The district of Taunton Deane Area covers a population of approximately 100,000[3] in an area of 462 square kilometres (178 sq mi).[4] It is centred on the town of Taunton, where around 60,000 of the population live[3] and the council are based, and includes surrounding suburbs and villages.
There are 38 Grade I listed buildings in Taunton Deane. The oldest buildings are churches built before the end of the 12th century, and the Castle Bow, which has been incorporated into the Castle Hotel in Taunton but was originally a gateway into Taunton Castle. The castle was created between 1107 and 1129, when William Giffard, the Chancellor of King Henry I, fortified the bishop's hall. It was his successor, Henry of Blois, who transformed the manor-house into a castle in 1138, during the Civil War that raged during the reign of his brother, King Stephen. Taunton is also the site of Gray's Almshouses, which dates from 1635,[5] and a building in Fore Street from the 16th century.[6] Most of the Grade I listed buildings in Taunton Deane are Norman or medieval era churches, many of which are included in the Somerset towers, a collection of distinctive, mostly spirelessGothic church towers. Many of the more recent structures in the list are manor houses such as Cothay Manor[7] and Greenham Barton[8] which were built in Stawley in the 15th century and 13th century respectively. Poundisford Park[9] and Cothelstone Manor[10] were both built in the 16th century and Hatch Court in 1755.[11] The most recent building included in the list is Hestercombe House, which was rebuilt in 1909.[12]
^The date given is the date used by Historic England as significant for the initial building or that of an important part in the structure's description.
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