THE last pitched battle fought on English soil took place at Sedgemoor – the aftermath, which included the infamous “Bloody Assuzes” of Judge Jeffreys, is the subject of the major spring exhibition at the Museum of Somerset. Remembering the Monmouth Rebellion will be on show from 29th March to 6th July.

The exhibition is part of the museum’s Spotlight Loan programme, as the South West Heritage Trust marks the 340th anniversary of the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685. After Sedgemoor will explore the rebellion’s tragic consequences and how they have been remembered by later generations.

At the centre of the exhibition will be two nationally-important paintings, on loaned from the Tate and Manchester Art Gallery. Edgar Bundy’s The Morning of Sedgemoor (1905) shows frightened rebels sheltering in a barn after the Battle of Sedgemoor, and John Pettie’s The Duke of Monmouth’s Interview with James II (c. 1882) famously captures the scene as Monmouth vainly pleaded with the king to spare his life.

The exhibition will also feature new discoveries, including an outstanding portrait of Monmouth from 1683, as well as evocative original documents and illustrations. It will also form part of the heritage trust’s celebrations to mark 150 years since the purchase of Taunton Castle by Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. The Castle, home of the Museum of Somerset, is indelibly linked to the Monmouth Rebellion as the setting for many of Judge Jeffreys’ Bloody Assize hearings.

Sam Astill, chief executive of South West Heritage Trust, says: “The rebellion has a fundamental place in the story of Somerset, and the events that followed it have never been forgotten. There couldn’t be a better setting for the exhibition than Taunton Castle, which still echoes with the events of 340 years ago.”

Historian and co-curator Tom Mayberry will be giving a talk about the Monmouth Rebellion in the Great Hall at the Museum of Somerset on Wednesday 2nd July at 7.30 pm (booking required.) For more information visit museumofsomerset.org.uk.

Pictured: Duke of Monmouth, 1675. Sir Peter Lely. © South West Heritage Trust; The Morning of Sedgemoor, 1905. Edgar Bundy, Tate, presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest 1905. © Tate, Photo Tate; The Duke of Monmouth’s Interview with James II, c. 1882, John Pettie © Manchester City Galleries