a town of the county of Somerset, in the hundred of Whitestone, 116 miles from London. It is situated on the Mendip Hills, in a district abundantly supplied with coal, to which it is principally indebted for its prosperity. It is a place of considerable woollen manufacture, chiefly of broad cloths and cassimeres. The streets are narrow and ill built. It has a large parish church; and in the centre of the town a curious market-cross, erected in the year 1500, consisting of five arches, supported by that number of pentagonal columns. The manor of Shepton-Mallet is a portion of the duchy of Cornwall. There is a well-supplied market on Fridays. The population amounted in 1821 to 5021, and in 1831 to 5330.