Listed Building record MDO12205 - Bridport Museum (The Castle), South Street, Bridport

An early 16th century two-storeyed house with a two-storeyed porch, now housing Bridport Museum. It has been heavily restored after being badly damaged by fire in 1876 and very little other than the façade remains from the original building. It may be called 'The Castle' as it may be in the vicinity of the Norman 'castle'.

The house known as 'The Castle' now houses the Bridport Museum. It was built in the first half of the 16th century and is said, by Hutchins, to have been the house of the chantry-priest of St Leonard <1>, but this may have been the result of a confusion with 'The Chantry', which has also sometimes been known as 'The Castle' and which was the house of the chantry-priest of St Leonard. The building was severely damaged by fire in 1876 and subsequently heavily restored, consequently most of the original internal details have been destroyed or removed.

The building may have been called the Castle from having been a public house called 'The Castle' <3>. However, the there is documentary evidence that in 1390 there was a house called 'Castleheigh' on the east side of South Street' <4>. And wills of 1374 and 1406 confirm that the nearby area was known as 'Castlehay' and which may indicate the location of the Norman 'castle' of Bridport <6>.

<1> Hutchins, J, 1863, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. Volume 2. 3rd edition, 21 (Monograph). SDO9443.

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 49 (Monograph). SDO97.

'(12) House, called the Castle and now the Art Gallery and Museum, on the E. side of South Street 110 yards S. of East Street, is of two storeys; the walls are of rubble with freestone dressings and the roofs are covered with tiles and slates. It was built in the first half of the 16th century and is said to have been the house of the chantry-priest of St. Leonard. It was damaged by fire in 1876 and was given to the town in 1932. The W. front has a moulded string-course between the storeys; the windows are of three and five four-centred lights with moulded reveals; two of these windows, one on each floor, have incipient cinquefoiled cusping on the heads of the lights. The two-storeyed porch is semi-octagonal on plan and has an outer archway with moulded jambs and four-centred head; the inner doorway also has moulded jambs and four-centred head. The upper storey has windows similar to those on the rest of the front, one of four lights on the face and one of two lights in each return. The porch has a gable corbelled out over the splayed angles of the building. Inside the building there is an original fireplace with moulded jambs and four-centred head and, on the firest floor, a corbel carved with a half-angel holding a book.'

<3> Colfox, W, 1890, 'On the History of Bridport' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, 126 (Article in serial). SWX1323.

<4> Bartelot, R G, 1907, 'Fourteenth century life in Bridport' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, 99 (Article in serial). SWX7399.

<5> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 112 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<6> Penn, K J, 1980, Historic Towns in Dorset, 26 (Monograph). SWX1202.

<7> Milby, S, 2017, Bridport Museum, 25 South Street, Bridport, Dorset. Archaeological Monitoring and Recording Report (Unpublished document). SDO15350.

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 867816 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 21 2022 11:56AM