69-786: The Monmouth Rebellion , also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion , the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion , was an attempt to depose James II , who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England , Scotland and Ireland . A group of dissident Protestants led by James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth , eldest illegitimate son of Charles II, opposed James largely due to his Catholicism . The failure of Parliamentary efforts to exclude James from
138-540: A " Popish Plot " to kill Charles and to put the Duke of York on the throne. The Earl of Shaftesbury , a former government minister and a leading opponent of Catholicism, attempted to have James excluded from the line of succession. Some members of Parliament even proposed that the crown go to Charles's illegitimate son, James Scott, who became the Duke of Monmouth. In 1679, with the Exclusion Bill – which would exclude
207-596: A British brigade in the French army. The English Civil War had left resentment among some of the population about the monarchy and the penalties which had been imposed on the supporters of the Commonwealth . The South West of England contained several towns where opposition remained strong. Fears of a potential Catholic monarch persisted, intensified by the failure of Charles II and his wife to produce any children. A defrocked Anglican clergyman, Titus Oates , spoke of
276-632: A distinctive regional English dialect and accent , and is also home to the Cornish language . The West Country is bounded by the English Channel to the south and the Atlantic Ocean , Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary to the north. The eastern limit is less clearly defined. Some definitions match that of the official South West England region. In a 2019 YouGov survey, 72% of respondents considered Cornwall and Devon to be in
345-560: A larger force, but were still awaiting their artillery. Monmouth's half-brother Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton , led some cavalry, dragoons, and 500 musketeers into the village, where they were surrounded by the rebels and had to hack through hedges to escape. They were rescued by Churchill and withdrew with approximately twenty casualties on each side; however, each side believed that the other had taken greater losses. Monmouth then marched overnight to Frome , arriving on 28 June. The morale of Monmouth's forces started to collapse as news of
414-690: A larger group the prospects for raising a force of several thousand men around London. The interpretation of actual Whig intentions at this time is complicated by colonial schemes in America. West had a stake in East Jersey . Shaftesbury was heavily involved in the Province of Carolina . In April 1683, some Scottish contacts of the Whigs arrived in London, as briefed by Smith, meeting Essex and Russell of
483-605: A major fire in Newmarket on 22 March, which destroyed half of the town. The races were cancelled, and the King and the Duke returned to London early. As a result, the planned attack never took place. The conspirators of this period were numerous, and the resort to some sort of armed resistance was widely debated from the early 1680s, on what was becoming the Whig side of the factional division of British politics. The form it should take
552-613: A pardon. It also started a lengthy process of incriminated persons confessing, in the hope of clemency. Using his brother, Keeling was able to get further direct evidence of conspiracy, and Jenkins brought in Rumsey and West, who told him what they knew, from 23 June; West had volunteered information via Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester , on the 22nd. Over several days West explained the Rye House plot and his part in purchasing arms, supposed to be for America. He did little to incriminate
621-462: A rebellion rather than an assassination, aligning much of the West group's discussion with the plans of Algernon Sidney , in particular, and the more aristocratic country party members making up the so-called Monmouth cabal . There were discussions in the group around Monmouth in September 1682 of an uprising, having participants in common with the group around West. The "cabal" was later named as
690-536: A royal army commanded by Feversham and Churchill. Monmouth was beheaded for treason on 15 July 1685. Many of his supporters were tried during the Bloody Assizes , led by Judge Jeffreys , and were condemned to death or transportation . James II consolidated his power and reigned until 1688, when he was deposed by another nephew, William III of Orange , in the Glorious Revolution . Monmouth
759-628: A stop to their recruitment efforts. Argyll sailed to Scotland and, on arriving there, raised recruits mainly from his own clan, the Campbells , as part of the Scottish revolt . He had previously been involved in the Rye House Plot of 1683. Another important member of the rebellion was Robert Ferguson , a radical Scottish Presbyterian minister. He was also known as "the plotter". It was Ferguson who drew up Monmouth's proclamation, and he who
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#1732771826868828-515: Is a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) limited to cheddar cheese made in the traditional way in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset or Somerset. ITV West Country is an ITV franchise which broadcasts local news, weather and current affairs programmes over two regions; ITV West Country West covering the Isles of Scilly , Cornwall, Devon and parts of Dorset and Somerset with ITV West Country East covering
897-523: The Battle of Sedgemoor . Once Monmouth's force had entered and started to fortify Bridgwater, he sent some of his cavalry to collect six cannon from Minehead . He planned to stay in Bridgwater until they returned and then break out and head for Bristol. Feversham and his army of 500 horse and 1,500 militiamen camped on the edge of Sedgemoor at the village of Westonzoyland . Monmouth could view them from
966-696: The Middle Temple , a Green Ribbon Club member: it is now often called the Rye House cabal . West had participated in one of the cases that wound up the Popish Plot allegations, that of the false witness Stephen College . Through that association he made contact with Aaron Smith and William Hone , both to be plotters though aside from the main group. John Locke had arranged accommodation for West in Oxford at that time and had other associations in
1035-524: The River Avon . He made Keynsham Abbey his headquarters there. Monmouth intended to attack the city of Bristol, after London the largest and most important city in England at that time, However, he heard the city had been occupied by Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort . There were inconclusive skirmishes with a force of Life Guards commanded by Feversham. These attacks gave the impression that there
1104-648: The Royal Navy captured Monmouth's ships, cutting off any hope of an escape back to the continent. The Royalist forces of Churchill, who was now in Chard, and of Feversham, in Bristol, also received reinforcements who had marched from London. On 24 June, Monmouth's army encamped at Pensford , and a small force skirmished with the Gloucester Militia to take control of Keynsham , a vital crossing point over
1173-532: The Test Act and the Habeas Corpus Act , used his dispensing power to appoint Roman Catholics to senior posts, and raised the strength of the standing army. Parliament opposed many of these moves, and on 20 November 1685 James dismissed it. In 1688, when the birth of James Francis Edward Stuart heralded a Catholic succession, James II was deposed by William of Orange in the Glorious Revolution at
1242-593: The Weekly Pacquet which was a leading anti-Catholic and Whig paper of the time; Care ceased publishing the Pacquet on 13 July, and began co-operating with the court. Among those later informing against Walcott was Zachary Bourne. Bourne was a conspirator, arrested trying to leave the country with the nonconformist ministers Matthew Meade , for whom an arrest warrant was issued on 27 June, and Walter Cross; he informed against another minister, Stephen Lobb , who
1311-612: The "council of six", which took form after the Tory successes in summer 1682 in the struggle to control the City of London . A significant aspect was the intention to employ Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll for a military rebellion in Scotland. Smith in January 1683 was sent to contact supporters in Scotland, for the "six", with a view to summoning them to London; but apparently botched
1380-432: The "country party" would soon be known as Whigs , a faction name that stuck. Rye House , located north-east of Hoddesdon , Hertfordshire, was a fortified mediaeval mansion surrounded by a moat . The house was leased by a republican and Civil War veteran, Richard Rumbold . The plan was to conceal a force of men in the grounds of the house and ambush the King and the Duke as they passed by on their way back to London from
1449-566: The 1685 Monmouth Rebellion and Argyll's Rising . After the Restoration of the monarchy under Charles II in 1660, there was concern among some members of Parliament, former republicans, and sections of the Protestant population of England, that the King's relationship with France under Louis XIV and the other Catholic rulers of Europe was too close. Anti-Catholic sentiment, which associated Roman Catholicism with absolutism ,
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#17327718268681518-539: The Covenanter John Nisbet , and may well have known of the plans for a rebellion. William Carstares , a Church of Scotland minister and intermediary with the Whig grandees, was found in Kent on 23 July. The final trial on the Rye House charges was that of Charles Bateman, in 1685. Witnesses against him were the conspirators Keeling, who had nothing specific to say, Thomas Lee, and Richard Goodenough. He
1587-436: The King's Regiment of Horse which alerted the rest of the royalist forces. The superior training of the regular army and their horses routed the rebel forces by outflanking them. His untrained supporters were quickly defeated by the professionals, and hundreds were cut down by cannon- and musket-fire. The death count on the rebel side has variously been given as between 727 and 2,700, with royalist losses of 27 who were buried in
1656-617: The King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the line of succession – in danger of passing, Charles II dissolved Parliament. Two further Parliaments were elected in 1680 and 1681, but were dissolved for the same reason. After the Rye House Plot of 1683, an attempt to assassinate both Charles and James, Monmouth went into self-imposed exile in the Netherlands, and gathered supporters in The Hague . Monmouth
1725-652: The Monmouth cabal. They were under the impression that the matter concerned Carolina, or they gave that out as a pretext for their presence. They included Sir George Campbell of Cessnock, John Cochrane , and William Carstares. The Earl of Argyll had left London for the Netherlands in August 1682 but kept in touch with Whig notables through couriers and ciphered correspondence. Two of them, William Spence (alias Butler) and Abraham Holmes , were arrested in June 1683. News of
1794-483: The Monmouth group; his testimony was later used against Walcott and Sidney. West received a pardon in December 1684. Thomas Walcott was arrested on 8 July, and was the first conspirator to go to trial. A meeting of the plotters had been held at his house on 18 June; but rather than escape, he chose to write to Jenkins, with the offer of a full confession in return for a pardon. Among the plotters, John Row from Bristol
1863-523: The Rebellion and a later march on London would have been possible. On 26 June, Monmouth moved towards Bath and, arriving on the south side of it, found it had also been occupied by royalist troops. He camped for the night in Philips Norton (now Norton St Philip ), where his forces were attacked on the morning of 27 June by the leading elements of Feversham's forces, which had now combined into
1932-670: The Rebellion. To raise the funds for ships and weaponry, Monmouth pawned many of his belongings. His wife Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch , and her mother also pawned their jewellery to hire the Dutch warship Helderenberg . Ann Smith , wealthy widow of a London sugar-baker , gave him £1,000. On 30 May 1685 Monmouth set sail for South West England , a strongly Protestant region, with three small ships, four light field guns, and 1500 muskets . He landed on 11 June with 82 supporters, including Lord Grey of Warke , Nathaniel Wade , and Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun . They gathered about 300 men on
2001-538: The South West Region, save for Gloucestershire. A former brewery in Cheltenham traded as West Country Ales; their ceramic plaques can still be seen built into pub walls around Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and parts of Wales. Rye House Plot The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to
2070-844: The West Country, while 70% included Somerset, 69% included Bristol, and 55% included Dorset. Other counties received less than 50% agreement, with 28% including Wiltshire, 27% including Gloucestershire, 12% including Herefordshire and 9% including Worcestershire, though those last two counties are officially part of the West Midlands region. The term West Country derby is used to refer to sports matches between such cities as Bristol and Bath or Gloucester and Bath. West Country Lamb and West Country Beef are EU Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) covering products from animals born and reared in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire or Gloucestershire. "West Country Farmhouse Cheddar"
2139-580: The Wiltshire Militia had marched from Bath to Trowbridge , and on 29 June entered Westbury . Hearing that an army supporting him had gathered near Bridgwater, Monmouth turned back through Shepton Mallet and arrived in Wells on 1 July. His men damaged the Bishop's Palace and the west front of Wells Cathedral , tearing lead from the roof to make bullets, breaking the windows, smashing the organ and
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2208-563: The assistance of the local militias they attempted to stop new recruits arriving in Taunton to join Monmouth. Feversham meanwhile moved with his forces into Bristol , on the assumption that this would be Monmouth's next target, and took overall charge of the campaign. Monmouth and his growing force then continued north to Bridgwater , where he took up residence at Bridgwater Castle on 21 June, Glastonbury (22 June) and on to Shepton Mallet , arriving on 23 June in worsening weather. Meanwhile,
2277-444: The attack on the royal guards, but he was another of the plotters who drew the line at assassination. During the spring of 1683 there were further contacts between the Monmouth cabal and West's group about drafting a manifesto, through Sir Thomas Armstrong in particular, there being disagreements about whether a republican or monarchical constitution should result from revolutionary measures. In May 1683 West and Walcott discussed with
2346-411: The best horses provided by local supporters. Fletcher shot and killed Dare and was then put under arrest and sent back to the frigate Helderenberg . The next day, 40 cavalry and 400 foot soldiers, under the command of Lord Grey and Wade, moved on to the nearby town of Bridport , where they encountered 1,200 men from the local royalist Dorset militia . The skirmish ended in a Royalist victory, with
2415-781: The churchyard of the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Westonzoyland , which was used as a prison for rebel soldiers. Monmouth fled from the field of battle, but was captured in a ditch on 8 July (either at Ringwood in the New Forest , or at Horton in Dorset ). Parliament had passed an Act of Attainder , on 13 June sentencing Monmouth to death as a traitor, therefore no trial was needed before his execution . Despite begging for mercy and claims of conversion to Roman Catholicism , he
2484-468: The county of Somerset . On 15 June he fought with the militia at Axminster , taking the town before the militias could join up. More recruits joined his disorganised force, which was now around 6,000, consisting mostly of nonconformists , artisans , and farm workers armed with farm tools (such as pitchforks). One famous supporter was the young Daniel Defoe . Monmouth again denounced the king in Chard and
2553-464: The degree to which details of the conspiracy were finalised. Whatever the state of the assassination plot, plans to mount a rebellion against the Stuart monarchy were being entertained by some opposition leaders in England. The government cracked down hard on those in a series of state trials, accompanied with repressive measures and widespread searches for arms. The plot presaged, and may have hastened,
2622-643: The failure of the rebellion in Scotland arrived that day, while the makeshift army was camped in Frome. Argyll 's small force had been involved in minor skirmishes at Greenock and Ellangreig . He took Ardkinglass castle , but after disagreements with key supporters about when and where to fight the royalists commanded by Rosse and William Cleland , his supporters dwindled away and the Scottish rebellion failed. The rebels planned to go next to Warminster , where there were many nonconformist wool workers, but on 27 June
2691-551: The first day at Lyme Regis in Dorset , where a long statement prepared by Ferguson denounced the king. King James had previously received intelligence about the impending plot, and the ships leaving Holland, ten days before. He was warned of Monmouth's arrival soon after the first landing. The mayor of the town, Gregory Alford, informed the local militia regiments while Samuel Damsell and another customs officer rode from Lyme to London, arriving on 13 June, having ridden 200 miles (322 km). To face Monmouth's rebels, John Churchill
2760-460: The furnishings, and for a time stabling their horses in the nave. Feversham aimed to contain the rebels in the South West until the rest of his forces, including three battalions of British mercenaries sent by William III of Orange from Holland arrived. In the light of propaganda suggesting the rebels had an army of 40,000 and that 500 royalist troops had been lost at Norton St Philip, Feversham
2829-482: The group of revolutionary activists (Smith, John Ayloffe , Christopher Battiscombe and Israel Hayes), of whom Ayloffe was certainly implicated in the Rye House Plot, leaving Locke vulnerable. Rumbold was introduced to West's group by John Wildman , but when the plot was discovered, both had distanced themselves, Wildman by refusing to finance Rumbold in the purchase of arms and Rumbold by losing his earlier enthusiasm. Cabal members such as Richard Nelthorpe favoured
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2898-401: The horse races at Newmarket . The "Rye House plotters", an extremist Whig group who are now named after this plot, allegedly adopted the plan out of a number of possibilities, having decided that it gave tactical advantages and could be carried out with a relatively small force operating with guns from good cover. The royal party were expected to make the journey on 1 April 1683, but there was
2967-519: The invitation of the disaffected Protestant Establishment. The Monmouth Rebellion and the events surrounding it have formed the basis for several works of fiction. West Country The West Country ( Cornish : An Tir West ) is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall , Devon , Dorset , Somerset and Bristol , with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire , Gloucestershire and Herefordshire . The West Country has
3036-513: The mission by indiscretions. In fact West's contacts with the Monmouth cabal, and knowledge of their intentions, were in part quite indirect. Thomas Walcot and Robert Ferguson had accompanied Shaftesbury to the Netherlands in his self-imposed exile of November 1682. They then both returned to London and associated with West, who learned from Walcott of Shaftesbury's own plan for a general rebellion. Walcott went on to say that he would lead
3105-434: The next few weeks, Monmouth's growing army of nonconformists , artisans and farm workers fought a series of skirmishes with local militias and regular soldiers commanded by Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of Feversham , and John Churchill . However, his recruits were unable to compete with the regular army and failed to capture the city of Bristol . The rebellion ended with his defeat at the Battle of Sedgemoor on 6 July 1685 by
3174-404: The plot leaked when Josiah Keeling gave information on it to Sir Leoline Jenkins , and the plot was publicly discovered 12 June 1683. Keeling had contacted a courtier, who put him in touch with George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth , and Dartmouth had brought him to Jenkins, Secretary of State. Keeling's testimony was used at the trials of Walcott, Hone, Sidney, and Charles Bateman; and it earned him
3243-557: The remainder of Somerset and Dorset together with Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. ITV West Country West was an ITV franchise in its own right ( ITV Westcountry ) until 2014 when it merged with that of ITV West , formerly HTV West , having been initially launched as Westcountry Television with its main studios in Plymouth in 1993. West Country Carnivals are held in many towns in and around Somerset. A government -supported museum, galleries, and major attractions atlas matched
3312-525: The retreat of Grey and the cavalry followed by Wade with the foot soldiers. Many of the militiamen deserted and joined Monmouth's army. Following this confrontation, Lord Albemarle led a royalist force from Exeter towards the forces of the Duke of Somerset , who were approaching Lyme Regis from the opposite direction. Monmouth learned of the approach of royalist reinforcements and departed, but instead of marching to London, he headed north with his force towards
3381-509: The subsidiary titles of the dukedom of Monmouth were restored to the Duke of Buccleuch . The subsequent Bloody Assizes of Judge Jeffreys were a series of trials of Monmouth's supporters in which 320 people were condemned to death and around 800 sentenced to be transported to the West Indies , for ten years' hard labour. James II took advantage of the suppression of the rebellion to consolidate his power. He asked Parliament to repeal
3450-609: The succession in 1681 resulted in the 1683 Rye House Plot to assassinate Charles II and James. Monmouth, implicated as a co-conspirator, went into exile in the Dutch Republic . On 11 June 1685, Monmouth landed at Lyme Regis in South West England where he had widespread popular support, planning to take control of the area and march on London. His rebellion was coordinated with a simultaneous rising in Scotland led by Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll . In
3519-521: The succession. Charles outmanoeuvred his opponents and dissolved the Oxford Parliament . This left his opponents with no lawful method of preventing James's succession, and rumours of plots and conspiracies abounded. With the "country party" in disarray, Lord Melville , Lord Leven , and Lord Shaftesbury , leader of the opposition to Charles's rule, fled to Holland where Shaftesbury soon died. Many well-known members of Parliament and noblemen of
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#17327718268683588-432: The throne) James, Duke of York . The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the return journey on 1 April 1683, but because there was a major fire in Newmarket on 22 March (which destroyed half the town), the races were cancelled, and the King and the Duke returned to London early. As a result, the planned attack never took place. Historians vary in their assessment of
3657-505: The tower of Church of St Mary and may have inspected them more closely from the Church of St Mary in Chedzoy , before deciding to attack them. The Duke eventually led his untrained and ill-equipped troops out of Bridgwater at around 10:00 pm to undertake a night-time attack on the King's army. They were guided by Richard Godfrey, the servant of a local farmer, along the old Bristol road towards Bawdrip . With their limited cavalry in
3726-410: The vanguard, they turned south along Bradney Lane and Marsh Lane and came to the open moor with its deep and dangerous rhynes (drainage ditches). There was a delay while the rhyne was crossed and the first men across startled a royalist patrol. A shot was fired and a horseman from the patrol galloped off to report to Feversham. Lord Grey of Warke led the rebel cavalry forward and they were engaged by
3795-453: Was beheaded at Tower Hill by Jack Ketch on 15 July 1685. It is said that it took multiple blows of the axe to sever his head. Though some sources say it took eight blows, the official Tower of London website says it took five blows, while Charles Spencer , in his book Blenheim , claims it was seven. The Hangman in 'Punch and Judy' is named after this notorious character, Jack Ketch. The dukedoms of Monmouth and Buccleuch were forfeited, but
3864-562: Was hanged, drawn and quartered . Having fled abroad the previous year, Sir William Waller moved to Bremen in 1683. While he was there he became a central figure in a group of the erstwhile conspirators who were in political exile. Lord Preston , the English ambassador at Paris, called him "the governor" and wrote that "They style Waller, by way of commendation, a second Cromwell ". Waller would accompany William of Orange to England in 1688 but William chose to overlook him when his government
3933-501: Was a Protestant and had toured the South West of England in 1680, where he had been greeted amicably by crowds in towns such as Chard and Taunton . So long as Charles II remained on the throne, Monmouth was content to live a life of pleasure in Holland, while still hoping to accede peaceably to the throne. The accession of James II and coronation at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1685 put an end to these hopes. The Monmouth rebellion
4002-498: Was a much larger royalist force in the vicinity than there actually was. Several historians have speculated that if Monmouth had marched as quickly as possible for Bristol at this point, when it was only protected by the Gloucestershire militia, he would probably have been able to take the city and the outcome of the rebellion might have been very different. Once Bristol had been taken, more recruits would have been attracted to
4071-575: Was an illegitimate son of Charles II. There had been rumours that Charles had married Monmouth's mother, Lucy Walter , but no evidence was forthcoming, and Charles always said that he only had one wife, Catherine of Braganza . Monmouth had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the English Army by his father in 1672 and Captain general in 1678, enjoying some successes in the Netherlands in the Third Anglo-Dutch War , as commander of
4140-446: Was considered particularly unreliable, and he had a direct connection to the Monmouth household to offer as information; a number of steps were taken to silence him, and his life was under threat more than once. After the meeting Nelthorpe and Edward Norton called on William Russell, Lord Russell, with an appeal to take up arms immediately; when Russell was unwilling, Nelthorpe left the country. Walcott named Henry Care , publisher of
4209-455: Was formed. Historians have suggested the story of the plot may have been largely manufactured by Charles or his supporters to allow the removal of most of his strongest political opponents. Richard Greaves cites as proof that there was a plot in 1683, the 1685 armed rebellions of the fugitive Earl of Argyll and Charles' Protestant illegitimate son, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth . Doreen Milne asserts that its importance lies less in what
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#17327718268684278-645: Was given command of the regular foot in the King's army, and the honour of leading the campaign passed to the Huguenot Earl of Feversham . It would take a few days to assemble the army and travel from London to the west country, therefore initial defence was left to local militias. Over the next couple of days volunteers arrived in Lyme offering to serve under Monmouth. By 15 June he had a force in excess of 1,000 men. On 13 June he lost two of his leading supporters when Dare and Fletcher disputed who should ride one of
4347-406: Was most in favour of Monmouth being crowned King. Thomas Hayward Dare was a goldsmith from Taunton and a Whig politician, a man of considerable wealth and influence who had been jailed during a political campaign calling for a new parliament. He was also fined the huge sum of £5,000 for uttering "seditious" words. After his release from jail, he fled to Holland and became the paymaster general to
4416-644: Was ordered to engage Monmouth's forces. On 30 June the final parts of Feversham's army, including his artillery, arrived and eventually Monmouth was pushed back via Shepton Mallet to the Somerset Levels , where Alfred the Great had found refuge in his conflicts with the Vikings . Becoming hemmed in at Bridgwater on 3 July, he ordered his troops to fortify the town. Monmouth was finally defeated by Feversham with John Churchill, his second in command, on 6 July at
4485-514: Was planned in Holland and coordinated with another rebellion in Scotland led by Archibald Campbell , the Earl of Argyll . Several areas of England were considered as potential locations for rebellion, including Cheshire and Lancashire along with the South West, as these were seen as having the highest number of opponents of the monarchy. Argyll and Monmouth both began their expeditions from Holland, where James's nephew and son-in-law, stadtholder William III of Orange , had not detained them or put
4554-471: Was prepared to help recruiting for an uprising. On 6 July the arrest of Lobb was ordered, and he was picked up in August. A royal declaration of the heinous nature of the plot was issued on 27 July. Many more were arrested. Although the principal conspirators were minor figures, and not directly concerned in the Monmouth cabal, the court party made no distinction between the groups. The ministers involved may have known Ferguson but not West; Meade had sheltered
4623-485: Was the subject of a coronation in Taunton on 20 June 1685, against the wishes of some of his republican supporters such as Wade. The Taunton Corporation was forced to witness the event at sword point outside the White Hart Inn, to encourage the support of the country gentry. In Taunton, Monmouth was joined by many new supporters and formed a new regiment of 800 men. The king's force of Dragoons under Churchill continued to close on Monmouth, arriving in Chard on 19 June. With
4692-419: Was uncertain, and discussions of the seizing of control of cities other than London, such as Bristol , and a Scottish uprising, were in the air. The subsequent historiography of the Plot was largely partisan, and scholars are still clarifying who was closely involved in the planning of violent and revolutionary measures. The assassination plot centred on a group that was convened in 1682–1683 by Robert West of
4761-454: Was widespread, and focused particular attention on the succession to the English throne. While Charles was publicly Anglican , he and his brother were known to have Catholic sympathies. These suspicions were confirmed in 1673 when James was discovered to have converted to Roman Catholicism. In 1681, triggered by the opposition-invented Popish Plot , the Exclusion Bill was introduced in the House of Commons, which would have excluded James from
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