The 140 feet Burton Pynsent Monument on Troy Hill, at Burton Pynsent within the parish of Curry Rivel

Curry Rivel

Curry Rivel is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Somerton and east of Taunton in the South Somerset district. The parish has a population of 2,093...

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, England was built in 1757 and has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

Alternative names for the tower which stands on Troy Hill, a spur of high ground about 700 m north-east of Burton Pynsent House

Burton Pynsent House

Burton Pynsent House is a historic building in the parish of Curry Rivel, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.The house was built in 1765 for William Pitt after he inherited the estate from Sir William Pynsent...

, include; the Curry Rivel Column, Pynsent Column, Pynsent Steeple or Cider Monument.

The monument, which is clad in Portland Stone

Portland stone

Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...

 was designed by Capability Brown

Capability Brown

Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...

 and built by Philip Pear, at a cost of 2,000, for William Pitt

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...

 as a monument to Sir William Pynsent, of the Pynsent Baronets

Pynsent Baronets

The Pynsent Baronetcy, of Erthfont in the County of Wiltshire, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 13 September 1687 for William Pynsent, subsequently Member of Parliament for Devizes. The second Baronet was Member of Parliament for Taunton...

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It was restored in the 1990s by the John Paul Getty

Getty Center

The Getty Center, in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, is a campus for cultural institutions founded by oilman J. Paul Getty. The $1.3 billion center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles...

 Trust and English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

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