Local industries in the past
North Petherton used to be a market town, with the right to hold a market having been granted in 1318.
North Petherton was the first village in England to be lit by acetylene gas lighting, supplied by the North Petherton Gas and Carbide Company,
operating from a plant in Mill lane, the building has since been demolished to form a car park for the local doctor's surgery. The adjacent church was the first building supplied, street lights were provided in 1906.
Acetylene was replaced in 1931 by coal gas produced in Bridgwater.
In the past the town had a brewery on Fore Street (demolished in the late 1960s), there were also several maltings in the town.
Basket making and the manufacture of associated products including wicker furniture, was also a significant industry, giving employment to people in small factories and homes, until it declined in the second half of the 20th century.
The railway station in Bridgwater was used to distribute basket making products to other parts of the the country.
The production of cloth and leather goods also used to take place in the town, the road name Dyer's Green comes from this past activity.
Much of the town was surrounded by extensive cider orchards in the 19th century, they had largely disappeared by the end of the 20th century.
In the past there were several watermills in the North Petherton area.
The area known as King's Cliff near North Petherton used to provide a source of building stone for the town dating from at least Medieval times.