About
The Blake Museum at Bridgwater is named in honour of Admiral Robert Blake (1598–1657), the great Parliamentary commander born in the town who became one of the founders of the modern Royal Navy. Housed in a building closely associated with the Blake family, the museum holds collections relating to Blake's life and naval career, the broader history of Bridgwater and the Somerset Levels, and the dramatic episode of the Monmouth Rebellion and the Battle of Sedgemoor — the last pitched battle on English soil, fought just three miles from the town in 1685.
Robert Blake was born in Bridgwater in 1598 to a prosperous merchant family. He attended Oxford University, briefly considered an academic career, and worked as a merchant in Bridgwater before the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642. He proved an exceptional military commander, distinguishing himself in the sieges of Bristol, Lyme, and Taunton, and was appointed General at Sea in 1649. In the following decade he transformed the English navy, defeating the Royalist Prince Rupert in the Mediterranean, crushing the Dutch in the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–54), and destroying a Spanish treasure fleet in the harbour of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1657. He died at sea returning from this last victory, and Cromwell ordered his burial in Westminster Abbey. He is sometimes called the 'Father of the Royal Navy' for his work establishing professional naval discipline, tactics, and articles of war.
The Battle of Sedgemoor, fought in the marshes of the Somerset Levels on 6 July 1685, was the decisive engagement of the Monmouth Rebellion — the ill-fated attempt by James Scott, the Duke of Monmouth (illegitimate son of Charles II), to overthrow his uncle James II and seize the throne. Monmouth's largely peasant army was defeated by James's professional forces in a confused night battle, and the rebellion was suppressed with extraordinary cruelty in Judge Jeffreys's 'Bloody Assizes'. The museum holds material on the rebellion, the battle, and its aftermath including the fate of the Bridgwater people who supported Monmouth.
The museum's broader collections document Bridgwater's history as a Somerset Levels market town and inland port, its medieval origins, the eighteenth and nineteenth-century industrial development centred on brick and tile-making, and the social life of one of the most historically interesting towns in the West Country.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- Combine your museum visit with a trip to the Sedgemoor battlefield at Westonzoyland (three miles east) — interpretation boards and the battlefield trail bring the events of 6 July 1685 vividly to life.
- St Mary's Church with its tall spire is a short walk from the museum and a fine example of West Country medieval church architecture.
- Castle Street's Georgian terraces are among the most elegant streetscapes in Somerset and worth a brief walk.
- If visiting in early November, the Bridgwater Carnival on the first Saturday is one of the great spectacles of the English calendar — book accommodation well in advance.
- Glastonbury and its abbey ruins are twelve miles south-east — an excellent extension to a Bridgwater visit.
- The museum is free but donations support its operation by the Bridgwater Heritage Trust.
- Bridgwater is a major M5 motorway exit so easily accessible by car from the wider South West.
- The Quantock Hills AONB just west provides exceptional walking country — combine museum and rural visits.
Highlights
Admiral Robert Blake
The museum's central subject is Admiral Robert Blake (1598–1657), the Bridgwater-born Parliamentary general who became one of the most successful naval commanders in English history.
The Blake gallery traces his life from his merchant beginnings in Bridgwater through his Civil War land campaigns to his transformation of the navy and his great victories over the Dutch and Spanish. The display includes portraits, contemporary documents, weapons, and material on the development of naval tactics and discipline that Blake pioneered.
Blake's articles of war and his insistence on professional standards laid the foundation for the Royal Navy of subsequent centuries.
The Monmouth Rebellion and Battle of Sedgemoor
On 6 July 1685, in the marshes of the Somerset Levels three miles from Bridgwater, the Duke of Monmouth's largely peasant rebel army was defeated by the professional forces of James II in the last pitched battle fought on English soil. The museum's Sedgemoor display traces the rebellion from Monmouth's landing at Lyme Regis through his march across Somerset to the disastrous night attack at Sedgemoor, and the savage 'Bloody Assizes' that followed under Judge Jeffreys.
Bridgwater people supported Monmouth in substantial numbers and suffered accordingly.
The museum holds weapons, documents, and material on individual local families caught up in the rebellion.
The Santa Cruz de Tenerife Action 1657
Blake's final and perhaps greatest victory was the destruction of a Spanish treasure fleet sheltering in the strongly fortified harbour of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on 20 April 1657. Blake's tactical innovation — directly engaging fortified shore batteries with his line of warships — was considered impossible by contemporary naval doctrine and his success transformed thinking about naval power.
He died at sea on the voyage home and was given a state funeral and burial in Westminster Abbey (though his remains were unceremoniously removed at the Restoration in 1660).
The museum traces this final campaign in detail.
Bridgwater as Inland Port
Bridgwater developed as an important inland port on the River Parrett, with sea-going vessels reaching the town quay on the tide. The museum documents the port trade — coal, building materials, agricultural produce, and the export of locally-made bricks and tiles — alongside the ship-building that took place on the river bank.
The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, completed in 1827, extended the port's reach inland.
The decline of the port from the late nineteenth century onwards parallels the broader decline of small English inland ports.
Collections
The Blake Museum holds approximately 8,000 objects, documents, and photographs relating to Admiral Robert Blake, the Monmouth Rebellion and Battle of Sedgemoor, and the wider history of Bridgwater and the Somerset Levels. The Blake collection includes contemporary portraits, documents, weapons, and material on naval tactics and articles of war that Blake pioneered.
The Monmouth and Sedgemoor collections include weapons, documents, and personal items relating to Bridgwater participants in the rebellion.
Local history collections cover the medieval town, the port trade on the River Parrett, the brick and tile industry, the carnival, and twentieth-century social life. The photographic archive is extensive and includes material from many local families.
Admiral Robert Blake
The life and naval career of Bridgwater's greatest son and one of the founders of the Royal Navy.
📍 Blake Gallery
The Monmouth Rebellion 1685
The Duke of Monmouth's rebellion, the Battle of Sedgemoor, and the Bloody Assizes.
📍 Monmouth Rebellion Gallery
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.