The Burton Pynsent Monument near Curry Rivel in South Somerset.

The Burton Pynsent Monument viewed from the east.

On the ridge just a short distance west of Curry Rivel in South Somerset is the Burton Pynsent Monument which also goes under various other names including the Cider Monument, Burton Steeple or the Chatham Monument.

There is no practical place to park near the Monument so it is best to use the free, signposted car park just off the A378 in the village of Curry Rivel.

Walk back to the main road and follow the A378 west until you reach Heale Lane.  Proceed along the lane past allotments and "Ostlers" until, on your left, you reach metal double-gates at "Stoneleigh".  By the gates is a signposted footpath.  Follow the path into a field and carry on along the hedgerow to the Monument.

The best views are to the west across West Sedgemoor toward Taunton and the Quantock Hills, and further along the ridge to the south west to Swell Wood.  Beyond Swell Wood, 16 miles away on the north west edge of the Blackdown Hills, Wellington's Monument can be seen.

The Burton Pynsent Monument was designed by "Capability" Brown in 1767 for William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham, to honour Sir William Pynsent who bequeathed Pitt his nearby Elizabethan Manor and Estate.  Sir William, a prosperous businessman in the growing Somerset cider trade, made the bequest out of admiration - and on account of Pitt's opposition to a new tax on cider!

While in Curry Rivel the nicely presented War Memorial and the Church of St Andrew, built in the Somersetshire Perpendicular style, are both well worth viewing.


A view across West Sedgemoor from near the Monument.