Mendip Mendip is a former
local government district which covers a largely rural area of ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the
Somerset Levels. There are 233 scheduled monuments in Mendip. These include a large number of
bowl and
round barrows and other neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age tumuli such as the
Priddy Circles and
Priddy Nine Barrows and Ashen Hill Barrow Cemeteries. There are also several Iron Age
hill forts on the hilltops, and lake villages on the lowlands such as
Meare and
Glastonbury Lake Villages. The lake villages were often connected by
timber trackways such as the
Sweet Track. There are several Roman sites, particularly around the
Charterhouse Roman Town and its associated lead mines. Some later coal mining sites are also included in the list. Two major religious sites in Mendip at
Glastonbury Abbey and
Wells Cathedral, and their precincts and dispersed residences,
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, which also appear on the Sedgemoor list as the site crosses the boundary between the districts.
Sedgemoor has artefacts from the
Bronze,
Iron and Roman ages. The former district of
Sedgemoor 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. 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, 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. 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.
South Somerset , founded in the 7th or 8th century The
South Somerset former district occupies an area of , stretching from its borders with
Devon and
Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. There are 69 scheduled monuments in South Somerset. Some of the oldest are Neolithic, Bronze Age or Iron Age including hill forts, such as
Kenwalch's Castle and Bowl barrows. The Romano-British period is represented with several sites including the
Low Ham Roman Villa which had an extensive
mosaic floor, now on display in the
Museum of Somerset. Religious sites are represented by
Muchelney Abbey, which was founded in the 7th or 8th century, and
Montacute Priory, a
Cluniac priory of the
Benedictine order, from the 11th.
Bruton Abbey was founded by the Benedictines before becoming a house of
Augustinian canons.
Stoke sub Hamdon Priory was formed in 1304 as a
chantry college rather than a priory. More recent sites include several motte-and-bailey castles such as
Cary Castle, and church crosses which date from the Middle Ages. Several
packhorse bridges, such as
Bow Bridge at Plox also appear in the list. The most recent monuments include the Round House, a
village lock-up in
Castle Cary dating from 1779.
Taunton Deane The former district of
Taunton Deane has an area of . There are 33 scheduled monuments in Taunton Deane. Many of them are Neolithic through to the Bronze and Iron Ages such as bowl barrows,
cairns along with hill forts such as
Norton Camp.
Castle Neroche was an Iron Age hill fort which was reused as a
Norman motte-and-bailey castle.
Burrow Mump shows evidence or Roman use but is better known as a Norman motte-and-bailey castle, and later church. It was presented, in 1946, by Major Alexander Gould Barrett, to the
National Trust and serves as a memorial to the 11,281 Somerset men who lost their lives during the first and second world wars. 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. 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, at
Churchstanton on the
Blackdown Hills.
West Somerset a
clapper bridge across the
River Barle in the
Exmoor National Park The
West Somerset former local government district covers a largely rural area, including parts of
Exmoor, and has an area of . The largest centres of population are the coastal towns of
Minehead and
Watchet. There are 202 scheduled monuments in West Somerset. Some of the oldest, particularly on
Exmoor and the
Quantock Hills are Neolithic, Bronze Age or Iron Age including hill forts,
cairns, bowl barrows and other tumuli. More recent sites include several
motte-and-bailey castles.
Dunster Castle has been fortified since the late
Anglo-Saxon period. After the
Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, William de Mohun constructed a timber castle on the site as part of the pacification of Somerset. A stone
shell keep was built on the motte by the start of the 12th century, and the castle survived a siege during the early years of
the Anarchy. At the end of the 14th century the de Mohuns sold the castle to the
Luttrell family, who expanded it several times during the 17th and 18th centuries. The medieval castle walls were mostly destroyed following the siege of Dunster Castle at the end of the
English Civil War. In the 1860s and 1870s, the architect
Anthony Salvin was employed to remodel the castle to fit Victorian tastes; this work extensively changed the appearance of Dunster to make it appear more
Gothic and
Picturesque. In 1976 Colonel
Walter Luttrell gave Dunster Castle and most of its contents to the
National Trust, which operates it as a
tourist attraction. 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 in a grant of 1191, on land he had been given by king
Æthelred the Unready. The geography with large numbers of streams is reflected by the number of
packhorse bridges, 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. == References ==