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North Somerset is a unitary authority which is administered independently of the non @-@ metropolitan county of Somerset . Its administrative headquarters are located in the town hall of Weston @-@ super @-@ Mare , and has a resident population of 193 @,@ 000 living in 85 @,@ 000 households .
There are 37 Grade I listed buildings in North Somerset , including the Clifton Suspension Bridge , which joins North Somerset to Bristol and Clevedon Pier which was built between the 1860s and 1890s . It was removed following damage in 1970 and restored , before being rebuilt and reopened to the public in 1998 . Of the listed buildings , manor houses are well represented . They include Clevedon Court , built in the 14th century , and from the 15th century , Ashton Court and Nailsea Court . North Somerset has many religious structures ; the largest number are from the Norman or medieval eras . The oldest is the Church of St. Quiricus and St. Julietta in Tickenham which dates from the 11th century , and there are 8 others from the 12th century .
The most recent Grade I building in North Somerset is Tyntesfield , a Victorian Gothic Revival estate near Wraxall . It was acquired by the National Trust in June 2002 after a fund raising campaign to prevent it being sold to private interests and ensure it be opened to the public . The appeal by the National Trust collected Β£ 8 @.@ 2 million from the public in just 100 days and the Trust also received the largest single grant ever by the National Heritage Memorial Fund ( at Β£ 17 @.@ 4 million ) , which caused some controversy . The house is built of Bath stone , and is highly picturesque , bristling with turrets and possessing an elaborate roof .
= = Sedgemoor = =
Sedgemoor district is a low @-@ lying area of land close to sea level between the Quantock and Mendip hills , historically largely marsh ( or moor ) . It contains the bulk of the area also known as the Somerset Levels , including Europe 's oldest known engineered roadway , the Sweet Track .
There are 53 Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor , 14 of which are in Castle Street , Bridgwater . In 1834 , Castle Street was built on the site of the demolished Bridgwater Castle , as homes for the merchants trading in the town 's port . Outside the town of Bridgwater , the largest concentration of Grade I listed buildings are in the village of Cannington , where the 12th @-@ century Cannington Court and 14th @-@ century Church of St Mary were both associated with a Benedictine nunnery . Cannington is also the site of the 13th @-@ century Gurney Manor and Blackmoor Farmhouse , which was built around 1480 with its own chapel . Although 11th @-@ century churches such as the Church of St Michael at Brent Knoll and the Church of St Mary at Charlynch near Spaxton are still standing only blue lias rubble walling standing on a conical earthwork with a ditch approximately 820 feet ( 250 m ) in circumference are the only remains of Stowey Castle which was destroyed in the 15th century , which may have been as a penalty for the local Lord Audley 's involvement in the Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 led by Perkin Warbeck .
Many of the more recent structures in the list are manor houses such as Halswell House , where the south range was built in the 16th @-@ century for Sir Nicholas Halswell and the main north range in 1689 for Sir Halswell Tynte . The most recently constructed building in the list is the Corn Exchange in Bridgwater , built in 1834 .
= = South Somerset = =
The South Somerset district occupies an area of 370 square miles ( 958 km2 ) , stretching from its borders with Devon and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels . The district has a population of about 158 @,@ 000 , and has Yeovil as its administrative centre .
There are 94 Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset . Most are Norman- or medieval @-@ era churches , but there are other religious buildings as well . Muchelney Abbey consists of the remains and foundations of a medieval Benedictine Abbey and an early Tudor house dating from the 16th century , formerly the lodgings of the resident abbot . Stavordale Priory was built as a priory church in the 13th century and was converted into a private residence in 1533 . The Hamstone Stoke sub Hamdon Priory is a 14th @-@ century former priest 's house of the chantry chapel of St Nicholas , which after 1518 become a farm known as Parsonage Farmhouse . It remained a farm until about 1960 , and has been owned by the National Trust since 1946 .
Since the Reformation the 13th @-@ century Hanging Chapel in Langport has been a town hall , courthouse , grammar school , museum , and armoury before becoming a masonic hall in 1891 . The house known as The Abbey in Charlton Mackrell takes its name from the site on which it was built , the Chantry Chapel of the Holy Spirit , founded in 1237 . Naish Priory , built around 1400 in East Coker , was never a priory , and similarly the Abbey Farm House and Abbey Barn in Yeovil which date from around 1420 , have always been in lay @-@ ownership ; " abbey " was added to their names in the 19th century . The 140 @-@ foot ( 43 m ) Burton Pynsent Monument was designed in 1757 , by Capability Brown for William Pitt , as a monument to Sir William Pynsent . King Alfred 's Tower , a 161 feet ( 49 m ) high , triangular edifice , stands near Egbert 's stone , where it is believed that Alfred the Great , King of Wessex , rallied the Saxons in May 878 before the Battle of Ethandun . The towers funder , Henry Hoare , planned for it to commemorate the end of the Seven Years ' War against France and the accession of King George III . The other Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset are manor houses , built over long periods by local Lords of the Manor . The Tudor Barrington Court was the first country house acquired by the National Trust , in 1907 , on the recommendation of the antiquarian Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley . Newton Surmaville was built between 1608 and 1612 for Robert Harbin , a Yeovil merchant , on the site of an earlier building , but was extensively altered and enhanced in the 1870s . Lytes Cary and its associated chapel and gardens have parts dating to as early as the 14th century . The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner praised it , saying " Yet all parts blend to perfection with one another and with the gentle sunny landscape that surrounds them . " The 17th @-@ century house at Tintinhull is surrounded by a small 20th @-@ century Arts and Crafts garden . Ven House , which stands on an artificially raised terrace , has a rectangular plan of seven bays by five bays , and is built of red brick in Flemish bond , with local Hamstone dressings ; its north and south fronts are divided by two giant Corinthian pilasters . The small William and Mary style house was completed sometime between 1698 and 1700 . It was enlarged between 1725 and 1730 by Decimus Burton , who provided a new drawing @-@ room for Sir W. Medleycott and also an orangery attached to the house . Brympton d 'Evercy , built in stages between about 1220 and the 18th century , has been described , by Auberon Waugh , as " the most beautiful house in England " .
= = Taunton Deane = =
Taunton Deane has borough status . The district of Taunton Deane covers a population of approximately 100 @,@ 000 in an area of 462 square kilometres ( 178 sq mi ) . It is centered on the town of Taunton , where around 60 @,@ 000 of the population live and the council are based , and includes surrounding suburbs and villages .
There are 38 Grade I listed buildings in Taunton Deane . The oldest buildings are churches built before the end of the 12th century , and the Castle Bow , which has been incorporated into the Castle Hotel in Taunton but was originally a gateway into Taunton Castle . The castle was created between 1107 and 1129 , when William Giffard , the Chancellor of King Henry I , fortified the bishop 's hall . It was his successor , Henry of Blois , who transformed the manor @-@ house into a castle in 1138 , during the Civil War that raged during the reign of his brother , King Stephen . Taunton is also the site of Gray 's Alsmhouses , which dates from 1635 , and two buildings in Fore Street from the 16th century . Many of the more recent structures in the list are manor houses such as Cothay Manor and Greenham Barton which were built in Stawley in the 15th century . Poundisford Park and Cothelstone Manor were both built in the 16th century and Hatch Court in 1755 .
The most recent building included in the list is in the Quantock Hills . The original 16th century Hestercombe House , was rebuilt in 1909 . In addition to being a listed building the estate is designated Grade I on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England . The house was used as the headquarters of the British 8th Corps in the Second World War , and has been owned by Somerset County Council since 1951 . It is used as an administrative centre and is the current base for the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service .
= = West Somerset = =
The West Somerset local government district covers a largely rural area , including parts of Exmoor , with a population , according to the 2001 census , of 35 @,@ 075 in an area of 740 square kilometres ( 290 sq mi ) . The largest centres of population are the coastal towns of Minehead and Watchet . The council 's administrative headquarters are in the village of Williton .
There are 33 Grade I listed buildings in West Somerset . The oldest is either Culbone Church , one of the smallest churches in England , and pre @-@ Norman in origin , or Tarr Steps , which may originate in the Bronze Age , although other sources date them from around 1400 . Dunster has the greatest concentration of Grade I listed buildings , including Dunster Castle , which was built in 1617 on a site which had supported a castle for the previous 600 years ; the Yarn Market , which was built in 1609 ; Gallox Bridge , which dates from the 15th century and the Priory Church of St George which is predominately from the 15th century but includes part of the earlier church on the same site . Other sites include manor houses such as the medieval buildings at Nettlecombe Court and Orchard Wyndham .
= Gertrude Barrows Bennett =
Gertrude Barrows Bennett ( 1883 – 1948 ) was the first major female writer of fantasy and science fiction in the United States , publishing her stories under the pseudonym Francis Stevens . Bennett wrote a number of highly acclaimed fantasies between 1917 and 1923 and has been called " the woman who invented dark fantasy " .
Her most famous books include Claimed ( which Augustus T. Swift , in a letter to The Argosy called " One of the strangest and most compelling science fantasy novels you will ever read " ) and the lost world novel The Citadel of Fear .
Bennett also wrote an early dystopian novel , The Heads of Cerberus ( 1919 ) .
= = Life = =
Gertrude Mabel Barrows was born in Minneapolis in 1883 . She completed school through the eighth grade , then attended night school in hopes of becoming an illustrator ( a goal she never achieved ) . Instead , she began working as a stenographer , a job she held on and off for the rest of her life .
In 1909 Barrows married Stewart Bennett , a British journalist and explorer , and moved to Philadelphia . A year later her husband died while on an expedition . With a new @-@ born daughter to raise , Bennett continued working as a stenographer . When her father died toward the end of World War I , Bennett assumed care for her invalid mother .
During this time period Bennett began to write a number of short stories and novels , only stopping when her mother died in 1920 . In the mid @-@ 1920s , she moved to California . Because Bennett was estranged from her daughter , for a number of years researchers believed Bennett died in 1939 ( the date of her final letter to her daughter ) . However , new research , including her death certificate , shows that she died in 1948 .
= = Writing career = =
Bennett wrote her first short story at age 17 , a science fiction story titled " The Curious Experience of Thomas Dunbar " . She mailed the story to Argosy , then one of the top pulp magazines . The story was accepted and published in the March 1904 issue .
Once Bennett began to take care of her mother , she decided to return to fiction writing as a means of supporting her family . The first story she completed after her return to writing was the novella " The Nightmare , " which appeared in All @-@ Story Weekly in 1917 . The story is set on an island separated from the rest of the world , on which evolution has taken a different course . " The Nightmare " resembles Edgar Rice Burroughs ' The Land That Time Forgot , itself published a year later . While Bennett had submitted " The Nightmare " under her own name , she had asked to use a pseudonym if it was published . The magazine 's editor chose not to use the pseudonym Bennett suggested ( Jean Vail ) and instead credited the story to Francis Stevens . When readers responded positively to the story , Bennett chose to continue writing under the name .
Over the next few years , Bennett wrote a number of short stories and novellas . Her short story " Friend Island " ( All @-@ Story Weekly , 1918 ) , for example , is set in a 22nd @-@ century ruled by women . Another story is the novella " Serapion " ( Argosy , 1920 ) , about a man possessed by a supernatural creature . This story has been released in an electronic book entitled Possessed : A Tale of the Demon Serapion , with three other stories by her . Many of her short stories have been collected in The Nightmare and Other Tales of Dark Fantasy ( University of Nebraska Press , 2004 ) .
In 1918 she published her first , and perhaps best , novel The Citadel of Fear ( Argosy , 1918 ) . This lost world story focuses on a forgotten Aztec city , which is " rediscovered " during World War I. It was in the introduction to a 1952 reprint edition of the novel which revealed for the first time that " Francis Stevens " was Bennett 's pen @-@ name .
A year later she published her only science fiction novel , The Heads of Cerberus ( The Thrill Book , 1919 ) . One of the first dystopian novels , the book features a " grey dust from a silver phial " which transports anyone who inhales it to a totalitarian Philadelphia of 2118 AD
One of Bennett 's most famous novels was Claimed ( Argosy , 1920 ; reprinted 1966 and 2004 ) , in which a supernatural artifact summons an ancient and powerful god to 20th century New Jersey . Augustus T. Swift called the novel , " One of the strangest and most compelling science fantasy novels you will ever read " ) .
= = Influence = =
Bennett has been credited as having " the best claim at creating the new genre of dark fantasy " . It has been said that Bennett 's writings influenced both H. P. Lovecraft and A. Merritt , both of whom " emulated Bennett 's earlier style and themes " . Lovecraft was even said to have praised Bennett 's work . However , there is controversy about whether or not this actually happened and the praise appears to have resulted from letters wrongly attributed to Lovecraft .
As for Merritt , for several decades critics and readers believed " Francis Stevens " was a pseudonym of his . This rumor only ended with the 1952 reprinting of Citadel of Fear , which featured a biographical introduction of Bennett by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach .
Critic Sam Moskowitz said she was the " greatest woman writer of science fiction in the period between Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and C.L. Moore " .
Because Bennett was the first American woman to have her fantasy and science fiction widely published , she has been recognized in recent years as a pioneering female fantasy author .
= = = Novels = = =
The Citadel of Fear ( 1918 ; reprinted in Famous Fantastic Mysteries , February 1942 , and in paperback form in 1970 , [ NY : Paperback Library ] and 1984 [ NY : Carroll & Graf ] )
The Labyrinth ( serialized in All @-@ Story Weekly , July 27 , August 3 , and August 10 , 1918 ; later reprinted as a paperback novel )
The Heads of Cerberus 1st book edition . 1952 , Cloth , also leather backed , Reading , PA . Polaris Press ( Subsidiary of Fantasy Fress , Inc . ) ill . Ric Binkley . Intro by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach ( Thrill Book , 15 August 1919 ; reprinted as a paperback novel in 1952 and 1984 )
Avalon ( serialized in Argosy , August 16 to September 6 , 1919 ; not reprinted )
Claimed ( 1920 ; reprinted in 1985 , 1996 , and 2004 ) 192pp , cloth and paper , Sense of Wonder Press , James A. Rock & Co . , Publishers in trade paperback and hard cover .
= = = Short stories and novellas = = =
" The Curious Experience of Thomas Dunbar " ( Argosy , March , 1904 ; as by G. M. Barrows )
" The Nightmare , " ( All @-@ Story Weekly , April 14 , 1917 )
" Friend Island " ( All @-@ Story Weekly , September 7 , 1918 ; reprinted in Under the Moons of Mars , edited by Sam Moskowitz , 1970 )
" Behind the Curtain " ( All @-@ Story Weekly , September 21 , 1918 , reprinted in Famous Fantastic Mysteries , January 1940 )
" Unseen @-@ Unfeared " ( People 's Favorite Magazine Feb. 10 , 1919 ; reprinted in Horrors Unknown , edited by Sam Moskowitz , 1971 )
" The Elf @-@ Trap " ( Argosy , July 5 , 1919 )
" Serapion " ( serialized in Argosy Weekly , June 19 , June 26 , and July 3 , 1920 ; reprinted in Famous Fantastic Mysteries , July 1942 )
" Sunfire " ( 1923 ; original printed in two parts in Weird Tales , July – August 1923 , and Weird Tales , September 1923 ; also reprinted as trade paperback in 1996 by Apex International )
= = = Collections = = =
Possessed : A Tale of the Demon Serapion ( 2002 ; contains the novella " Serapion " , retitled , and the short stories " Behind the Curtain " , " Elf @-@ Trap " and " Unseen @-@ Unfeared " )
Nightmare : And Other Tales of Dark Fantasy ( University of Nebraska Press , 2004 ; contains all Stevens ' known short fiction except " The Curious Experience of Thomas Dunbar " , i.e. " The Nightmare " , " The Labyrinth " , " Friend Island " , " Behind the Curtain " , " " Unseen @-@ Unfeared " , " The Elf @-@ Trap " , " Serapion " and " Sunfire " )
= Man Down ( song ) =
" Man Down " is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her fifth studio album , Loud ( 2010 ) . Singer Shontelle and production duo Rock City wrote the song with its main producer , Sham . They wrote it during a writing camp , in Los Angeles of March 2010 , held by Rihanna 's record label to gather compositions for possible inclusion on the then @-@ untitled album . Rock City were inspired by Bob Marley 's 1973 song " I Shot the Sheriff " and set out to create a song which embodied the same feel but female perspective . It is a reggae ballad which incorporates elements of ragga and electronic music . Lyrically , Rihanna is a fugitive after she shoots a man , an action she later regrets . Several critics singled out " Man Down " as Loud 's highlight , while others commented on her prominent West Indian accent and vocal agility .
Def Jam released " Man Down " on May 3 , 2011 , as the fifth single from the album . In the United States , the single reached number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 9 on the Hot R & B / Hip @-@ Hop Songs chart . It has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America ( RIAA ) . The song topped the chart in France for five consecutive weeks and reached the top three in Belgium and the Netherlands . Anthony Mandler directed its music video , in which Rihanna 's character shoots a man after he rapes her . The video was criticized by the Parents Television Council , Industry Ears and Mothers Against Violence , who faulted Rihanna for suggesting that murder is an acceptable form of justice for rape victims . However , actress Gabrielle Union , a rape victim , praised the video for being relatable . " Man Down " was on the set list for three of Rihanna 's tours – the Loud Tour ( 2011 ) , the Diamonds World Tour ( 2013 ) and The Anti World Tour ( 2016 ) .
= = Background = =
In March 2010 , record label Def Jam held a writing camp in Los Angeles for songwriters and producers to compose material for possible inclusion on Rihanna 's then @-@ untitled fifth studio album , Loud . Def Jam rented out nearly every recording studio in Los Angeles in order to create as many songs as possible . Ray Daniels , the manager of musical duo Rock City ( brothers Theron and Timothy Thomas ) , was present during the sessions , and stated that a writing camp typically involves the label hiring ten recording studios for two weeks at the cost of $ 25 @,@ 000 per day . Daniels revealed that it is where songwriters have lyrics but no music , and where producers have music but no lyrics .
Shama Joseph , professionally known as Sham , was hired as one of the producers to work on crafting songs at the camp . Sham 's manager had arranged his attendance at the camp through an acquaintance who was an employee of the record label . Sham explained that he found a flight to Los Angeles and began working on music as soon as he arrived , stating that he had " nothing to lose and everything to gain " . He was inspired by a vision of Rihanna performing songs at a concert that were Caribbean themed . Sham felt that Rihanna had not explored Caribbean @-@ themed music since her debut album , Music of the Sun ( 2005 ) .
= = Production and recording = =
According to Daniels , Rock City knew Sham but they had not heard the West Indian / Caribbean @-@ themed music that he had composed during the camp . Sham played the music to them , to which the brothers responded " Let 's give Rihanna a one @-@ drop ! Like , a response to ' I shot the sheriff ' ! " Together , Sham and Rock City wrote the lyrics to " Man Down " in twelve minutes . In an MTV News interview , Rock City said they intended to write a song that would embody Bob Marley 's " I Shot the Sheriff " ( 1973 ) from a female perspective and to " tap [ Rihanna 's ] island origins in a way that sounded authentic " . Singer Shontelle said that Rihanna called her during the Last Girl on Earth tour and asked her to be involved with the song . She confirmed that Rihanna was present when she was writing her part in the recording studio . Shontelle elucidated that following one of Rihanna 's concerts , the singer exited the stage and immediately returned to the tour bus to work in the studio . Daniels said that once the writing camp had concluded , Rihanna listened to all of the songs which had been composed for her and chose her favorites . In September 2010 , several months after Sham attended the writing camp , Rihanna called him and said that she wanted to record " Man Down " for inclusion on Loud .
Rihanna later described the sentiment she wanted to express as " gangsta " , and elaborated on how reggae culture has influenced her musical style : " I 'm super inspired by reggae music [ and it ] has been a part of me since I was born , and I grew up listening to it . I was exciting for me to take this on as my own and do a song like this , especially with the lyrics being like that . " The track was composed during Rihanna 's Last Girl on Earth tour . The song 's instrumental was recorded by Cary Clark at The Village in Los Angeles . Kuk Harrell produced Rihanna 's vocals with Josh Gudwin and Marcos Tovar at Westlake Recording Studios , also in Los Angeles . Bobby Campbell assisted with vocal production and recording . The song was mixed by Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles , assisted by Erik Madrid and Christian Plata .
Daniels estimated the total cost of the writing camp to be approximately $ 200 @,@ 000 , averaging $ 18 @,@ 000 for each of the eleven songs which were included on Loud ; the camp consisted of forty writers and producers . Daniels confirmed that Rock City received $ 15 @,@ 000 and Sham $ 20 @,@ 000 for their part in the production of " Man Down " . He said that " to get that twelve minutes of inspiration from a top songwriting team is expensive β€” even before you take into account the fee for the songwriters " . A cost of $ 53 @,@ 000 for " Man Down " was already incurred prior to Rihanna entering the studio with a vocal producer . Although Makeba Riddick did not serve as the song 's vocal producer , Daniels cited her as an example of how the process works and how much she would charge . It is the responsibility of the vocal producer to tell a singer how to sing the song correctly to achieve the desired sound . Daniels said that Riddick 's fee varies from $ 10 @,@ 000 to $ 15 @,@ 000 , and that the final part of the process is for the song to be mixed and mastered , which incurs a similar fee . He estimated the final cost of writing , producing , vocal producing , mixing and mastering " Man Down " to be $ 78 @,@ 000 . When combined with the marketing and promotional costs , the total expense was $ 1 @,@ 078 @,@ 000 .
= = Composition and lyrical interpretation = =
" Man Down " is a " murder fantasy " reggae song with " Caribbean @-@ rhythms " and elements of ragga and electronic music . The song , in the key of C minor , has a tempo of 77 beats per minute . Rihanna 's voice spans more than one and a half octaves , from F3 to E β™­ 5 . Slant Magazine critic Sal Cinquemani described " Man Down " as one of Rihanna 's " most confident vocal performances " with her strong Barbadian patois . Jon Pareles of The New York Times said that the singer " plays up her West Indian accent " , and August Brown of the Los Angeles Times described the vocals as reasserting " her Caribbean lilt " . Entertainment Weekly writer Leah Greenblatt described " Man Down " as a song with " island rhythms " . Lyrically , Rihanna is a fugitive after she shoots a man , but later regrets it . Rihanna slowly relays the chain of events which led up to the murder . She cries to her mother about the act that she has committed – " Mama , I just shot a man down " – expressing guilt and remorse for not meaning to kill her attacker , and that he is somebody 's son . As the track develops , Rihanna 's Bajan accent becomes stronger and exaggerated , which climaxes during the bridge as she declares " Why deed I pull dee treeguh , pull dee treeguh , pull dee treeguh , BOOM ! " MuuMuse writer Bradley Stern thought that the track took on a confessional tone .