Highbridge, Somerset

Highbridge is a Somerset market town situated on very edge of the Somerset Levels near the mouth of the River Brue. It grew to importance with the railways, but has suffered with their decline.

The Railway

In 1844 the Bristol and Exeter (a future component of the Great Western Railway) opened a station at Highbridge on what is now the Great Western Main Line.

Related Topics:
Great Western Railway - Great Western Main Line

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Ten years later Highbridge became the seaward terminus of the Somerset Central Railway (a component of the Somerset and Dorset Railway) that ran between Glastonbury and Highbridge along the route of the abandoned Glastonbury Canal. Shortly afterwards local branch lines were added to Burnham-on-Sea and to the Highbridge Wharf.

Related Topics:
Somerset and Dorset Railway - Glastonbury Canal - Burnham-on-Sea

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At its height Highbridge Station had five platforms and a carriage works. The decline of the British railway network hit the Highbridge Station hard and today there only remains two unmanned platforms. The two branch lines were closed in the 1960s, but the official name of the station is still Highbridge and Burnham.

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