West Somerset was a local government district in the English county of Somerset. It merged with Taunton Deane to form Somerset West and Taunton on 1 April 2019. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 35,075[1] in an area of 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi).[2]
According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics in 2009, the population of West Somerset had the oldest average age in the United Kingdom at 52.[3]
The largest centres of population were the coastal towns of Minehead (population 10,000) and Watchet (4,400).
A scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or monument which is given legal protection by being placed on a list (or "schedule") by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; English Heritage takes the leading role in identifying such sites. The legislation governing this is the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The term "monument" can apply to the whole range of archaeological sites, and they are not always visible above ground. Such sites have to have been deliberately constructed by human activity. They range from prehistoric standing stones and burial sites, through Roman remains and medieval structures such as castles and monasteries, to later structures such as industrial sites and buildings constructed for the World Wars or the Cold War.[4]
There are 201[note 1] scheduled monuments in West Somerset. Some of the oldest, particularly on Exmoor and the Quantock Hills are Neolithic, Bronze Age or Iron Age including hillforts, cairns, bowl barrows and other tumulis. More recent sites include several motte-and-bailey castles and church or village crosses which date from the Middle Ages. The geography with large numbers of streams is reflected by the number of packhorse and other bridges included in the list. The mining history of the area is also represented by several sections of the West Somerset Mineral Railway and associated ruins of mine buildings which are now scheduled. The most recent monuments are World War II pillboxes. The monuments are listed below using the titles given in the English Heritage data sheets.
Built as a crossing over the River Aller, it is thought to be medieval in origin. The 18 feet (5.5 m) wide pointed arch rises 8 feet (2.4 m) with a 4 feet (1.2 m) span half arch on the side for flood relief. Originally the bridge was 3.7 metres (12 ft) wide but another 1.8 metres (6 ft) was added in 1866.
Barlynch Priory (also known as St Nicholas's Priory and sometimes spelled Barlich Priory) was Augustinian priory founded, by William de Say, between 1154 and 1189 and dissolved in 1537. The only visible remains are some fragments of walling attached to Barynch farmhouse. Some of the stained glass from a Jesse window at the Priory is now in the St Peter's Church in Huish Champflower. The priory has been added to the Heritage at Risk Register because of the risk of collapse.
Bowl barrows close to the Greenway Track. One is 19 metres (62 ft) in diameter and the others 6 metres (20 ft) although there is some uncertainty about whether they are natural or man made.
Bat's Castle is an Iron Agehill fort at the top of a 213 metres (699 ft) high hill. It is on the highest point of Gallox Hill. Previously it was known as Caesar's Camp and is possibly associated with Black Ball Camp. Bat's Castle has two stone ramparts and two ditches. The ramparts are damaged in places and the hillfort is partly covered in scrub.
Black Ball Camp is an Iron Agehill fort . It is also known as British Camp and is possibly associated with Bat's Castle. It has a 3 metres (10 ft) high rampart and a 2 metres (7 ft) deep ditch. At the beginning of the 20th century the foundations of a stone tower were visible however this is no longer present.
A bowl barrow and round cairn 50 metres (160 ft) apart on Withypool Hill. The barrow is 20.5 metres (67 ft) and the cairn 3.5 metres (11 ft) in diameter.
Bury Castle is an Iron AgeHillfort and 12th century castle. The hillfort covers 0.2 hectares (0.49 acres) in internal area. The main enclosure has a single rampart and ditch, with steep drops on the north, east and south sides. There is an additional rampart 30 metres (98 ft) to the west, with a deep ditch. The rampart is revetted with drystone walling. In the late 1130s, a civil war, known as the Anarchy, broke out in England between the supporters of King Stephen and the Empress Matilda. A motte and bailey castle was built on the Bury Castle side, probably by William de Say. In 1198 Richard I confirmed that Brompton should be part of the inheritance of Matilda. The motte measures 23 metres (75 ft) and was placed on the southern tip of the promontory, with the bailey beyond around 60 metres (197 ft) across.
The Butter Cross has an octagonal base and polygonal shaft which probably date from the 15th century. The cross once stood in the High Street, possibly near the Yarn Market, and was moved to its current location on the edge of the village possibly in 1825, however a drawing by J. M. W. Turner made in 1811 suggests it was in its present position by then.
The cairn is around 0.5 metres (1 ft 8 in) high, 6 metres (20 ft) north to south and 7 metres (23 ft) from east to west. It is part of a wider cemetery with both cairns and round barrows.
The Caratacus Stone, sometimes known as the Caractacus Stone, is an inscribed stone thought to date from the 6th century. The inscription, in Latin, can be translated as "grandson or immediate descendant of Caratacus", has led to the general opinion that the stone was probably erected as a memorial to a person who claimed the first-century British chieftain Caratacus as an ancestor. The first mention of the stone was in 1219, when it was described in a perambulation of the Royal Forest of Exmoor as "the Langeston". In 1890 the letter N (which is reversed) was missing from the inscription, but by 1919 the missing piece had been found and was cemented back in place. In 1906 a shelter was erected over the stone, and an excavation in 1937 revealed that the stone was not associated with a burial site.
The remains of the Carnarvon New Pit iron mine and a section of the West Somerset Mineral Railway which served it. The mine was worked in the 1860s and 1870s before being closed as uneconomic. The ruin of the winding house, main shaft, two airshafts and parts of the railway infrastructure.
Clatworthy Camp is an Iron AgeHillfort. It is situated on a promontory of the Brendon Hills above Clatworthy Reservoir. It is roughly triangular in shape with an area of 5.8 hectares (14 acres). It has a single bank and ditch, cut through solid rock. There may have been an entrance on the west and two on the east.
Cleeve Abbey was a medievalmonastery. The abbey was founded in the late twelfth century as a house for monks of the austere Cistercian order. In 1536 Cleeve was closed by Henry VIII in the course of the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the abbey was converted into a country house. Subsequently, the status of the site declined and the abbey was used as farm buildings until the latter half of the nineteenth century when steps were taken to conserve the remains. In the twentieth century Cleeve was taken into state care; the abbey is now looked after by English Heritage and is open to the public. While the church is no longer standing, the conventual buildings are still roofed and habitable and contain many features of particular interest including the 'angel' roof in the refectory and the wall paintings in the painted chamber.
Cow Castle is an Iron AgeHillfort which occupies an isolated hilltop and has a single rampart and ditch, enclosing 0.9 hectares (2.2 acres). It is in the valley of the River Barle. It has been added to the heritage at Risk register because of the risk from bracken.
The remains of a stone cross which was constructed in or before the 15th century. The remaining part of the shaft is 0.5 millimetres (0.020 in) high and sits on a circular base with three steps.
The remains of a 14th or 15th century cross with a tapering octagonal stone shaft on an octagonal base. The upper part of the shaft was restored with wood in the mid 20th century.
A medieval cross with a stone shaft on an octagonal base with three octagonal steps. The head of the cross with a figure of St Peter is a 19th century addition.
A medieval cross of red sandstone. The octagonal shaft is 3 metres (9.8 ft) high, topped by a Greek cross added in the 19th century, standing on an octagonal base.
Daw's Castle is a sea cliff Hillfort just west of Watchet. The fort is situated on an east-west cliff about 80 metres (260 ft) above the sea, on a tapering spur of land bounded by the Washford River. The ramparts of the fort would have formed a semicircle backing on to the sheer cliffs, but coastal erosion has reduced the size of the enclosure, and later destruction by farming, limekilns, and the B3191 road, have left only about 300 metres (980 ft) of ramparts visible today. The fort may be of Iron Age origin, but was (re)built and fortified as a burh by King Alfred, as part of his defence against Viking raids from the Bristol Channel around 878 AD. It would have been one of a chain of forts and coastal lookout posts, connected by the Herepath, or military road, which allowed Alfred to move his army along the coast, covering Viking movements at sea.
Dunster Dovecote was probably built in the late 16th century. It is situated on Priory Green opposite the Tithe Barn and close to the walls of the Priory Church of St George. It is approximately 5.8 metres (19 ft) high and 5.8 metres (19 ft) in diameter, with walls around 1.2 metres (4 ft) thick. There are five hundred and forty nest-holes. In the 18th century the floor level and door were raised among several major alterations. The lower tiers of nest holes were blocked to protect against Brown Rats which had arrived in the Britain in 1720 and reached Somerset by 1760. A revolving ladder, known as a "potence", was installed to allow the pigeon keeper to search the nest holes more easily. In the 19th century two feeding platforms were added to the axis of the revolving ladder.
The Dovecot At Blackford Farm was built in the 11th century. It is now owned by the National Trust and used as a store for the neighbouring farm. The earliest written record of the Dovecote was in 1393 although the exact date of construction is not known. It is built of local Devoniansandstone, with walls are 1.2 metres (4 ft) thick and contains over 300 nest holes.
Dowsborough Camp (or Danesborough or Dawesbury) is an Iron AgeHillfort on the Quantock Hills near Nether Stowey. The fort has an oval shape, with a single rampart and ditch (univallate) following the contours of the hill top, enclosing an area of 2.7 hectares (6.7 acres). The fort and associated round barrow has been added to the Heritage at Risk Register due to vulnerability to vehicle damage and erosion.
Dunkery Beacon is the summit of Dunkery Hill, and the highest point on Exmoor and in Somerset. Dunkery Beacon was given to the National Trust in 1935 by Sir Thomas Acland, Colonel Wiggin and Allan Hughes along with the rest of the Holnicote Estate an event commemorated by the summit memorial cairn known as Robin How.
Earthworks remains of houses and a metal working site dating from the 5th to 8th century. Skeletons from a medieval cemetery have also been recovered from the site.
Elworthy Barrows is an unfinished Iron Age hill fort rather than Bronze Age barrows. It covers an area of 3.5 hectares (8.6 acres) and is surrounded by a bank and ditch.
A series of V-shaped stone fish weirs. The date on which they were built is not documented; however, there is documentary evidence of the weirs in 1420, but they may date back to the 11th century.
The Gallox Bridge is a narrow stone packhorse bridge, on the southern outskirts of Dunster, with two arches over the River Avill. It has a roadway width of 1.2 metres (3.9 ft), a total width of 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) and is 13.5 metres (44.3 ft) long. The bridge is in the guardianship of English Heritage.
^Wood Barrow round barrow is included twice in the National Heritage List for England as it straddles the border between Somerset and Devon.
^The date given is the date used by Historic England as significant for the initial building or that of an important part in the structure's description.
^"Allerford New Bridge". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
^"Houses of Augustinian canons: The priory of Barlynch". Houses of Augustinian canons: The priory of Barlynch', A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 2 (1911), pp. 132-134. British History Online. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
^"Cairn on Thorncombe Hill". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
^Historic England. "Caratacus Stone (35777)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 3 June 2011.
^Thomas, Charles (1994). And Shall These Mute Stones Speak? Post Roman Inscriptions in Western Britain. University of Wales Press. pp. 288–9. ISBN0-7083-1160-1.
^"Caratacus Stone". National heritage list for England. Historic England. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
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