Bridgwater Castle

Bridgwater Castle stood in the Somerset town of Bridgwater, built in stone around 1220 by William Brewer. Its moat, up to 20 metres wide in places, followed the line of today’s Fore Street and Castle Moat. The castle covered eight or nine acres and included a keep, chapel, stables and bell tower. A watergate on the quay allowed goods to move between river and castle. The main entrance had twin gates and drawbridges, unusual for the period. The castle played a part in the Second Barons’ War and the Despenser War of the 14th century. After William Brewer’s death it passed to the crown and was used as a store and prison. Later it belonged to the Mortimer family and saw action during the English Civil War. Royalist forces under Edmund Wyndham held the town until 1645, when Parliament took control. Some walls and the watergate still stand on West Quay. Visitors can see sections of the curtain wall and a surviving watergate on West Quay. Remains of internal buildings appear in Queen Street and the garden of Lions House. Foundations of the north-east tower lie beneath Homecastle House. Castle Street follows the line of the old moat, and King’s Square contains stone reused from the castle. Recent work uncovered part of the curtain wall and a tunnel linking the castle to the port.