The Parish Church of St. Mary in Bridgwater, Somerset.

This Christmas Eve post is on the Parish Church of St. Mary in Bridgwater, Somerset and its link with two notable figures of the seventeenth century.

Admiral Robert Blake, Oliver Cromwell’s General at Sea, was born in Bridgwater in August 1598 and was baptised in St. Mary’s.  Blake’s statue is just around the corner from the church at the top end of Fore Street and a museum dedicated to him is only a little further away in the appropriately named Blake Street.

The Duke of Monmouth climbed the tower of St. Mary’s to observe the King’s forces gathering around Westonzoyland 4 miles to the east.  Deciding on a daring night attack, Monmouth led his army out of Bridgwater and across Sedgemoor, through the mist and darkness, only to be soundly defeated in the early hours of July 6, 1685.

St. Mary's Parish Church, Bridgwater, in Somerset.