Community Assembly of Langport

The Community Assembly of Langport (old forms are Langeberga and Langeport) is located in an area consists of two parts, one on the hill and one by the River Parrett. The former owed its origin to its defensible position, and the latter its growth to its facilities for trade on the chief river of Somerset. Lang means long so this could either be Long Port or Long Market.

Langport is on the ancient way from Glastonbury to Taunton. It could have been important during the Roman occupation as there were several villas in the vicinity. The fortifications here were strengthened by King Alfred after the battle of Edington against the Vikings’ and was meant to bring stability to the area. There is very little evidence of an all-out war between the Vikings and the Anglo Saxons as it was largely peaceful but we cannot blame the people at the time for being cautious and for skirmishes resulting from local disagreements.