Chard, Somerset
Chard is a town and a civil parish in the English county of Somerset. It lies on the A30 road near the Devon and Dorset borders, 15 miles south west of Yeovil. The parish has a population of approximately 13,000 and, at an elevation of 121 metres, Chard is the southernmost and one of the highest towns in Somerset. Administratively Chard forms part of the district of South Somerset. The name of the town was Cerden in 1065 and Cerdre in the Domesday... Show more Book of 1086. After the Norman Conquest, Chard was held by the Bishop of Wells. The town's first charter was from King John in 1234. Most of the town was destroyed by fire in 1577, and it was further damaged during the English Civil War. A 1663 will by Richard Harvey of Exeter established Almshouses known as Harvey's Hospital. In 1685 during the Monmouth Rebellion, the pretender James Scott was proclaimed King in the Town prior to his defeat on...