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After the rolling hills of Dorset, this area of Somerset called the 'Somerset Levels', for obvious visual reasons, comes as quite a change. Having just got used to the west country's answer to Holland, it comes as a surprise to suddenly find a large hill rising sharply out of the surrounding landscape.
This is Barrow Mump with its ruined church sat on the summit looking down onto the village of Burrow Bridge below.


Conflict and Civil War
This area is one that seems steeped in a history of conflict, with King Alfred having a presence just up the road at Athelney  .

In this case the church that sat here found itself being used by Royalist troops, as a refuge in the Civil War. This came about after they had been defeated at the nearby Battle of Langport on the 10th July 1645, in which a total of around 16 to 18,000 men took part. The defeated Royalist army of Lord George Goring were sent running, and some took refuge at Barrow Mump. The Parliamentarians then pursued and finally routed the Royalists on the 13th July.


In Ruins
There were two attempts to repair the church in the 18th century and some later work turned it into a 'folly ruin' which was quiet fashionable in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The hill has been owned by the National Trust for over 50 years and is open to the public, where you can climb to the top and take in the marvellous view. The other prominent hill ten miles away is Glastonbury Tor, again with a ruined church on top, although in this case it is entirely genuine

Co-Ords: 335900 130540 / ST 359305  

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