Horn Hill tunnel

Still rather an isolated town, Beaminster was even more isolated before the building of the Horn Hill tunnel almost 200 years ago. To the north, in fact, it was almost cut off by the 600-ft Horn Hill. There was a road over the hill, but it was precipitously steep. 

A Beaminster solicitor, Giles Russell, raised £13,000 to bore a 115-yard tunnel through the hill, and his ‘zealous exertions’ are remembered on a plaque above the tunnel’s south portal. Its building was a remarkable engineering feat for its time and trade in Beaminster improved, although the tunnel’s importance decreased as the railways grew. To this day, though, it makes driving between Beaminster and Crewkerne on the A3066 that much easier. 

Nearest postcode: DT8 3HB
OS reference: ST468031
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