Discover

'Bridgwater' in Somerset, England, is a market town, the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and the leading industrial town in the county.
Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England.
It is pleasantly situated, on the edge of the Somerset Levels, in a level and well-wooded country, having on the east the Mendip range and on the west the Quantock hills. The town lies along both sides of the River Parrett, 10 miles (16 km) from its mouth, here crossed by a handsome iron bridge. The town is located between two junctions of the M5 motorway, the southern most of which houses a motorway service station. Bridgwater railway station is on the main railway line between Bristol and Taunton.
Bridgwater had a population of 36,563 according to the 2001 census (up from 22,718 in 1951, 3,634 in 1801, and 7,807 in 1831). Historically, the town had a politically radical tendency, being involved in several events of note on the national stage.
Among several places of worship the chief is St Mary Magdalene's church; this has a north porch and windows dating from the 14th century, besides a lofty and slender spire; but it has been much altered by restoration. It possesses a fine painted reredos. A house in Blake Street, largely restored, was the birthplace of Admiral Blake in 1598. Near the town are the three fine old churches of Westonzoyland, Chedzoy and Middlezoy, containing some good brasses and carved woodwork. The battlefield of the Battle of Sedgemoor, where the Monmouth Rebellion was finally crushed in 1685, is within 3 miles (5 km); while not far off is Charlinch, the home of the Agapemonites.

Contents

Etymology

History

Sydenham Manor House

20th century

Industry

Canal, docks, railway and port

Manufacturing

Present

Education

Further Education colleges

Secondary schools

Special schools

Primary schools

Nursary and infants schools

Arts

Sport

Annual events

Notable people

Members of Parliament

Natural environment

Twinning

References

External links

Arts, entertainment and social

Historic

Tourism

Etymology

It is thought that the town was originally called Brigg, meaning Quay. In the Domesday Book the town is listed as Brugie, while Brugia was also used. After the Norman invasion the land was given to Walter Douai (a Norman prince), hence becoming known variously as Burgh-Walter, Brugg-Walter and Brigg-Walter, eventually corrupted to Bridgwater. An alternative version is that it derives from "Bridge of Walter" (i.e. Walter's Bridge).^[1]

History

Bridgwater is mentioned both in the Domesday Book and in earlier Saxon chronicles dating from around 800, owing its origin as a trade centre to its position at the mouth of the chief river in Somerset. It was formerly part of the Hundred of North Petherton.
Alfred the Great famously burnt cakes when hiding in the marshes of Athelney near Bridgwater, after the Danish invasion in 875, while in 878 there was a major engagement nearby at the Battle of Cannington.
William de Briwere was granted the lordship of the Manor of Bridgwater by Henry II. Through William's influence, King John granted three charters in 1200; for the construction of Bridgwater Castle, for the creation of a borough, and for a market. Bridgwater castle was a substantial structure built in Old Red Sandstone, covering a site of 8 or 9 acres (32,000 to 36,000 m²). A tidal moat, up to 65 feet (20 m) wide in places, flowed approximately along the current streets of Fore Street and Castle Moat, and between Northgate and Chandos Street. Unusually, the main entrance opposite the Cornhill was built with a pair of adjacent gates and drawbridges. In addition to a keep, located at the south-east corner of what is now King Square, documents show that the complex included a dungeon, chapel, stables and a bell tower. Built on the only raised ground in the town, the castle controlled the crossing of the town bridge. A 12 feet (3.7 m) thick portion of the castle wall and water gate can still be seen on West Quay, and the remains of a wall of a building that was probably built within the castle can be viewed in Queen Street. The foundations of the tower forming the north-east corner of the castle are buried beneath Homecastle House. For the demise of the castle, see below.
Other charters were granted by Henry III in 1227 (confirmed in 1318, 1370, 1380), which gave Bridgwater a gild merchant.
William de Briwere also founded St John's hospital which, by the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII, was worth the substantial sum of almost 121 pounds, as well as starting the construction of the town's first stone bridge. One of William's sons went on to found a Franciscan priory in the town.
During the 11th century Second Barons' War against Henry III, Bridgwater was held by the barons against the King.
Bridgwater's peasants under Nicholas Frampton took part in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, sacking Sydenham House, murdering the local tax collectors and destroying the records.
It was incorporated by charter of Edward IV (1468), confirmed in 1554, 1586, 1629 and 1684. Parliamentary representation began in 1295 and continued until the Reform Act of 1870. A Saturday market and a fair on 24 June were granted by the charter of 1201. Another fair at the beginning of Lent was added in 1468, and a second market on Thursday, and fairs at Midsummer and on the 21st of September were added in 1554. Charles II. granted another fair on the 29th of December. The medieval importance of these markets and fairs for the sale of wool and wine and later of cloth has gone. The shipping trade of the port revived after the construction of the new dock in 1841, and corn and timber have been imported for centuries.
The 1605 Gunpowder Plot is thought to have been masterminded by Robert Parsons, born in the nearby village of Nether Stowey. To this day Guy Fawkes is celebrated as a local hero during the carnival season, including a grand illuminated procession through Bridgwater town centre, which culminates in the Squibbing.
In the English Civil War the town and the castle were held by the Royalists under Colonel Sir Francis Wyndham, a personal acquaintance of the King. British history might have been very different had his wife, Lady (Crystabella) Wyndham, been a little more accurate with a musket shot that missed Cromwell but killed his aide de camp. Eventually, with many buildings destroyed in the town, the castle and its valuable contents were surrendered to the Parliamentarians on July 22 1645. The castle itself was deliberately destroyed the following year (1645), while in 1651 Colonel Wyndham made arrangements for Charles II to flee to France following the Battle of Worcester.
Following the restoration of the monarchy, in 1663 the non-conformist Reverend John Norman, vicar from 1647 to 1660, was one of several 'religious fanatics' confined to their homes by Lord Stawell's militia. A large religious meeting house, thought to have been Presbyterian, was demolished and its furniture burned on the Cornhill [1]. Matters seem to have calmed by 1688 when the Dampiet Street Unitarian chapel was founded.
In the 1685 Monmouth Rebellion, the rebel James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth was proclaimed King in various local towns including on the Cornhill in Bridgwater. He eventually lead his troops on a night-time attack on the King's position near Westonzoyland. Unfortunately surprise was lost when a musket was accidentally discharged, and the Battle of Sedgemoor resulted in defeat for the Duke. He later lost his head in the Tower of London, and nine locals were executed for treason. Allegedly, until recently members of the Royal Family would not pass through Bridgwater without drawing the blinds of the Royal Train as a result of this escapade.
Bridgwater became the first town in Britain to petition the government to ban slavery in 1785.
In 1896, the trade unionists of Bridgwater's brick and tile industry were involved a number of strikes. The Salisbury government sent troops to the town to clear the barricades by force. This was the first use of the Riot Act in the UK in an industrial dispute, and not the UK miner's strikes of the 1980s as is commonly stated.

Sydenham Manor House

Previously a manor estate with a thousand years of history, the house has been home to many a noteworthy and interesting character; the house that stands has a 510 years history and now stands in the grounds of the former British Cellophane plant. Its owners were on the losing side in the Civil War and again in the Monmouth Rebellion. Allegedly, it boasts a most persistent and almost predictable ghost.

20th century

A by-election in 1938 enabled the town to send a message to the government and Hitler, when an Independent anti-appeasement candidate was elected.
In World War II the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal formed part of the Taunton Stop Line, designed to prevent the advance of a German invasion. Pillboxes can still be seen along its length. The first bombs fell on Bridgwater on August 24 1940, destroying houses on Old Taunton Road, and three men, three women and one child were killed. Later a prisoner of war camp was established at Colley Lane, holding Italian prisoners. During the preparations for the invasion of Europe, American troops were based in the town.
1950 saw the start of a significant increase in post-war housebuilding, with council house estates being started at Sydenham and Rhode Lane and the former cooperative estate near Durleigh. The first council estate to be built was in the 1930s at Kendale Road, followed by those at Bristol Road.
The 1973 national reform of local government removed the historic status of Bridgwater as a Borough, as it became part of the district of Sedgemoor.

Industry

The River Parrett was until recently at the centre of Bridgwater's trade, and the town grew to become a major seaport for the south west of England. The 30 feet (9 m) tidal range on the river allowed ships of up to 300 tonnes to reach the town centre.
As early as 1300, the port exported maize, peas and beans to Ireland, France and Spain, and by 1400 was also exporting cloth from Somerset and the adjoining counties. By 1500 it was the largest port in Somerset, later becoming the fifth largest in England until eclipsed by Bristol in the 18th century. In its heyday, imports included wine, grain, fish, hemp, coal and timber. Exports included wheat, wool, cloth, cement, bricks and tiles. Unlike Bristol, Bridgwater was never involved in the slave trade and, in 1797, was the first town in Britain to petition the government to ban it.
The Bridgwater ship the ''Emanuel'' was one of three that took part in Martin Frobisher's 1577 search for the Northwest Passage. In 1828, 40 ships were registered in the port, averaging 60 tons each.

Canal, docks, railway and port

As trade expanded with the Industrial Revolution, Bridgwater was linked to Taunton by the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal (1827), although initially it ran from a basin south of Bridgwater at Huntworth.
As trade grew docks were built in the town (the only ones in Somerset), linked to an extension of the canal, with both opening in 1841.The docks was dredged by a scraper-dredger Bertha similar to the one Brunel had designed for the Bristol Floating Harbour. June 14, 1841 saw the opening of the Bristol and Exeter Railway from Bristol to Bridgwater. The railway also opened a coach and wagon works in the town; the last of the buildings is currently in 2005 scheduled for demolition. Bridgwater railway station, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel is now a Grade II listed building.
An end to the unequal competition between rail and canal came in 1867 when the Bristol and Exeter railway purchased the canal. Four years later, in 1871, the River Parrett was spanned by a unique steam-powered telescopic bridge, to allow the railway to serve the docks, last used in 1953(?). A number of local branches were also built, for example to serve the Northgate Brewery (now replaced by a car park north of Angel Crescent) and the former British Cellophane factory. The Somerset and Dorset branch line to Edington was opened in 1890. Its former Bridgwater station is now occupied by J Sainsbury.
The importance of shipping and the docks started to decline after 1886, the year in which the opening of the Severn Tunnel caused a severe drop in coal imports by sea. The situation worsened as the railways were extended into Somerset and beyond, and ships became too big for the port. The last commercial use of the docks was when coal imports ceased on July 31 1971, and although they now house a marina they are currently little used. The surrounding quays have been developed for housing, although the remains of wooden quays on the riverbank can still be seen. All but a small remnant of the ''mump'' (a huge mound of spoil from the original dock excavations) was removed in the 1980s to make way for the development on the north side of the dock.
Due to the port, ship building was also an important industry, and around 140 ships were built in the town during the 19th century by companies including David Williams, Joseph Gough, Watsons and William Lowther. F J Carver and Son owned a small dry dock on East Quay and constructed the last ship to built in the town - the ''Irene'' - which has its own web site. The former associated industry of rope making is commemorated in street furnishings and paving on East Quay and in the name of ''Ropewalk'' street.
Under an 1845 Act of Parliament the Port of Bridgwater extends from Brean Down to Hinkley Point in Bridgwater Bay, and parts of the rivers Parrett (to Bridgwater), River Brue and River Axe, Somerset. Although no ships now dock in the town, in 2001 103,613 tonnes of cargo were handled within the area of the Port Authority (compared to more than 200,000 tons in 1878), most of which were stone products through Dunball

Manufacturing

Bridgwater was the leading industrial town in Somerset. A major manufacturing centre for clay tiles and bricks in the 19th century, including the famous "Bath brick", were exported through the port. In the 1890s there were a total of 16 brick and tile companies, and 24 million bricks were exported during that decade alone. John Sealy & Co exhibited their product range at the 1851 Great Exhibition.
These industries collapsed in the aftermath of World War II due to the failure to introduce mechanisation, although the automated Chiltern Tile Factory, which produced up to 5 million tiles each year, lasted until 1968. The importance of the Bath Brick declined with the advent of detergents and other cleaning products.
During the 19th century, Castle House (originally named Portland Castle after Portland cement), reputedly the first domestic house in the UK to be built from concrete, was constructed in 1851 by John Board, a local brick and tile manufacturer. The building is now Grade II
★ listed and in 2004 was featured in the BBC television programme ''Restoration''.
In the 19th century, Bridgwater was also home to a number of iron foundries. George Hennet's Bridgwater Iron Works (closed 1878) worked on bridges, railways and machinery for Brunel and Robert Stephenson, while W&F Wills Ltd produced steam locomotives and fingerposts.
British Cellophane Ltd, a joint venture between La Cellophane SA and Courtaulds opened a major factory producing cellophane in Bridgwater 1937. The factory produced Bailey Bridges during World War II for the invasion of Europe. Bought by UCB Films in 1996, the factory closed in the summer of 2005.
At the start of World War II, the government built a factory to manufacture high explosives at Puriton near Bridgwater. Called ROF Bridgwater, the plant is today owned by BAE Systems and is scheduled to close by the end of 2007.

Present

Bridgwater is now a major centre of industry in Somerset, with industries including the production of plastics, engine parts, industrial chemicals, and foods. Bowerings Animal Feed Mill is now the only industry still located at the docks.
Employment in the town suffered a blow in 2005 when Innovia Films closed the cellophane factory. At one time the factory employed around 3,000 people, although at the time of closure this had been reduced to just 250. However recovery has begun with the establishment of new businesses on the ''Express Park'' business park including the relocation of Gerber Juice and new enterprise Toolstation.
Being close to the M5 motorway and half way between Bristol and Exeter, Bridgwater is also home to two major distribution centres. The ''Excel'' centre for the NHS Logistics Authority is located on the ''Express Park'' business park, while retailer ''Argos'' has a regional distribution centre based at Huntworth.
Work on the new Regional Agricultural Business Centre is due to start in 2006/7.
Bridgwater is home to the Somerset Brick and Tile Museum, built on part of the former Barham Brothers site (brick and tile manufacturers between 1857 and 1965).

Education

Schools listed in alphabetical order

Further Education colleges

★ Bridgwater College (formerly Bridgwater Technical School)

★ Poplar School Of Engineering And Navigation (closed; Dr Morgan's Grammar School For Boys was later located in the same premesis)

Secondary schools

★ Robert Blake Science College (formally The Blake School)

★ Bridgwater Grammar School For Boys (closed)

★ Bridgwater Grammar School For Girls (closed)

★ Brymore School

★ Chilton Trinity Technology College

★ Dr Morgan's Grammar School For Boys (closed)

★ East Bridgwater Community School (Formerly Sydenham School)

★ Haygrove School

★ Westover Senior Council School (closed)

Special schools

★ Elmwood School

★ New Horizon Centre School

★ Penrose School

Primary schools

★ Eastover Community Primary School

★ Hamp Community Junior School

★ Sedgemoor Manor School

★ St John & St Francis Primary School

★ St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

★ St Mary's Primary School

★ Somerset Bridge Primary School

★ Spaxton CofE Primary School

★ Westover Green Primary School

Nursary and infants schools

★ Hamp Nursery and Infants School

Arts

Nearing Bridgwater on the M5 motorway it is possible to see the ''Willow Man'' sculpture, a striding human figure constructed from willow, sometimes called the ''Angel of the South'' (see also ''Angel of the North''). Standing 12 m (39') tall, it was created by sculptor Serena de la Hey and is the largest known sculpture in willow, a traditional local material.
The Bridgwater Arts Centre was opened on October 10 1946, the first community arts centre opened in the UK with financial assistance from the newly established Arts Council of England. It is situated in a Grade II listed building in the architecturally protected Georgian ''Castle Street'', designed by Benjamin Holloway for the Duke of Chandos, and built over the site of the former castle. Holloway was also the architect of the Baroque ''Lyons'' building on West Quay, constructed around 1730.
Bridgwater Arts Centre was the venue for the first post-war meeting of the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne in 1947.
Castle Street was used as a location in the 1963 film ''Tom Jones''.
Horror writer and film journalist Kim Newman was educated at Dr Morgan's school in Bridgwater, and set his 1999 experimental novel ''Life's Lottery'' in a fictionalised version of the town (Sedgwater).
A sailor who had sailed "from Bridgwater with bricks" and found "There was lice in that bunk in Bridgwater" features in James Joyce's Ulysses (Chapter 16).

Sport

Bridgwater Town F.C. are a football club based at Fairfax Park. The original version of the club was founded in 1898. The club currently plays in the Southern League Division One South and West.

Annual events

Bridgwater is now best known for the illuminated "Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival" that attracts around 150,000 people from around the country and overseas. Now held annually on the Friday after the first Thursday of November (ie - the nearest Friday to November 5). It consists of a dazzling display of over 100 large vehicles ("Carnival floats") up to 100 feet long, festooned with dancers (or team member in tableaux) and up to 22,000 lightbulbs, that follows a 2.5 mile route over 2 to 3 hours. Later in the evening of the Carnival, there is the simultaneous firing of large fireworks (known as squibs) in the street outside the town hall, known as "squibbing".
Bridgwater Fair normally takes place in September - it starts on the last Wednesday in September and lasts four days. The fair takes place on St Matthew's Field, better known locally as the Fair Field. The fair is now a funfair, ranked as second largest in England after the Nottingham Goose Fair. It originated in 1249 as a horse and cattle fair, lasting for eight days near St Matthew's day (September 21), giving the venue its name.
During the first weekend of July, the annual "Somerfest" arts festival is held in Bridgwater. The event includes an extensive program of rock, jazz and classical music, dance, drama and visual arts with national and local participants.

Notable people

★ Admiral Robert Blake, until Horatio Nelson the most famous of British Admirals, was born in Bridgwater, and attended the local grammar school (Brigwater Grammar School For Boys). His home is now the Admiral Blake Museum and contains details of his career amongst its exhibits of local history and archaeology.


★ Henry Phillpotts, Bishop of Exeter, born in Bridgwater in 1778.

★ James Sully, psychologist, born in Bridgwater in 1842.

★ Andrew Plimer, portrait miniature artist, born in Bridgwater 1763.

★ Donald Crowhurst (1932-69), who tried to fake a round-the-world solo yacht journey, set up his business in the town and was a Town Councillor.

★ Jean Rees, artist and co-founder of the Bridgwater Arts Centre. b 1914

★ David Luckes MBE England and Great Britain hockey player - 1989-2000 brought up in Bridgwater

★ Simon (1981) and Richard Mantell (1984), brothers and field hockey players for England, were both born in Bridgwater.

★ Sergeant Ben Knight, Bridgwater airman who died in an Afghanistan RAF Nimrod plane crash. Sgt Knight was only 25 when he was killed along with 13 comrades from the 120 Squadron when the Nimrod came down near Kandahar on September 2 2002

Members of Parliament

The Bridgwater constituency has been represented in Parliament since 1295. After the voting age was lowered in January 1970, Susan Wallace became the first 18-year-old person to vote in the UK, during the 1970 Bridgwater by-election that elected Tom King.
Members of parliament have included:

★ Edmund Wyndham (1640)

★ Admiral Robert Blake (Short Parliament of 1640)

★ Admiral Robert Blake (Barebones Parliament of 1653)

★ John Tynte (1661-1669)

★ Anne Poulett (1768-1785)

★ Vernon Bartlett (Independent anti-appeasement) "Popular Front" (1938-1950)

★ Sir Gerald Wills (Conservative) (1950-1969)

★ Tom King (Conservative) (1970-2001)

★ Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative) (2001- )

Natural environment

Bridgwater sits near the edge of the Somerset Levels and the Quantock Hills on the River Parrett, which in turn discharges into the Bridgwater Bay National Nature Reserve.

Twinning

Bridgwater is twinned with:

★ Uherské Hradiště, in the Czech Republic (since 1991)

★ La Ciotat, France

★ Homberg, Efze, Germany

★ Marsa, Malta

References

★ '' "Bridgwater with and without the 'e' " ', Roger Evans, ISBN 0-9525674-0-7

★ ''A History of Bridgwater'', J.C. Lawrence, ISBN 1-86077-363-X

★ ''Bridgwater Victorian Days'', Philip James Squibbs, ISBN 0-9501022-1-0

★ ''Somerset in the Age of Steam'', Peter Stanier, ISBN 0-86183-481-X

★ ''"Remember Remember". The Story of Bridgwater Carnival'', written by Chris Hocking who is president of Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival Committee

★ A History of the County of Somerset: Vol 6: Bridgwater (1992)

★ The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey: Bridgwater, by Clare Gathercole
1. Somerset Place Names, , Stephen, Robinson, The Dovecote Press Ltd, 1992,

External links

★ Sedgemoor District Council

★ BBC Somerset

Arts, entertainment and social

★ Bridgwater Arts Centre

★ Blake Museum

★ Bridgwater Carnival (official site)

★ BBC Somerset: Carnival

★ QuayWest FM - independent radio station covering Bridgwater & Minehead

★ St Marys Bell Ringers

★ Bridgwater Town

★ A Bridgwater town trail

★ Bridgwater Czech/Slovak Friendship Society

★ Community Website for the Hamp Estate in Bridgwater

★ Blue Moon Theatre Company

★ YouTube video of carnival

Historic

★ Port of Bridgwater

★ Historical list of Bridgwater people

Tourism

★ Somerset by the Sea commercial tourism website