Highbridge is a market town on the edge of the Somerset Levels near the mouth of the River Brue.

In the 2011 Census the population of the town was included in the ward of Highbridge and Burnham Marine, which totalled 7,555.

There has been a bridge over the River Brue here since the 14th century and it has always been an important crossing on the route from Bristol to the South West.

There are historical references to a wharf at this site and to usage of the river as part of the drainage plan for the Somerset Levels by the Monks of Glastonbury.

Heavy industry and transport declined in Highbridge after the Second World War as the Wharf proved too small for the newer generation of ships, with the last cargo of timber arriving in 1948 and the wharf was closed to shipping the following year,[2] and commercial freight moved away from the railways.

Since the 1970s close proximity to the M5 motorway has driven a growth in light industry and in the town's commuter population.

A 2001 independence referendum was unsuccessful, but there remains strong feeling among some sections of the community, as evidenced by a number of incidents of vandalism involving signs on the approach to the town.

A new straight channel, with a clyce (the local name for a sluice),[10] which runs from the present day tidal gates to the location of the current station, was cut in 1801 and the original course of the river was as the site for of Highbridge Wharf.

The decline of the British railway network hit the Highbridge station hard and today there remain only two unstaffed platforms, following the closure of two branch lines in the 1960s.

[14] The town centre has faced a steady decline in recent years, with numerous small independent shops and major banks closing.

[15] The former wharf area is occupied by recently built new housing, which stretches alongside the river from the town centre to the railway.

[16] In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine.

In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms.

[16] Following the closure of many small family shops and businesses and the development of some industrial estates (which take advantage of the proximity of the M5 motorway) much local employment is now in transport and light industry on the outskirts of the town, including food storage and distribution for Yeo Valley Organic and road hauliers RT Keedwell.

[22] The former market site is now earmarked for redevelopment; houses now built there) the adjoining Highbridge Hotel was damaged in a catastrophic fire on 22 April 2008.

The Community Hall (opened in 1994) stands on the site of the former Town Hall (built in 1885, demolished in 1984) and Railway Hotel, and incorporates a large function room and associated meeting rooms, a small volunteer-operated public library and offices for Homes in Sedgemoor, the local housing authority.

Many of these depended on trade from the wharf and livestock market and numerous public houses existed close to these facilities along Newtown Road.

The Cooper's Arms, once recognised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) as one of the best pubs in the region has declined in popularity in recent times.

The town is served by the local newspapers, Burnham & Highbridge Weekly News and Somerset County Gazette.

Mary Ann Ruscombe Poole gave money to build St John's and laid the foundation stone in 1856.

He saved thousands of Jews in the Second World War, and is honoured by a statue near the Community Hall in the town centre.

[32] Edward Higgins (General of the Salvation Army in the early 1930s) was born in Church Street, and lends his name to a development of elderly persons dwellings near the town centre.