The Old Salt House, Bridport, Dorset
The Salt House was built to store salt. From the late 17th Century, Dorset fishermen, mainly from Poole and Bridport, set sail in the Spring to Newfoundland, Canada. Their boats held nets, ropes and salt. They would catch mainly cod and also some seals, storing them in the preserving properties of the dry salt. The fishermen would then either sail south along the American coast or return across the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean countries, to sell their catch. They then returned to Dorset. The trade carried on well into the 19th Century. The Salt House has since been used as a milking parlour, a cycle hire shop, a museum / information centre and a community hall.
