This page is a work-in-progress on the history of Bridgwater Castle. William Briwere was granted a licence to crenelate in 1200, and the castle was presumably built around then. The round arches of the surviving Watergate certainly date to around then. The castle extended along what is now Chandos Street to the new road called Castle Moat, then down to York Buildings, then somewhere along the lines of Kings Place and Queen Street, then back along the quayside. It was an impressive stone structure, the focal point being the ‘Devil’s Tower’. This may have been a large internal gatehouse which divided the lower and upper bailies of the castle, which was later converted into a manor house in 1630.
The castle was in ruins in the Elizabethan period, then parts were demolished in the 1630s by the owner Henry Harvey. More was demolished in the 1720s by the Duke of Chandos, and the last substantial building, Harvey’s house, came down in the 1810s. Some walls and other fragments survive, but much more archaeology work needs to be done to tell the full story of the castle.
Follow the links below to learn more about Bridgwater Castle. More materials will be added over time.
