BRIDPORT MUSEUM
The Coach House
Gundry Lane, Bridport
Dorset, DT6 3RJ
UNITED KINGDOM

Bridport is a small town nestled amongst the hills of West Dorset, which became one of the most important towns in the realm. It is a town with many stories, both glorious and infamous, celebrated and neglected, rich and poor. Bridport's origin is uncertain but it is believed to be a late Saxon town dating from the time of Alfred the Great (871-899).

By the time of the Norman Conquest (1066) and the Domesday Survey (1086) the town, though the smallest town in Dorset was firmly established.

It is from the time of King John (1199 - 1216) that Bridport became a unique town in its own right. It is from this period that surviving records and documents show the importance of Bridport's ropemaking industry - upon which the town's fame, fortune and prosperity were to be built.
Netmaking followed ropemaking and for 650 years or more the industry thrived - Bridport being the world's foremost exponent of quality rope and net making.