Editing River Parrett (section)

=== Port of Bridgwater ===
{{main|Port of Bridgwater}}
[[File:Bridgwater Town Bridge.jpg|alt=Metal bridge over the river. In the background are coloured houses and several trees.|thumb|Bridgwater Town Bridge]]
Bridgwater was part of the [[Port of Bristol]] until the Port of Bridgwater was created in 1348, covering {{convert|80|mi|km}} of the Somerset coast line, from the Devon border to the mouth of the River Axe.<ref name=lawrence-8>Lawrence, J.F. (revised and completed by Lawrence, J.C.) (2005). ''A History of Bridgwater''. Chichester: Phillimore. {{ISBN|1-86077-363-X}}. Chapter 8: "The Medieval Port of Bridgwater".</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Farr|1954|p=104}}</ref> Under an 1845 act of Parliament{{which|date=February 2025}} the Port of Bridgwater extends from [[Brean Down]] to [[Hinkley Point]] in Bridgwater Bay, and includes parts of the River Parrett (to Bridgwater), River Brue and the River Axe.<ref name="port"/>

Historically, the main port on the river was at Bridgwater, where a span crossed the river from 1200 AD onwards.<ref name=dunning-193>{{Harvnb|Dunning|1992|p=193}}</ref> [[Wharf|Quay]]s were built at Bridgwater in 1424, with another quay, the ''Langport slip'', being built in 1488 upstream of the Town Bridge.<ref name=dunning-193/> A [[custom house]] was sited at Bridgwater, on West Quay, and a [[dry dock]], launching slips and a boat yard on East Quay.<ref>{{Harvnb|Farr|1954|p=102}}</ref><ref name="farr-113">{{Harvnb|Farr|1954|p=113}}</ref> Bridgwater built some 167 ships, the last one being the ''Irene'' launched in 1907.<ref name="farr-113"/>

The river was navigable, with care, to Bridgwater Town Bridge by {{convert|400|to|500|tonne|LT|adj=on}} vessels.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fitzhugh|1993|pp=6–7}}</ref> By trans-shipping goods into barges at the Town Bridge, the Parrett was navigable as far as Langport and (via the River Yeo) to Ilchester. After 1827, it was also possible to transport goods to [[Taunton]] via the [[Bridgwater and Taunton Canal]] at Huntworth.<ref>{{harvnb|Hawkins|1982|p=52}}</ref> A [[floating dock (impounded)|floating harbour]], known as the "docks", was constructed between 1837 and 1841, and the canal was extended through Bridgwater to the floating harbour.{{harvnb|Lawrence|Lawrence|2005|pages=157–158}} The dock area contained [[flour mill]]s, timber yards and [[Ship-chandler|chandlers]].<ref name="Lawrence 2005 pages=157–158">{{harvnb|Lawrence|Lawrence|2005|pages=157–158}}</ref>

Shipping to Bridgwater expanded with the construction of the docks, which opened on 25 March 1841,<ref>{{Harvnb|Farr|1954|p=110}}</ref> and reached a peak in the 19th century between 1880 and 1885, with an average of 3,600 ships per year entering the port.<ref name="Lawrence 2005 pages=157–158"/> Peak [[tonnage]] occurred in 1857, with 142 vessels totaling {{convert|17800|tonne|LT}}.<ref name="farr-109">{{harvnb|Farr|1954|page=109}}</ref> In the short term, the opening of the docks increased the profitability of the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, which carried {{convert|81650|tonne|LT}} of cargo in 1840.<ref name="Lawrence 2005 pages=157–158"/> This peaked in 1847 at {{convert|88000|tonne|LT}} of cargo; however, by the mid-1850s the canal was bankrupt due to competition from the railways.<ref name="Lawrence 2005 pages=157–158"/>

Combwich Pill, a small creek near the mouth of the river, had been used for shipping since the 14th century. From the 1830s, with the development of the brick and tile industry in the Combwich area, the wharf was used by two local brickyards to import coal and export tiles to Wales and parts of Gloucestershire.<ref name=dunning-86>{{Harvnb|Dunning|1992|p=86}}</ref> This traffic ceased in the 1930s; in the late 1950s the wharf was taken over and upgraded by the [[Central Electricity Generating Board]] (CEGB) to bring in heavy materials for the Hinkley Point nuclear power stations.<ref name=dunning-86/> Construction of [[Hinkley Point A nuclear power station]] was ordered in 1957, with a scheduled completion date of 1960, but was not completed until 1965.<ref name="hannah-243">{{Harvnb|Hannah|1982|p=243}}</ref> This was followed by [[Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station|Hinkley Point B nuclear power station]], which began operation in 1976.<ref name="hannah-284-285">{{Harvnb|Hannah|1982|pp=284–285}}</ref> It is proposed to use the wharf again for the construction of [[Hinkley Point C nuclear power station|Hinkley Point C]].{{sfn|Body|Gallop|2015|p=92}}

[[File:Dunball Wharf.jpg|alt=A cargo boat moored at a wharf with cranes and others machines. To the right is a metal gate opening to the water which flows past the boat.|thumb|left|Dunball Wharf. To the right is Dunball clyce where the [[King's Sedgemoor Drain]] flows into the River Parrett.]]
Dunball wharf was built in 1844 by Bridgwater coal merchants,<ref name="somharbours-116">{{Harvnb|Farr|1954|p=116}}</ref> and was linked to the [[Bristol and Exeter Railway]] by a rail track which crossed the A38. The link was built in 1876, also by coal merchants, and was originally operated as a horse-drawn [[tramway (industrial)|tramway]]. In 1875, the local landowner built The Dunball Steam Pottery & Brick & Tile Works adjacent to the wharf.<ref name="murless-11-38">{{harvnb|Murless|2000|pages=11&nbsp;&&nbsp;38}}</ref>

The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, which had been bought out by the Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1866 and later passed into the control of the [[Great Western Railway]] had, by the beginning of the First World War, fallen into disrepair due to lack of trade. This trade, particularly the Wales-Somerset traffic after the opening of the [[Severn Tunnel]] in 1886, had been lost to the railways; the canal continued to be used as a source of water.<ref name= haskell-ch-9>{{Harvnb |Haskell|2007| pages=154–188}}</ref> In the mid-1950s, the Port of Bridgwater was importing some {{convert|80050|to|106800|tonne|LT}} of cargo, mainly sand and coal by tonnage, followed by timber and flour.<ref name="somharbours-114">{{Harvnb|Farr|1954|p=114}}</ref> It was also exporting some {{convert|7300|tonne|LT}} of bricks and tiles.<ref name="somharbours-114"/> By then, Bridgwater's brick and tile industry was in terminal decline. In the 1960s, [[British Rail]], the owner of the docks, which were limited by the size of its locks to boats of maximum size {{convert|180|by|31|ft}},<ref name="somharbours-115">{{Harvnb|Farr|1954|p=115}}</ref> decided that they were commercially non-viable.<ref name= haskell-198-199>{{Harvnb|Haskell|2007| pages=198–199}}</ref> British Railways offered to sell the docks to any buyer; however, there were no takers, so the docks were closed to river traffic.<ref name= haskell-198-199/>

Although ships no longer dock in the town of Bridgwater, {{convert|90213|tonne|ST}} of cargo were handled within the port authority's area in 2006, most of which was stone products via the wharf at Dunball.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3078&p=0 |title=Port of Bridgwater Trade Figures&nbsp;– 2006 |publisher=Sedgemoor Council |access-date=12 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603235140/http://www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3078&p=0 |archive-date=3 June 2011}}</ref> It is no longer linked to the railway system. The link was removed in the 1960s as part of the railway closures following the [[Beeching cuts|Beeching Report]]. [[Dunball railway station]], which had opened in 1873, was closed to both passengers and goods in 1964.<ref name="oakley">{{harvnb|Oakley|2002|p=54}}</ref> All traces of the station, other than "Station Road", have been removed. The wharf is now used for landing stone products, mainly marine sand and gravels dredged in the Bristol Channel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=2825&p=0 |title=Port waste management plan 2007 |year=2007 |publisher=Port of Bridgwater |access-date=11 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622003110/http://www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=2825&p=0 |archive-date=22 June 2011 }}</ref> Marine sand and gravel accounted for {{convert|55754|tonne|ST}} of the total tonnage of {{convert|90213|tonne|LT}} using the Port facilities in 2006, with salt products accounting for {{convert|21170|tonne|LT}} in the same year,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3078&p=0 |title=Port of Bridgwater Trade Figures, 2006 |publisher=Sedgemoor District Council |access-date=22 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603235140/http://www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3078&p=0 |archive-date=3 June 2011}}</ref> while the roll-on roll-off berth at Combwich is used occasionally for the transfer of heavy goods for the two existing Hinkley Point nuclear power stations. With the possible future construction of the two [[Hinkley Point C nuclear power station]]s by [[EDF Energy]], it is proposed that Combwich wharf be employed to transfer heavy goods to the sites.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hinkleypoint.edfconsultation.info/websitefiles/PPS_SW_3031_EDF_HINK_POINT_PROPOSAL_SUM_Final.pdf |title=Hinkley Point C Proposed Nuclear Development: Initial Proposals and Options Summary Document November 2009 |pages=6–7  |publisher=EDF energy |date=November 2009 |access-date=31 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218104043/http://hinkleypoint.edfenergyconsultation.info/websitefiles/PPS_SW_3031_EDF_HINK_POINT_PROPOSAL_SUM_Final.pdf|archive-date=18 February 2012 }}</ref> Combwich Pill is the only site where recreational moorings are available in the estuary.<ref name="port"/>

[[Sedgemoor|Sedgemoor District Council]] acts as the Competent Harbour Authority for the port, and has provided pilotage services for all boats over {{convert|98|ft|m|0}} using the river since 1998, when it took over the service from [[Trinity House]]. Pilotage is important because of the constant changes in the navigable channel resulting from the large tidal range, which can exceed {{convert|39|ft|m|1}} on spring tides. Most commercial shipping travels upriver as far as Dunball wharf, which handles bulk cargoes.<ref name="port">{{cite web|url=http://www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2392|title=Facts on the Port of Bridgwater|publisher=Sedgemoor District Council|access-date=22 December 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071024055019/http://www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2392| archive-date = 24 October 2007}}</ref>