Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England. It is positioned roughly 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the small River Brit and the Asker. Bridport is composed of various modest suburban districts, some of which were previously separate villages. One and a half miles away from the town centre and inside the boundary of the town is West Bay, a fishing harbour called Bridport Harbour till the establishment of the railway. With reference to 2012 population estimates, the town features a permanent resident population of around 14,700, which highlights a substantial increase from the approximately 13,500 as per during the 2011 Census. As recorded in council tax records, in 2014, the proportion of homes inside Bridport's built-up area that were second homes was 4.8%. The town's origins are Saxon and it has a lengthy history as a rope-making area, though numerous of its buildings date from the eighteenth century. During the 21st century, the arts scene in Bridport has contributed to the town becoming increasingly popular with people from outside the town. It has an arts centre, theatre, library, cinema and museum, and many yearly events. The Lyric Theatre, which reopened in 2010, hosts quirky theatre, puppetry, comedy, clowning and music. It is also the base of children's theatre company Stuff and Nonsense. Bridport Museum, located in South Street, includes a comprehensive exhibition of the town's lengthy history of rope-making. The town also features as Port Bredy in the fictional Wessex of Thomas Hardy's novels. For all your house improvement tasks, make certain that you choose vetted specialists in Bridport to ensure that you get the top quality service.