Bruton is a town, selecting ward, and also civil parish in Somerset, England, on the River Brue along the A359 in between Frome and Yeovil. It is 7 miles (11 kilometres) south-east of Shepton Mallet, just southern of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, 10 miles (16 kilometres) north-west of Gillingham and 12 miles (19 km) south-west of Frome in South Somerset district. The community and ward have a population of 2,907. The church consists of the hamlets of Wyke Champflower and Redlynch. Bruton has a museum of things from its past from the Jurassic onwards. It includes a table made use of by the writer John Steinbeck to compose on throughout a six-month remain in Bruton. The River Brue has a history of flooding. In 1768 it destroyed a stone bridge. On 28 June 1917, 242.8 mm of rain fell in 24-hour, leaving a water mark on a bar 20 feet above the typical level. In 1984 a protective dam was built 1 kilometres upstream from the town.