BRIDGWATER, a parish and sea-port and borough and market-town,
having separate jurisdiction, locally in the northern
division of the hundred of 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,
or borough, 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. ij.
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 ar*
rival 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 jin 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
o£ '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, of
vai'ious 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
cloth, 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 townclerk,
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, with the rectory of Chilton-
Trinity united, 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 an
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 two donations of £ 100 each were added:
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,
was 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 grandchildren 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 distiibuted 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.