Somerton is a town and civil parish in the English region of Somerset. It gave its name to the region as well as was quickly, around the beginning of the 14th century, the county town, and also around 900 was potentially the capital of Wessex. It has actually held a weekly market since the Middle Ages, and also the major square with its market cross is today an appealing place for site visitors. Situated on the River Cary, about 8.8 miles (14.2 km) north-west of Yeovil, Somerton has its own town council offering a population of 4,697 as of 2011. Residents are frequently described in your area as Somertonians. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Etsome, Hurcot, Catsgore, and Catcombe. The background of Somerton dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period, when it was an essential political as well as industrial centre. After the Norman occupation of England the importance of the town decreased, regardless of being the county town of Somerset in the late thirteenth century and also early fourteenth century. Having actually lost county town status, Somerton then ended up being a market community in the Middle Ages, whose economic climate was sustained by transportation systems making use of the River Parrett, and later rail transportation through the Great Western Railway, and also by light industries consisting of handwear cover production as well as gypsum mining. In the centre of Somerton the vast market square, with its octagonal roofed market cross, is bordered by old residences, while close by is the 13th century Church of St Michael and All Angels. Somerton likewise had links with Muchelney Abbey between Ages. The BBC drama The Monocled Mutineer was recorded in Somerton from 1985 to 1986.