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From 'This is The West Country'
History
The Middle Ages
Prior to the arrival of William the Conqueror in 1066, Harold was on
the throne and Bridgwater, still called just Bryj, was just one
of many communities which came under the lordship of the Saxon Merleswain.
Merleswain wasn’t even a local man. He was the Sheriff of Lincolnshire
but a close friend of the king. So Bridgwater was in his lordship, and
in the North Petherton Hundred. In other words it was not the centre of
the local universe, North Petherton was. The size of Bridgwater in 998
AD, relative to its neighbours can be gathered from the Dane-geld collected,
i.e. the taxes which were collected, were as follows:
Middlezoy 12 shillings
Bridgwater
5 shillings
Puriton
5 shillings
Woolavington 4
shillings
Wembdon
3 shillings
Durleigh
6 pence
In 1066, William invaded England and gave parcels of land to his supporters
as a thank you gift. Bridgwater, Wembdon, Bawdrip, Horsey, Pawlett, Huntspill,
Burnham and Brean, and various other manors, were given to Walter from Douai
in France. Walter however took up residence in Bampton in Devon, but Bryj, the
quayside on the River Parrett, now belonged to him and henceforth would
be known as Walter’s Quayside, Bryj of Walter, Bridgwater. This
explains the lack of the extra ‘e’ in the middle of the town’s name – so
it’s not the ‘e’ that’s missing but the ‘l’ from Walter.
The Saxon days were over but Saxon names survived.
Sydenham was Saxon for wide meadow, Hamp was a homestead, Bryg was a quayside,
or some believe a fording place, and the town was split into Eastover and
Westover, in fact ‘estufer’ and ‘westufer’, ufer being Saxon for bank, hence
east and west bank. But there was still no bridge! In 1086, the Domesday
Book recorded the following, albeit in Latin:
Walter holds Brugie. Merleswain held it at the time of King Edward, and it was assessed at the Dane-Geld for 5 hides. The arable land is 10 carucates. In demesne (the land held by the Lord himself) are 3 carucates and 5 servants, 13 villanes (slaves), 9 bordars (wood cutters and the like) and 5 cottagers with 8 ploughs. There is a mill of 5 shillings rent and 10 acres of meadow, and 100 acres of coppiced wood and 30 acres of pasture. When Walter received it, it was worth 100 shillings (£5) and is now worth £7
A hide is basically an extended family and the land which supports them. A carucate can be equated to the amount of land an ox is capable of ploughing. So we have a picture of a small community, perhaps five extended families and nearby there was Sydenham, a quarter of a hide, and Hamp with its 1 hide, 4 ploughs, 4 slaves, 1 villager, 7 smallholders with 1 plough, 15 acres of meadow and 3 acres of woodland. Each of these was a separate community. Then, on each side of the town there appeared to be the farms which gave us East Bower and West Bower, the latter on the edge of Durleigh.
William Brewer
The turning point for Bridgwater came in the year 1200 with King John
on the throne. In earlier years, Brewer had been instrumental in delivering
the ransom money which paid for the release of Richard the Lionheart when
he had been incarcerated in Germany. In later years, 1215, he would be
at King John’s side advising on the signing of the Magna Carta. Brewer
had recognised the potential for Bridgwater to be more than just a quayside.
He knew that if a bridge could be thrown across the river, the village would
become a strategic point in Somerset with tall-masted ships bringing goods
in from the Bristol Channel being unable to sail beyond the bridge. Thus
Bridgwater would become a transport depot where sea-borne goods would be
transferred from ships to barges, and horse and foot traffic would cross
the River Parrett using the new bridge, unhindered by the tide.
Such a crossroads of land and river routes would
require a castle to defend it. King John, in his second year on the throne,
was with William Brewer in France, travelling to Chinon, near Tours. On
the way, Brewer suggested to King John that Bridgwater was an ideal location
for a bridge and a castle. As the day progressed, scribes began to draw
up the charter which would grant Bridgwater its freedom, giving it borough
status allowing burgage rent to be collected by the town’s reeves and putting
an end to serfdom. During the evening of June 26th, 1200, King John placed
his seal upon the charter and Bridgwater as a free town was born. It was
time for William Brewer to turn his vision to a reality. A town with a
bridge, a commercial centre unlike any other in the county.
The Charter - translated
John, by the Grace of God, et cetera. Know ye that we have given and granted, and have confirmed, by this present charter, to our beloved and faithful William Brewer, that Bridgwater shall be a free borough and that there be a free market there, and a fair every year that shall last during eight days, that is to say, from the day of the nativity of the Blessed John the Baptist; with paagio (tolls for pasturage), pontage (tolls for using the bridge), passage (ferry money), lastage (tolls for loading and unloading vessels), stallage (for stalls at the fair or market), with all the other liberties and free customs appertaining to a free borough, and to a market and fair. We grant also to the aforesaid William that the aforesaid burgesses of the aforesaid borough be free burgesses, and be quit of all toll, pontage, passage, lastage and stallage, and have all liberties and free customs and quittances which appertain to us through our land, except the City of London. Wherefore we will and firmly ordain that the aforesaid William, and his heirs after him, have and hold all the things aforesaid well and in peace, happily and quietly, wholly and fully, and honourably, with all their liberties and free customs as aforesaid.
There were in fact three charters. One granting permission to build a
castle, another permitting the free borough and a third permitting various
fairs and markets. The freedom of the burgages was a significant benefit
to the townsfolk. Until the granting of the charter, anyone who worked
the land was obliged to give occasional days of service to the lord of the
manor. Inevitably this obligation would be called on at the very time the
individual was busiest, perhaps at harvest time. The end of serfdom meant
that an individual could pay a tax instead, probably about a day’s pay.
The going rate was a shilling per burgage per year and the penalty for non-payment
was to have one’s doors sealed up until settlement was made.
The burgesses were allowed to hold their own court
once a month on a Monday to deal with minor crimes; trespass, fraud, debt
and environmental issues such as ditch clearance, the removal of offal,
short measure, trading too close to someone selling the same items and regrating.
This latter offence is committed when an item is bought and then sold at
a higher price on the same day.
Under Brewer’s guardianship, the town began to prosper. He built the bridge, originally a wooden affair. Between 1200 and 1210, he built the castle, a magnificent castle, to defend the bridge and the town.
Text Copyright © 2008 Roger Evans