
Website still under construction, please bear with us while we transfer all the content from our old site here.
This website was founded by the late Dr Peter Cattermole in October 2012. It was re-formed in March 2016 and is intended to complement the work and collections of the Blake Museum, and the work of the Bridgwater and District Archaeological Society, the Bridgwater and District Civic Society and the Friends of the Wembdon Road Cemetery. The site welcomes contributions from local historians, as well as memoirs about the town. See our Notes for Contributors page.
When this Group began much emphasis was given to publishing illustrated accounts of the historic sites and buildings of Bridgwater, but since then the scope has broadened to cover historic texts about the town. These have been digitised from original sources and edited in A4 format, and are PDF documents so that readers can download and print them for further study. The goal has been to create an educational resource for the town, of value not only for local historians, but also for school pupils and college students. Aspects of the Town’s history have been well covered in recent years with books appearing on Carnival, Railways and Pubs, but there are conspicuous gaps. These include the various cultural groups: choirs, dramatics and the arts generally. Bridgwater shops. Sport. Education. Dissenting churches. Manufacturing generally. There are certainly more topics that might be added.
The site is entirely free to use, with no adverts. However, if you enjoy this site you can support us here, or buy a book from the store. All proceeds go towards the cost of maintaining this website. Similar groups in other communities are very welcome to adapt this approach to recording their town’s history. Any interested in doing so are invited to make contact via the web-site to discuss methods.
The logo/banner image at the top of the page is of Bridgwater Stone Bridge, a nineteenth century engraving by Thomas Hair, after John Chubb, (1746-1818).
Recent Updates
4 January 2020: List of pew sittings in St. Mary’s Church, Bridgwater, compiled by John Bowen, 1830
30 December 2020: The belfry chimes of St Mary’s Chuch
28 December 2020: John Chubb, a friend of Coleridge, by Berta Lawrence
13 December 2020: T.H. Hair’s High Cross and Old Bridge Illustrations
6 December 2020: Coronation Celebrations in Bridgwater
5 December 2020: Forgotten Soldiers of the First World War
22 November 2020: The Cole/Anstice Clock
10 November 2020: John Chubb and Music
2 November 2020: Penlea House
25 October 2020: The Russian Cannon
25 October 2020: Mary Chubb A Forbear and his Hobby
24 October 2020: The Cockmoyle Prison and Bow Lane
21 October 2020: Bridgwater Poets
25 September 2020: St Mary’s Church Rood Screen
22 September 2020: The Missing Masonic Memorial
20 September 2020: The Swan Inn
30 August 2020: The Organs of St Mary’s Church 1448-Now
30 August 2020: Bailey’s Directory, 1784 and Universal British Directory 1791-8
16 August 2020: George Cass, Bookbinder
3 August 2020: Picture of St Mary’s Choir, 1920.
23 July 2020: Bridgwater in the Later Days added to Rev. Powell’s research page
5 July 2020: The Technics of Coal-Gas Manufacture
28 June 2020: The Process of Rope Making
27 June 2020: John Creedy, a Prisoner of His Times
18 June 2020: A Reference Index to Bridgwater History
10 June 2020: The Bridgwater Wire Rope Works
7 June 2020: George Parker’s Ancient History of Bridgwater
30 May 2020: A High Street Plague Pit?
30 May 2020: The Oldmixon Tomb
26 May 2020: Brickmaking in 1852
21 May 2020: The Last Burial in St Mary’s, 1866
16 May 2020: The White Horse Inn, Penel Orlieu
15 May 2020: The Lamb Inn, High Street
13 May 2020: The King Street Wesleyan Chapel
13 May 2020: New Website Begun. Visit the old here.