Coordinates: 50°43′44″N 2°45′29″W / 50.729°N 2.758°W
| Bridport | |
 South Street, Bridport |
|
  Bridport
Bridport shown within Dorset |
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| Population | 12,977 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | West Dorset |
| Shire county | Dorset |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRIDPORT |
| Postcode district | DT6 |
| Dialling code | 01308 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | West Dorset |
| Website | http://www.bridportandwestbay.co.uk |
| List of places: UK • England • Dorset | |
Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England. Located near the coast at the western end of Chesil Beach at the confluence of the rivers Brit and its Asker and Simene tributaries, it originally thrived as a fishing port and rope-making centre (the hangman's rope being made at Bridport gave birth to the saying "stabbed with a Bridport dagger"). The port is no longer in existence although the harbour at West Bay is a mile away.
In 2006 West Dorset district was named 10th best place to live in the UK.[1] The town is twinned with Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, France.
According to the 2001 Census, the population of the Bridport stands at 12,977. One and a half miles from the town centre and within the town's boundary lies West Bay, a small fishing harbour known as Bridport Harbour until the arrival of the railway. At that time it was "rebranded" to its current name to make it sound more attractive. West Bay was also the scene for the opening shot of The Life and Times of Reginald Perrin and the 1950s film of The Navy Lark was also shot there. Bridport has been subject of articles where it was nicknamed "Notting Hill on Sea"[2] but is also known to locals as "Bridders"[3]. The town attracts a large numbers of second home owners.[4]
Contents |
Geography
Suburbs
Bridport is composed of several small suburban districts, namely Allington, Skilling, Coneygar, Bothenhampton, Bradpole, Court Orchard and St Andrew's Well.
A number of these districts were formerly small surrounding villages which have gradually coalesced with Bridport over the years (see below). Bothenhampton in particular is still regarded by locals as a large separate village.
Surrounding villages
Allington, Askerswell, Bothenhampton, Bradpole, Burton Bradstock, Chideock, Evershot, Eype, Loders, Powerstock, Pymore, Shipton Gorge, Skilling, Swyre, Symondsbury, Uploders, Walditch and West Bay
Landmarks
Bridport is situated on the world heritage Jurassic Coast and Chesil Beach. The loose clay cliffs in the area are abundant with fossils making the area popular with fossil hunters.
Industry and commerce
The town has some light industry, most notably Palmer's Brewery (JC & RH Palmer Ltd) which, under various aliases, owns other property in the town and which recently celebrated its bicentennial. Other established companies include AmSafe Bridport, successors to the old firm of Bridport-Gundry. AmSafe’s aviation products can be found on most commercial aircraft, including seat belts, restraints, cargo and barrier nets, tie-downs, and cabin interior textiles.
Other companies include Curtiss Wright and Edwards Sports. Amsafe and Edwards Sports are the main survivors of Bridport's 750-year-old rope and net making history. Even today, the goal nets of any major football championships are likely to have been made in Bridport as would be the tennis nets, the wooden posts and the umpire's chair at Wimbledon.
Bridport has a thriving commercial centre with a twice-weekly street market and monthly farmers' market.[5]
Culture
Bridport has an arts centre, cinema, library and museum. The museum, located in South Street, includes an extensive exhibition of the town's long history of rope-making.
Bridport Literary Festival
The Bridport Literary Festival has been running since 2005 and has played host to the biggest literary lions including Elizabeth Jane Howard, Victoria Glendinning, Claire Tomalin, Jonathan Dimbleby, Max Hastings, Julian Fellowes, Alexander Waugh, John Julius Norwich, Minette Walters, Fay Weldon, Bill Oddie, Robin Hanbury–Tenison, Katharine Whitehorn, Kate Summerscale, Michael Dobbs and Ann Leslie DBE.
In 2009 the year the event takes place between Friday 13th to Sunday 22 November, and features, amongst others David Aaronovitch, Joanna Toye, Tracy Chevalier, Michael Holroyd, Rick Gekoski, Margaret Drabble, Selina Hastings, Andrew Roberts, Louis de Bernieres, Susan Richards, Anna Pavord, Michael Collins, Claire Harman, John Carey, William Fiennes, Alexander McCall Smith and Horatio Clare.
Bridport Open Studios
The Bridport Art Scene has now gained a national profile, and over 100 artists now participate in the main Bridport Open Studios event that takes place over the three days of the August Bank Holiday weekend. The popularity of the event has led to three more open events in November, Easter and May. The biggest artist led venue is the St Michael's Studio complex on the St Michael's Trading Estate. It provides studios for 25 artists and attracted over 700 visitors to the 2009 Bridport Open Studios event.
West Bay Wallow
The Bridport Round Table organises the West Bay Wallow[6] which takes place on Boxing Day. Anyone can participate in the swim which raises money for good causes. Many take the plunge in fancy dress and generally don't stay in the water for more than 10 minutes.
New Year
The New Year is celebrated at Bucky Doo Square next to the town hall in fancy dress. South Street is closed to traffic and drinking is permitted on the streets as plastic glasses are issued by nearby pubs.
Food Festival
The Food Festival is held in late June at Asker Meadow. It showcases local produced foods of which the area is well known for. The Beer Festival is also held in the same field which is run by the Bridport Round Table and opens till late.
RNLI raft race
The raft race, organised by the RNLI, is held in July in the River Brit basin at West Bay. Participants build a 'floating vessel' and row it a few hundred yards up the River Brit before returning to the lake by the harbour sluice gates. The idea is to avoid sinking, capsizing or falling in.
Bridport Carnival
The town holds its annual carnival on the third Saturday in August. The main feature is a carnival parade of floats, walking acts and majorettes. Other attractions on the day include carnival darts, carnival golf, a grand car boot sale, carnival fete and a fun fair. After the carnival South Street is closed for the night as live music is played while people dance in the street. Bridport's fun fair, which is situated on Asker Meadow, a local nature reserve next to Morrison's supermarket, is open late.
A torchlight procession takes place the following night where 1,500 torches are carried 2 miles from the town centre to a bonfire at West Bay. This is followed by live music and fireworks. West Bay's fun fair opens till late. The annual events raise money for local good causes and organisations.
Melplash Show
On the Thursday before the August bank holiday weekend each year Bridport hosts the Melplash Show at the West Bay Showgrounds. One of Dorset's three biggest agricultural shows. Melplash Show
Guy Fawkes night
The biggest public firework display is held at the Bridport Leisure Centre and is organised by the Bridport Round Table. It is normally held on the nearest Saturday to 5 November.
Transport
The main Honiton - Southampton road A35 passes around Bridport on a bypass and the A3066 to Crewkerne, via Beaminster starts in Bridport. There is also a direct road to Weymouth, the B3157 also known as the coast road, this take you through the coastal villages of Burton Bradstock and Abbotsbury. The railway station in the town closed in 1975 (one of the last railway closures), and now the nearest railway stations are Maiden Newton, Crewkerne, Dorchester or Weymouth. There are regular buses to Weymouth and Axminster every hour weekdays, and the X53 Exeter - Poole coastal service stops at the main bus station every two hours most weekdays with some extra services during the school summer holidays. There are a few buses a day to Crewkerne and Yeovil, and minor buses serving surrounding villages as well.
The nearest international airports are Exeter and Bournemouth.
Education
Primary schools
- Bridport Primary School
- St Mary's CE VC Primary School
- St Catherines RC Primary School
Secondary school
The Sir John Colfox School is Bridport’s only secondary school located on the outskirts of the town. Serving ages 11 to 18 it also has a combined sixth form with nearby Beaminster School. It is a Specialist Language College[7] so offers opportunities for learning languages useful for travelling abroad. The school houses are Adler, Fleur de Lys, Hinomaru and Toro. The school was the first built with a Private Finance Initiative and is now operated by Jarvis. The headteacher is Kay Taylor.
Children also attend Beaminster School, Woodroffe School, Colyton Grammar School and the Thomas Hardye School. There are daily buses running to these schools from Bridport.
Local colleges and university
Churches
St Mary's Church was founded in the 13th century and a large proportion of the building dates from the 15th century. There is a 17th century brass in St. Catherine's Chapel that commemorates Edward Coker who was killed in 1685 during the Monmouth Rebellion. The church was substantially restored and altered in the 19th century.
Opposite the church is a Society of Friends Meeting House.
Sport
The town's football club is Bridport F.C. "The Bees". They currently play in the Western Football League division 1. The club was founded in 1885 and the home ground is St. Mary's Field.
The town's rugby union club is Bridport RFC.
Bridport & West Dorset Golf Club is situated atop of the east cliff at West Bay. The club has an 18 hole links course, driving range and pitch & putt course.
Bridport Barracudas Swimming Club is based at Bridport Leisure Centre. A thriving Water Polo section has junior and senior teams competing in the Dorset Water Polo League. Water Polo matches are held in summer in the outer harbour at West Bay, continuing a tradition dating back to 1898.
The area also hosts one of the last remaining real tennis courts that was recently renovated with the aid of a lottery grant.
Notable people
Local celebrities include singer P.J. Harvey, actor Martin Clunes and musician Billy Bragg. Former Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United footballer and manager Kevin Hodges was born in the town. Bridport and the surrounding area was used to film Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Channel 4 television programme River Cottage and also the BBC dramas Harbour Lights starring Nick Berry and Rockliffe's Folly starring Ian Hogg.
Media
Bridport has one main local newspaper, The Bridport News owned by Newsquest which is published weekly on a Thursday. There are also a number of free papers, one being A View From Bridport. The Dorset Echo also serves Bridport and is published daily from Monday to Saturday.
Local television is served by BBC Spotlight based in Plymouth and ITV West Country based in Bristol. Terrestrial television is transmitted in digital from the Stockland Hill Transmitter and also a digital relay transmitter based at Highlands End.
Bridport is a Met Office coastal weather observation point and such it is often included as a place name on the BBC national weather map.
The town's local commercial radio station is Wessex FM which broadcasts at 96.0FM. Owned by The Local Radio Company it also serves Weymouth and Dorchester. BBC local Radio includes both BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio Solent.
Bridport lies between boundaries of broadcasters of the South and those of the South West. Viewers in Bridport are more likely to receive news about Devon and Cornwall than they are about East and North Dorset. To bridge the gap in the county the BBC proposed launching BBC Radio Dorset but this was soon dropped following BBC cut backs[8]. The Dorset Broadcasting Action Group campaigns for better coverage in the area.
Entertainment
The closure in 2005 of Bridport's only nightclub, "DeVinchies", left a big hole in Bridport's nightlife, with many travelling to Weymouth, Dorchester and Seaton for entertainment. The opening of the "Electric Palace Cinema" in 2007, however, has revived late-night entertainment in the town by promoting regular music gigs, monthly comedy nights and films. In March 2009 the cinema hosted the world premiere of The Young Victoria.[9] There are also many events at the nearby Bridport Arts Centre.
See also
Gallery
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South Street |
 West Street |
 Arts centre |
 Palmer's Brewery |
 Palmer's van |
 Town hall |
 St Mary's Church |
References
- Bridport artists open their doors BBC Dorset
- Welcome to Bridport, or Notting Hill on Sea The Telegraph, 17 March 2007.
- Bridports reaction to Notting Hill on Sea references. Bridport Radio 22 February 2007.
- Pint to pint pub guide: The George, Dorset The Telegraph 13 October 2007.
- Pint to pint The Telegraph 11 November 2007.
- Bridport: Notting Hill by Sea? BBC Dorset
- The Bull Hotel Guardian 7 October 2006.
- Brits love to be beside the seaside The Times, 29 April 2008.
- Postcode lottery: DT6 The Times, 2 May 2008.
- ^ best and worst places to live 2006
- ^ Why everyone flocks to Notting Hill on Sea The Observer, 18 February 2007
- ^ Great Bridders Menu Bridport Radio
- ^ 2001 Census - 4.1% Second Homes (Dorset 2.8%) dorsetforyou.com
- ^ Farmers' Markets in Dorset BBC Dorset
- ^ Wallow in and get out quick! Bridport News, 31 December 2008
- ^ Colfox Language College Pages
- ^ County station proposal dropped BBC News, 18 October 2007
- ^ Oscar-winner's love affair with Victoria Dorset Echo, 3 March 2009
External links
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bridport. |
- Bridport Arts Centre
- Bridport Art Scene
- Bridport Census data
- Bridport Cinema
- Bridport Leisure Centre
- Bridport Museum
- Bridport News
- Bridport Open Studios
- Bridport Prize
- Bridport Radio
- Bridport Round Table
- Bridport Town Council
- Bridport Town Council Official Guide
- Bridport & West Dorset Golf Club
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