The Quantock Hills west of

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, consist of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land. They were England's first

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

, designated in 1956.

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

have designated the Quantock Hills as a national character area. They are entirely surrounded by another: the

Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes The Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes form a natural region in the southwest of England in the county of Somerset. Natural England have designated the Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes as National Character Area 146. Extent The region ...

. The hills run from the Vale of Taunton Deane in the south, for about to the north-west, ending at

Kilve Kilve is a village in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the first AONB to be established, in 1957. It lies on the A39 almost exactly equidistant from Brid ...

and

West Quantoxhead West Quantoxhead is a small village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. It lies on the route of the Coleridge Way and on the A39 road at the foot of the Quantock Hills, from East Quantoxhead, from Wil ...

on the coast of the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

. They form the western border of

Sedgemoor Sedgemoor is a low-lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh (or "moor" in its older sense). The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part Wes ...

and the

Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendip Hills, Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to ...

. From the top of the hills on a clear day, it is possible to see

Glastonbury Tor Glastonbury Tor is a hill near Glastonbury in the English county of Somerset, topped by the roofless St Michael's Tower, a Grade I listed building. The entire site is managed by the National Trust and has been designated a scheduled monument. T ...

and the

Mendips The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills ...

to the east,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

as far as the

Gower Peninsula Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...

to the north, the

Brendon Hills The Brendon Hills are a range of hills in west Somerset, England. The hills merge level into the eastern side of Exmoor and are included within the Exmoor National Park. The highest point of the range is Lype Hill at above sea level with a secon ...

and

Exmoor Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath ...

to the west, and the

Blackdown Hills The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1991. The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand wit ...

to the south. The highest point on the Quantocks is

Wills Neck Wills Neck is the highest summit on the Quantock Hills and one of the highest points in Somerset, England. Although only 1261 ft (384 m) high, it qualifies as one of England's Marilyns. It is situated about north west of the historic ...

, at . Soil types and weather combine to support the hills' plants and animals. In 1970, an area of was designated as a

Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

. Archaeological landscape features include

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

round barrow A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...

s, extensive ancient field systems and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

hill forts.

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

coins have been discovered in

West Bagborough West Bagborough is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about north of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. In 2011 the village had a population of 358. The parish of West Bagborough lies on the south-west slopes of t ...

. The hills are popular with walkers, mountain bikers, horse riders and tourists who explore paths such as the

Coleridge Way The Coleridge Way is a long-distance trail in Somerset and Devon, England. It was opened in April 2005, and the route links several sites associated with the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge starting from Coleridge Cottage at Nether Stowey. Or ...

Etymology

The name first appears in

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

charters in around AD 880 as ''Cantuctun'' and two centuries later in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as ''Cantoctona'' and ''Cantetone''. The name means ''settlement by a rim or circle of hills''; ''Cantuc'' is

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

for a rim or circle, and ''-ton'' or ''-tun'' is

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

for a settlement. The highest point of the hills is called Will's Neck meaning ''ridge of the Welshman'', probably referring to a time when the hills marked the boundary between the expanding Saxon kingdom of

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

and the lands of the

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

or 'Welsh' to the West. A battle was fought locally at that time.

Geology

The Quantock Hills are largely formed by rocks of the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

period, which consist of sediments originally laid down under a shallow sea and slowly compressed into solid rock. In the higher north-western areas older Early Devonian rocks known as Hangman Grits (or, more formally, the Hangman Sandstone Formation) predominate and can be seen in the exposed rock at

quarry, which was worked for road building. The Hangman Grits are described in three divisions: the lowest are the Little Quantock Beds, which are located near

Crowcombe Crowcombe is a village and civil parish under the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England, southeast of Watchet, and from Taunton. The village has a population of 489. The parish covers the hamlets of Crowcombe Heathfield, Flaxpool, Halsway, Law ...

, and made up of siltstones and slates. Between

Triscombe Crowcombe is a village and civil parish under the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England, southeast of Watchet, and from Taunton. The village has a population of 489. The parish covers the hamlets of Crowcombe Heathfield, Flaxpool, Halsway, Law ...

and West Quantoxhead is a layer of the Triscombe Beds which is around thick and is made up of green sandstone and mudstones. The uppermost division is the Hodders Combe Beds of sandstone and conglomerate and is approximately thick. Further south there are newer Middle and Late Devonian rocks, known as Ilfracombe beds and Morte Slates. These include sandstone and limestone, which have been quarried near

Aisholt Spaxton is a small village and civil parish on the Quantocks in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England. History Spaxton was part of the hundred of Cannington. The modern parish includes the ancient parishes of Aisholt and Cha ...

. At Great Holwell, south of Aisholt, is the only limestone cave in the Devonian limestone of North

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

and West Somerset. The lower fringes around the hills are composed of younger

New Red Sandstone The New Red Sandstone, chiefly in British geology, is composed of beds of red sandstone and associated rocks laid down throughout the Permian (300 million years ago) to the end of the Triassic (about 200 million years ago), that under ...

rocks of the

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

period. These rocks were laid down in a shallow sea and often contain irregular masses or veins of

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...

, which was mined on the foreshore at

Watchet Watchet is a harbour town, civil parish and electoral ward in the county of Somerset, England, with a population in 2011 of 3,785. It is situated west of Bridgwater, north-west of Taunton, and east of Minehead. The town lies at the mouth of ...

. Several areas have outcrops of slates. Younger rocks of the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

period can be found between

St Audries West Quantoxhead is a small village and civil parish in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. It lies on the route of the Coleridge Way and on the A39 road at the foot of the Quantock Hills, from East Quantoxhead, from W ...

and

. This area falls within the Blue Anchor to Lilstock

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) and is considered to be of international geological importance. Kilve has the remains of a red-brick

retort In a chemistry laboratory, a retort is a device used for distillation or dry distillation of substances. It consists of a spherical vessel with a long downward-pointing neck. The liquid to be distilled is placed in the vessel and heated. The n ...

built in 1924 after the shale in the cliffs was found to be rich in oil. Along this coast, the cliffs are layered with compressed strata of oil-bearing shale and

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

, yellow and brown

Lias Lias may refer to: Geology * Lias Formation, a geologic formation in France *Lias Group, a lithostratigraphic unit in western Europe * Early Jurassic, an epoch People * Godfrey Lias, British author * Mohd Shamsudin Lias (born 1953), Malaysian ...

embedded with

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s. The Shaline Company was founded in 1924 to exploit these strata but was unable to raise sufficient capital. The company's retort house is thought to be the first structure erected here for the conversion of shale to oil and is all that remains of the anticipated Somerset oil boom. At

Blue Anchor Blue Anchor is a seaside village, in the parish of Old Cleeve, close to Carhampton in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. The village takes its name from a 17th-century inn; the bay, Blue Anchor Bay, was previously kno ...

the coloured

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...

found in the cliffs gave rise to the name of the colour "Watchet Blue". The village has the only updraught brick

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

known to have survived in Somerset. It was built around 1830 and was supplied by small vessels carrying limestone to the small landing

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

. Now used as a garage, the kiln is thought to have operated until the 1870s, when the large-scale production of bricks in

rendered small brickyards uneconomic. Cockercombe tuff is a greenish-grey, hard

pyroclastic rock Pyroclastic rocks (derived from the el, πῦρ, links=no, meaning fire; and , meaning broken) are clastic rocks composed of rock fragments produced and ejected by explosive volcanic eruptions. The individual rock fragments are known as pyrocl ...

formed by the compression of

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...

and is found almost exclusively in the south-eastern end of the Quantock Hills.

Climate

Along with the rest of

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

, the Quantock Hills has a

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

that is generally wetter and milder than the rest of England. The mean temperature is approximately and shows a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

al and a diurnal variation, but because of the modifying effect of the sea the range is less than in most other parts of the United Kingdom. January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between and . July and August are the warmest months, with mean daily maxima around . December is normally the most cloudy month and June the sunniest. High pressure over the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

often brings clear skies to south-west England, particularly in summer.

Cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...

often forms inland especially near hills, and acts to reduce sunshine. The average annual sunshine totals around 1,600 hours. Rainfall tends to be associated with Atlantic depressions or with convection. In summer, convection caused by solar surface heating sometimes forms shower clouds, and a large proportion of rain falls from showers and thunderstorms at this time of year. Average rainfall is around . About 8 to 15 days of snowfall is typical. From November to March, mean wind speeds are highest; winds are lightest from June to August. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.

Ecology

In 1970 an area of in the Quantocks was designated as a

(SSSI). This a

conservation designation A conservation designation is a name and/or acronym which explains the status of an area of land in terms of conservation or protection. Examples United Kingdom *Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) * Environmentally sensitive area * Local n ...

denoting a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the United Kingdom, selected by

, for areas with particular landscape and ecological characteristics. It provides some protection from development, from other damage, and (since 2000) also from neglect, under the

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), known informally as the CRoW Act or "Right to Roam" Act is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament affecting England and Wales which came into force on 30 November 2000. Right to roam The Act imp ...

. The streams and open water such as Hawkridge Reservoir and Ashford Reservoir on Cannington Brook also provide habitats for a range of species.

Flora

The hilltops are covered in heathland of gorse, heather, bracken and thorn with plantations of conifer. The western side of the Quantocks are steep scarp slopes of pasture, woods and parkland. Deep stream-cut combes to the north-east contain extensive oak-woods with small flower-rich bogs above them. The areas where there is limited drainage are dominated by heather (''Calluna vulgaris''), with significant populations of

cross-leaved heath ''Erica tetralix'', the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europ ...

(''Erica tetralix''),

purple moor-grass ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid so ...

(''Molinia caerulea''),

bilberry Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is ''Vaccinium myrtillus ...

(''Vaccinium myrtillus'') and

wavy hair-grass ''Deschampsia flexuosa'', commonly known as wavy hair-grass, is a species of bunchgrass in the grass family widely distributed in Eurasia, Africa, South America, and North America. Description Wavy hair-grass, ''Deschampsia flexuosa'', has wir ...

(''Deschampsia flexuosa''). Drier areas are covered with

bell heather ''Erica cinerea'', the bell heather, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to western and central Europe. The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 5 for most nectar produ ...

(''Erica cinerea''),

western gorse ''Ulex gallii'', the western gorse or dwarf furzeA R Clapham, T G Tutin, E F Warburg, ''Flora of the British Isles'', Cambridge, 1962, p. 332 is an evergreen shrub in the pea family (Fabaceae), native to the Atlantic coasts of western Europe: sou ...

(''Ulex gallii'') and

bristle bent ''Agrostis curtisii'', the bristle bent, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae native to Eurasia. It is densely tufted, with hair like leaves and stems that grow up to 60 cm. Its spikelets are yellow-green in colour, and its lemmas ...

(''Agrostis curtisii''), while

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

(''Pteridium aquilinum'') is common on well-drained deeper soils. The springs and streams provide a specialist environment that supports

bog pimpernel ''Anagallis tenella'', known in Britain as the bog pimpernel, is a low growing perennial plant found in a variety of damp habitats from calcareous dune slacks to boggy and peaty heaths in Eurasia. In the United Kingdom it is mostly restricte ...

(''Anagallis tenella''). The woodland is generally birch/sessile oak woodland, valley alder woodland and ash/wych elm woodland, which support a rich

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Alfoxton Wood is one of only three British locations where the lichen ''Tomasellia lectea'' is present.

Fauna

The various habitats, together with the wide range of slopes and aspects, provide ideal conditions for a rich fauna.

Amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s such as the

palmate newt The palmate newt (''Lissotriton helveticus'') is a species of newt found in Western Europe, from Great Britain to the northern Iberian peninsula. It is long and olive or brown with some dark spots. The underside is yellow to orange, and the thr ...

(''Triturus helveticus''),

common frog The common frog or grass frog (''Rana temporaria''), also known as the European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frog, European Holarctic true frog, European pond frog or European brown frog, is a semi-aquatic amphibian o ...

(''Rana temporaris''), and

common toad The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (''Bufo bufo'', from Latin ''bufo'' "toad"), is a frog found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, and some Mediterranean islands), in ...

(''Bufo bufo'') are represented in the damper environments. Reptiles present include adder (''

Vipera berus ''Vipera berus'', the common European adderMallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . or common European viper,Stidworthy J. (1974). ...

''),

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recogniz ...

(''Natrix natrix''),

slowworm The slow worm (''Anguis fragilis'') is a reptile native to western Eurasia. It is also called a deaf adder, a slowworm, a blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple and hazelworm. These legless lizards are also sometimes called common slowworms. T ...

(''Anguis fragilis'') and

common lizard The viviparous lizard, or common lizard, (''Zootoca vivipara'', formerly ''Lacerta vivipara''), is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other species of non-marine reptile, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it ...

(''Lacerta vivipara''). Many bird species breed on the Quantocks, including the

grasshopper warbler The grass warblers are small passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Locustella''. Formerly placed in the paraphyletic "Old World warbler" assemblage, they are now considered the northernmost representatives of a largely Gondwanan family, the ...

(''Locustella naevia''),

nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk ta ...

(''Caprimulgus europaeus''),

raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

(''Corvus corax'') and the

European pied flycatcher The European pied flycatcher (''Ficedula hypoleuca'') is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. One of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers, it bird hybrid, hybridizes to a limited extent with th ...

(''Ficedula hypoleuca''). The Quantocks are also an important site for

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

(''Cervus elaphus''). Invertebrates of note include the

silver-washed fritillary The silver-washed fritillary (''Argynnis paphia'') is a common and variable butterfly found over much of the Palearctic realm – Algeria, Europe, temperate Asia, and Japan. Description The silver-washed fritillary butterfly is deep orange with ...

butterfly (''Argynnis paphia''), and three nationally rare dead-wood beetles: ''Thymalus limbatus'', ''Orchesia undulata'' and ''Rhinosimus ruficollis''.

History

Origins

Evidence of activity in the Quantocks from prehistoric times includes finds of

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

flints at

North Petherton North Petherton is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the edge of the eastern foothills of the Quantocks, and close to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The town has a population of 6,730 as of 2014. The parish includ ...

and Broomfield''The Archaeology of Somerset'', M. Aston & I. Burrow (eds)(1982) and many

s (marked on maps as ''

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

'', plural ''tumuli''), such as Thorncombe Barrow above

Bicknoller Bicknoller is a village and civil parish on the western slopes of the Quantock Hills in the English county of Somerset. Administratively, the civil parish falls within the Somerset West and Taunton local government district within the Somerset s ...

. Several ancient stones can be seen, such as the

Stone and the Long Stone above

Holford Holford is a village and civil parish in West Somerset within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is located about west of Bridgwater and east of Williton, with a population of 392. The village is on the Quantock Greenway ...

. Many of the tracks along ridges of the Quantocks probably originated as ancient ridgeways. A Bronze Age

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

Norton Camp Norton Camp is a Bronze Age hill fort at Norton Fitzwarren near Taunton in Somerset, England. Background Hill forts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the 1st millennium BC. The reason for their emergence in ...

, was built to the south at

Norton Fitzwarren Norton Fitzwarren is a village, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 3,046. History The village is on the southern slope ...

, close to the centre of bronze making in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

sites in the Quantocks include major hill forts at

Dowsborough Dowsborough Camp (or ''Danesborough'' or ''Dawesbury'') is an Iron Age hill fort on the Quantock Hills near Nether Stowey in Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Scheduled Monument. The fort and associated round barrow has been added ...

and

Ruborough Ruborough Camp is an Iron Age hill fort on the Quantock Hills near Broomfield in Somerset, England. The name comes from ''Rugan beorh'' or ''Ruwan-beorge'' meaning ''Rough Hill''. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and on the Heritage at Risk Re ...

, as well as several smaller earthwork enclosures, such as

Trendle Ring Trendle Ring (or ''Trundle Ring'') is a late prehistoric earthwork on the Quantock Hills near Bicknoller in Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Monument. In 2013 it was added to the Heritage at Risk Register due to vulnerability to plant growth ...

and

Plainsfield Camp Plainsfield Camp (or ''Park Plantation'' or Cockercombe Castle) is a possible Iron Age earthwork on the Quantock Hills near Aisholt in Somerset, England. The so-called hill fort has several features that make it more likely to be an animal encl ...

. Ruborough near Broomfield is on an easterly spur from the main Quantock ridge, with steep natural slopes to the north and south east. The fort is triangular in shape, with a single rampart and ditch (

univallate A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

), enclosing . A linear outer work about away, parallel to the westerly rampart, encloses another . The name ''Ruborough'' comes from ''Rugan beorh'' or ''Ruwan-beorge'' meaning ''Rough Hill''. The Dowsborough fort has an oval shape, with a single rampart and ditch (''univallate'') following the contours of the hill top, enclosing an area of . The main entrance is to the east, towards

Nether Stowey Nether Stowey is a large village in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England. It sits in the foothills of the Quantock Hills (England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), just below Over Stowey. The parish of Nether Stowey ...

, with a simpler opening to the north west, aligned with a ridgeway leading down to Holford. A col to the south connects the hill to the main Stowey ridge, where a linear earthwork known as Dead Woman's Ditch cuts across the spur. Little evidence exists of

influence on the Quantock region beyond isolated finds and hints of transient forts. A Roman port was at

Combwich Combwich ( ) is a village in the parish of Otterhampton within the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, between Bridgwater and the Steart Peninsula. The village lies on Combwich Reach as the River Parrett flows to the sea and was the site of an an ...

, and it is possible that a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

ran from there to the Quantocks, because the names Nether Stowey and

Over Stowey Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England *Over, Cheshire, England *Over, South Gloucestershire, England * Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England ** Over Bridge *Over, Seevetal Over is a village in the municipality of Seevet ...

come from the Old English ''stan wey'', meaning ''stone way''. In October 2001 the

West Bagborough Hoard The West Bagborough Hoard is a hoard of 670 Roman coins and 72 pieces of hacksilver found in October 2001 by metal detectorist James Hawkesworth near West Bagborough in Somerset, England. Discovery, excavation and valuation The hoard was disco ...

of 4th-century

was discovered in

. The 681 coins included two

denarii The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very ...

from the early 2nd century, and eight

miliarense The ''miliarense'' (neuter form of the late Latin ''miliarensis'', "pertaining to a thousand"; plural: ''miliarensia'') was a large silver coin, introduced to the late Roman monetary system in the early 4th century. It was struck with variable ...

and 671

siliqua The siliqua (plural ''siliquae'') is the modern name given (without any ancient evidence to confirm the designation) to small, thin, Roman silver coins produced in the 4th century A.D. and later. When the coins were in circulation, the Latin wo ...

dating to 337–367 AD. The majority were struck in the reigns of emperors

Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germani ...

and Julian and derive from a range of mints including

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

and

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

s in France,

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

in Germany and Rome.

Dark Ages and Anglo-Saxon

The area remained under Romano-British

control until 681–685 AD, when

Centwine of Wessex Centwine (died after 685) was King of Wessex from c. 676 to 685 or 686, although he was perhaps not the only king of the West Saxons at the time. The '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' reports that Centwine became king c. 676, succeeding Æscwine. Bede ...

pushed west from the

River Parrett The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the Somerset Levels to it ...

, conquered the Welsh King Cadwaladr, and occupied the rest of Somerset north to the Bristol Channel.''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''
676-99 AD
/ref> Saxon rule was later consolidated under King Ine, who established a fort at Taunton in about 700 AD.'' The Victoria History of the County of Somerset'', Vol. 1 (1906) The first documentary evidence of the village of

is by

Æthelwulf of Wessex C3, C-3, C.3, C03, C.III or C-III may refer to: Life and biology * C3 carbon fixation in plants * C3-convertase, an enzyme * Complement component 3, a protein of the innate immune system * Apolipoprotein C3, a human very low density lipoprotein ...

in 854, where it was spelt 'Cerawicombe'. At that time the manor belonged to

Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...

. In the later Saxon period,

King Alfred Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

led the resistance to

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

invasion from

Athelney 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". Th ...

, south-east of the Quantocks. According to the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

'', the early port at

was plundered by Danes in 987 and 997. Alfred established a series of forts and lookout posts linked by a military road, or

herepath A herepath or herewag is a military road (literally, an army path) in England, typically dating from the ninth century AD. This was a time of war between the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England and Viking invaders from Denmark. The Engli ...

, so his army could cover Viking movements at sea. The herepath has a characteristic form that is familiar on the Quantocks: a regulation wide track between avenues of trees growing from

hedge laying Hedgelaying (or hedge laying) is a countryside skill that has been practised for centuries, mainly in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with many regional variations in style and technique. Hedgelaying is the process of partially cutting throug ...

embankments. The herepath ran from the ford on the River Parrett at Combwich, past Cannington hill fort to Over Stowey, where it climbed the Quantocks along the line of the current Stowey road, to Crowcombe Park Gate. Then it went south along the ridge, to Triscombe Stone. One branch may have led past Lydeard Hill and Buncombe Hill, back to Alfred's base at Athelney. The main branch descended the hills at Triscombe, then along the avenue to Red Post Cross, and west to the

and

.''Dumnonia and the Valley of the Parret'', Rev. W.H.P. Greswell (1922) There is some evidence that an area of the hills known as Quantock Common may have been a Saxon Royal Forest.

Medieval

After the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

in 1066

William de Moyon William I de Moyon (d. post 1090) (''alias'' de Moion, also de Mohun), 1st Feudal barony of Dunster, feudal baron of Dunster in Somerset, was lord of the manor, seigneur of Moyon in Normandy and became High Sheriff of Somerset, Sheriff of Somerset ...

was given land at

Dunster Dunster is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, within the north-eastern boundary of Exmoor National Park. It lies on the Bristol Channel southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. At the 2011 Census, it had a population ...

, Broomfield and

, his son becoming

William de Mohun of Dunster, 1st Earl of Somerset William de Mohun of Dunster, Earl of Somerset (c. 1090 – c. 1155), 2nd feudal baron of Dunster, was a favourite of Empress Matilda and a loyal supporter of her in the war against King Stephen, during which he earned the epithet of the "Sc ...

, while William Malet received Enmore.

East Quantoxhead East Quantoxhead is a village in the district of Somerset West and Taunton, from West Quantoxhead, east of Williton, and west of Bridgwater, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Somerset, England. History Above the ...

was given to the Luttrells (previously spelled de Luterel), who passed the manor down through descendants into the 20th century. A Luttrell also became the

Earl of Carhampton Earl of Carhampton was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1785 for Simon Luttrell, 1st Viscount Carhampton. He had already been created Baron Irnham, of Luttrellstown in the County of Dublin, in 1768 and Viscount Carhampton, of ...

and acquired

Dunster Castle Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period. After ...

in 1376, holding it until it became a

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

property in 1976. Stowey Castle at Nether Stowey was built in the 11th century. The castle is sited on a small isolated knoll, about high. It consisted of a square

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

(which may have been stone, or a wooden superstructure on stone foundations) and its defences and an outer and an inner bailey. The mount is above the wide ditch which itself is deep. The

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

has a flat top with two large and two small mounds, which may be sites of towers, at the edge. The

Blue Lias The Blue Lias is a geological formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassi ...

rubble walling is the only visible structural remains of the castle, which stand on a conical earthwork with a ditch approximately in circumference. The castle was destroyed in the 15th century, which may have been as a penalty for the local Lord Audley's involvement in the

Second Cornish Uprising of 1497 The Second Cornish uprising occurred in September 1497 when the pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck landed at Whitesand Bay, near Land's End, on 7 September with just 120 men in two ships. Warbeck had seen the potential of the Cornish unrest ...

led by

Perkin Warbeck Perkin Warbeck ( 1474 – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive, ...

against the taxes of Henry VII. Some of the stone was used in the building of Stowey Court in the village.

Modern

There was very little action on the Quantocks during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. Sir

John Stawell Sir John Stawell or Stowell, 29 August 1600 – 21 February 1662, was MP for Somerset at various times from 1625 to 1662, and one of the leading Royalists in the West Country during the First English Civil War. Captured at Exeter in 1646, ...

of Cothelstone was a leading Royalist. When

fell to parliamentary troops and was held by

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 19 ...

, he attacked Stawell at

Bishops Lydeard Bishops Lydeard () is a village and civil parish located in Somerset, England, north-west of Taunton in the district of Somerset West and Taunton. The civil parish encompasses the hamlets of East Lydeard, Terhill, and East Bagborough, and had a ...

and imprisoned him. After the

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

Charles II conferred the title of Baron Stawell on Stawell's son Ralph. A group of

Clubmen Clubmen were bands of local defence vigilantes during the English Civil War (1642–1651) who tried to protect their localities against the excesses of the armies of both sides in the war. They sought to join together to prevent their wives and d ...

met at Triscombe in 1645 and petitioned parliament calling for peace through negotiation. At the end of the

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

of 1685, (also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion), many participants were executed in the Quantocks. The rebellion was an attempt to overthrow the

King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

, James II, who became king when his elder brother, Charles II, died on 6 February 1685. James II was unpopular because he was

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, and many people were opposed to a "

papist The words Popery (adjective Popish) and Papism (adjective Papist, also used to refer to an individual) are mainly historical pejorative words in the English language for Roman Catholicism, once frequently used by Protestants and Eastern Orthodox ...

" king.

James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC (9 April 1649 – 15 July 1685) was a Dutch-born English nobleman and military officer. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlan ...

, claimed to be rightful heir to the throne and attempted to displace James II. The rebellion ended with the defeat of Monmouth's forces at the

Battle of Sedgemoor The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between the Kingdom of England and rebels led by the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685, and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerse ...

on 6 July 1685. Monmouth was

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

on 15 July, and many of his supporters were executed, including some by hanging at Nether Stowey and Cothelstone, or

transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she w ...

in the

Bloody Assizes The Bloody Assizes were a series of trials started at Winchester on 25 August 1685 in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor, which ended the Monmouth Rebellion in England. History There were five judges: Sir William Montague (Lord Chief B ...

Judge Jeffreys George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, PC (15 May 1645 – 18 April 1689), also known as "the Hanging Judge", was a Welsh judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor (and serving as ...

. Dodington was the site of the Buckingham Mine where

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

was extracted. The mine was established before 1725 and followed earlier exploration at Perry Hill,

. It was financed by the

Marquis of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham. H ...

until 1801 when it was closed, until various attempts were made to reopen it during the 19th century. In 1724 the 14th century spire of the Church of the Holy Ghost in Crowcombe was damaged by a lightning strike. The top section of the spire was removed and is now planted in the churchyard, and stone from the spire was used in the flooring of the church. Inside the church, carved bench-ends dating from 1534 depict such pagan subjects as the

Green Man The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every spring. The Green Man is most commonly depicted in a sculpture, or other representation of a face which is ...

and the legend of the men of Crowcombe fighting a two-headed

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

. Norton Fitzwarren was the site of a boat lift on the now unused section of the

Grand Western Canal The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal, bypassing Lands ...

from 1839 to 1867. A 300-person prisoner of war camp built here during World War II housed Italian prisoners from the Western Desert Campaign and German prisoners from the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

Walking routes

Poet

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...

lived in

in the Quantocks from 1797 to 1799. In his memory a footpath, The

, was set up by the

park authorities. The route begins in Nether Stowey and crosses the Quantocks, the Brendon Hills and Exmoor before finishing in

Porlock Porlock is a coastal village in Somerset, England, west of Minehead. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 1,440. In 2017, Porlock had the highest percentage of elderly population in Britain, with over 40% being of pensionable ag ...

. The

Quantock Greenway The Quantock Greenway is a footpath in the Quantock Hills in Somerset, England, which opened in 2001. The route of the path follows a figure of 8 centred on Triscombe, the northern loop taking in Crowcombe and Holford is , the southern loop to ...

is a

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

that opened in 2001. The route of the path follows a figure of eight centred on

. The northern loop, taking in

and

, is long, and the southern loop to Broomfield extends for . The path travels through many types of landscape, including deciduous and coniferous woodland, private parkland, grazed pasture and cropped fields. The Macmillan Way West follows the Quantocks ridge for several miles.

Governance

The Quantock Hills were designated as an

(AONB) in 1956, the first such designation in England under the

National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the National Parks Commission which later became the Countryside Commission and then the Countryside Agency, which became ...

. Notice of the intention to create the AONB under ''The Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Designation) Order, 1956'' was published in the

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 7 February 1956. Since responsibility for the Quantock AONB is shared between the County Council and three District Councils The Quantock Hills Joint Advisory Committee was set up in 1973. The JAC represents County, District and Parish councils along with representatives from

, Friends of Quantock, the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

, The

Country Land and Business Association The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) is a membership organisation for owners of land, property and businesses in rural England and Wales. It was until quite recently called the Country Landowners' Association. Membership CLA members ...

(CLA), Somerset Local Access Forum, the Quantock Commoners Association, the

Federation of Small Businesses The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a UK business organisation representing small and medium-sized businesses. It was formed in 1974 as the National Federation of Self Employed (NFSE). The current name for the organisation was adopted in ...

, the

, and the National Farmers Union. The JAC commissions the AONB service both to draw up management plans for the Quantocks and to carry them out.

Ownership

There is no single owner of the open land on the Quantocks or of the forestry plantations. Major landowners include the

The National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, the Fairfield Estate, the Luttrell Estate, the Tetton Estate,

Somerset County Council Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county. On 1 April 2023 the county counc ...

and Friends of Quantock.

Cultural references

Film

*The film '' Pandaemonium'' (2000), based on the lives of Wordsworth and Coleridge, much of it filmed on the hills.

Literature

*The poet

lived here for three years from 1797, while he wrote ''

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ''The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'' (originally ''The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere'') is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–1798 and published in 1798 in the first edition of ''Lyrical Ballad ...

'' (written in 1797–98 and published in 1798), part of '' Christabel'' (the first part was reputedly written in 1797, and the second in 1800), ''Frost at Midnight'', and ''

Kubla Khan ''Kubla Khan'' () is a poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, completed in 1797 and published in 1816. It is sometimes given the subtitles "A Vision in a Dream" and "A Fragment." According to Coleridge's preface to ''Kubla Khan'', the poem ...

'' (completed in 1797 and published in 1816). *Poet

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

and his sister

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

lived at

Alfoxton House Alfoxton House, also known as Alfoxton Park or Alfoxden, is an 18th-century country house in Holford, Somerset, England, within the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The present house was rebuilt in 1710 after the previous buildin ...

between July 1797 and June 1798, during the time of their friendship with Coleridge. *In 1913, the poet Edward Thomas wrote a prose account of a bicycle journey to the Quantocks, published in 1914 as "In Pursuit of Spring". *The poet

Henry Newbolt Sir Henry John Newbolt, CH (6 June 1862 – 19 April 1938) was an English poet, novelist and historian. He also had a role as a government adviser with regard to the study of English in England. He is perhaps best remembered for his poems "Vit ...

lived in

in the 1920s.

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for a highly acclaimed selection of ...

stayed with him and wrote in his visitors book:

Happy art thou to lie in that still room
Under the thick-thatched eaves in Aisholt Combe,
Where sings the nightingale, where blooms the broom

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

Leonard Woolf Leonard Sidney Woolf (; – ) was a British political theorist, author, publisher, and civil servant. He was married to author Virginia Woolf. As a member of the Labour Party and the Fabian Society, Woolf was an avid publisher of his own work ...

spent a few days of their honeymoon at The Plough Inn, Holford, before continuing to the continent in 1912. They returned about a year later to try to help Virginia recover from one of her recurring nervous breakdowns. * Charles Williams visited

and wrote
poem
there. *The opening of

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

's novel '' Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'' (1974) is set in the Quantocks. *

Anne Ridler Anne Barbara Ridler OBE (née Bradby) (30 July 1912 – 15 October 2001) was a British poet and Faber and Faber editor, selecting the Faber ''A Little Book of Modern Verse'' with T. S. Eliot (1941). Her ''Collected Poems'' (Carcanet Press ...

visited

many times and wrote a poem titled 'Aisholt Revisited'. *In the 1980s and 1990s, English novelis
Ruth Elwin Harris
wrote her ''Quantock Quartet'', a set of novels centred on four sisters growing up around the Quantock Hills during the early 20th century. *A 1951 poem by J. C. Hall describes a visit to Alfoxton.

Art

*A number of artists spent time on the Quantocks in the 1860s, many of them lodging at

Halsway Manor Halsway Manor (also known as Halsway Court) is a manor house in Halsway, Somerset. It is owned by the Halsway Manor Society who operate the manor as a national centre for the folk arts. It is the only residential folk centre in the UK. It is sit ...

. They are sometimes referred to as the Idyllists. They include

John William North John William North (London 1 January 1842 – 20 December 1924 Stamborough, Somerset) was a British landscape painter and illustrator, a prominent member of the Idyllists. Biography North was born in Walham Green in London, England. His fa ...

George John Pinwell George John Pinwell (London 26 December 1842 – 8 September 1875 London), was a British illustrator and watercolourist. Biography Pinwell was born on 26 December 1842 at 12 Great Mays Buildings, London. He was baptised on 27 July 1845, a ...

and Frederick Walker.

Music

*The video to the

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

hit "

(Everything I Do) I Do It for You "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. Written by Adams, Michael Kamen, and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the power ballad was the lead single for both the soundtrack album from the 1991 film '' Robi ...

" was filmed in the landscape of

and

. *

Bibio Stephen James Wilkinson (born 4 December 1978), better known as Bibio, is an English musician and producer. He is known for a distinct analog Lo-fi music, lo-fi sound, and for working in a diverse range of genres, beginning in folktronica and ...

's album ''

Hand Cranked ''Hand Cranked'' is the second album by the music producer Bibio. It was released on 7 March 2006 on Mush Records. Critical reception ''XLR8R ''XLR8R'' (pronounced "accelerator") is a website that covers music, culture, style, and technolo ...

'' (2006) features a track titled "Quantock". *"Checking out the Quantocks", is a line from

Half Man Half Biscuit Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil Cr ...

's song "

Joy Division Oven Gloves The word joy refers to the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, and is typically associated with feelings of intense, long lasting happiness. Dictionary definitions Dictionary definitions of joy typically include a sense of ...

", from their album ''

Achtung Bono ''Achtung Bono'' is the tenth album by UK indie rock band Half Man Half Biscuit, released in 2005. In 2010, a Facebook campaign was mounted with the aim of saving BBC 6 Music from threatened closure and, as a sign of protest, to get "Joy Div ...

''.

Television

*The ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' serial '' Shada'' (1980) makes a sidelong reference to this region – the

Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...

(played by

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Wh ...

) claims that walking through the Time Vortex "is a little trick I learned from a space-time mystic in the Quantocks". *The Quantocks are the setting for the final episodes of the third and eighth series (2005 and 2012) of ''

Peep Show A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the ci ...

'', which are titled "Quantocking" and "Quantocking II"

Cultural attractions and places of interest

A series of concerts called Music on the Quantocks takes place each year in Quantock villages. Headlining acts have included Sir James Galway, guitarist John Williams and choral groups The Sixteen, The Tallis Scholars and the Gabrieli Consort. The concerts are run by volunteers. One of the most popular

Coleridge Cottage Coleridge Cottage is a cottage situated in Nether Stowey, Bridgwater, Somerset, England. It is a grade II* listed building. The 17th century cottage was originally two buildings which were later combined and expanded. In 1797 the poet Samuel ...

is a

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

situated in

. It was constructed in the 17th century as a building containing a parlour, kitchen and service room on the ground floor and three corresponding bed chambers above. It has been designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as a grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Having served for many years as Moore's Coleridge Cottage Inn, the building was acquired for the nation in 1908, and the following year it was handed over to the

. On 23 May 1998, following a £25,000 appeal by the Friends of Coleridge and the National Trust, two further rooms on the first floor were opened. At

Aley Aley ( ar, عاليه) is a major city in Lebanon. It is the capital of the Aley District and fourth largest city in Lebanon. The city is located on Mount Lebanon, 15 km uphill from Beirut on the freeway to Damascus. Aley has the nick ...

Quantock Lodge Quantock Lodge is a grade II listed nineteenth-century Gothic revival mansion built by Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton (1798–1869), to the design of Henry Clutton. It is built from Cockercombe tuff and is located near Aley in the parish of ...

, a green-grey 19th-century mansion built from cockercombe tuff. It was the family home of

Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton, PC (; 15 August 179813 July 1869) was a prominent British Whig and Liberal Party politician of the mid-19th century. Background and education Labouchere was born in Over Stowey, Somerset, into a Huguenot me ...

, until the 1960s when it was converted into a school. In 2000, it became a centre for recreation and banqueting and summer camps for youths. Broomfield is home to

Fyne Court Fyne Court is a National Trust-owned nature reserve and visitor centre in Broomfield, Somerset, England. It was formerly an estate, and large English country house, belonging to the Crosse family. Andrew Crosse conducted a series of expe ...

. Once the home of pioneer 19th century electrician,

Andrew Crosse Andrew Crosse (17 June 1784 – 6 July 1855) was a British scientist who was born and died at Fyne Court, Broomfield, Somerset. Crosse was an early pioneer and experimenter in the use of electricity. He became known after press reports of an e ...

. Since 1972 it has been owned by the

. It has been leased from the National Trust since 1974 by the

Somerset Wildlife Trust Somerset Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Somerset, England. The trust, which was established in 1964, aims to safeguard the county's wildlife and wild places for this and future generations and manages almost 80 nature ...

(Formally Somerset Trust for Nature Conservation) and is run as a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

and

visitor centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visit ...

. The Quantock Hills AONB Service have their headquarters at Fyne Court. The Church of St Mary in

Kingston St Mary Kingston St Mary is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated at the southern end of the Quantock Hills north of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 921. The parish includes the hamle ...

dates from the 13th century, but the tower is from the early 16th century and was re-roofed in 1952, with further restoration from 1976 to 1978. It is a three-stage

crenellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

tower, with crocketed pinnacles, bracketed pinnacles set at angles, decorative pierced

merlon A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...

s, and set-back

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es crowned with pinnacles. The decorative "hunky-punks" are perched high on the corners. These may be so named because the carvings are hunkering (

squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

) and are "punch" (short and thick). They serve no function, unlike

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

s that carry off water. The churchyard includes tombs of the Warre family who owned nearby Hestercombe House, a historic

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

Cheddon Fitzpaine Cheddon Fitzpaine is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the Quantock Hills north of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village is situated near the Bristol and Exeter Railway, the Bridgwater and Taun ...

visited by about 70,000 people per year. The site includes a

biological Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

notified in 2000. The site is used for roosting by Lesser horseshoe bats, and has been designated as a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

(SAC). The house was used as the headquarters of the British 8th Corps during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and has been owned by

since 1951. It is used as an administrative centre and a base for the Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. The

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Church of St Giles in Thurloxton dates from the 14th century but is predominantly from the 15th century with 19th century restoration, including the addition of the north aisle in 1868. It has been designated by

as a grade II*

. From October 1763 to January 1764 the vicar was the diarist

James Woodforde James Woodforde (1740–1803) was an English clergyman, mainly in Somerset and Norfolk, remembered as the author of ''The Diary of a Country Parson''. This vivid account of parish life remained unpublished until the 20th century. Early life Ja ...

. The

West Somerset Railway The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which is ...

(WSR) is a

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

that runs along the edge of the Quantock Hills between

and

. The line then turns inland to Washford, and returns to the coast for the run to

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

. At , it is the longest privately owned passenger rail line in the UK.

in Halsway, is now used as England's National Centre for Traditional Music, Dance and Song. It is the only residential

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

centre in the UK. The eastern end of the building dates from the 15th century and the western end was a 19th-century addition. The manor, which is mentioned in the

, was at one time used by

Cardinal Beaufort Cardinal Henry Beaufort (c. 1375 – 11 April 1447), Bishop of Winchester, was an English prelate and statesman who held the offices of Bishop of Lincoln (1398) then Bishop of Winchester (1404) and was from 1426 a Cardinal of the Church of Ro ...

as a hunting lodge and thereafter as a family home until the mid-1960s when it became the folk music centre. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II* listed building.

Halswell House Halswell House is a Grade I listed country house in Goathurst, Somerset, England. Descent Domesday Book The Domesday Book of 1086 lists the holder of the manor of Halswell as Roger Arundel, whose tenant was Wido. It descended from Roger to ...

Goathurst Goathurst is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Somerset, around 3 miles from the town of Bridgwater. The parish includes the hamlets of Andersfield and Huntstile. The village is on the route of the Samaritans Way South West ...

has Tudor origins but was purchased by the Tynte family and rebuilt in 1689. The surrounding park and pleasure garden was developed between 1745 and 1785. The grounds contain many fish ponds, cascades, bridges and fanciful buildings, including the

Temple of Harmony The Temple of Harmony is an 18th-century folly in the grounds of Halswell House, Goathurst, Somerset, England. Built in 1767, it is a replica of the 1st-century Temple of Fortuna Virilis in Rome. The Temple stands in Mill Wood, a 17-acre (7 ha) ...

, which stands in Mill Wood and has now been fully restored.

References

External links

Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
official website {{good article Hills of Somerset Geology of Somerset Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England Protected areas of Somerset Natural regions of England Ridges of England