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Burnham-on-Sea is a town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett and Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small village until the late 18th century, when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort. It forms part of the parish of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge and shares a town council with its neighbouring market town of Highbridge. According to the 2011 census the population of the parish (i.e. including Highbridge) was 19,576,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge (Parish) )〕 of which the populations of the wards of Burnham Central and Burnham North, which made up most of the town, totalled 13,601. The position of the town on the edge of the Somerset Levels, where they meet the Bristol Channel, has resulted in a history dominated by land reclamation and sea defences since Roman times. Burnham was seriously affected by the Bristol Channel floods of 1607, with the present curved concrete wall being completed in 1988. There have been many shipwrecks on the Gore Sands, which lie just offshore and can be exposed at low tides. Lighthouses are hence prominent landmarks in the town, with the original lighthouse known as the Round Tower built to replace the light on the top of the 14th century tower of St Andrews Church. The pillar or High Lighthouse and the low wooden pile lighthouse or ''Lighthouse on legs'' on the beach were built to replace it. The town's first lifeboat was provided in 1836 by the Corporation of Bridgwater. A stone pier was built in 1858 by the Somerset Central Railway. Soon afterwards, in 1860, a steamer service to Wales was inaugurated, but it was never a commercial success, and ended in 1888. Burnham-on-Sea railway station was the terminus of the Burnham branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. It opened in 1858, closed to scheduled passenger traffic in 1951, and stopped being used for excursions in 1962. The former Great Western Railway station is now known as Highbridge and Burnham. A second pier, built of concrete between 1911 and 1914, is claimed to be the shortest pier in Britain. == History == The name Burnham is derived from ''Burnhamm'', as it was called in the will of King Alfred, made up from the Old English words ''Burna'' meaning stream and ''Hamm'' for enclosure. On-Sea was added later as there are several other towns of the same name in England. The history of Burnham-on-Sea is the history of the reclamation of the Somerset Levels from the River Severn and the Bristol Channel. 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 installed was not maintained, and the areas reverted to become a tidal salt flat during the Anglo Saxon period.〔 It is likely that at the time of the Norman Domesday book, settlements existed at Burnham and Huntspill, their common boundary running along what is now the Westhill Rhyne.〔 The church at Burnham and its lands were given to Gloucester Abbey in the 12th century, later transferred to the Wells Cathedral along with up to 50 houses surrounding the church.〔 Burnham was part of the hundred of Bempstone.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10152689 )〕 One of the earliest recorded incidents to affect the town was the Bristol Channel floods of 1607, since when various flood defences have been installed. In 1911 a concrete wall was built. After the Second World War, further additions to the defences against the sea were added by bringing part of the remains of a Mulberry harbour used for the Normandy Landings, and burying them in the sand.〔 Today the town is defended from flooding by a large curved concrete wall, completed in 1988 following serious flooding in 1981. The wall runs along the Esplanade,〔 and serves as the canvas for a wide variety of graffiti and street art. The was a in the United States Navy built in 1918 to 1919. In 1940 she was transferred to the British under the agreement with the United Kingdom exchanging American destroyers for bases in the Atlantic. She transferred to the Royal Navy where she served as HMS ''Burnham'' (H82) during the Second World War. In 1942, ''Burnham'' was formally adopted by Burnham-on-Sea. In 1944, she was used on aircraft training duties in the Western Approaches Command, which allowed a contingent from the ship to visit the town and march through its streets. ''Burnham'' was reduced to reserve at Milford Haven, Wales, in November 1944. She was ultimately scrapped at Pembroke, in December 1948. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Burnham-on-Sea」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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