a town of the county of Somerset, in the hundred of Horsthorne, 117 miles from London. It stands on a branch of the river Parret, and is a poor and scattered place, with small houses, chiefly built for election purposes. It formerly returned two members to the House of Commons, but has been disfranchised. It has no market. The population amounted in 1801 to 953, in 1811 to 1000, in 1821 to 1440, and in 1831 to 2072.