Scheduled monuments in Somerset

Districts of Somerset
County council area
Unitary
Map of districts of Somerset. North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset are shown in yellow, while the other districts are in pink.
1 South Somerset
2 Taunton Deane
3 West Somerset
4 Sedgemoor
5 Mendip
6 Bath and North East Somerset
7 North Somerset

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.[1]

A scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or monument which is given legal protection by being placed on a list (or "schedule") 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. Such sites have to have been deliberately constructed by human activity. They range from prehistoric standing stones and burial sites, through Roman remains and medieval structures such as castles and monasteries, to later structures such as industrial sites and buildings constructed for the World Wars or the Cold War.[2]

For ease of reference, lists of scheduled monuments in the county are organised by local authority area:

  1. ^ "The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995". Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
  2. ^ Scheduled Monuments, English Heritage, archived from the original on 24 September 2014, retrieved 9 September 2014