WHY?
1841 saw the opening of the dock in Bridgwater and included amongst its infrastructure the Ware’s Warehouse which still survives today. One of the dock related problems was that of silting up, a problem overcome in part by the Dredger ‘Bertha’ designed by I. K. Brunel. He was also responsible for the telescopic bridge across the river which allowed railway traffic to cross the river whilst still permitting the passage of tall masted ships.
The docks finally closed in 1969 when the local Cellophane plant converted from coal to fuel oil.