OUR STORY

Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Bath and North East Somerset, 10 miles south-west of Bath, and 16 miles south-east of Bristol. It has a population of around 13,000.  Along with Radstock and Westfield it used to be part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton Radstock, but is now a town council in its own right.

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Midsomer Norton is characterised by the River Somer which runs the length of the town centre.  For many years the coalmines provided employment for local men until they ceased operations in the 1960s, around the same time that the town's two railway stations also closed.  Afterwards, good employment opportunities still remained for the town with elements of the print industry, and although some of these plants have also now begun to close, overall employment levels in the area remain very high.

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Midsomer Norton traditionally hosted other industries and became a major manufacturing centre for printing and packaging.  Some 2,000 people (27% of total employment) work in this industry locally.  Following the decline of mining, these companies expanded on local trading estates and in Welton. The sites of the disused collieries in the area have subsequently been developed for light industry.

In recent years some large local firms have closed or relocated blaming poor transport links.  Packaging company, Alcan Mardon closed in 2006, although its social club remains. Polestar Purnell, based in nearby Paulton also closed the same year with the loss of 400 jobs.  In August 2011, the town's largest remaining employer, Welton, Bibby & Baron, the largest producer of recyclable paper bags in Europe, announced the closure of its site in Welton, which it occupied for 150 years.  The company, known locally as ‘Welton Bag’ planned to move to larger premises at Westbury in Wiltshire, but promised to transfer all 400 jobs to the new site.

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Children's author Roald Dahl sold kerosene in Midsomer Norton and the surrounding area in the 1930s. He described the experience in his autobiographical work Boy: Tales of Childhood (published 1984):

My kerosene motor-tanker had a tap at the back and when I rolled into Shepton Mallet or Midsomer Norton or

Peasedown St John or Huish Champflower, the old girls ...

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At Somer Printing we nurture the community and give back, offering eco-friendly options where available and being part of the Woodland Trust ensuring all our paper/card bought is sustainably sourced, FSC certified.

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💚 Plastic-free (where possible)
📦 Recyclable packaging
🇬🇧 Made in the UK
🌳 Official Woodland Carbon partner
🌲 Sustainably sourced, FSC certified