The Langport and District History Society has unveiled the third and final in its series of interpretation boards commemorating Langport’s most famous citizen, Walter Bagehot (1826-1877). It took place on Saturday 18 October 2025 at the iconic Great Bow Wharf warehouse by the River Parrett and Great Bow Bridge, the site that symbolises Langport’s mercantile history, and the vital river trade which was dominated for many decades by the Bagehot and Stuckey families. The fine illustrated interpretation board was unveiled by Philip Snowden, Chair of the Warehouse Trust, which runs Great Bow Wharf.
The Board is entitled Great Bow Wharf – Langport’s Commercial Hub, and it explains the historic significance of the warehouse and Wharf site in general; the Stuckey & Bagehot trading company; the Parrett Navigation Company; the river trade in general and how the important and influential Stuckey’s Bank grew out of it. It also charts the decline and recent rebirth of the site, with the ambitious redevelopment in the early 2000s, which encompassed the adjoining award-winning eco-homes.
Janet Seaton, Chair of the Society, welcomed History Society members and the invited guests and thanked the Warehouse Trust for their support for the project. She announced that the first board in the series, in the Walter Bagehot Town Garden, would be replaced by a new board to the same design, but including an updated map showing the location of all three Bagehot Boards. This would be complemented by a new trail leaflet showing the boards and other sites around Langport of significance to Walter Bagehot. The Society intends to have these in place in time to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Bagehot’s birth on 3 February 2026.
Before cutting the ribbon to unveil the board, Philip Snowden congratulated the History Society on achieving the installation of the board, and praised it as a fitting addition to the building.
After the short ceremony, everyone repaired to the Stuckey Room inside Great Bow Wharf to enjoy some refreshment, generously provided by the Warehouse Trust.
Note:
The new Board was conceived and written by members of the History Society and designed by Belinda Magee, constructed by Shelley’s Signs Ltd, and installed by Kristian Koleman of Koleman Creative, based at Great Bow Wharf.
It complements the first two interpretation boards in this series:
- The first was unveiled in 2013 in the Walter Bagehot Town Garden, in the centre of town, which provided an illustrated overview Walter Bagehot’s life, work and legacy.
- The second was unveiled in 2024 in All Saints’ Churchyard on The Hill, which focussed on the two prominent Langport families of Bagehot and Stuckey linked by marriage and by commerce, as well as the various connections between the families and Langport’s Church.
All three Interpretation Boards follow the same distinctively informative and engaging style. You can read about all three boards here.