Bridgwater’s popular ‘History Day’ is set this year for Saturday 23rd November and will run from 10am until 4pm at the Bridgwater Arts Centre. No tickets are needed, just turn up, and there’s a free (historical) lunch as well. The event is sponsored by Bridgwater Town Council and Bridgwater & Taunton College and has now been running for 10 years with capacity audiences on each occaision. Different local historians will take to the stage and present aspects of Bridgwater’s interesting history while stalls will be available in the gallery space with a historical theme. This years event includes talks ranging from Bridgwater’s role in the English Civil war to Bridgwater’s place in the Beat Music scene of the 1960’s. Speakers will include County Archaelogist Bob Croft, Bridgwater College History lecturer Sarah Ball and Town Council Leader Brian Smedley. There will also be several short films from historians Miles Kerr-Peterson and Tony Woolrich covering Bridgwater in the 1790’s, John Chubb, the Castle and Bridgwater’s oldest pub. Food will be provided by Lesley Gates who this year will do a ‘Civil war’ theme. Town Council Leader Brian Smedley says “Bridgwater people love their history and quite rightly so. This is the town which was the first to call for the ending of the Slave Trade, the first to call for an end to appeasement in the 1930s, the last battle on English soil and the first place where 18 year olds could vote. These events are really popular and every year there’s something new to uncover in our radical, revolutionary, riveting, rebel past!”
Compere for the 2024 event will be Cllr Kathy Pearce. Kathy is the Deputy Mayor and Deputy Leader of Bridgwater Town Council, and a Somerset County Councillor.
1030 Opening by Mayor of Bridgwater Cllr Jacqui Solomon
1035-1115 Sam Astill “Harry Salter, the Bridgwater soldier who was ‘shot at dawn’ in Gallipoli 1915.”
Sam Astill took up his role as CEO of the Southwest Heritage Trust in January 2024. He previously held the position of Head of Museums and Engagement. He has worked on major projects including the redevelopment of the Museum of Somerset and had a leading role in developing the interpretative content for the Somerset Rural Life Museum. Sam is a graduate of the Museums and Resilient Leadership Programme (MRL).
1115-1120 Film ‘Who was John Chubb?’ (Tony Woolrich)
Tony Woolrich is website co-ordinator for the Bridgwater Heritage Group and a Wikipedia moderator. He became involved with the Museum when he retired in 2007, so was concerned with the refurbishment under Dr Cattermole. He was Deputy Curator until 2012 and Curator until 2018, when he became co-editor of the Bridgwater History Group website. He has written extensively on industrial history and biography and has contributed to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
1120-1200 Bob Croft, “Archaeological discoveries at Hinkley Point”–
Bob worked as the County Archaeologist for Somerset County Council for many years and now works for the Southwest Heritage Trust providing archaeological advice and working on heritage projects throughout the county. He is now the Historic Environment and Estates Manager for the SWHT.
1200-1205 Film ‘Bridgwater in the 1790s’ – based on Chubb’s Lithographs (Tony Woolrich)
1205-1245 Sarah Ball, “Bridgwater and the Civil War”
Sarah is a recently qualified A-level History lecturer, specialising in Early Modern and Modern History, with a passion for bringing the past to life in the classroom. She particularly enjoys making connections with our local history for students, such as exploring the Civil War and Bridgwater’s rich historical past. She holds a Bachelor of Honours in Ancient History and Classical Archaeology from Warwick University, which enriches her teaching with a deep understanding of historical contexts and methodologies. She is committed to inspiring students, and fostering a love for history across diverse time periods, and locations.
1245-1345 Historical Lunchbreak provided by Lesley Gates
1345-1350 Film ‘How big was Bridgwater Castle? (Miles Kerr-Peterson)
Dr Miles Kerr-Peterson has worked for the Universities of Glasgow,
Dundee and the OU, as well as the Burrell Collection in Glasgow. He is
chairman of the Friends of the Wembdon road Cemetery and the Bridgwater
Heritage Group.
1350-1425 Brian Smedley, “Bridgwater’s Top 10 Radicals’
Brian Smedley is the Leader of Bridgwater Town Council. An International History and Politics graduate from Leeds University he has written and performed in several stage plays and musicals about Bridgwater’s history and produced a number of booklets and web features about the same.
1425-1430 Film ‘What’s the Oldest Pub in Bridgwater?’ (Miles Kerr-Peterson)
1430-1530 Dave Edney “The Top Twenty Club. – When Bridgwater was Fab.”
Dave Edney is the former manager and current archivist of the Bridgwater Arts Centre. He is the world’s leading expert in and tells the story of the Town Hall Beat club of the 1960s, a music club that provided Bridgwater with a 7 year period of live popular music and in doing so created local music history.
1530 closure by Kath Pearce