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Bridg-Water in Somerset County England History and GeographyBRIDG-WATER, a port, borough, market town and parish, having separate jurisdiction, locally in the hundred of North Petherton, county of SOMERSET, 35 miles (S.W.) from Bristol, 20 (W.S.W.) from Wells, and 137 (W. by S.) from London, containing 6155 inhabitants. This place derived its name from Walter de Douay, one of William's followers, on whom it was bestowed at the time of the Conquest, and was thence called ';Burgh Walter' and ';Brugge Walter,' by which names, both signifying Walter's burgh, it is designated in various ancient records. William de Briwere, to whom it was granted in the reign of Henry II., built a castle in the following reign, combining the strength of a fortress with the splendour of a baronial residence, and obtained from King John the grant of a market and a fair. He founded the hospital of St. John, for a master, brethren, and thirteen poor persons of the order of St. Augustine, the revenue of which, at the dissolution, was £ 120.19.1½. He also constructed the haven, and began to erect a stone bridge of three arches over the river Parret, which was completed by Sir Thomas Trivet, in the reign of Edward I. His son William founded a monastery for grey friars, about 1230, and dedicated it to St. Francis. The barons, during their revolt against Henry III., took possession of the town in 1260. In the parliamentary war, the inhabitants embraced the royal cause, and the castle was garrisoned by the king's forces. In this castle, on account of its being strongly fortified, and abundantly supplied with ammunition, the inhabitants of the surrounding district deposited their money, plate, and other articles of value, as in a place of security. The parliamentarians, under Fairfax, soon afterwards invested the town, and laid close siege to the castle, which was resolutely defended, till the town having been fired on both sides of the bridge, the garrison capitulated on terms of personal indemnity, and surrendered the fortress, with all the treasure in it, and one thousand prisoners, into the hands of the enemy. The castle, which had sustained considerable damage during this siege, was demolished in 1645; the sally-port and some detached portions of the walls are all that now remain. In the reign of James II. the inhabitants favoured the pretensions of the Duke of Monmouth, who, on his arrival from Taunton, was received with great ceremony by the corporation, and proclaimed king. He remained for some time in the town, and having from the tower of the church reconnoitred the royal army encamped on Sedgemoor, he rashly resolved to hazard the battle that terminated so fatally to his ambition. His adherents in the town suffered severely for their attachment to his cause, under the legal severity of Jeffreys, and the military executions of Kirke. The town is pleasantly situated in a well wooded and nearly level part of the county, the view being bounded on the north-east by the Mendip hills, and on the west by the Quantock hills: the river Parret divides it into two parts, connected with each other by a handsome iron bridge of one arch. The western part is particularly clean: the streets are spacious, well paved, and lighted; the houses, chiefly of brick, are uniform and well built; and there is an ample supply of excellent water from springs. The eastern part, termed Eastover, is inferior in appearance to the western; though very great improvement has been effected in both of late years. The foreign trade consists in the importation of wine, hemp, tallow, and timber; but the trade of the port is principally coastwise. Coal is brought free of duty from Monmouthshire and Wales, and is conveyed into the interior of the county by a canal to Taunton. The quay, which has been recently improved, is accessible to ships of two hundred tons' burden, and is furnished with every appendage requisite for the convenience of commerce: the number of vessels belonging to the port, according to the return in 1828, is forty-five, averaging sixty-two tons' burden. The principal source of employment is the making of bricks for general use; scouring-bricks composed of a mixture of clay and sand deposited by the river within a limited distance of the bridge, beyond which it is unfit for the purpose: and'a peculiar kind of brick, resembling Bath stone, is made of various sizes, from the ordinary dimensions to the largest size in which that stone is used: for this and the scouring-bricks, patents have recently been obtained. The market days are Tuesday, for vegetables; Thursday, principally for corn and cattle; and Saturday, the general market for provisions: the market-house, lately erected, is a handsome building surmounted with a dome and lantern, and having a semi-circular portico of the Ionic order. The fairs are on the first Monday in Lent, July 24th, October 2nd, (which continues for three days, the first being noted for the sale of linen and woollen doth, cattle, and general merchandise), and Dec. 27th. The government, by charter of incorporation granted in the reign of John, and subsequently enlarged and confirmed by Edward IV., Elizabeth, and Charles II., is vested in a mayor, recorder, two aldermen, two bailiffs or sheriffs, and eighteen burgesses, assisted by a town clerk, three serjeants at mace, and subordinate officers. The mayor and bailiffs are chosen annually, but the rest usually hold their offices during life: the mayor, recorder, and aldermen, are justices of the peace within the borough and parish. The freedom is inherited by the eldest sons of freemen, and acquired by servitude and gift; among the privileges which it conveys is the freedom of all ports in England and Ireland, except those of London and Dublin. The corporation hold quarterly courts of session for the trial of all offenders except those accused of capital crimes, and courts of record for the recovery of debts to any amount. The summer assizes, alternately with Wells, and the summer sessions for the county, are held here. The judges' mansion is a handsome modern edifice, containing apartments for the judges, the borough court-rooms, and a room for the grand jury. The borough prison contains distinct departments for debtors and criminals; the latter are only confined there previously to trial, or to their committal to the county gaol. The borough first sent representatives to parliament in the 23rd of Edward I., since which time it has continued to return two members: the right of election is vested in the inhabitants resident within the borough properly so called, paying scot and lot, the number of whom is about four hundred: the mayor is the returning officer. The living is a vicarage, united with the rectory of Chilton-Trinity, in the archdeaconry of Taunton, and diocese of Bath and Wells, rated in the king's books at £11. 7. 6., and in the patronage of the Crown. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient and handsome structure, with a square embattled tower, and a lofty spire. it has a rich porch in the decorated style of English architecture, and the altar is embellished with a fine painting of the descent from the cross, found on board a captured French privateer, and presented to the parish by the Hon. A. Poulett, member for the borough. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, Wesleyan Methodists, and Unitarians. The free grammar school was founded in 1561, and endowed by Queen Elizabeth with £6. 13. 4. per annum, charged on the tithes of the parish, to which were added two donations of £100 each: it is under the control of the corporation, who appoint the master, and the inspection of the bishop of the diocese: four boys are instructed gratuitously in English and the classics. A school, now conducted on Dr. Bell's system, has founded by Mr. John Morgan, in 1723, and endowed with ninety-seven acres of land: the management is vested in the corporation, the archdeacon of Taunton, the vicar of Bridg-water, and others, who in 1816 erected a school-room, and a house for the master: there are thirty scholars, some of whom are clothed. A school was also founded in 1781, by Mr. Edward Fackerell, who endowed it with the dividends on £3000, in the three per cent, consols., and the rents of three messuages, producing together an annual income of £174, for clothing, educating, and apprenticing the children and grand-children of certain relatives named in his will, and so many other children as the funds might allow: the provisions of the will were afterwards restricted, by the court of Chancery, to the children of his relatives, the number of whom, at the last report, had increased to thirty: the management, by the testator's will, is vested in trustees, whose accounts are periodically audited by a master in Chancery. Almshouses, originally endowed by Major Ingram, of Westminster, with £18 per annum, are now appropriated to the poor of the parish, and the endowment is distributed among poor widows not receiving parochial relief. The infirmary, a commodious building, was established in 1813, and is supported by subscription. Admiral Blake was born here, in 1599, and received the rudiments of his education in the free grammar school. Bridg-water confers the title of earl on the family of Egerton. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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