The Vale of Taunton Deane was described by John Norden, in 1610, as the 'paradise of England'. Others praised its beauty and its fertile soil, while the Victorians called it the 'golden vale'. The book tells the story of the entire Vale, including the communities surrounding the town of Taunton. Taunton had a market and a mint, before Domesday Book; and from A.D. 904, when Bishop Denewulf acquired the minster and its lands, the manor for nine centuries was a prized possession of the bishops of Winchester.