Bridgwater Cloth Trade
During the fourteenth century, the Bridgwater cloth trade expanded considerably and not least because of the good quality of locally made cloth, the speciality being a ratteen, a coarse serge-like cloth known as a “Bridgwater”. Taunton and Dunster had ...
Bridgwater Fairs
The vibrancy of any town could be measured by the success or otherwise of its fairs and markets. In the mid-thirteenth century Bridgwater, with its 300 burgages, had 13 stalls and 5 shops. It also had 3 Jews, only two being licensed to act as bankers a...
Markets and Trade
Apart from the fairs , a regular market was held in Bridgwater, initially on a Saturday until around 1600, and then latterly on a Wednesday. In St.Mary Street there was a Cheese Cross where cheeses were sold. In 1857 an Act of Parliament rearranged the...
St Matthew's Fair
The giant fair which survives today is St Matthew’s Fair and dates backto 1249. Its charter was renewed in 1613. For centuries it has formed a high spot in the social calendar and has been held on the same sight for most of that time. Originally held i...
