About Burnham On Sea
Burnham-on-Sea is a town in Somerset at the mouth of the River Parrett and Bridgwater Bay. Burnham remained a small village until the late 18th century, but is now a popular seaside resort. It has a population of approximately 18,500 people and forms part of the parish of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge.
The Romans were the first peoples to try to reclaim the Somerset levels, and it was their people who were probably the first settlers in the high sand dunes behind the River Parrett. This could have been in part to maintain navigational systems, to aid ships entering the River Parrett and what is now Highbridge. When the Romans left, the system of drainage they hand installed was not maintained, and the areas reverted to become a tidal salt flat under the Anglo Saxons.
Land at Burnham is mentioned in the late 9th century in King Alfred's will, suggesting a Saxon farmstead existed. Good evidence exists at the time of the Norman Doomsday Book that settlements existed at both Burnham and Huntspill, with their common boundary running along what is now the Westhill Rhyne.
A 900 feet stone pier, was constructed in 1858 by the Somerset Central Railway. Soon afterwards, in 1860, a steamer service to Wales was created, however, this was never a commercial success and ended in 1888. The pier retains its railway lines under a surface coating of concrete. The concrete pier, built in 1911-1914, claims to be the shortest pier in Britain.
Information & text gathered from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved September 1st, 2021, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnham On Sea