List of public art in Somerset

This is a list of public art in the Somerset county of England. This list applies only to works of public art on permanent display in an outdoor public space. For example, this does not include artworks in museums.

Districts of Somerset   County council area   Unitary
1 South Somerset
2 Somerset West and Taunton
3 Sedgemoor
4 Mendip
5 Bath and North East Somerset
6 North Somerset

The ceremonial county of Somerset consists of a non-metropolitan county, administered by Somerset County Council, which is divided into four districts, and two unitary authorities. The districts of Somerset are Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset, 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]

Public art is art in any media that has been planned and executed with the intention of being staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all. Public art is significant within the art world, amongst curators, commissioning bodies and practitioners of public art, to whom it signifies a working practice of site specificity, community involvement and collaboration. Public art may include any art which is exhibited in a public space including publicly accessible buildings, but often it is not that simple. Rather, the relationship between the content and audience, what the art is saying and to whom, is just as important if not more important than its physical location.^[2]

Bath and North East Somerset

Bath and North East Somerset (commonly referred to as BANES or B&NES) is a unitary authority created on 1 April 1996, following the abolition of the County of Avon.^[3] It occupies an area of 220 square miles (570 km²), two-thirds of which is green belt.^[4] BANES stretches from the outskirts of Bristol, south into the Mendip Hills and east to the southern Cotswold Hills and Wiltshire border.^[4] The city of Bath is the principal settlement in the district, but BANES also covers Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Radstock and the Chew Valley. BANES has a population of 170,000, about half of whom live in Bath, making it 12 times more densely populated than the rest of the district.^[4]

Image	Title / subject	Location and coordinates	Date	Artist / designer	Type	Material	Dimensions	Designation	Owner / administrator	Wikidata	Notes
More images	Sir Bevil Grenville's Monument	Lansdown Hill 51.431389°N 2.399444°W / 51.431389; -2.399444	1720			Ashlar stone masonry,	25 feet (8 m) high.	Grade II* listed building, scheduled monument[5][6][7][8]		Q7526126
More images	Frederick, Prince of Wales	Queen Square, Bath	1738	John Wood, the Elder	Obelisk	Stone	15m tall	Grade II* listed building			Shortened after a gale in 1815.[9][10]
More images	Queen Victoria Jubilee Obelisk	Royal Victoria Park, Bath 51.3862°N 2.3731°W / 51.3862; -2.3731	1837	G.P. Manners (architect)	Obelisk	Stone		Grade II*		Q1752215
More images	Edward VII	Parade Gardens, Bath	c.1911	Newbury Abbot Trent[11]	Statue on pedestal	Bronze & Portland stone		Grade II		Q26673296
	Jupiter	Royal Victoria Park, Bath 51.3862°N 2.3731°W / 51.3862; -2.3731	1839	John Osborne		Bath Stone	Head 183 centimetres (72 in) high. Base and pedestal 600 centimetres (240 in) high.[12]
	Memorial to the 1968 flood	By the River Chew in Woollard 51.3784°N 2.5298°W / 51.3784; -2.5298				Stone, from destroyed bridge and plaque
	Sham Castle	Bathampton 51.3825°N 2.3375°W / 51.3825; -2.3375	1755	Sanderson Miller		Stone		Grade II* listed building		Q7487351
	Medici lions	Royal Victoria Park, Bath 51.3843°N 2.3646°W / 51.3843; -2.3646
More images	Rebecca Fountain	Beside Bath Abbey	1859, erected 1861	Rushton Walker of Bristol	Sculpture and fountain	Stone and marble		Grade II		Q26674838	[13]
More images	Queen Victoria	Exterior of Victoria Art Gallery, Bath	c.1897	Andrea Carlo Lucchesi	Sculpture and surround	Stone					[14]
	Fossil Tree milepost on National Cycle Route 24	Near Radstock 51.2972°N 2.4247°W / 51.2972; -2.4247		John Mills
	Somerset coalfield	Radstock 51.2936°N 2.4485°W / 51.2936; -2.4485

Mendip

Mendip is a local government district which covers a largely rural area of 285 square miles (738 km²)^[15] ranging from the Mendip Hills through on to the Somerset Levels. It has a population of approximately 11,000.^[15] The administrative centre of the district is Shepton Mallet.

Image	Title / subject	Location and coordinates	Date	Artist / designer	Type	Material	Dimensions	Designation	Owner / administrator	Wikidata	Notes
More images	War memorial	St. Cuthberts Parish Church, Wells	c.1920		Lantern cross with plaques	Stone & bronze	4m tall	Grade II listed building		Q26663082	[16][17]
	Adam and Eve	Bishop's Palace, Wells 51.209111°N 2.642105°W / 51.209111; -2.642105		E. J. Clack	Sculpture	Wood					[18]
	The Weight of Our Sins	Bishop's Palace, Wells 51.209111°N 2.642105°W / 51.209111; -2.642105	2010	Josefina de Vasconcellos	Sculpture group	Bronze					[19]
More images	Four Symbols of the Evangelists	Approach to the North Porch of Wells Cathedral	1992-93	Mary Spencer Watson	Four sculptures	Purbeck stone					[20]
More images	Admiral Hood Monument	Compton Dundon 51.101356°N 2.721306°W / 51.101356; -2.721306	1831	Henry Goodridge	Tuscan column	Ashlar	110 feet (33.5 m) high	Grade II* listed building		Q4683688
	Romulus and Remus	Pen Hill 51.2385°N 2.6173°W / 51.2385; -2.6173	1946	Gaetano Celestra	Neoclassical folly	Concrete and plaster over an iron armature	12 feet (4 m) high	Grade II listed building			[21][22]
	Celebration	Site of West Mendip Hospital, Horrington 51.1589°N 2.7006°W / 51.1589; -2.7006	2005	James Blunt	Sculpture group
More images	Mells War Memorial	Mells 51.240429°N 2.389446°W / 51.240429; -2.389446	1921	Sir Edwin Lutyens	War memorial	Purbeck marble		Grade II* listed building		Q17552180

North Somerset

North Somerset is a unitary authority which is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county of Somerset.^[23] Its administrative headquarters are located in the town hall of Weston-super-Mare, and has a resident population of 193,000 living in 85,000 households.^[24]

Image	Title / subject	Location and coordinates	Date	Artist / designer	Type	Material	Dimensions	Designation	Owner / administrator	Wikidata	Notes
More images	War memorial	Grove Park, Weston-super-Mare	1922	Alfred Drury	Statue on pedestal	Bronze and stone		Grade II		Q26677665	[25][26]
More images	Silica	Big Lamp Junction, Weston-super-Mare 51.3471°N 2.9761°W / 51.3471; -2.9761	2006	Wolfgang Buttress			4 metres (13 ft) wide at the base. 30 metres (98 ft) high.[27][28]		North Somerset Council		Lit by LEDs at night[29]
More images	The Glassblower	Nailsea 51.4342°N 2.7540°W / 51.4342; -2.7540	2008[30]	Vanessa Marston		Bronze			Nailsea Town Council
	Seafarer's Memorial	Portishead 51.4947°N 2.7733°W / 51.4947; -2.7733	2005			Stone
	Carved head	Leigh Woods 51.4464°N 2.6549°W / 51.4464; -2.6549				Stone
	Full Fathom Five	Portishead 51.4915°N 2.7543°W / 51.4915; -2.7543		Michael Dan Archer		Stone					108 granite columns[31]

Sedgemoor

Sedgemoor district is a low-lying area of land close to sea level between the Quantock and Mendip hills, historically largely marsh (or moor). It contains the bulk of the area also known as the Somerset Levels, including Europe's oldest known engineered roadway, the Sweet Track.^[32]

Image	Title / subject	Location and coordinates	Date	Artist / designer	Type	Material	Dimensions	Designation	Owner / administrator	Wikidata	Notes
More images	Admiral Robert Blake	Bridgwater 51.1282°N 3.0039°W / 51.1282; -3.0039	1898	F. W. Pomeroy	Statue on pedestal	Bronze, limestone and granite		Grade II*[33]	Bridgwater Town Council	Q30625603
More images	Willow Man	51.15046°N 2.9812°W / 51.15046; -2.9812	2000[34]	Serena de la Hey	Sculpture	Black maul willow withies over steel frame.[35]	40 feet (12 m) high.			Q2899308	Burnt down in 2001 and rebuilt.[36]
More images	Somerset Space Walk	Bridgwater and Taunton Canal 51.0626°N 2.9888°W / 51.0626; -2.9888	1997	Pip Youngman	Sculpture		22-kilometre (14-mile) long			Q7559907
	West Country Carnival	Bridgwater 51.1284°N 3.0039°W / 51.1284; -3.0039	2005		Statue on pedestal	Bronze
More images	Alfred the Great	Athelney 51.0593°N 2.9346°W / 51.0593; -2.9346	1801	Sir John Slade, 1st Baronet	Obelisk	Stone		Grade II listed building		Q26468579	Site of Athelney Abbey.[37][38]
		West bank of the Parrett Estuary, a mile from the village of Combwich 51.1617°N 3.0482°W / 51.1617; -3.0482	1996		Sculpture	Wood

South Somerset

The South Somerset district occupies an area of 370 square miles (958 km²),^[39] stretching from its borders with Devon and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The district has a population of about 158,000,^[40] and has Yeovil as its administrative centre.

Image	Title / subject	Location and coordinates	Date	Artist / designer	Type	Material	Dimensions	Designation	Owner / administrator	Wikidata	Notes
	Industria Virtute Et Labore	Yeovil
More images	Burton Pynsent Monument	Curry Rivel 51.021667°N 2.889167°W / 51.021667; -2.889167	1767	Capability Brown		Portland Stone	140 feet (43 m) high	Grade I listed building[41]		Q5000900
		Dillington House
More images	King Alfred's Tower	Brewham 51.115°N 2.365°W / 51.115; -2.365	1769-1772				49 metres (161 ft) high	Grade I listed building		Q7884143
	Ball and Whirl	Fore Street, Chard 50.8728°N 2.9635°W / 50.8728; -2.9635	1991	Neville Gabie		Bronze
	Jack The Treacle Eater	Barwick 50.9256°N 2.6231°W / 50.9256; -2.6231	c. 1920s			Stone			South Somerset District Council
	Fish Tower	Barwick 50.9304°N 2.6273°W / 50.9304; -2.6273	c. 1920s						South Somerset District Council
	Cone	Barwick 50.9238°N 2.6321°W / 50.9238; -2.6321	c. 1920s				75 feet (23 m) high		South Somerset District Council

Somerset West and Taunton

Somerset West and Taunton has borough status. The district covers a population of approximately 150,000^[42] in an area of 459.5 square miles (1,190 km²).^[43] The major settlements are the town of Taunton, where around 60,000 of the population live,^[44] Minehead which has population 10,000.

Image	Title / subject	Location and coordinates	Date	Artist / designer	Type	Material	Dimensions	Designation	Owner / administrator	Wikidata	Notes
More images	Wellington Monument	Blackdown Hills 50.9480°N 3.2293°W / 50.9480; -3.2293	1854	Thomas Lee	Triangular tower	Calcareous Grit	80 feet (24 m) wide at the base and 53.34 metres (175.0 ft) high.	Grade II* listed building		Q7981443
	Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain	Vivary Park, Taunton 51.0074°N 3.0964°W / 51.0074; -3.0964	1907							Q26565782	Made by the Saracen Foundry of Glasgow.[45]
More images	Queen Anne	Wellington Square, Minehead	1791	Francis Bird	Statue & surround	Carrara marble		Grade II* listed building		Q17555996	Moved to current site in 1893.[46][47]
More images	The Ancient Mariner	Watchet 51.182084°N 3.329038°W / 51.182084; -3.329038	2003	Alan Herriot	Statue on pedestal		7 feet (2.1 m) high		Watchet Market House Museum Society		[48]
More images	The Hand That Holds The Map	Minehead 51.2099°N 3.4733°W / 51.2099; -3.4733	2001	Owen Cunningham	Sculpture	Steel and welded galvanised iron	3 metres (9.8 ft) high and 3 metres (9.8 ft) wide				Start of the South West Coast Path.[49]
	John Short	Watchet 51.182084°N 3.329038°W / 51.182084; -3.329038	2008	Alan Herriot	Statue	Bronze			Watchet Market House Museum Society		[50][51]
	Memorial to Sir Thomas Dyke Acland	Selworthy 51.2172°N 3.5639°W / 51.2172; -3.5639				Wood	7 metres (23 ft) high
More images	Caratacus Stone	Exmoor 51.0905°N 3.5867°W / 51.0905; -3.5867	Possible 6th century		Monolith	Stone		Ancient monument		Q1035420
	Fishing	Wimbleball Lake 51.0666°N 3.4666°W / 51.0666; -3.4666			Sculpture	Wicker

References

1. "The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995". HMSO. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
2. Knight, Cher Krause (2008). Public Art: theory, practice and populism. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4051-5559-5.
3. "The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995". Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
4. "About the area". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Archived from the original on 4 November 2007. Retrieved 30 December 2007.
5. "Monument to Sir Bevil Grenville". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
6. Historic England. "Sir Bevil Grenville's Monument (1015110)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
7. Historic England. "Monument to Sir Bevil Grenville at NGR ST 7219 7034 (1214434)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
8. Historic England. "Sir Bevil Grenvilles Monument (1072442)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 21 April 2014.
9. Ison, Walter (2004). The Georgian Buildings of Bath. Spire Books. p. 129. OCLC 604318205.
10. Historic England. "Queen Square obelisk (443388)". Images of England. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012.
11. "Edward VII Memorial". Public Monuments & Sculpture Association. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
12. "Head of Jupiter". Public Monuments and Sculpture Association. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
13. Historic England. "Rebekah Fountain (1396023)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
14. "About, Victoria Art Gallery". Victoria Art Gallery. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
15. "A Portrait of Mendip". Mendip District Council. p. 1. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
16. "War Memorials Register: St Cuthberts Church Cross". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
17. Historic England. "War Memorial in churchyard of St Cuthbert approximately 10 metres south of south west corner of church (1383114)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
18. "Bishop's Palace, Wells: Adam and Eve". Victoria County History. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
19. "Don McCullin unveils war sculpture in Wells". BBC. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
20. Brian Morley (18 March 2006). "Mary Spencer Watson". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
21. "A39, statue of Romulus and Remus on land at Beechbarrow House, St Cuthbert Out". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
22. "Romulus and Remus". Public Monuments & Sculpture Association. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
23. "The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995". Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
24. "Local Area Agreement for North Somerset 2007–2010". North Somerset Partnership. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2007.
25. Historic England. "Grove Park War Memorial, Weston-super-Mare (1430882)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
26. "War Memorials Register: Weston Super Mare, Uphill and Kewstoke". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
27. "Silica". Public Art Online. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
28. "Silica, 2006, Weston-Super-Mare". Wolfgang Buttress. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
29. "Silica artwork". North Somerset Council. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2007.
30. "Glassblower takes pride of place in Nailsea". Weston, Worle and Somerset Mercury. 14 February 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
31. "Full Fathom Five by Michael Dan Archer". Public Art Portishead. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
32. "The day the Sweet Track was built". New Scientist, 16 June 1990. Archived from the original on 11 March 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
33. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1205747)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
34. "40ft sculpture unveiled in Somerset". BBC News. 26 September 2000. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
35. "Willow Man – 2001". Serena de la Hey. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
36. "Willow man rises from ashes". BBC News. 19 October 2001. Archived from the original on 21 May 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
37. Adkins, Lesley and Roy (1992). A Field Guide to Somerset Archaeology. Wimborne, Dorset: Dovecote Press. ISBN 0-946159-94-7.
38. Historic England. "King Alfred's Monument with railings (1173838)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 February 2007.
39. "An introduction to South Somerset" (PDF). South Somerset District Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
40. "Population of South Somerset". South Somerset District Council. Archived from the original on 30 October 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
41. Historic England. "Burton Pynsent Monument (1039561)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
42. "Community Profile Somerset West & Taunton" (PDF). Somerset Intelligence Partnership. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
43. "West Somerset (Local Authority): Key Figures for Physical Environment". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
44. "Demographics". Taunton Deane Borough Council. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
45. "News from November 2005". West Somerset Railway. November 2005. Archived from the original on 24 September 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
46. Historic England. "Statue of Queen Anne (1207015)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
47. Byford, Enid (1987). Somerset Curiosities. Dovecote Press. p. 45. ISBN 0946159483.
48. "Watchet and Samuel Taylor Coleridge". Market House Museum. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
49. "South Coast Path". Public Monuments& Sculpture Association. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
50. "Yankee Jack". Victoria County History. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
51. "Yankee Jack unveiled". Quantock Online. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.