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
Areas shown in yellow are the unitary authorities and those in pink are districts administered by Somerset County Council
1 South Somerset
2 Taunton Deane (Borough)
3 West Somerset
4 Sedgemoor
5 Mendip
6 Bath and North East Somerset (Unitary)
7 North Somerset (Unitary)

The ceremonial county of Somerset 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]

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] Bath and North East Somerset 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
DateArtist / designer TypeMaterialDimensions DesignationOwner / administratorWikidata Notes

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Sir Bevil Grenville's Monument Lansdown, Bath

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

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Frederick, Prince of Wales Queen Square, Bath 1738John Wood, the Elder ObeliskStone15m tall Grade II* listed building Shortened after a gale in 1815.[9][10]

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Queen Victoria Jubilee Obelisk Royal Victoria Park, Bath

51.3862°N 2.3731°W / 51.3862; -2.3731
1837G.P. Manners (architect) ObeliskStone Grade II*Q1752215

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Edward VII Parade Gardens, Bath c.1911Newbury Abbot Trent[11] Statue on pedestalBronze & Portland stone Grade IIQ26673296
Jupiter Royal Victoria Park, Bath

51.3862°N 2.3731°W / 51.3862; -2.3731
1839John Osborne Bath StoneHead 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
1755Sanderson Miller Stone Grade II* listed buildingQ7487351
Medici lions Royal Victoria Park, Bath

51.3843°N 2.3646°W / 51.3843; -2.3646

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Rebecca Fountain Beside Bath Abbey 1859, erected 1861Rushton Walker of Bristol Sculpture and fountainStone and marble Grade IIQ26674838 [13]

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Queen Victoria Exterior of Victoria Art Gallery, Bath c.1897Andrea Carlo Lucchesi Sculpture and surroundStone [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
DateArtist / designer TypeMaterialDimensions DesignationOwner / administratorWikidata Notes

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War memorial St. Cuthberts Parish Church, Wells c.1920 Lantern cross with plaquesStone & bronze4m tall Grade II listed buildingQ26663082 [16][17]
Adam and Eve Bishop's Palace, Wells

51.209111°N 2.642105°W / 51.209111; -2.642105
E. J. Clack SculptureWood [18]
The Weight of Our Sins Bishop's Palace, Wells

51.209111°N 2.642105°W / 51.209111; -2.642105
2010Josefina de Vasconcellos Sculpture groupBronze [19]

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Four Symbols of the Evangelists Approach to the North Porch of Wells Cathedral 1992-93Mary Spencer Watson Four sculpturesPurbeck stone [20]

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Admiral Hood Monument Compton Dundon

51.101356°N 2.721306°W / 51.101356; -2.721306
1831Henry Goodridge Tuscan columnAshlar110 feet (33.5 m) high Grade II* listed buildingQ4683688
Romulus and Remus

51.2390°N 2.6166°W / 51.2390; -2.6166
1945Gaetano Celestra Bonded cast concrete Created by Gaetano Celestra, an Italian prisoner of war at a nearby camp.[21][22]
Celebration Site of West Mendip Hospital, Horrington

51.1589°N 2.7006°W / 51.1589; -2.7006
2005James Blunt Sculpture group

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Mells War Memorial Mells

51.240429°N 2.389446°W / 51.240429; -2.389446
1921Sir Edwin Lutyens War memorialPurbeck marble Grade II* listed buildingQ17552180

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
DateArtist / designer TypeMaterialDimensions DesignationOwner / administratorWikidata Notes

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War memorial Grove Park, Weston-super-Mare 1922Alfred Drury Statue on pedestalBronze and stone Grade IIQ26677665 [25][26]

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Silica Big Lamp Junction, Weston-super-Mare

51.3471°N 2.9761°W / 51.3471; -2.9761
2006Wolfgang 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]

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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
DateArtist / designer TypeMaterialDimensions DesignationOwner / administratorWikidata Notes

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Admiral Robert Blake Bridgwater

51.1282°N 3.0039°W / 51.1282; -3.0039
1898F. W. Pomeroy Statue on pedestalBronze, limestone and granite Grade II*[33]Bridgwater Town CouncilQ30625603

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Willow Man'

51.15046°N 2.9812°W / 51.15046; -2.9812
2000[34]Serena de la Hey SculptureBlack maul willow withies over steel frame.[35]40 feet (12 m) high. Q2899308 Burnt down in 2001 and rebuilt.[36]

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Somerset Space Walk Bridgwater and Taunton Canal

51.0626°N 2.9888°W / 51.0626; -2.9888
1997Pip Youngman Sculpture22-kilometre (14-mile) long Q7559907
West Country Carnival Bridgwater

51.1284°N 3.0039°W / 51.1284; -3.0039
2005 Statue on pedestalBronze

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Alfred the Great Athelney

51.0593°N 2.9346°W / 51.0593; -2.9346
1801Sir John Slade, 1st Baronet ObeliskStone Grade II listed buildingQ26468579 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 SculptureWood

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
DateArtist / designer TypeMaterialDimensions DesignationOwner / administratorWikidata Notes
Industria Virtute Et Labore Yeovil

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Burton Pynsent Monument Curry Rivel

51.021667°N 2.889167°W / 51.021667; -2.889167
1767Capability Brown Portland Stone140 feet (43 m) high Grade I listed building[41]Q5000900
Dillington House

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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 buildingQ7884143
Ball and Whirl Fore Street, Chard

50.8728°N 2.9635°W / 50.8728; -2.9635
1991Neville 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

Taunton Deane

Taunton Deane has borough status. The district of Taunton Deane covers a population of approximately 100,000[42] in an area of 462 square kilometres (178 sq mi).[43] It is centered on the town of Taunton, where around 60,000 of the population live[42] and the council are based, and includes surrounding suburbs and villages.

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designer TypeMaterialDimensions DesignationOwner / administratorWikidata Notes

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Wellington Monument Blackdown Hills

50.9480°N 3.2293°W / 50.9480; -3.2293
1854Thomas Lee Triangular towerCalcareous Grit80 feet (24 m) wide at the base and 53.34 metres (175.0 ft) high. Grade II* listed buildingQ7981443
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.[44]

West Somerset

The West Somerset local government district covers a largely rural area, including parts of Exmoor, with a population, of 35,300 in 2006[45] in an area of 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi).[46] The largest centres of population are the coastal towns of Minehead and Watchet. The council's administrative headquarters are in the village of Williton.

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designer TypeMaterialDimensions DesignationOwner / administratorWikidata Notes

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Queen Anne Wellington Square, Minehead 1791Francis Bird Statue & surroundCarrara marble Grade II* listed buildingQ17555996 Moved to current site in 1893.[47][48]

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The Ancient Mariner Watchet

51.182084°N 3.329038°W / 51.182084; -3.329038
2003Alan Herriot Statue on pedestal7 feet (2.1 m) high Watchet Market House Museum Society [49]

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The Hand That Holds The Map Minehead

51.2099°N 3.4733°W / 51.2099; -3.4733
2001Owen Cunningham SculptureSteel and welded galvanised iron3 metres (9.8 ft) high and 3 metres (9.8 ft) wide Start of the South West Coast Path.[50]
John Short Watchet

51.182084°N 3.329038°W / 51.182084; -3.329038
2008Alan Herriot StatueBronze Watchet Market House Museum Society [51][52]
Memorial to Sir Thomas Dyke Acland Selworthy

51.2172°N 3.5639°W / 51.2172; -3.5639
Wood7 metres (23 ft) high

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Caratacus Stone Exmoor

51.0905°N 3.5867°W / 51.0905; -3.5867
Possible 6th century MonolithStone Ancient monumentQ1035420
Fishing Wimbleball Lake

51.0666°N 3.4666°W / 51.0666; -3.4666
SculptureWicker

References

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