Yeovil
A vibrant market town with a population of over 40,000 is situated at the southern boundary of Somerset and located 130 miles from London, 40 miles south of Bristol and 30 miles from Taunton.
Yeovil was first recorded in the Domesday Book as Givle and even then featured a thriving market community with a population of around 1,000. In 1205 the town was granted a charter by King John and by the 14th century had gained the right to elect a portreeve, a mayor in today’s terms. From the early 15th century there were two annual fairs held in Yeovil. These were similar to markets but held over a couple of days once a year. The Yeovil fairs would attract buyers and sellers from all over Somerset and Dorset. In the following centuries glove making grew to be one of Yeovil's most important industries.
The manufacture of aircraft has been ongoing on the Yeovil site of what is now Westland Helicopters since1915.Westland was a very innovative company and during the years before World War II, a number of exciting designs were flown. The most striking of these were the range of Westland-Hill Pterodactyl tail-less aircraft and the very sleek Wizard monoplane fighter. When war came in 1939, Westland were well advanced in production. Westland played a major part in the design of the Seafire and by the end of the war over 2000 Spitfire/Seafires had been produced in the Westland factories at Yeovil and Ilchester, in fact over 6000 fixed wing aircraft were built at Yeovil between 1915 and 1955.
The Fleet Air Arm Museum is one of the world's largest aviation museums with over 40 historic aircraft on display including the British prototype Concorde 002. There are over 90 aircraft in the collection. The history of the exciting world of British Naval Aviation is told through service aircraft, lively audio-visual presentations, displays and working models. In addition a Super X Flight Simulator provides the thrill of an actual flight. This internationally renowned collection of aircraft technical equipment, documents, photographs, uniforms, medals and memorabilia has been designed to appeal to visitors of all ages.
Today, Yeovil's bustling streets are lined with a mix of conventional high street stores and independent retailers, selling everything from crafts and clothes to pottery and food, much of it with a distinctive West Country appeal. Alongside the established shops are busy and colourful street markets which are held two days a week as well as a farmers market once a month. For the serious shopper the Quedam Shopping Centre has been designed to reflect a village street and provide a calm, friendly and relaxed environment. Yeovil boasts two theatres featuring excellent regular productions and an arts centre with a high quality exhibition programme. Other attractions include swimming pools, children's adventure playgrounds, a golf club, ski centre, multi-screen cinema and ten-pin bowling. At the foot of the town is the wooded parkland of Yeovil Country Park, where a more leisurely, peaceful walk can be enjoyed.
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