West Sedgemoor

Burton Pynsent House is a historic country-house in the parish of Curry Rivel, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. The house was built in stages between 1565 and 1765, when it was bequeathed to William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham by Sir William Pynsent, 2nd Baronet, who did not want the house to go to Lord North. Pitt had an additional wing built to a design by Lancelot Brown, and the subsequent owner demolished everything but this wing in 1805. The house was extended around this wing in the 20th century, overlooking the 98 hectares (240 acres) of formal gardens and parkland. To the northwest of the house is Burton Pynsent Monument, a 140 feet (43 m) column with an urn finial, built to commemorate Pynsent's generosity to Pitt.

Swell Court Farmhouse in Swell Lane, Fivehead, Somerset, England dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.It is adjacent to Church of St Catherine, Fivehead which is also Grade I listed.

The Church of St Catherine in Swell Lane, Fivehead, Somerset, England dates from the 12th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.It has a three-bay nave and two bay chancel. The vane is supported by buttresses. The door in the south porch has a Norman, Romanesque chevron arch.The six bells were restored in 2007. The interior includes a Norman font and has a Jacobean pulpit from 1634.The church is adjacent to Swell Court Farmhouse which is also Grade I listed. In the churchyard are two chest tombs, one dated 1619, which are also listed buildings.The parish is within the benefice of Curry Rivel with Fivehead and Swell which is part of the Diocese of Bath and Wells.

The 140 feet (43 m) Burton Pynsent Monument on Troy Hill at Burton Pynsent, within the parish of Curry Rivel, Somerset, England, was built in 1767 and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.Alternative names for the tower, which stands on Troy Hill, a spur of high ground about 700 m north-east of Burton Pynsent House, include the Curry Rivel Column, Pynsent Column, Pynsent Steeple or Cider Monument.The monument, which is clad in Portland Stone, was designed by Capability Brown and built by Philip Pear, at a cost of £2,000, for William Pitt as a monument to Sir William Pynsent, of the Pynsent Baronets. There is a legend that Pynsent was grateful to Pitt for opposing a ten shilling tax on a hogshead of cider (1763 Cider Bill), which would have affected his business, so on his death he left his entire estate to Pitt. However, Pynsent signed his will before the Cider Tax was ever proposed. Pitt certainly opposed the tax, but that was because the legislation would have allowed the Revenue men to enter people's homes to check whether cider was being made, and he believed that an Englishman's home is his castle and no-one should enter uninvited. Pitt then used some of the income from the estate (£3000 per annum) to erect the monument to his benefactor. In June 1948 it was reported that a heifer climbed the 172 steps to the top of the monument, but was later returned safely to her hillside pasture.The tower was restored in the 1990s by the John Paul Getty Trust and English Heritage.

The Willows and Wetlands Visitor Centre is situated at Stoke St Gregory, on the Somerset Levels, north east of Taunton, England. Based on a working farm, growing and processing willow, the centre offers tours of over 80 acres (0.13 sq mi) of withies, willow yards and basket workshops and explains the place of willow in the history of the Levels.

Stoke St Gregory is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about 7 miles (11 km) east of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village is on a low ridge of land between the River Tone to the north and West Sedgemoor to the south. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 942.

The Anglican Church of St Martin in Fivehead, Somerset, England dates from the 13th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.The church built of Hamstone includes a three-bay nave, chancel, south aisle and porch, and a west tower.The three-stage tower dates from around 1505. It is supported by diagonal buttresses and embellished with corner pinnacles and gargoyles. There are six bells the oldest of which was cast around 1500.Within the church is a palimpsest depicting Jane Seymour. There was a gallery at the back of the nave, however this was removed along with the box pews during Victorian restoration. The Norman font has a cylindrical stem and bowl, which has an intricately decorated rim.Outside the church next to the village green is the War MemorialThe parish is within the benefice of Curry Rivel with Fivehead and Swell which is part of the Diocese of Bath and Wells.

Fivehead is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Fivehead River, 8 miles (12.9 km) east of Taunton in the South Somerset district. In 2011 the parish, which includes the hamlet of Swell, had a population of 609.

Fivehead River (also known as the River Earn or Rag or Ragg River) flows through south Somerset, England. It is named after the village of Fivehead, near to two Sites of Special Scientific Interest at Fivehead Arable Fields and Fivehead Woods and Meadow.The source of the river is from various streams around Batten's Green and Ashill south west of Staple Fitzpaine, and flows east past Hatch Beauchamp and Beercrocombe where it is joined by several small tributaries. It then flows north east, past Isle Abbots, joining the River Isle north of Isle Brewers.The 18th century road bridge over the river is a Grade II listed building.

Athelney Abbey, established in the county of Somerset, England, was founded by King Alfred in 888, as a religious house for monks of the Order of St. Benedict. It was dedicated to "Our Blessed Saviour, St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. Egelwine".

The River Tone is a river in the English county of Somerset. The river is about 33 kilometres (21 mi) long. Its source is at Beverton Pond near Huish Champflower in the Brendon Hills, and is dammed at Clatworthy Reservoir. The reservoir outfall continues through Taunton and Curry and Hay Moors, which are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Finally, it flows into the River Parrett at Burrowbridge. An act of Parliament granted in 1699 authorised work that made the river navigable as far as Taunton. The act specified that profits should be used to benefit the poor of Taunton, but the Proprietors succeeded in avoiding their obligation until 1843, when they used the proceeds from the sale of the navigation to fund a wing of the Taunton and Somerset Hospital, and to aid the Taunton Market Trust. The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal opened in 1827, which provided an easier route than the river, and protracted legal battles followed over ownership of the river and water rights for the canal. These were not finally resolved until 1832, when the Canal Company formally took over the river navigation. The ability to navigate the river gradually deteriorated, not helped by the abandonment of the River Parrett as a navigation in 1878. Following flooding in Taunton in 1960, much of the river between there and its mouth was straightened, and the navigation locks were removed. That at Ham was blown up by the Territorial Army. Navigation rights were repealed in 1967.

Athelney is a village located between the villages of Burrowbridge and East Lyng in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English æþeling meaning "prince" + -ey meaning "isle". The village is best known for once being the fortress hiding place of King Alfred the Great, from where he went on to defeat the Great Heathen Army at the Battle of Edington in May 878.