WESTON-SUPER-MARE, a watering-place of Somerset, England, is situated at the northern extremity of Uphill Bay, a recess of the Bristol Channel, and on a branch of the Great Western Railway, 138?:-, miles from London, 20 south-west of Bristol, and 20 north-west of Wells. It is built partly on level ground near the shore, and partly on the slopes of Worlebury Hill, which aids in sheltering it from the north and east. On this account, as well as from its bracing and dry air, it has won considerable favour both as a winter residence and as a summer resort. Many villas have been built in it by persons engaged in business in Bristol. An esplanade about 3 miles in length has been constructed at a cost of £30,000. The pier, which altogether is 1040 feet in length, and includes the rocky island of Birnbeck, is north from the town at the extreme end of Worlebury Hill, where also are the Prince Consort promenade gardens. The church of St John, built in 1824, mostly on the site of the old one, contains some old monuments. The other principal public buildings are the town-ball in the Venetian style, the assembly rooms, the market-house, the Weston county club, the church institute, the hospital and dispensary, and the West of England sanatorium, which since its enlargement in 1882 contains 100 beds. The town has been long famed for its potteries. The population of the urban sanitary district (area 2770 acres) in 1871 was 10,568, and in 1881 it was 12,884.

The town was included in an ancient British settlement, of which Worlebury IIili was the citadel. The ramparts of this fortress still remain, including a number of hut circles, beneath which skeletons and Celtic remains have been found. In Domesday Westone is described as held by the bishop. In the time of Edward the Confessor it was held by Algar. In 1696 it was purchased by the Pigotts, the present lords of the manor. The growth of the town is entirely modern. About the beginning of the century it consisted of about twenty-four cottages inhabited by fishermen. A hotel for the reception of visitors was erected in 1805, and an esplanade begun in 1825, since which time it has made rapid progress.