You can tell a lot about the history of a town in England simply by taking a quick look at the churches. The classic example is Wells (about 15 miles from Bridgwater), which is a tiny little place yet has a massive and exceptionally beautiful cathedral. Bridgwater's church is nowhere near that impressive, but St. Mary's is large, and it is blessed with a very splendid spire, which is unusual. Clearly the town was wealthy in times past.
Although the town dates from Saxon times (Athelney, where King Alfred accepted the surrender of the Danes, is not far away), the current church dates only from about 1200 when the then lord, William Briwere, decided on a complete rebuild. The north side of the nave dates from this period, but substantial additional work also took place in the 14th and 15th centuries so most of the church looks rather more modern.
From the outside the oldest part of the church looks to be the tower. It is early 13th century and is made from local sandstone, which contrasts markedly with the rest of the building. It is this tower that Monmouth climbed to spy out the royal army before deciding on his fatal assault. I happened to be around on the anniversary of the battle and the church had opened the tower to the public. Don't try to ascend this yourselves, unless you are very fit. The old mediaeval spiral staircase is narrow, steep and goes up 60 feet. Going up isn't so bad. Going down those steep steps is murder. My upper thighs ached for 3 days afterwards.
The interior is very impressive, including lots of ornamental woodwork. The font dates from 1460 and was used to baptise Robert Blake in 1598. Pride of place, however, goes to the magnificent painting over the altar. The artist is unknown - the picture is believed to have been captured from a French or Spanish ship and the British seamen responsible presumably didn't bother to ask for details. It was presented to the church in 1775 by the local MP, a Mr. Poulett. He was christened Anne, in honour of the Queen who was his godmother. It seems that there have always been parents with little sense.