Battle of Sedgemoor
The Battle of Sedgemoor was fought on 6 July 1685 and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerset, England.
It was the final battle of the Monmouth Rebellion and followed a series of skirmishes around south west England between the forces of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and troops loyal to James II. Victory went to the royalists and about 500 prisoners fell into their hands. Monmouth escaped from the battlefield but was later captured and taken to London for trial and execution.
Many of Monmouth's supporters were tried during the Bloody Assizes. Many were transported abroad, while others were executed by drawing and quartering.
Background
It was the final battle of the Monmouth Rebellion between the troops of the rebel James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth who was attempting to seize the English throne from his uncle James II of England. James II had succeeded to the throne on the death of his brother Charles II on 2 February 1685; James Scott was Charles' illegitimate son.
Sedgemoor
Sedgemoor is a low lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh (or "moor" in its older sense). The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part West Sedgemoor. Sedgemoor is part of the area now known as the Somerset Levels and Moors. Historically the area was known as the site of the Battle of Sedgemoor.
Sedgemoor has given its name to a local government district formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the municipal borough of Bridgwater, the Burnham-on-Sea urban district, Bridgwater Rural District and part of Axbridge Rural District. The district covers a larger area than the historical Sedgemoor, extending north of the Polden Hills across the Somerset Levels and Moors to the Mendip Hills.
Toponymy
Sedgemoor does not mean "sedge moor", but is instead "marsh of a man called Sicga" from the Old Norse personal name Sicga and Old English mor "moor". The name was recorded as Secgamere in 1165.
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