Bridgwater Castle was a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the town of

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. The stone castle was built around 1220 and contributed to the development of the town. It was surrounded by a moat and included a

watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...

giving access to the quay. In the 13th and 14th centuries the castle was involved in the

Second Barons' War The Second Barons' War (1264–1267) was a civil war in Kingdom of England, England between the forces of barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, Simon de Montfort against the royalist forces of Henry III of England, King Hen ...

and

Despenser War The Despenser War (1321–22) was a baronial revolt against Edward II of England led by the Marcher Lords Roger Mortimer and Humphrey de Bohun. The rebellion was fuelled by opposition to Hugh Despenser the Younger, the royal favourite.Some hist ...

. It then fell into ruin and parts were demolished in the first half of the 17th century and a new house built. Some of the walls survived and it played a minor role in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion in June 1685 was an attempt to depose James II of England, James II, who in February had succeeded his brother Charles II of England, Charles II as king of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and ...

. In the later 17th and early 18th centuries many of the remaining buildings were demolished and new residential and industrial buildings constructed, giving its name to Castle Street. The watergate and some sections of wall survive.

Early history

The castle was built early in the 13th century by William Brewer, like several other castle-builders of the period, an exceptionally wealthy man. He was granted the

lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of eco ...

of the Manor of Bridgwater by King John in 1201, and founded Bridgwater Friary. Before the building of the castle,

was much smaller, but after the granting a

licence to crenellate In medieval England, Wales and the Channel Islands a licence to crenellate (or licence to fortify) granted the holder permission to fortify his property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within the ...

by King John, in 1200, charters for the creation of a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

and a market rapidly followed, effectively creating the heart of a new town. Initially Bridgwater faced competition from the established nearby port of Downend, protected by Down End Castle, but the new settlement rapidly became dominant. Bridgwater Castle was a substantial structure built in

Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...

from

Wembdon Wembdon is a semi-rural area of Bridgwater on the town’s outskirts, in Somerset, England. Wembdon is now home to an Anglican church, a small shop (combined with the post office), a pub and a small garage. History Wembdon was listed in the Dome ...

with other stone being transported from Downend in the

Polden Hills The Polden Hills in Somerset, England, are a long, low ridge, extending for , and separated from the Mendip Hills, to which they are nearly parallel, by a marshy tract known as the Somerset Levels. They are now bisected at their western end by ...

and Ham Hill by boat. The site covered 8 or 9 acres (32,000 to 36,000 m²). A tidal

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

, up to wide in places, flowed about along the current streets of Fore Street and Castle Moat, and between Northgate and Chandos Street. The moat was filled from Durleigh brook, a tributary of the

River Parrett The River Parrett is a river that flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the So ...

. There is some evidence that there was a weir between the moat and the river. Unusually, the main entrance opposite the Cornhill was built with a pair of adjacent gates and

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

s. In addition to a

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

, located at the south-east corner of what is now King Square, documents show that the complex included a

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...

, chapel, stables and a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

. Built on the only raised ground in the town, the castle controlled the crossing of the town bridge. There is documentary evidence describing the castle as having "

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