Wills Neck

{{Short description|Hill in Somerset, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Wills Neck

| photo = WillsNeckTrigpoint.jpg

| photo_caption = Trig point on top of Will's Neck

| elevation_ft = 1261

| elevation_ref =

| prominence_ft = 863

| prominence_ref =

| parent_peak = Dunkery Beacon

| listing = Marilyn, Hardy

| location = Quantock Hills, England

| range =

| coordinates =

| grid_ref_UK = ST165352

| topo = OS Landranger 181

| type =

| age =

| easiest_route =

}}

Wills Neck is the highest summit on the Quantock Hills and one of the highest points in Somerset, England. Although only 1261 ft (384 m) high, it qualifies as one of England's Marilyns. It is situated about {{convert|8|mi|km}} north west of the historic market town of Taunton.

The name 'Wills Neck' is derived from the Saxon word for 'stranger' or 'foreigner'.{{cite web |url=http://www.gb42.com/hills.html|title= The Quantock Hills|publisher=OpenCastMind|accessdate=23 March 2014}} It relates to a local tribe the Wealas which according to legend fought the Romans at the site.{{cite web|title=Ancient and Beautiful Hills — The Quantocks|url=http://www.somerset-life.co.uk/out-about/walks/ancient_and_beautiful_hills_the_quantocks_1_1645031|publisher=Somerset Life|accessdate=23 March 2014}}

On a clear day it is possible to see Dartmoor, Exmoor, the Brecon Beacons, the Mendips and Blackdown Hills.{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=James|title=Walking in Somerset|date=1997|publisher=Cicerone Press|isbn=9781852842536|page=57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IhLY0WZUtRsC&q=Wills+Neck+Quantocks&pg=PA55}} It is sometimes even possible to see Pilsdon Pen, the second highest point in Dorset, the highest, Lewesdon Hill, is also visible.

The hill is formed from Hangman Grits laid down during the Devonian a geologic period of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about {{Period start|Devonian}} Mya (million years ago), to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period.{{cite book|last=Waite|first=Vincent|title=Portrait of the Quantocks|date=1969|publisher=Robert Hale|isbn=0709111584|pages=16–17}}

Wills Neck was surveyed by schoolboys from Clifton College from 1922 and 1945, led by teacher William Cornish Badcock. They built a cairn at the highest point which has now been replaced, on exactly the same spot, by a modern Trig point.{{cite book|last=Byford|first=Enid|title=Somerset Curiosities|date=1987|publisher=Dovecote Press|isbn=0946159483|page=[https://archive.org/details/somersetcuriosit0000byfo/page/31 31]|url=https://archive.org/details/somersetcuriosit0000byfo/page/31}}

A beer brewed by the Quantock Brewery has been named Wills Neck after the hill.{{cite web|title=Wills Neck Bottle Case|url=http://quantockbrewery.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=54|publisher=Quantock Brewery|accessdate=23 March 2014}}