A recent acquisition kindly donated to our collection: a model of the Bridport Merryweather Pump Fire Engine.

The real fire engine, which we also own, is on display at Highland’s End Holiday Park near Eype (along with lots of other memorabilia!) kindly cared for by Martin Cox who served as a fireman for 20 years.

In the 19^th Century, the only official assistance for fires came from the ‘Fire Party’ which was run by the Borough Surveyor. However, in 1896, after a fire in West Mead, the Bridport voluntary fire brigade was founded by Edward Seaman Reynolds (1871-1956) who was Chief Fire Officer for 30 years until 1926. The only equipment available to the men were a hand pump, hose cart and a wheeled escape ladder. The Merryweather was bought by public subscription in 1902 for £325. This came only after 4 years of trying to persuade the Council to use Borough funding for the engine instead of for street lighting.

The Merryweather attending a fire at Bridport Infant School

Soon after the pump arrived in the town, it was brought out for exercises and tests, drawing lots of spectators. The trials proved to the fire brigade team that the Merryweather could be pulled at high speed, across difficult terrain, and that it was also light enough not to be a burden to the brigade horses who pulled all their equipment. The fire engine was horse-drawn until around 1916 when the horses were commandeered for the First World War. A 58HC Daimler chassis originally belonging to Edward VII’s Sandringham estate was bought for £120 in Torquay to replace them, making the Merryweather a lot faster! It was stored in the old Market House at the back of the Town Hall, and moved later on to the old Police headquarters in South Street.

The engine retired from service in 1926, and was later found in a Birmingham scrapyard by  F.G. Parker, a local man. Parker purchased and restored it, presenting it to the town in 1964 to the Mayor V.S.C. Keech, who had served in the Bridport Fire Service for over 40 years. A new engine was also bought in 1926: a 6-wheeled Morris Fire Pump.

On Friday 13 May 1994 councillors gave the green light of approval to begin building a new fire station, to replace the one on South Street. However, there was resistance among the residents of Bridport. Complaints included that it might spoil the “lovely views across the meadows of Bridport”. The new fire station cost around £700,000. On the 19 July 1996 the fire station opened its doors to the public for the first time. The 1902 Merryweather was on display and the open day collected more than £1000. It was opened officially on 13 September 1996 by the Duke of York.

Edward Seaman Reynolds (1871-1956)

Reynolds was a prominent Bridport figure for many years. In 1901 he became the manager of St Mary’s School and Bridport General School.  In 1902 he was elected to the Bridport Town Council, although he was later ejected for seemingly excessive support to the creation and building of a secondary school! From there it would be 6 years until he joined another organisation, this time the Executive Committee of the Society of Friends in Bridport. After this, he was recruited by many other societies, becoming the Borough Magistrate for Bridport in 1912 and Bridport’s Food Controller from 1914 until 1918. He was also on the County Bench in 1918 and was elected Mayor of Bridport in 1919.

Between 1919 and 1940 Reynolds was involved in promoting council housing and in 1930 he sponsored the Municipal Electricity Undertaking. In 1940, Reynolds’ trading business started to decline, along with his health, so his daughter Kathleen moved to Bridport to assist with his business.

In 1927 a newspaper article recorded a special presentation:

‘All who had been associated with Alderman Reynolds in any way knew of the tremendous amount of work that gentleman had rendered in the public interest. Mr. Reynolds’ devotion to this connection had been a real inspiration to others. Many who had watched Mr. Reynolds had seen in him an example of public spiritedness which they had endeavoured to follow. […] Mr. Reynolds’ work has been freely given and faithfully performed and as a slight indication of the value placed on his services by the Corporation and the present and past officials and members of the Brigade, it had been decided to ask Mr. Reynolds’ acceptance of a gold watch, inscribed: “ Presented to E.S. Reynolds, Chief Officer, Bridport Fire Brigade, from 1895 to 1926.’

In 1942 Reynolds was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the Borough of Bridport for his outstanding efforts and contributions to his home town. In 1945 he was elected for the second time to the position of Mayor.

In 1951 local newspapers ran articles celebrating the 50^th anniversary of his marriage to Mabel Armitage. However, soon after, his health started to decline rapidly, and he died in 1956 at his home in West Bay.

Explore photographs of the fire brigade and local fires in our collection.

All of the information included in this article is correct to the best of our knowledge. However, if you believe anything is incorrect, or would like to submit further information, then don’t hesitate to get in touch.