Scheduled monuments in Somerset

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Districts of Somerset
  Unitary
Map of districts of Somerset. North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset are shown in yellow.
1 Somerset
2 Bath and North East Somerset
3 North Somerset

There are over 670

county of Avon, are North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. These unitary authorities include areas that were once part of Somerset before the creation of Avon in 1974.[1]

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 current 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.[2]

For ease of reference, lists of scheduled monuments in the county are organised by local authority area:

Bath and North East Somerset

Main article:
List of scheduled monuments in Bath and North East Somerset
John Rennie
between 1797 and 1801 and completed in 1805.

Cotswold Hills and Wiltshire border.[3] The city of Bath is the principal settlement in the district, but BANES also covers Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Radstock and the Chew Valley. BANES has a population of 170,000, about half of whom live in Bath, making it 12 times more densely populated than the rest of the district.[3]

There are 58 scheduled monuments in Bath and North East Somerset.

Palladian bridge in Prior Park Landscape Garden.[4][10] Dundas Aqueduct, built in 1805[11] to carry the Kennet and Avon Canal
, is the most recent site in the list.

North Somerset

Aveline's Hole a cave in Burrington Combe which is the earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Great Britain.[12]
Main article: List of scheduled monuments in North Somerset

North Somerset is a unitary authority which is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county of Somerset.[1] Its administrative headquarters are located in the town hall of Weston-super-Mare. North Somerset has a resident population of 202,566.[13]

There are 68 scheduled monuments in North Somerset. Some of the oldest are Neolithic including Aveline's Hole, a cave which is the earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Britain,[12] and several tumuli. There are also several Iron Age hill forts such as the one at Worlebury Camp. Dolebury Warren another Iron Age hill fort was reused as a medieval rabbit warren. The Romano-British period is represented with several sites including villas.

More recent sites include several motte-and-bailey castles, such as Locking Castle and church crosses which date from the Middle Ages. There are also several deserted medieval settlements. Woodspring Priory is a former Augustinian priory founded in the early 13th century.[14] More recent sites date from the industrial revolution and include the Elms colliery and glassworks in Nailsea. The most recent monuments are two Palmerstonian gun batteries on the island of Steep Holm.[15]

Somerset

St Michael's church on the summit of Glastonbury Tor.
Main article:
List of scheduled monuments in Mendip

Mendip is a local government district which covers a largely rural area of 285 square miles (738 km2)[16] ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approximately 11,000.[16] The administrative centre of the district is Shepton Mallet.

There are 233 scheduled monuments in Mendip. These include a large number of

Charterhouse Roman Town and its associated lead mining.[25]
Some later coal mining sites are also included in the list.

Two major religious sites in Mendip at

tithe barns and The Abbot's Fish House also figure prominently in the list. Prehistoric defensive features such as Ponter's Ball Dyke were supplemented in the medieval period by motte-and-bailey castles such as Farleigh Hungerford, Nunney and Fenny Castle. Commercial and industrial development is represented by the Old Iron Works at Mells and various market crosses. The most recent monuments are World War II bunkers and bombing decoys on Black Down the highest point of the Mendip Hills,[26][27]
which also appear on the Sedgemoor list as the site crosses the boundary between the districts.

Brent Knoll Camp which has artefacts from the Bronze, Iron and Roman ages.
Main article: List of scheduled monuments in Sedgemoor

Sedgemoor district is a low-lying area of land close to sea level between the Quantock and Mendip hills, historically largely marsh (or moor). It contains the bulk of the area also known as the Somerset Levels, including Europe's oldest known engineered roadway, the Sweet Track.[28]

There are 79 scheduled monuments in Sedgemoor. Some of the oldest are Neolithic, Bronze Age or Iron Age including hill forts, Bowl barrows and occupied caves including several in Cheddar Gorge. Cannington Camp (which is also known as Cynwit Castle) dates from the Bronze Age,[29] while Brent Knoll Camp between the Somerset Levels and Brean Down is Iron Age (although there are some Bronze Age artefacts and it was reused in the Roman period.[30][31] The Romano-British period is represented with several sites. More recent sites include several motte-and-bailey castles and church or village crosses which date from the Middle Ages. Industrial development, particularly in Bridgwater, are represented by brick and tile kilns and a telescopic railway bridge.[32][33]

The remains of Muchelney Abbey which was founded in the 7th or 8th century.
Main article: List of scheduled monuments in South Somerset

The South Somerset district occupies an area of 370 square miles (958 km2), stretching from its borders with Devon and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The district has a population of about 156,000,[34] and has Yeovil as its administrative centre.

There are 69 scheduled monuments in South Somerset.

Augustinian canons. Stoke sub Hamdon Priory was formed in 1304 as a chantry college rather than a priory.[39]

More recent sites include several motte-and-bailey castles such as Cary Castle,[40] and church crosses which date from the Middle Ages. Several packhorse bridges, such as Bow Bridge, Plox also appear in the list. The most recent monuments include the Round House, a village lock-up in Castle Cary dating from 1779.[41][42][43]

Church of St Mary, Bishops Lydeard
.
Main article:
List of scheduled monuments in Taunton Deane

Taunton Deane has borough status. The district of Taunton Deane covers a population of approximately 100,000[44] in an area of 462 square kilometres (178 sq mi).[45] It is centred on the town of Taunton, where around 60,000 of the population live[44] and the council are based, and includes surrounding suburbs and villages.

There are 33 scheduled monuments in Taunton Deane. Many of them are Neolithic through to the Bronze and Iron Ages such as bowl barrows,

National Trust and serves as a memorial to the 11,281[50] Somerset men who lost their lives during the first and second world wars.[51]

The medieval period is represented by several churchyard and village crosses. The defensive walls and part of Taunton Castle, which has Anglo-Saxon origins and was expanded during the Medieval and Tudor eras, are included.[52][53] More recent sites include Poundisford Park, Buckland Priory, Bradford Bridge and a duck decoy from the 17th century. Some of the sites such as Balt Moor Wall are of uncertain date. The most recent are air traffic control buildings, pillboxes and fighter pens from RAF Culmhead, situated at Churchstanton on the Blackdown Hills.[54][55]

Tarr Stepsa clapper bridge across the River Barle in the Exmoor National Park.
Main article:
List of scheduled monuments in West Somerset

The

2001 census, of 35,712[56] in an area of 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi).[57] The largest centres of population are the coastal towns of Minehead and Watchet. The council's administrative headquarters are in the village of Williton
.

There are 202 scheduled monuments in West Somerset. Some of the oldest, particularly on

National Trust, which operates it as a tourist attraction.[59]

There are also several church or village crosses which date from the Middle Ages. Other sites of religious significance include Cleeve Abbey which was founded by William de Roumare, Earl of Lincoln[60][61] in a grant of 1191, on land he had been given by king Æthelred the Unready.[62] The geography with large numbers of streams is reflected by the number of packhorse, such as Gallox Bridge and Robber's Bridge, 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 village of Dunster provides the highest concentration of monuments ranging from Iron Age forts to the castle and Yarn Market which was built around 1600.[63][64]

North Somerset

Aveline's Hole a cave in Burrington Combe which is the earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Great Britain.[12]
Main article: List of scheduled monuments in North Somerset

North Somerset is a unitary authority which is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county of Somerset.[1] Its administrative headquarters are located in the town hall of Weston-super-Mare. North Somerset has a resident population of 202,566.[13]

There are 68 scheduled monuments in North Somerset. Some of the oldest are Neolithic including Aveline's Hole, a cave which is the earliest scientifically dated cemetery in Britain,[12] and several tumuli. There are also several Iron Age hill forts such as the one at Worlebury Camp. Dolebury Warren another Iron Age hill fort was reused as a medieval rabbit warren. The Romano-British period is represented with several sites including villas.

More recent sites include several motte-and-bailey castles, such as Locking Castle and church crosses which date from the Middle Ages. There are also several deserted medieval settlements. Woodspring Priory is a former Augustinian priory founded in the early 13th century.[65] More recent sites date from the industrial revolution and include the Elms colliery and glassworks in Nailsea. The most recent monuments are two Palmerstonian gun batteries on the island of Steep Holm.[66]


References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Somerset.
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