The Ancient Mariner statue in Watchet was commissioned in 2002 by the Market House Museum Society. Sculpted by Alan B Herriot of Penicuik, Scotland, it stands on the esplanade as a tribute to the poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who once lived in nearby Nether Stowey. The story goes that while on a walking tour in 1797, Coleridge visited Watchet and on seeing the harbour, was inspired to write the renowned poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.