A 1791 copper plate engraving from "The History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset" that shows the Burton Pynsent Monument, the estate, and the house.
A hand-colored engraving of Trajan's Column, Rome, from "Bertuch's Picture Book for Children," Germany, 1799.
Built / Designed For: William Pitt the Elder
House & Family History: In 2001 Burton Pynsent House was listed for rent for £36,000 per month.
Garden & Outbuildings: As of 2018, the house was set in a park of 240 acres. Sited on Troy Hill, approximately 2,200 feet from the house, the Burton Pynsent Monument, based on Trajan's Column in Rome (see engraving of Trajan’s Column in “Images” section), is a 140-foot-tall Roman Doric column made of Blue Lias stone, complete with a lantern and cupola. The monument was designed by Capability Brown and built in 1767 at a cost £2,000, approximately £3 million in 2016 inflation-adjusted values using the labour value commodity index. The monument was erected by the former prime minister, William Pitt the Elder, in honor of Sir William Pynsent, who left him the Burton Pynsent Estate as a bequest in thanks for Pitt's opposition to the imposition of a tax on cider (Pynsent had never met Pitt). The monument overlooks the site of the 1685 Battle of Sedgemoor, the final battle of the Monmouth's Rebellion.
Architect: Lancelot Brown
Date: 1767House Listed: Grade II*
Park Listed: Not Listed
Past Seat / Home of: Marmaduke Jennings, 16th century; Jennings family here from 1565 until 1679. Sir William Pynsent, 1st Bt., 17th century; Pynsent family here from 1679 until 1765. William Pitt the Elder, later 1st Earl of Chatham, 18th century; Pitt family here from 1765 until 1805. Colonel Pinney, early 19th century. Crossley family, 19th-20th centuries.
Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust
Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home
House Open to Public: No
Historic Houses Member: No