The Picton Monument is a 25-metre stone obelisk standing on a small hill west of the town centre, commemorating Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton — the senior British officer killed at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The original monument by John Nash, completed in 1828, was structurally unsound and had to be replaced; the present version dates from 1847 and was designed by the local architect Daniel Brideoake.
Picton's military reputation rests on his command of the 5th Division at Quatre Bras and Waterloo, where he was killed leading a counter-attack. His earlier record is more troubling: as British governor of Trinidad from 1797 to 1803 he authorised practices including the torture of free Black inhabitants, for which he was later tried in London. Recent campaigns have led to the addition of interpretive plaques at the monument site that present this part of his history.
The monument stands in a public open space on the corner of Picton Place and Picton Terrace, a 10-minute walk from the town centre. The view from the base over the Tywi valley is good, and the climb is free at all times.