B R I 
to the (Length of the place by building a caftle. There was 
a chapel within the caftle, which in after-times was con¬ 
verted into a collegiate church for a dean and fix pre¬ 
bendaries. The town and caftle, being forfeited by the 
rebellion, came into poffeffion of the crown. The town 
confifts of three principal ftreets,' paved and well built. It 
is a place of great trade both by land and water, and has 
many privileges granted to it by charters. It is governed 
by two bailiffs* elected yearly out of twenty-four aider- 
men, who are fuch as have gone through all the offices of 
the town, by a jury of fourteen men ; together with forty- 
eight common councilmen, a recorder, town-clerk, &c.' 
This borough fent members to parliament ab origine. The 
right of election is in the burgeffes and freemen, within 
and without the borough : the number of electors about 
700. It is divided into the upper and lower towns, fepa- 
rated by the Severn, over which is a handfome bridge of 
feven arches. Its fituation is pleafant, a‘s well as commo¬ 
dious for trade ; its air is healthy, and its profpedls delight¬ 
ful. The hill on which the upper'town (lands rifes fixty 
yards from the weft bank of the river; many of the houfes 
are founded upon the rock, and molt of the cellars are 
caves hewn out of it. On the roofs of the caves are gar¬ 
dens, and pathways are made over them, fo that one may 
walk over the tops of feveral of the houfes Without danger 
or difficulty. There are two churches, the upper church 
is called St. Leonard’s; the lower church, lately built, is 
a noble flone ftrudlure, called St. Mary Magdalen’s. The 
market, which is on Saturdays, is well flocked with all 
forts of provifions; and its fairs, which are on the Thurf- 
day before Shrove-Sunday, June 30, Aug. 2, and 061 . 29, 
are reforted to from mod parts of the kingdom, for cattle, 
Iheep, butter, cheefe, bacon, linen-cloth, hops, and mod 
other merchandize. In the civil wars, this town lud’ered 
materially. The royalids marched hither from Shrewf- 
bury, to meet the parliament’s troops; an engagement 
happened; the former were defeated, and the cadle de- 
molifhed. Robert de Belefme, earl of Shrewfbury, who 
built its' walls, truding to the natural drength of the place, 
revolted from Henry I. as did afterwards Roger Mortimer 
from Henry II. but both with ill fuccefs, being obliged to 
furrender and make their fubmidion. At tne fiege of this 
place, Henry II. was aimed at with an arrow, and would 
have been killed, had not Hubert de St. Clare, a nobleman 
devoted to the king’s intered, mod heroically and indanta- 
neoudv interpofed his own body, whereby he met both the 
arrow and death for his prince. Here is a free-fchool for 
the fons of the burgeffes. The town is not only fupplied 
with good water by leaden pipes from a fpring half a mile 
off, but the water of the Severn is conveyed by an engine 
to the top of the cadle-hill, the contrivance of thofe vvho 
eredted the water-works at London-bridge. There are 
lever,il good mills belonging to the town, built on the ri¬ 
ver Wherfe, which falls into the Severn. There is an 
hofpital in the high church-yard, for ten poor widows-of 
the upper town. A hollow' way leads from this high part 
of the town to the bridge, which is much admired by tra¬ 
vellers, being hewn through a rock to the depth of 20 feet. 
BRIDGE-TOWN, the capital of Barbadoes, in the 
Wed Indies, lying in the fouth-wed part of the illarid, 
and in the parlfh of St. Michael. It is fituated on the in- 
nermod part of Carlifie-bay, which is large enough to 
contain five hundred dtips, being a league and a half in 
breadth, and a league in depth; but the bottom is foul, 
and apt to cut the cables. The neighbouring grounds, be¬ 
ing low fiats, vvere often overflowed by the fpring-tides, 
and are mod of them (ince drained. The town lies at the 
entrance of St. George’s valley, which runs feveral miles 
into the country. It differed greatly by fire, on Feb. 8, 
1336, May 14, 1766, and Dec. 27, 1767, when the great¬ 
est part of the town was dedroyed ; before which time it 
h id about 1500 houfes, moftly brick, very elegant, and 
laid to be the fined and larged in all the Caribbee Klands, 
the greated part of which have been rebuilt. It h is a 
college, founded and liberally endowed by colonel Cod- 
B R I 399 
rington. Here are commodious wharfs for loading and 
unloading goods, with fome forts and cattles for its de¬ 
fence ; but the town is fnbjefl to hurricanes. On the ead 
fide of the town is a fmall fort of eight guns, where the 
magazines of powder and dores are kept by a drong guard. 
The number of militia for this town and St. Michael’s 
precinff is 1200 men. This is the feat of the governor, 
council, alfembly, and court of chancery. Lat. 13. 10. N. 
I011. 58. 38. W. Greenwich. 
BRIDGE-TOWN, a town of United America, and 
capital of the county of Cumberland, in the date of New 
Jerfey : twenty-five miles fouth of Philadelphia. 
BRIDGE'WATER, a town of Somerfetdiire, with 
markets on Tuefdays, Thurfdays, and Saturdays, which 
are well fupplied with provifions of all kinds, and noted 
for its large quantities of cheefe : it has four fairs annu¬ 
ally, viz. on the fecond Thurfday in Lent, 24th of June, 
2d and 3d of 06 tober, and 28th of December, fome of 
which are very large. This town w^s'-given after the con- 
qued to one Walter, a Norman ; and in all the old char¬ 
ters, particularly king John’s, the fird that made it a free 
borough, it is called Brugge-Wa'ter, or Walter's Borough. 
The cadle here, which is now in ruins, was built in the 
reign of king John, by William-de Brewer, lord of Bridge- 
water, who alfo made the quay called the Haven, and be¬ 
gan the done bridge over the river, which was finifbed by 
the next lord of the manor. Its charter from king John 
was confirmed by Edward II. Edward III. Edward IV. 
and queen Elizabeth ; or, as fome fay, Henry IV. granted 
it others for changing the bailiffs to the mayor, who now 
governs it, together witli a recorder, two aldermen, whd- 
are juftices of the peace, twenty-four common councilmen, 
and other inferior officers. Their revenues, which confift 
of the manor of the borough, the great and fmall tithes, 
the manor of Ead Stovver, in .Dorfetfhire, &c. are very 
conliderable. The Iherift' of the county cannot fend any 
procefs into this borough, it having been made a di-dinbt 
county by Henry VIII. and its freemen are free in all the 
ports of England and Ireland, except London And Dublin. 
Formerly this town was fortified, was exceeding drong, and 
was one of the fird towns in England feized by the barons 
in king John’s reign, as a place of conliderable import¬ 
ance. During the civil wars it fudained feveral hot fieges; 
it was at fird garrifoned for the parliament, but at length 
reduced by the king’s forces, who held it out for him till 
it lurrendered to Oliver Cromwell in 1653, after it had 
differed feverely by the dege, with a treafure amounting 
to ioo,oool. befides cannon and military (lores. In 1685 
the duke of Monmouth was proclaimed king here, and 
lodged in the caftle, and was afterwards defeated at Sedge- 
moor, in this neighbourhood. King James 11 . came here 
the next year, and celebrated mafs in the cadle'- Bridge - 
water is at prefent a populous town, containing between 
four and five thoufand inhabitants ; it is in fome parts 
well built, a place of conliderable trade, and a great tho¬ 
roughfare : though placed at fome didance from the fea, 
yet by means of the high tides of the river Parret, (which 
come in with a remarkable head called the boar.) it en¬ 
joys the advantage of a port for vedels of moderate bur¬ 
then, fhips of 300 tons can come up to the quay. It car¬ 
ries on a conliderable coading trade to Briftol, and other 
places up the Severn and Channel to Wales and Cornwall: 
it has likewife fome trade to Ireland and Scotland, and 
its port is occalionally frequented by vedels from Norway 
and other parts. Some of the manufadlures of the count-y, 
and large quantities of cheefe and other products, are ex¬ 
ported from hence. Brick and tile are made here in great 
quantities, the inanufaflure of which employs a number 
of hands ; as do alfo the braziery and foundry bufinefs, 
and a japan manufablory lately edabliffied. The old (tone 
bridge over the river Parret, which condfted of three 
arches, has lately been taken down, and a cad-iron bridge 
of one arch erefled- in its (lead, which is well executed, 
and the handfomefi In England ; it was caff at Colebroo-k- 
dale, Shropshire, in 1795. The town, is well (Applied 
with* 
