Staple Fitzpaine

The William Portman Almshouses in Staple Fitzpaine, Somerset, England was built in 1643. It is a Grade II* listed building.

All Saints Church is a former Church of England parish church in Curland, Somerset, England. Designed by Benjamin Ferrey, it was built in 1855–56 to replace an earlier church on the same site and became redundant in 1972. The church, now a private residence, has been a Grade II listed building since 1955. In the churchyard, an early 18th century chest tomb of the Slade family also became Grade II listed in 1986.

Curland is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Taunton. The village has a population of 225. The parish includes the hamlet of Abbey Hill. Curland is home of a thriving equestrian centre.

Ruttersleigh (grid reference ST250165) is a 97 hectares (240 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Buckland St Mary and Staple Fitzpaine on the north-facing slope of the Blackdown Hills. in Somerset, notified in 1991. This site comprises a mosaic of broadleaved woodland, scrub, bracken, mires and unimproved grassland which provides the habitat for several species of butterfly which are now scarce in Britain. The site is also important for its lichens. The ground flora includes a number of species normally found only in ancient woodland such as woodruff (Galium odoratum) and wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa). Wood horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum), which is rare in Somerset, is abundant and widespread on this site also being found in the areas of bracken (Pteridium aquilinum). The epiphytic lichen flora is also typical of ancient woodland and includes species such as Lobaria pulmonaria. The nationally scarce Opegrapha corticola and the nationally rare Chaenotheca stemonea also occur. The woodland rides and glades provide ideal habitat for the nationally scarce wood white (Leptidea sinapis) butterfly, this site having by far the strongest colony known in Somerset. The grassland provides habitat for the nationally scarce marsh fritillary (Eurodryas aurinia) butterfly. The breeding birds include nightingale (Luscinia megarhyches), common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) and wood warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix). Adder (Vipera berus), grass snake (Natrix helvetica), slowworm (Anguis fragilis) and common lizard (Lacerta vivipara) have all been recorded from the site.

Bickenhall is a hamlet and parish in Somerset, England, situated 5 miles (8.0 km) south east of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish, which includes the hamlet of Batten's Green, has a population of 122.Bickenhall is a widely scattered hamlet lying between the A358 and the village of Staple Fitzpaine. The village consists of farms, houses and smallholdings. It has no shops or pubs, barring a recently opened sculpture studio at Bickenhall Farm. Bickenhall is also home to Neroche Parish Hall, formerly St. Pauls church (though has the appearance of a Methodist type church rather than one with a tower).

Thurlbear Wood and Quarrylands (grid reference ST270210) is a 26.7 hectare (65.8 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Stoke St Mary in Somerset, notified in 1963. Thurlbear Wood is a species-rich woodland, formerly managed in a traditional coppice-with-standards system and situated on soils derived from Rhaetic shales and limestones. It is managed by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. The recorded history of the site, its Medieval embankments and the presence of several plants normally confined to primary woods, all suggest that Thurlbear is of considerable antiquity. The woodland has been used for educational and research work for more than 60 years. The 'quarrylands' are an area of calcareous grassland, and scrub occupying 19th-century workings in Lias limestone. Over 80 species of flowering plant occur. There is an outstanding butterfly fauna, with 29 species recorded. Breeding birds associated with the site include buzzard (Buteo buteo), nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), and grasshopper warbler (Locustella naevia).

Castle Neroche is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle on the site of an earlier hill fort in the parish of Curland, near Staple Fitzpaine, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Staple Hill is a hill in the English county of Somerset, the highest point in the Blackdown Hills. It is classed as both a Marilyn and a Hardy.This is one of the points on the Staple Fitzpaine Herepath a part of Forestry England woodlands.There is a loop walk, starting from the car parking area, of 800m taking in a couple of view points with the paths upgraded early in 2009 to be suitable for disabled access.

Stoke St Mary is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 2 miles (3.2 km) south east of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district.

The Anglican Church of St Mary in Stoke St Mary, Somerset, England was built in the 13th century. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Orchard Portman is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 150.The parish includes the hamlet of Thurlbear and the nearby Thurlbear Wood and Quarrylands Site of Special Scientific Interest. St Thomas' church in Thurlbear is home to the heaviest complete set (cast together at the same time) of four church bells in the world.

The Church of St Thomas in the village of Thurlbear, which is in the parish of Orchard Portman, Somerset, England, dates from the 12th century. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church was vested in the Trust on 1 November 1988.The church shows clear signs of the Norman church upon which later structures were built. Pevsner cites the Norman arcades and narrow aisles characteristic of that era and "never enlarged to satisfy later medieval taste." He dates the church to "hardly later than c. 1110."The Churches Conservation Trust launched a programme of repairs at the church, with the Somerset County Council conducting an archaeological recording and survey in conjunction with these efforts.