The Pitchfork King: Inside the Museum of Somerset

My recent journey through Somerset took me deep into the heart of the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, beginning at the historic Museum of Somerset housed within the magnificent walls of Taunton Castle. While the museum’s Rebellion Gallery is filled with fascinating period weapons and documents, one modest artifact immediately captured my attention: a delicate silver shoe buckle attributed to James Scott, Duke of Monmouth. Modern museum documentation reveals its origin is surprisingly shaky—it was purchased in 1911 without contemporary 17th-century receipts to verify its provenance, relying instead on a local legend that the fleeing Duke gave it to a child after his defeat. Despite its uncertain history, this humble relic serves as a poignant, tangible bridge connecting the museum directly to the tragedy of the Battle of Sedgemoor.

To truly grasp the story behind that humble buckle, I expanded my trip across the region to visit other key sites tied to the conflict. At the nearby Blake Museum in Bridgwater, I was blown away by an amazing diorama of the battle alongside an incredible array of local military artifacts. Further along the trail, I visited the Sedgemoor Visitor Centre, nestled inside the historic St. Mary’s Church at Westonzoyland. Walking into that church offers a chillingly direct link to the events of 1685, as it was used as a makeshift prison to hold five hundred exhausted, captured rebels in the immediate, bloody aftermath of the defeat.

To cap off the pilgrimage, I spent time walking the battlefield itself and visiting several other key locations linked to the fateful night attack. Tracing the footsteps of Monmouth’s raw, pitchfork-wielding militia as they marched through the fog-choked marshlands of the Somerset Levels brings a stark, human reality to the history. Whether standing beside an unverified buckle in a display case or walking the silent fields where thousands fought, exploring these interconnected Somerset sites offered an unforgettable window into one of Britain’s most dramatic conflicts.