The Vale of Taunton Past

The Vale of Taunton Deane was described by John Norden, in 1610, as the `paradise of England'. Others praised its beauty and its fertile soil, while the Victorians called it the `golden vale'. The book tells the story of the entire Vale, including the communities surrounding the town of Taunton. Taunton had a market and a mint, before Domesday Book; and from A.D. 904, when Bishop Denewulf acquired the minster and its lands, the manor for nine centuries was a prized possession of the bishops of Winchester.