| Town trail with Geoff Body and
Roy Gallop
From a small agricultural settlement at the time of Domesday,
Bridgwater grew steadily into a sizeable medieval community which, by
the 13th century, had the status of a borough and enjoyed the protection
of a castle. Apart from the destruction resulting from the Civil War,
the town prospered for over 500 years thanks to the cloth trade and the
shipping activity along the River Parrett. The opening of the Severn
Tunnel in 1886 badly affected coal traffic coming into the 1841 docks
but local clay helped to support a thriving brick and tile industry
until the more diverse industries of this century arrived.
A good place to begin the exploration of
Bridgwater is the car park at the Clink end of West Quay. Along the
latter The Lions, with its tottering pavilions, was built c1730 and was
home to two of the town's mayors. Beyond is the site of a sluice to the
castle moat, and a bastion tower once occupied the corner of Chandos
Street. Then comes some surviving castle wall and the old water gate
next to the hotel which bears its name. Part of a crane survives beside
the river as a reminder of the loading and unloading of ships here and
along the picturesque East Quay opposite.
At the end of West Quay both Fishermen's Wharf
and the Fountain Inn show Dutch architectural influences while the
corner building dates from 1795 and was once the Punch Bowl Inn. The
nearby 1883 bridge replaced one of 1795-8 and an earlier medieval
crossing. At that time there was an early hospital in the Eastover
suburb opposite. On the town side there is a replica of the St Mary's
Cross which used to stand in Penel Orlieu and, above it, a novel chimney
stack decorated with snakes. Fore Street itself, which linked the
medieval town with the river, followed the line of the castle moat and
once housed the town gaol.
Continue ahead along Binford Place, past the
site of the slipway where goods going up river to Langport were
transhipped and noting numbers 8 and 9. On the opposite side of the
river is the old Parrett Inn and the former Bridgwater Infirmary which
purchased its premises for £700 in the 1820s. The 1905 octagonal
library building stands in Blake Gardens as we bear right into Chapel
Street where the Roman Catholic church is on the right and the 1816
Wesleyan Chapel building in King Street ahead.
Off Dampiet Street is Blake Street which houses the interesting Blake
Museum in the c1500 building where Cromwell's chief admiral was born. At
the end is Durleigh Brook, part of the old Town Ditch and once powering
the Town Mill. Back in Dampiet Street the Unitarian Church building
stands on the left, built in 1688, rebuilt in 1788 and once witness to
the preaching of Coleridge. Note the shell hood entrance.
Turn right at the junction with St Mary's
Street where the Rose & Crown is the successor to a 14th century
house. The half next door is relatively modern although the original
building is also quite old. Further on number 39 is where Judge
Jefferies is believed to have lodged during the retribution for the
Monmouth uprising in which Bridgwater played such a significant part.
More interesting buildings follow including the Baptist Church with its
'Egyptian' doors, Ionic column and classical pediment and then the Old
Vicarage Restaurant, a 16th century house still with some wattle and
daub. Ahead are The Priory left, the Masonic Hall right and then the
Round House - once The Queens hostelry - on the corner with Peneal
Orlieu. The Mecca building across the road is in a distinctive cinema
style.
Until its rebuilding in the 1820s High Street,
which starts with the 1563 Valiant Soldier Inn, used to have a central
row of house known as The Island. It was also called The Shambles due to
the humber of butchers functioning there. As we walk back towards the
town centre the 1865 Town Hall stands on the left with Hooper's period
shop front on the right still bearing the legends 'Millinery &
Mantles' and 'Silk Mercer & Draper'. A short passageway nearby leads
to the calm backwater of Church Passage and to the high interest of St
Mary's Church. Back in the High Street the modern Angel Place shopping
centre is followed by the former Royal Clarence Hotel, a coaching inn
built in 1824 on the site of two smaller taverns.
We have now reached the heart of Bridgwater
where Cornhill and Fore Street join. Here, in days gone by, stood the
main entrance to the castle along with the 14th century market cross, a
place of proclamations and commerce, news and gossip. Today chief among
several interesting buildings is the domed and columned covered market
embracing the old corn exchange and market house. This area remains a
place of colour and activity presided over by the statue of Admiral
Blake.
Bear left past York Buildings and the ornate NatWest bank, once
Stuckeys, to savour King Square. The Regency style buildings on the east
and south sides were built in 1810-14 and the square had four gates
enclosing the garden area. More recently a further row has been added
but the square remains impressive with an interesting war memorial in
the centre.
Now return to the starting point via the
delightful Castle Street which was built as Chandos Street by local
builder Benjamin Holloway for the Duke of Chandos in 1724-34. Its
present name commemorates the castle built here by Lord William de
Brewer in 1200-10, the moat of which ran parallel to the present Chandos
Street. A glance right down Queen Street will reveal the shell of an
ornate house built in 1851 demonstrate the versatility of Portland
Cement.
An optional extra excursion is one on other
side of the car park, up Northgate Street to the old dock area. This
starts with the preserved site of a glass kiln built for the Duke and at
work from 1724 to 1943, first producing glass and then pottery. The Poor
Law Institution building used to stand in Northgate Street with a
hospital behind while at the end is the entrance to the 1841 basin and
docks. Although the dock water area is now surrounded by modern housing
the old railway and canal warehouse survives in a new guise and an old
mill building stands near the entrance to the Bridgwater & Taunton
Canal. Also in the area are former sea captains' houses Valetta Place
and the old telescopic railway bridge across the river.
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