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Bridgwater, Somerset, England, depicting the Church of St Mary Magdalene, the Statue of Admiral Blake and the Corn Exchange: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bridgwater_cornexchange_staute_and_church.jpgAuthor: Ken Grainger
Bridgwater began as a settlement during the Anglo-Saxon period, around the 9th century or perhaps earlier. It was mention in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of ca. AD 800 as well as listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. After the Norman Conquest, the Manor of Bridgwater was granted to William Briwere by King John of England in 1201. Briwere built Bridgwater Castle in 1202. It was destroyed during the English Civil War, and the site is today redesigned as King's Square. In 1245 Briwere also founded Bridgwater Friary in 1245. Bridgwater Friary was a Franciscan monastery which functioned until the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII in 1536-41.
The Port of Bridgwater was in the 16th century the fifth largest port in England. It was the largest port in Somerset until surpassed by Bristol in the 18th century. Never involved in the slave trade, Bridgwater in 1797 became the first town in the county to petition the government to ban it.
Visiting Bridgwater
From London, take the M4 motorway to Junction 20, then continue west on the M5 motorway. Bridgwater is at Junction 23 of the M5 motorway.
Somerset Brick and Tile Museum, Bridgwater: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brick_and_tile_factory.jpgAuthor: Ken Grainger
Places of Interest in Bridgwater
- Blake Museum: Museum occupying the house where Admiral Robert Blake (1598-1657) was born.
- Castle House: Historic building in Bridgwater with a Grade II* heritage listing. Built in 1851, it was one of the first buildings to make extensive use of Portland cement for pre-cast concrete.
- Church of St Mary Magdalene, Bridgwater: Anglican parish church with history going back to the 13th century. It is today a Grade I listed building.
- Somerset Brick and Tile Museum: Museum occupying the last surviving pinnacle kiln in Bridgwater, it celebrates the brick and tile industry with displays explaining the tools and processes.
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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.
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