Editing Somerset (section)

===Cities and towns===
{{See also|List of places in Somerset|List of settlements in Somerset by population|Category:Populated places in Somerset}}
Somerton took over from [[Ilchester]] as the [[county town]] in the late thirteenth century,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/Somerset_EUS_Somerton.pdf |title=Somerton |first1=Miranda |last1=Richardson |work=English Heritage Extensive Urban Survey |publisher=Somerset County Ciouncil |access-date=26 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060810/http://www1.somerset.gov.uk/archives/hes/downloads/Somerset_EUS_Somerton.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> but it declined in importance and the status of county town transferred to [[Taunton]] about 1366.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/media/pdf/8/1/Somerton_full_version_plan__no_appendix__low_resolution.pdf |title=A town plan for Somerton |publisher=South Somerset Council |access-date=7 January 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080227210337/http://www.southsomerset.gov.uk/media/pdf/8/1/Somerton_full_version_plan__no_appendix__low_resolution.pdf| archive-date = 27 February 2008}}</ref> The county has two [[City status in the United Kingdom|cities]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] and [[Wells, Somerset|Wells]], and [[:Category:Towns in Somerset|30 towns]] (including the county town of Taunton, which has no town council but instead is the chief settlement of the county's only extant [[Borough status in the United Kingdom|borough]]). The largest urban areas in terms of population are Bath, [[Weston-super-Mare]], Taunton, [[Yeovil]] and [[Bridgwater]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-areas-in-the-south-west---wales/urban-areas-in-the-south-west---wales-part-1.pdf |title=Census 2001: Key Statistics for urban areas in the South West and Wales |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=31 December 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531080151/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/urban-areas-in-the-south-west---wales/urban-areas-in-the-south-west---wales-part-1.pdf |archive-date=31 May 2012 }}</ref>

Many settlements developed because of their strategic importance in relation to geographical features, such as river crossings or valleys in ranges of hills. Examples include [[Axbridge]] on the [[River Axe (Bristol Channel)|River Axe]], [[Castle Cary]] on the [[River Cary]], [[North Petherton]] on the [[River Parrett]], and [[Ilminster]], where there was a crossing point on the [[River Isle]]. [[Midsomer Norton]] lies on the [[River Somer]]; while the [[Wellow Brook]] and the ''Fosse Way'' [[Roman roads in Britain|Roman road]] run through Radstock. [[Chard, Somerset|Chard]] is the most southerly town in Somerset and one of the highest, though at an altitude of {{convert|126|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} [[Wiveliscombe]] is the highest town in the county.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}