Editing Bridgwater (section)

==Transport==
{{Railways in Bridgwater RDT}}
[[File:Bridgwater railway station MMB 09.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bridgwater railway station]], on the main line from [[Bristol to Taunton Line|Bristol to Taunton]].]]
As trade expanded during the [[Industrial Revolution]], Bridgwater was linked to [[Taunton]] by the [[Bridgwater and Taunton Canal]] (1827), although initially it ran from a [[dock (maritime)|basin]] south of Bridgwater at [[Huntworth]]. As trade grew [[Port of Bridgwater|docks]] were built in the town, linked to an extension of the canal, with both opening in 1841. The docks were dredged by a scraper-dredger [[Bertha]] similar to the one [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] had designed for the Bristol Floating Harbour. 14 June 1841 saw the opening of the [[Bristol & Exeter Railway]] from Bristol to Bridgwater. The railway also opened a coach and wagon works in the town; the last of the buildings was in 2005 scheduled for demolition. [[Bridgwater railway station]], designed by Brunel is now a Grade II [[listed building]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1187364 |desc=Bridgwater Railway Station |access-date=13 March 2010}}</ref> An end to the unequal competition between rail and canal came in 1867 when the Bristol & Exeter Railway purchased the canal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/43826 |title=Bridgwater and Taunton Canal |work=Somerset Historic Environment Record |publisher=Somerset County Council |access-date=11 October 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003100303/http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/43826 |archive-date= 3 October 2016 }}</ref> A number of local branches were also built, for example to serve the Northgate [[Brewery]] (now replaced by a car park north of Angel Crescent) and the former British Cellophane factory. The [[Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway|Somerset and Dorset]] [[branch line]] to [[Edington, Somerset|Edington]] was opened in 1890.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sdjr.net/locations/edington.html |title=Edington Junction |publisher=Somerset and Dorset Railway |access-date=13 March 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607135729/http://www.sdjr.net/locations/edington.html |archive-date=7 June 2011 }}</ref> Its former Bridgwater station is now occupied by [[J Sainsbury]].
[[File:Bridgwaterdocks68.jpg|alt=Old photograph of a crane on the quayside.|thumb|left|Bridgwater Docks South Side in 1968]]
The importance of shipping and the docks started to decline after 1886, the year in which the opening of the [[Severn Tunnel]] caused a severe drop in coal imports by sea. The situation worsened as the railways were extended into Somerset and beyond, and ships became too big for the port. The last commercial use of the docks was when coal imports ceased on 31 July 1971, and although they now house a marina they are currently little used. The surrounding quays have been developed for housing, although the remains of wooden quays on the riverbank can still be seen. All but a small remnant of the ''mump'' (a huge mound of spoil from the original dock excavations) was removed in the 1980s to make way for the development on the north side of the dock. Due to the port, [[ship building]] was also an important industry, and around 140 ships were built in the town during the 19th century by companies including David Williams, Joseph Gough, Watsons and William Lowther. F J Carver and Son owned a small [[dry dock]] on East Quay and constructed the last ship to be built in the town&nbsp;— the ''Irene''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ireness.com/history.htm |title=History |publisher=Ireness.com |access-date=13 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613125134/http://www.ireness.com/history.htm |archive-date=13 June 2010 }}</ref> The former associated industry of [[rope]] making is commemorated in [[Street furniture|street furnishings]] and paving on East Quay and in the name of ''Ropewalk'' street.

The Drove Bridge, which marks the current extent of the Port of Bridgwater is the nearest to the mouth and the newest road bridge to cross the river. With a span of {{convert|184|ft|m}}, the bridge was constructed as part of the Bridgwater Northern Distributor road scheme (1992), and provides a navigable channel which is {{convert|66|ft|m}} wide with {{convert|8.2|ft|m}} headroom at normal spring high tides.<ref name=DroveBridge>{{cite web|url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1995/Uksi_19950270_en_3.htm#end|title=Statutory Instrument 1995 No. 270, NDR confirmation order|publisher=Office of Public Sector Information|access-date=22 December 2009}}</ref> Upstream of this is the [[retractable bridge|retractable]] [[Telescopic Bridge, Bridgwater|Telescopic Bridge]], built in 1871 to the design of [[Sir Francis Fox]], the engineer for the [[Bristol & Exeter Railway]]. It carried a railway siding over the river to the docks, but had to be movable, to allow boats to proceed upriver. An {{convert|80|ft|m|adj=on}} section of railway track to the east of the bridge could be moved sideways, so that the main {{convert|127|ft|m|adj=on}} girders could be retracted, creating a navigable channel which was {{convert|78|ft|m}} wide.<ref name="otter">{{cite book|last=Otter|first=R. A.|title=Civil Engineering Heritage: Southern England|publisher=Thomas Telford|year=1994 |isbn=0-7277-1971-8}}</ref> It was manually operated for the first eight months, and then powered by a steam engine, reverting to manual operation in 1913, when the steam engine failed. The bridge was last opened in 1953, and the traverser section was demolished in 1974, but public outcry at the action resulted in the bridge being listed as a [[Scheduled Ancient Monument]], and the rest of the bridge was kept.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/11837 |title=Rail bridge over River Parrett, Bridgwater |work=Somerset Historic Environment Record |publisher=Somerset County Council |access-date=21 December 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003092834/http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/11837 |archive-date= 3 October 2016 }}</ref> It was later used as a road crossing, until the construction of the Chandos road bridge alongside it, and is now only used by pedestrians. Parts of the steam engine were moved to [[Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum]] in 1977.<ref name=otter/>

The next bridge is the Town Bridge. There has been a bridge here since the 13th century, when Bridgwater was granted a charter by King John. The present bridge was designed by R. C. Else and G. B. Laffan, and the {{convert|75|ft|m|adj=on}} [[cast iron]] structure was completed in 1883.<ref name="bhobridg"/><ref name="ioetownbridge">{{NHLE |num=1187392 |desc=Town Bridge |access-date=21 December 2009}}</ref> It replaced an earlier bridge, which was the first cast iron bridge to be built in Somerset when it was completed in 1797.<ref name="ioetownbridge"/> The stone abutments of that bridge were reused by the later bridge, which formed the only road crossing of the river in Bridgwater until 1958.<ref name=otter/> Above the bridge there were two shoals, called The Coals and The Stones, which were a hazard to barge traffic on the river, and [[wikt:bargee|bargees]] had to choose carefully when to navigate the river, to ensure that there was sufficient water to carry them over these obstructions.<ref>{{cite book|last=Haskell|first=Tony|title=By Waterway to Taunton: The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal|location=Stroud |publisher=Tempus Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7524-4267-9 | page=108}}</ref> In March 1958 a new reinforced concrete road bridge, the Blake Bridge, was opened as part of a bypass to take traffic away from the centre of Bridgwater.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fitzhugh |first=Rod |year=1993 |title=Bridgwater and the River Parrett: in old photographs |location=Stroud |publisher=Alan Sutton Publishing |isbn= 0-7509-0518-2 |page=93}}</ref> It now carries the [[A38 road|A38]] and [[A39 road]]s. On the southern edge of Bridgwater there is a bridge which carries the Bristol & Exeter Railway across the River Parrett. Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed a brick bridge, known as the [[Bridgwater railway station#Somerset Bridge|Somerset Bridge]], with a {{convert|100|ft|m}} span but a rise of just {{convert|12|ft|m|1}}. Work started in 1838 and was completed in 1841. Brunel left the scaffold supporting the centre of the bridge in place as the foundations were still settling but was forced to remove it in 1843 to reopen the river for navigation. Brunel demolished the brick arch and had replaced it with a timber arch within six months without interrupting the traffic on the railway. This was in turn replaced in 1904 by a steel girder bridge.<ref name=MacD>{{cite book|last=MacDermot |first=E.T. |title=History of the Great Western Railway, vol. II: 1863-1921 |year=1931 |publisher=[[Great Western Railway]] |location=Paddington |pages=135–137}}</ref> Slightly further east is a modern concrete bridge which carries the [[M5 motorway]] over both the river and the railway line. It was started in 1971 and opened in 1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=18640 |title=Bridgwater |last=Dunning |first=RW |author2=C R Elrington |author3=A P Baggs |author4=M C Siraut |year=1992 |work=A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 6: Andersfield, Cannington, and North Petherton Hundreds (Bridgwater and neighbouring parishes) |publisher=British History Online |access-date=11 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303083620/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=18640 |archive-date= 3 March 2010 }}</ref>

Bridgwater is served twice daily by [[Berrys Coaches]] 'Superfast' service to and from London.<ref>https://book.berryscoaches.co.uk/superfast-timetables.html Superfast Timetable</ref>