Website still under construction, please bear with us while we transfer all the content from our old site here.
The Bridgwater Heritage Group was founded by the late Dr Peter Cattermole in October 2012. It was re-founded in March 2016 as an informal research group and online platform for publishing materials and research on the history of Bridgwater and the surrounding villages. This new website was begun in May 2020. The group aims to promote and propagate the understanding and appreciation of the rich history of the town. These efforts are intended to complement the work and collections of the Blake Museum, the Bridgwater and District Archaeological Society, the Bridgwater and District Civic Society and the Friends of the Wembdon Road Cemetery. You can learn more about our objectives in the ‘about us’ section. We welcome submissions on all aspects of the history of the area, be they primary sources, short articles, or extended research projects. If you are interested in being involved, submitting material, have any questions or are seeking help with research, then please get in contact.
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
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.