|castle here, and it was one of the first towns seized by the |barons in the reign of Henry the Third, being then considered of |great importance. The Duke of Monmouth was here proclaimed king, |and lodged sometime in the castle; but being betrayed by Lord |Gray, and his army consisting chiefly of raw countrymen, he was |defeated by the royal army, on a moor near Weston, 3 miles |distant; when 1000 were killed, and 1500 taken prisoners; and here |Judge Jefferies and Colonel Kirk had most of the survivors |executed. | |The houses in general are irregular, but the streets are wide, and |well paved. It sends two members to parliament, and has a market |on Tuesday and Saturday; at the former, cattle of all kind are |sold, and cheese in great quantities, and provisions of all sorts, |are plentiful. The midsummer county sessions are held here, and |the assizes every other year. Through the convenience of its |navigation it has also a very good coasting-trade, and a number of |coal ships are constantly employed. Bridgewater contains 916 |houses, and 4911 inhabitants. | 134|=Bridport=, Dorset, 111. A borough and market town, situated |between two branches of the river Brit, which joins below the |town, and falls into the sea, having once had a convenient |harbour, but which now is choaked up with sand. The town consists |of three good spacious streets, some of the houses being built of |stone, and some of brick. The East, West, and South streets, are |in the form of a T, having several back lanes or passages. In the |centre of the town has been erected a very handsome market house. |It is a very ancient corporation, and has sent members to |parliament ever since the 23d of Edward the First. | |The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a large neat building, near |the centre of the town, in the form of a cross, with a tower in |the middle, 72 feet high. Its chief manufacture is in twine, |sail-cloth, and hats. Bridport contains 520 houses, and 3567 |inhabitants, and has two market days, Wednesday and Saturday, both |of which are well supplied with fresh meat. | 54|=Brighton=, or =Brighthelmstone=, Sussex, 51, 60, 219. A sea-port |and market town of some antiquity. It was once fortified, and some |traces of the walls are still left. Queen Elizabeth erected here |four gates. A flint wall, three feet thick towards the sea, and a |block house, had been built before in the reign of Henry the |Eighth. The town was of little or no consequence, being chiefly |inhabited by fishermen, and has only risen to its present state, |as a fashionable resort for sea-bathing, within these few years; |being now enlarged with many new streets, elegant buildings, &c. |The houses of the new streets, particularly the Steyne and the