Burton Pynsent Monument: Difference between revisions

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The '''Burton Pynsent Monument''' stands 140 feet high on Troy Hill at [[Burton Pynsent]], within the parish of [[Curry Rivel]] in [[Somerset]].  It was built in 1767.
The '''Burton Pynsent Monument''' stands 140 feet high on Troy Hill at [[Burton Pynsent]], within the parish of [[Curry Rivel]] in [[Somerset]].  It was built in 1767.


The monument is a Grade I listed building.<ref>{{IoE|431251|Burton Pynsent Monument}}</ref>
The monument is a Grade I listed building.<ref>{{NHLE|1039561|Burton Pynsent Monument}}</ref>


Alternative names for the tower, which stands on Troy Hill, a spur of high ground about half a mile north-east of [[Burton Pynsent House]], include the ''Curry Rivel Column'', ''Pynsent Column'', ''Pynsent Steeple'' or ''Cider Monument''.<ref name=holt>{{cite book|last=Holt|first=Jonathan|title=Somerset Follies|publisher=Akeman Press|pages=76–77|isbn=978-0-9546138-7-7}}</ref>
Alternative names for the tower, which stands on Troy Hill, a spur of high ground about half a mile north-east of [[Burton Pynsent House]], include the ''Curry Rivel Column'', ''Pynsent Column'', ''Pynsent Steeple'' or ''Cider Monument''.<ref name=holt>{{cite book|last=Holt|first=Jonathan|title=Somerset Follies|publisher=Akeman Press|pages=76–77|isbn=978-0-9546138-7-7}}</ref>

Latest revision as of 22:13, 18 September 2019

Burton Pynsent Monument

Somerset


The Burton Pynsent Monument
Location
Grid reference: ST37672516
Location: 51°1’21"N, 2°53’24"W
History
Built 1767
For: William Pitt the Elder
Information

The Burton Pynsent Monument stands 140 feet high on Troy Hill at Burton Pynsent, within the parish of Curry Rivel in Somerset. It was built in 1767.

The monument is a Grade I listed building.[1]

Alternative names for the tower, which stands on Troy Hill, a spur of high ground about half a mile north-east of Burton Pynsent House, include the Curry Rivel Column, Pynsent Column, Pynsent Steeple or Cider Monument.[2]

The monument, which is clad in Portland Stone, was designed by Capability Brown and built by Philip Pear,[3] at a cost of £2,000,[4] for William Pitt the Elder as a monument to Sir William Pynsent,[5] of the Pynsent Baronets.

Pynsent was grateful to Pitt for opposing a ten shilling tax on a hogshead of cider (in the 1763 Cider Bill), which would have affected his business, so on his death he left his entire estate to Pitt.[6][7] Pitt then used some of the income from the estate (£3,000 a year) 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.[8]

The tower was restored in the 1990s by the John Paul Getty Trust and English Heritage.[2]

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Burton Pynsent Monument)

References

  1. National Heritage List 1039561: Burton Pynsent Monument
  2. 2.0 2.1 Holt, Jonathan. Somerset Follies. Akeman Press. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-0-9546138-7-7. 
  3. "Burton Pynsent Monument". Britain Express. http://www.britainexpress.com/counties/somerset/properties/Burton-Pynsent.htm. Retrieved 22 November 2010. 
  4. "Burton Pynsent". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/55167. Retrieved 22 November 2010. 
  5. "Curry Rivel Column (Burton Pynsent)". Folly Towers. Archived from the original on 2008-02-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20080222065624/http://www.follytowers.com/curryrival.html. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
  6. Byford, Enid (1987). Somerset Curiosities. Dovecote Press. p. 34. ISBN 0946159483. 
  7. A History of the Right Honorable William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, p. 50, at Google Books
  8. Milwaukee Journal 15 June 1948