About
The Somerset Military Museum, housed within the magnificent medieval Great Hall of Taunton Castle in the heart of Somerset's county town, documents the distinguished military history of the county's regiments — principally the Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) — from the Civil War to the late twentieth century. The castle itself, one of the finest medieval hall buildings in the South West, provides a setting of exceptional historical resonance for collections that document centuries of Somerset men and women in arms.
The Somerset Light Infantry was the county regiment par excellence. Traced from the 13th Regiment of Foot, it took its county title in the Childers Reforms of 1881, becoming formally linked to Somerset and recruiting principally from the county's farms and market towns for the following eighty years. Through two World Wars, countless colonial campaigns, and the Cold War, Somerset men served under the regiment's colours. The regiment was amalgamated into the Light Infantry in 1959 and eventually became part of The Rifles in 2007.
The museum's collections document the regiment's service across three centuries of conflict. The Napoleonic Wars are represented by weapons, uniform fragments, and personal items from the Peninsula and Waterloo campaigns. India — where the regiment served repeatedly in the nineteenth century — is evoked through campaign medals, silverware, and the ceremonial objects that accumulated in the regimental mess during the high Victorian period. The Boer War, both World Wars, and Cold War service all have substantial representation.
Beyond the Light Infantry, the museum documents the broader military heritage of Somerset: the Somerset County Yeomanry, the local Volunteer and Territorial forces, and the county's Home Guard and Civil Defence organisations of the Second World War. The collections include an outstanding array of campaign medals representing service on virtually every front in which British forces have been engaged since the eighteenth century.
The museum shares the Great Hall of Taunton Castle with the Museum of Somerset — a distinct institution housing the county's natural history, archaeology, and social history collections. The castle itself is a remarkable survival: its twelfth-century origins, medieval reconstruction, and Civil War history (it was a Parliamentary stronghold besieged in 1645) provide a richly layered architectural context. The Great Hall, where Judge Jeffreys presided over some of the Bloody Assize trials following Monmouth's Rebellion in 1685, gives the military museum's story of Somerset men in arms an immediate and powerful historical backdrop.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- The Somerset Military Museum and the Museum of Somerset share Taunton Castle — budget time for both on a single visit as they complement each other perfectly.
- Taunton railway station (Great Western from London Paddington) is about 10 minutes' walk from the castle — the most convenient arrival for visitors from London or Bristol.
- The M5 Junction 25 brings the castle within easy reach from Bristol (45 min) and Exeter (30 min) by car.
- Veterans and families with Somerset regimental connections will find the medal collection and personal accounts particularly resonant — the museum is a genuine place of memory for the county.
- Check the museum website for events marking regimental anniversaries and commemorations — these often bring veterans, descendants, and special displays.
- Taunton Castle's Great Hall is a remarkable medieval building in its own right — allow time to appreciate the architecture as well as the collections it houses.
- The shop stocks a good selection of Somerset regimental histories and military books — worth browsing even if you're not a specialist.
- Taunton town centre offers a wide choice of cafes and restaurants for lunch or dinner after your visit.
Highlights
Somerset Light Infantry Campaign Collection
The heart of the museum is its comprehensive collection documenting the Somerset Light Infantry across its complete history as a county regiment. Uniforms, weapons, colour guidons, silver, and personal effects trace the regiment's service from the Napoleonic Wars through India, the Boer War, two World Wars, and the Far East.
The campaign collection includes outstanding medal groups representing individual soldiers' service histories across multiple conflicts, presented with biographical context that brings individual lives into focus alongside the broader regimental narrative.
Colours and Battle Honours
The regiment's Colours — the great silk battle flags around which men fought and which represent the regiment's corporate identity and history — are displayed in the museum together with an authoritative list of battle honours earned across three centuries of service. From Blenheim (1704) to Kohima and the Far East (1944–45), the honours represent an almost unbroken thread of major British campaigns.
The Colours themselves, fragile with age and sometimes battle-worn, carry an emotional charge that no reproduction or label can convey — the immediate, irreplaceable presence of history.
First World War Galleries
The Somerset Light Infantry raised multiple service battalions in the First World War, and the museum's Great War galleries document the experiences of Somerset men in the trenches and campaigns of 1914–18. Personal diaries, letters home, photographs, and trench art sit alongside official unit histories, maps, and decorations.
The scale of Somerset's contribution to the war — and the scale of its losses — is presented with unflinching honesty, making this one of the most moving sections of the museum for visitors with Somerset family connections.
Second World War and Far East Service
The regiment's service in the Second World War included the retreat to Dunkirk, service in the North African campaign, and particularly difficult service in the Far East against Japanese forces. The museum's collection from this period includes personal accounts and objects relating to the Burma campaign, prisoner-of-war experiences under Japanese captivity, and the eventual liberation.
The Far East collections are particularly important given the relative neglect of the Burma campaign in popular memory — the 'Forgotten Army's' story is told here with appropriate prominence.
Collections
The Somerset Military Museum holds the regimental collections of the Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) and related Somerset county military forces, accumulated since the regiment's formal county affiliation in 1881. The collections encompass campaign medals, uniforms, weapons, Colours, silverware, printed books, photographs, personal papers, and memorabilia relating to service in the Napoleonic Wars, India, the Boer War, both World Wars, and Cold War operations.
Archival holdings include operational records, personal diaries, letters, and photographs.
The collections are maintained by the Somerset Military Museum Trust and are supplemented by loans and deposits from regimental associations and private families.
Somerset in Arms
The permanent galleries trace the history of the Somerset Light Infantry and associated county military forces from the early eighteenth century to the regiment's incorporation into The Rifles in 2007. Uniforms, medals, weapons, and personal effects are displayed with biographical narratives that connect individual soldiers' stories to the broader history of the regiment and its campaigns.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.