The Best Attractions In Highbridge

Places to see in ( Highbridge - UK )

Places to see in ( Highbridge - UK )

Highbridge is a small market town situated on the edge of the Somerset Levels near the mouth of the River Brue. It is in the County of Somerset, and is approximately 20 miles north east of Taunton, the county town of Somerset. being situated approximately 7 miles (11.3 km) north of Bridgwater, the district's administrative centre. Highbridge closely neighbours Burnham-on-Sea, forming part of the combined parish of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge and shares a town council with the resort town. In the 2001 census the population was 5,986. In the 2011 census the population of the town was included in the ward of Highbridge and Burnham Marine, which totalled 7,555.

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 There are historical references to a wharf at this site and to usage of the river as part of the drainage plan for the Somerset Levels by the Monks of Glastonbury.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, 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.

Highbridge was historically a hamlet and chapelry in the large ancient parish of Burnham. It briefly became a separate civil parish in 1894, but in 1896 the civil parish was abolished and divided between the new civil parishes of North Highbridge and Burnham Without. The town had by then expanded south of the River Brue into the parish of Huntspill, and in 1896 the new parish of South Highbridge was carved out of Huntspill parish. North Highbridge and South Highbridge together formed the Highbrige Urban District. The 1931 census listed a population of 2,585. In 1933 the Urban District was abolished and merged into Burnham-on-Sea Urban District. In the 1974 local government reforms, this became a civil parish within the new District of Sedgemoor. The civil parish is now known as Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge, with a single town council.

Highbridge was originally the seaward terminus of the Glastonbury Canal and the Somerset Central Railway. The Canal was established first and was designed to improve drainage along the River Brue. It was also designed to create a trade link between Glastonbury and the sea. A new straight channel, with a clyce (the local name for a sluice), which runs from the present day tidal gates to the location of the current station, was cut in 1801 and the original course of the river was as the site for of Highbridge Wharf. The Canal opened in 1833 and while initially successful it later suffered from financial and engineering problems. Only the 1801 clyce remains of the Glastonbury Canal at Highbridge.

Highbridge town centre clusters around the crossroads formed by Church Street and Market Street. At their meeting point is a roundabout which marks the location of the town's original three-faced town clock. A modern concrete replacement clock, also with three faces and topped with the town's coat of arms stood in nearby Jubilee Gardens until its replacement with a more traditional four-faced clock in 2012.

( Highbridge - UK ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Highbridge . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Highbridge - UK

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