When Sedgemoor District Council was created in 1974 it destroyed not only 500 years of Bridgwater history by ending the town’s Borough status, it removed a strong and popular Labour council in this working class town and replaced it with decades of one party right wing Tory rule by a fixed majority of Conservative councillors […]

For the third year running the Town Council sponsored Bridgwater History Day held at the Bridgwater Arts Centre was packed out. Chaired by Bridgwater Historian and Town Council Leader, Westover Councillor Brian Smedley, the event boasted 7 other local historians and a range of subjects covering almost 2,000 years. For local resident Anthony Lipmann, this […]

In 1851, Mid-Victorian Bridgwater had a population of not quite 10,000 but it was a thriving port with tall masted ships sailing right up to the town bridge and a dominating industry of brick and tile making. The new docks had only been completed 10 years earlier (built between 1837-1841) but this and the towns […]

For the third year running Bridgwater Town Council will be celebrating local history with a special event at Bridgwater Arts Centre. The event will run from 10am to 4pm and will be free. Organiser and Town Council Leader, Cllr Brian Smedley, said “Bridgwater people have always been proud of their history whether it’s the first […]

Of all the great Bridgwater firsts, the most inspiring, morally uplifting and mildly unexpected, was the claim to be the first town to petition against the evil transatlantic slave trade, referred to by some as the ‘Black Holocaust’ whereby some 12 million Africans were forcibly removed from their homes and compelled to work as slaves […]