It is now owned by the National Trust, which closed the monument to the public in 2007, owing to safety concerns;[2] surveys showed that extensive renovation work was needed.

[3] The monument was erected to celebrate the victory of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, at the 1815 Battle of Waterloo.

The association was continued with Wellesley's subsequent promotions to higher ranks of nobility; he ultimately became Duke of Wellington in 1814.

The winning entry envisaged a 95 feet (29 m) pillar with three cottages at the base to house old soldiers as caretakers.

[1] The monument's design was inspired by an Egyptian obelisk, but in the shape of the type of bayonet used by Wellington's armies, a spike of triangular cross-section rather than a blade,[8] with funds raised from local subscribers to commemorate his achievements.

[1] The original plans were for twenty-four cannons, captured from the French army at the Battle of Waterloo, to be installed around the base.

In 1890, when four guns were requested for the monument as part of a restoration project, they were found to be naval cannons cast in Scotland dating from 1789, and never used at the Battle of Waterloo.

[1] The base has an Egyptian winged panel above the studded iron door and is surmounted by a coved dentil cornice.

[2] Surveys showed that extensive renovation work was needed to reopen the internal staircase to the viewing platform.

[2] In 2015 Rebecca Pow the new local Member of Parliament for Taunton Deane asked the government to make available money for a restoration fund.