Highbridge, Somerset

infobox UK place
country= England
latitude= 51.2189
longitude= -2.9730
official_name= Highbridge
population= 4,606 (Census 2001)
civil_parish Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge
shire_district= Sedgemoor
shire_county = Somerset
region= South West England
constituency_westminster= Wells
post_town= HIGHBRIDGE
postcode_district= TA9
postcode_area= TA
dial_code= 01278
os_grid_reference= ST320471

Highbridge is a Somerset market town situated on very edge of the Somerset Levels near the mouth of the River Brue. It grew to importance with the railways, but has suffered with their decline. It is close by Burnham-on-Sea and forms part of the parish of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge.

History

There is archaeological evidence of occupation around the Highbridge area at least as far back as the Roman period. A bridged crossing over the River Brue at this location has existed since the 14th century and it has always been an important crossing on the route from Bristol to the South West. The town that sprung up around this crossing takes it name from the bridge. An older name for the local manor was "Huish," a contraction of the phrase "Huish jaxta altum pontem" (next to a high bridge). There are historical references to a wharf at this site and to usage of the river as part of the drainage plan for the Somerset Levels by the Monks of Glastonbury.

Highbridge grew in importance as a regional market and industrial town during the latter half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. Important employers included the livestock and cheese market, Highbridge Wharf, Buncombe's Steamrollers, and the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway rail works, which closed in 1930 with the loss of 400 jobs. Heavy industry and transport declined in Highbridge after the Second World War as the Wharf proved too small for the newer generation of ships, with the last cargo of timber arriving in 1948 and the wharf was closed to shipping the following year,cite book |title=Somerset Harbours |last=Farr |first=Grahame |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1954 |publisher=Christopher Johnson |location=London |isbn= |pages=96 ] and commercial freight moved away from the railways. Since the 1970s close proximity to the M5 motorway has driven a growth in light industry and in the town's commuter population.

In 1933 Highbridge was sublimated within the joint town council district of Highbridge and Burnham-on-Sea. Prior to this the 1931 census listed a population of 2585. The joining of the two towns remains a contentious issue. A 2001 independence referendum was unsuccessful, but there has, as yet, been no indication of a militant tendency within the Highbridge independence movement.

In 2004 a community group, the Highbridge History Project, commemorated the 150th anniversary of opening of the town's station by publishing the results of their own five year long study into the town's history ( [http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/archived_material/2004/week_13/features/asp/04-03-26Glimpse.asp Weston Mercury] "A Glimpse into the past").

The Railway

In 1844 the Bristol and Exeter (a future component of the Great Western Railway) opened a station at Highbridge on what is now the Great Western Main Line.

Ten years later Highbridge became the seaward terminus of the Somerset Central Railway (a component of the Somerset and Dorset Railway) that ran between Glastonbury and Highbridge along the route of the abandoned Glastonbury Canal. Shortly afterwards local branch lines were added to Burnham-on-Sea and to the Highbridge Wharf.

At its height Highbridge Station had five platforms and a carriage works. The decline of the British railway network hit the Highbridge Station hard and today there only remains two unmanned platforms. The two branch lines were closed in the 1960s, and the official name of the station is now Highbridge and Burnham.

The Town

The town has had an independent livestock market on the same site since 1851. It is currently run by J.H. Palmer and Sons and meets weekly on a Monday. The market closed briefly during the 2001 UK foot and mouth crisis.

Like most British towns Highbridge has had its ample share of alehouses and inns — far out numbering the churches. The Cooper's Arms is one of the best Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) pubs in the region.

Prominent Inhabitants

Highbridge was the birthplace of noted British spy Frank Foley (the "British Schindler"), Edward Higgins (General of the Salvation Army in the early 1930s), and of the Colonel (the biggest bull in Britain, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/3244970.stm BBC News] ).

References

Further reading

*cite book | author=Highbridge History Project | title=Highbridge: A Somerset Market Town and its People | publisher=Highbridge History Project | year=2004 | id=ISBN 0-9548266-0-4

External links

* The Somerset Urban Archaeological Survey: [http://www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/cultureheritage%5Cheritage%5Cprojects%5Ceus/burnham/index.cfm Burnham and Highbridge ] by Clare Gathercole
* [http://www.burnham-on-sea.com/highbridge.shtml The history of Highbridge] by local historian Roy Cox
* [http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/HistoricalHighbridge/index.jhtml Historical Highbridge] by Higbridge Councillor Joyce Beard
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrshQf9Hz_4 YouTube video of Sunday market]