page_title: Scheduled monuments in Somerset
section_title: West Somerset
hierarchical_section_title: Scheduled monuments in Somerset / West Somerset
caption_attribution_description: English: Tarr Steps, Exmoor, Somerset, England Deutsch: Tarr Steps, Exmoor, Somerset, England
context_page_description: There are over 670 scheduled monuments in the ceremonial county of Somerset in South West England. The county consists of a non-metropolitan county, administered by Somerset County Council, which is divided into five districts, and two unitary authorities. The districts of Somerset are West Somerset, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, Mendip and Sedgemoor. The two administratively independent unitary authorities, which were established on 1 April 1996 following the breakup of the 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.
  A scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or monument which is given legal protection by being placed on a list 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.
context_section_description: The West Somerset local government district covers a largely rural area, including parts of Exmoor, with a population, according to the 2001 census, of 35,712 in an area of 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi). 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 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, 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.
caption: Tarr Stepsa clapper bridge across the River Barle in the Exmoor National Park.
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