last two articles there is frequently �600 to �1,000 returned on a market day".

The parish church, dedicated to St John, was rebuilt on the site of an older structure from at least the tenth century between 1380-1400. The windows of the new church let in so much light that it later became known as the "Lantern of the West".

William Hunt first used ether as a dental anaesthetic in Penn Villa (which is still used as a dental surgery) Christmas 1847, a year after its first European use by the London surgeon James Robinson. His son, also William, published the earliest English paper on the use of hypodermic injection of cocaine as a local anaesthetic in 1886.

Bibliography Discuss this Page Hemp & Flax Industries Hits on this Page Legals Links Parish Church Penn Villa

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1205		King John grants Yeovil a charter to holds fairs and markets
	BAAAGETH
1348		As many as half the townsfolk of Yeovil, the largest town in South Somerset, may have been killed by the black death
1349		A dispute over the markets at Yeovil between the townsfolk and clergy erupts into violence in St Johns Church during the visit of the bishop of Wells
	BAAAGETH
1380		Rebuilding (-1400) of the parish church of St John, Yeovil
1449		Great Fire of Yeovil destroys 117 houses, a large proportion of the town
1477		Almshouse built at Yeovil by the bequest of John Woburn
1620		Yeovil suffers a severe fire
1633		Writing of Yeovil market, Thomas Gerard stated that the hemp and linen thread there were very good chafer (cheap)
	BAAAGEUA BAAAGETH
1643		Yeovil suffers a severe fire
1646		Yeovil ravaged by the plague
1668		Pollution of the river Yeo between Yeovil and Ilchester by the watering of flax, causing destruction of fish and great prejudice to neighbouring inhabitants themselves and their cattle
	BAAAGDBO BAAAGEUA BAAAGCOV BAAAGCDH BAAAGEUC
1690		The Rev. Martin Strong becomes vicar of Yeovil (-1720)
1692		Contemporay account states that great quantities of flax hath been sown last year at Yeovil, for making cloth, ticking, and sewing thread
	BAAAGEUA
1704		Rev. Martin Strong of Yeovil records tithes from flax and hemp of �59 13s 8d from Yeovil and �16 12s from Preston, commenting that it was a very good year for flax, hemp, apples, etc., and I doubt the next will prove much worse
1706		Revd. Martin Strong of Yeovil records the highest yied of tithes from flax and hemp during his incumbency (�63 8s from Yeovil and �12 2s from Preston)
1709		Rev. Martin Strong records that he found Flax and Hemp began to fall short
1718		Revd. Martin Strong of Yeovil records the lowest yield from tithes of flax and hemp during his incumbency; �32 16s 10d from Yeovil and �5 11s 3d. from Preston
1744		Foundation of a grammar school at Yeovil
1781		Act of Parliament grants a subsidy or bounty of threepence on each stone (14 lb) of hemp and fourpence on each stone of flax produced
	BAAAGEUA BAAAGCPO BAAAGGIH BAAAGGIG
1797		Halfpenny token produced by Brett and Cayme of Yeovil (sailcloth, tick, and dowlas manufacturers) bearing the initials B & C .Yeovil. 1797, and the figure of a man working at a loom on the reverse The token is at the Museum of South Somerset
	BAAAGEUA
1801		Frome (pop. 8,748), Taunton (pop. 5,794), Bridgwater (pop. 3,634) and Yeovil (pop. 2,774) are the principal towns of Somerset
	BAAAGCJX BAAAGEBS BAAAGEDG BAAAGCMH
1812.May.26		Messrs. Robert and Giles Cayme of Yeovil presented with a gold medal for the manufacture of sailcloth for the Royal Navy by the Duke of Norfolk as president of the Society of Arts, Manufacturers, and Commerce, in London which awarded the honour
	BAAAGBFI
1824		Pigot & Co.s Somerset Directory lists no sailcloth manufacturers under Yeovil but 15 in surrounding villages; 5 at East Coker, 5 at West Coker, 2 at East Chinnock, 1 at Middle Chinnock, and 2 at West Chinnock
	BAAAGEUA BAAAGGIH BAAAGGIG BAAAGDBQ
1824		Somerset Gazette Directory lists two sack and twine manufacturers un Yeovil; Jon Neal in Reckleford and John Palmer in Kingstone
	BAAAGEUA
1827		Robert Cayme of Middle Street, Yeovil, qualifies to serve as a juror by reason of his occupation as a sailcloth manufacturer
1830		Pigot & Co.s Somerset Directory lists 25 sailcoth manufacturers under Yeovil with none in the town, but 5 at East Coker, 8 at West Coker, 4 at East Chinnock, 4 at West Chinnock, 2 at Odcombe], 1 at Norton-sub-Hamdon, and 1 at Hardington
	BAAAGEUA BAAAGGIH BAAAGGIG BAAAGDBQ
1830		Formation of the Town Commissioners at Yeovil, responsible for cleaning, paving and lighting the streets
1831		Riots in Yeovil when parliament rejected the Great Reform Bill suppressed by the army
1834		Oil street lighting in Yeovil replaced by gas
1836.May.13		Foundation of the Yeovil Poor Law Union encompassing 36 local parishes
1840		Somerset Gazette Directory lists only one rope and sack manufacturer in Yeovill; John Tatchell of Back Kingstone, who was also a bag maker
	BAAAGEQA BAAAGEUA
1846		Building of Holy Trinity Church in Yeovil
1847.Dec		William Hunt first uses ether as a dental aneasthetic at Penn House, Yeovil, a year after James Robinson used it on London
1848		The Town Commissioners demolish the old Market House and Shambles in Yeovil
	BAAAGETH
1849		Building of the Town Hall in the High Street at Yeovil with a large meeting room on the first floor, accommodation below, and the rear used as a corn exchange, a flax room, a cheese and bacon room and butchers stalls It burnt down in 1935
1853		Arrival of the railway at Yeovil
1854.Jul.03		Act of Parliament creating Yeovil a municipal borough becomes law The new borough encompassed some 650 acres
1856		Yeovil becomes a borough with a Mayor
1871		Piped mains water becomes available in Yeovil
1872		Hospital built at Yeovil
1882		Petters begin production of oil engines in Yeovil
	BAAAGEVC
1899		Building of the Catholic Church at Yeovil
1901		The cheese and butter marketing company which came to Yeovil in 1888 adopts the name "St Ivel" The St Ivel factory in Yeovil closed in 1976 but the brand remains as the chilled products arm of Unigate
	BAAAGETH
1903		Municipal borough of Yeovil extended by 200 acres at Newtown and parts of the Pen Mill area
1915		Sir Ernest Petter offers the Petter Works in Yeovil to assist the war effort and aircraft production begins on the Westland site
	BAAAGEVC
1916		Horde of Roman coins unearthed during the laying of a water main on the site of Westland Road in Yeovil
	BAAAGEVU
1917		Exploratory excavation conducted on the site of Western Road, Yeovil, by Alderman WRE Mitchelmore where a horde of Roman coins was discovered the previous year
	BAAAGEVU
1925		Inspection of the Roman site at Westland Road, Yeovil, by Dr Mortimer Wheeler whose report resulted in the full-scale excavations in 1927/8
1926		Building of the new Municipal Buildings in Yeovil
1928		New council chamber and offices opened in King George Street, Yeovil
1929		Municipal borough of Yeovil extended to encompass 2,256 acres
1935		The Town Hall in the High Street at Yeovil erected in 1849 burns down
1940.Oct.07		First German air-raid on Yeovil Another air-raid took place the following day
1940.Oct.08		Second air-raid on Yeovil in 2 days The bombs made direct hits on 2 air-raid shelters in Preston Road and 27 deaths were caused in the town
1942.Aug.05		The final German air-raid just before dusk on Yeovil by 2 bombers damages nearly a thousand houses This was the last of 10 raids during World War II
1954		Achievement of arms granted to Yeovil marking the centenary of its incorporation as a municipal borough
1962		Building of the Reckleford Fire Station in Yeovil
1963		Opening of Yeovil College
1965		Opening of the Museum of South Somerset in Yeovil
1969		Building of Maltravers House, Yeovil The Maltravers family were lords of the manor of Yeovil in the Midddle Ages
1973		Opening of the Summerland Hospital in Yeovil
1974		Authority of the Yeovil municipal borough transferred to the new Teovil District Council as part of Local Government reorganisation A body known as the Charter Trustees was allowed to preserve ancient civic customs and dignities but possessed no power
1974		Opening of the Octagon Theatre, Yeovil
1976		Closure of the St Ivel factory at Yeovil (The company came to the town in 1888)
1980		Further limited excavations of the Westland Roman site in Yeovil
1982		Yeovil, a former borough, granted the status of a parish council
1985		Regranting of the achievement of arms to Yeovil following the town achieving parish status
1988		Formation of the Yeovil Archaeological Unit
1988		Building of the Quedam Centre in Yeovil

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