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BRIDGWATER CASTLE

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Castle, built in 1202 by William de Briwere. It passed to the king in AD 1233 and in 1245 repairs were ordered to its motte and towers. It was mostly destroyed by Parliamentarian forces in 1645. The site was identified by excavation, and the course of the moat is visible in the cellars of nearby buildings. The only surviving remains of the castle that can be identified with certainty are the Water Gate and the remains of the curtain wall on either side of it, the latter now incorporated in the walls of modern buildings. Scheduled.

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[ST 29853717] BRIDGWATER CASTLE [G.T.] (site of) (1)

This was built by Wm. de Briwere, A.D.1202 (2). It passed to the King A.D. 1233, and in 1245 repairs were ordered to its motte and towers (3). Parliamentary forces virtually levelled it in 1645 (2).

The site is centred in the area of Chandos St. and Castle St.: King Square is on the site of the Bailey. There was a moat on three sides and the river Parrett on the fourth (east). Traces of the moat occur in the cellars of the buildings in Fore St, and to the north in the garden of 'The Lions' - (Club). Structural remains are fragmentary and consist, mainly, of an arch
of The Water Gate [See ST 23 NE 55], adjoining No.12 West Quay, and part of the castle wall incorporated in the rear wall of No. 14, West Quay. (4). G. Parker (5) recollects (c.1805), seeing foundations in an open area, now King's Square, and, to the north, a wide ditch known as the Bailey Ditch. (2-5)

The only surviving remains of the Castle that can be identified with certainty are the Water Gate (ST 23 NE 55 at ST 2988 3721, see GP AO/64/270/3) and the remains of the Curtain Wall on either side of it; the latter now incorporated in the party walls of modern buildings. The fragment of wall, shown by the OS at ST 29883722 (see GP AO/64/269/8), corresponds with the corner of the 'Castle Garden' shown on a plan of 1777(6), and is unlikely to have been part of the
curtain wall. A moat shown in the 18th century along the northern perimeter of the Castle grounds (6) (8) no longer survives, but it joined North Gate and seems to have been part of the Town Ditch (ST 23 NE 20). It is possible that the Town and the Castle defences were coincident at this point. The ruined keep shown on 18th century maps and prints at ST 29873717,
in what is now the south-east corner of King Square. See 1:2500 map diagram and AO/64/274/2-4 and 8. (6-9) In 1972 a trench in Castle Street, ST 298371, showed footings of a slight stone wall inside the castle court-yard; 16th-17th century
pottery was found. Excavation in May & Hassels Yard, ST 298373, on the north side of King Square, showed that the castle's curtain wall had been almost entirely removed; below its foundation level were at least 2 periods of bank with 14th century pottery, over-lying an occupation area with post-holes and 13th-14th century pottery; The
moat was found to have been 22m wide and 8m deep. Excavation at the back of Westminster Bank, ST 297371, revealed a depression 6m deep and over 8m wide, which could have been the moat. (10)

Various ditches and walls, possibly outwork parts of the castle, were recorded in a sewage trench along West Quay in 1973. (11)

Excavations have identified the site of the castle and its moat. The moat was found to be at least 4m wide, 3m deep and backfilled in the C 18. A sluice barrier or weir possibly forming a bridge across the eastern end of the moat is present and was constructed at the same time as the castle. Parts of the north curtain wall and the northeast corner tower have been identified and excavated. The tower was 12m in diameter. The course of the curtain wall is reflected within the c 18 street layout, on the south side - along Queen Street and to the north Chandos Street. Observations in the C 19 and C 20 between Fore Street and Queen Street suggest the presence of the moat, as does the drop in the level south of Queen Street. the curtain wall and moat are seperated by a 6m berm. Burials were located west of the tower, situated within the berm (ST 23 NE 66). The presence of the circular tower dates construction of the castle to the first quarter of the C 13. The castle probably had an inner and outer bailey with a gatehouse keep. A map of 1777 shows two circular towers marked as castle ruins, another map c 1730 shows a gatehouse keep.
Documentary evidence indicates that the castle enclosure contained Mortemere's Hall, a camera, belltower, dovecote, stable and kitchen.
The castle was taken during the Civil War in 1645 and later dismantled. (12-14)

Listed by Cathcart King. (15)

SOURCE TEXT

(1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 25" 1930

(2) Journal of the British Archaeological Association

12 - 1856 Page(s)377

(3) R Allen Brown, H M Colvin and A J Taylor 1963 The history of the King's Works, volume 2 : the Middle Ages

1963 Page(s)576

(4) Somerset archaeology and natural history : the proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society

(T B Dilks) 86 - 1940 Page(s)100-1

(5) Somerset archaeology and natural history : the proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society

(G Parker) 23 - 1878 Page(s)46

(6) General reference

Plan of Castle Grounds 1777 (R Locke)

(7) General reference

Prints (18th cent) in Blake Museum Bridgwater

(8) General reference

Map of Bridgwater (?18th cent ?Strachey) in Blake Museum

(9) Field Investigators Comments

F1 GHP 12-OCT-64

(10) Council for British Archaeology : Group 12 (Wessex) & Group 13 (South West) : Archaeological review

(M Langdon) 7 - 1972 Page(s)57

(11) Somerset archaeology and natural history : the proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society

121 - 1977 Page(s)101-5

(12) by Michael Aston and Roger Leech 1977 Historic towns in Somerset

Committee for Rescue Archaeology in Avon, Gloucestershire and Somerset surveysNo 1 (1975) - no 6 (1983) NO.2 - 1977 Page(s)13-17

(13) Somerset archaeology and natural history : the proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society

(P Ellis) 129 - 1985 Page(s)74-80

(14) Somerset archaeology and natural history : the proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society

(R A Croft) 132 - 1988 Page(s)225

(15) David J Cathcart King 1983 Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Volume II : Norfolk-Yorkshire and the islands

2 Page(s)441

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