Monmouth: a great story well told
On a balmy summer night, we pootle down to Lyme Regis and manage to find a space in the car park near the Cobb. We don't want to be late because we understand a certain gentleman is due to arrive, along with a small band of supporters. We're here to see Monmouth , the Lyme Regis community play and we want to be in on the action, right at the start. You see it was here, in June 1685, that the Duke of Monmouth landed, intent on gathering a rebel army along the way to seize the throne from his unpopular uncle, James II. The Monmouth Rebellion, which I've written about before , led to the last battle on English soil, some thirty four years after the English Civil War. It could have worked but, for many reasons, it didn't. It was a sad episode in our history. And the bloody aftermath was shocking, with the notorious Judge Jeffreys ordering men to be hanged, drawn and quartered, left, right and centre, their remains displayed around villages and towns to act as a war...
