Langport is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, 5 miles (8 km) west of Somerton.

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.

[4] "Longphort" is a term used in Ireland for a Viking ship enclosure or shore fortress, with an identical etymology.

[5] It was one of the forts listed in the Burghal Hidage indicating its strategic position for King Alfred, as well as being close to the royal centre of Somerton.

[6] The first charter, granted by Elizabeth I in 1562, recognised that Langport was a borough of great antiquity, which had enjoyed considerable privileges, being governed by a portreeve.

[8] On 10 July 1645, the Battle of Langport was fought here, in which the last effective Royalist field army was destroyed and the Parliamentary victory in the Civil War became all but inevitable.

[9] In 1826 Langport was the birthplace of Walter Bagehot a businessman, essayist and journalist, who wrote extensively about literature, government, economic affairs and other topics.

He went into partnership with George Stuckey and by 1866 the company owned 14 East Indiamen as well as 19 barges on the River Parrett.

Completed in 1841 at a cost of £3,749,[11] it replaced the previous medieval bridge, with its nine tiny arches, all too small to allow navigation.

This was the Reverend James Moreton's Sacred Music, used by Congregationalists and other denominations in the 19th century; there is a copy in the British Library.

In World War II Langport was the site of a United States Army military prison or Disciplinary Training Center.

Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.

[19] It is also part of the Glastonbury and Somerton county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Langport Railway Cutting is a Geological Conservation Review site where Gravels are exposed which show scour-and-fill structures consistent with braided stream deposition from the Pleistocene age.

[23] In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the southwest of England; however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine.

In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground, leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms.

[24] Close to All Saints' Church, an archway crosses the road, bearing a Perpendicular building known as The Hanging Chapel.

The school serves Langport, Huish Episcopi, Aller, Muchelney, Pibsbury, Drayton and Pitney.

The main street leads up a slope from the river to the fine Perpendicular church of All Saints, which is a Grade I listed building.

The square tower (with its octagonal stair turret), which is in three stages, dates from the 15th century but the top section was rebuilt in 1833.

[32] Langport is served by a free newspaper, The Leveller, established in 2010, which provides news of the town and the county of Somerset with a circulation (net of returns) of over 12,000 copies.