James, son of Lucy Walter, a mistress of King Charles II, was born at Rotterdam in 1649, when the King was in exile. He was brought up and educated in France, but came to England with his father at the Restoration in 1660. He was created Duke of Monmouth in 1662 and married the Lady Anne Scott, daughter and heiress of the Earl of Buccleuch. He served for a time in the navy and later in the army in Continental wars. But it was the complicated political and religious situation in England which brought him into prominence: the King had no legitimate children, and his heir was his brother, the Duke of York, a known Catholic and so, in spite of all his good qualities, the cause of future troubles in England, Monmouth was put forward as the leader of the Protestant cause and as a possible successor to the throne. A successful tour through parts of Somerset and other Western counties in 1680 ­ rather like a Royal 'Progress' ­ convinced him of popular support for an eventual attempt to become the Protestant King when Charles II, now aging and ill, eventually died. In February 1685, James II succeeded his brother as King of England; and Monmouth, then living in Holland, was persuaded to lead an invasion, long planned but never properly prepared, against the Roman Catholic King. He sailed from Holland to Lyme Regis in Dorset with three small ships and 82 men, short of money, guns and supplies. Landing at Lyme on June 11th, as near as possible to Taunton, which he planned to use as the centre to bring together supporters for the Protestant rising against the King, Monmouth started a new civil war in England. Through the interception of letters and the suspicious movement of men in Somerset, the authorities had warning of the threatened invasion; but the prompt action of the Mayor of Lyme in riding off to Exeter to give warning of the landing set in motion the whole scheme of local defence which had existed for centuries. The County Militia ­ locally trained volunteers ­ were called from their work and formed into a defence force, while a letter was immediately sent to the King by a messenger on horseback. Though the Militia were not always reliable as soldiers ­ some were to desert to the rebels ­ they formed the first line of defence against invasion. By June 13th the King received news of the rising and at once sent a cavalry force under Lord Churchill to check the rebels until the slower-moving infantry and guns could get into action.

Meanwhile recruits came in in hundreds from the countryside around, and soon Monmouth had an army of about a thousand foot and 150 horse. A local skirmish took place at Bridport, where the militia drove back some of Monmouth's men seeking recruits in the district. A few days later a stronger party under Lord Grey (the only member of the nobility actively supporting Monmouth) again attacked, and defeated the militia at Bridport, but were only partly successful mainly because of lack of cavalry.

On June 15th Monmouth decided to move out of Lyme; and five days later vessels of the Royal Navy arrived and occupied the little port and town, thus cutting off for Monmouth any hope of escape or of reinforcements by that route. Monmouth marched to Axminster which he easily captured, since the Somerset militia sent to oppose him broke up in disorder and fled, leaving him free to march on Taunton where he arrived on June 18th after collecting more men at Chard and Ilminster. Here, at what was regarded as the key to the rebellion, Monmouth found that the Corporation and the more important and prosperous townsfolk were not willing to support him, though the clothworkers and poorer people from all around, about 1000 in all, joined his growing army. Most of the local landed gentry and the Anglican clergy opposed him. Here, too, he was presented with a flag by a group of schoolgirls, and on June 20th was proclaimed King at the Market Cross.

The King's forces, regular troops now under Lord Feversham and Colonel Kirke, reached the eastern boundaries of the county and were at once concerned with the security of Bristol and the prevention of any attempt by the rebels to move out of Somerset. Monmouth still needed more men and money. He was short of horses and guns, and after the defeat of one of his patrols at Ashill, near Ilminster, he moved out of Taunton and began a march on Bristol. At Bridgwater, the shortage of regular weapons of all kinds led him to order the equipment of about 500 men with bills improvised by riveting scythe blades onto 8 ft poles. These scythemen were better armed than those who had to make do with hatchets, pitchforks or even clubs. The fine weather, which had so far helped the rebels greatly, now turned to rain, adding considerably to their difficulties as they marched across the moors towards Glastonbury. After they had reached Shepton Mallet, more recruits came in from Frome and the villages around, bringing the rebel army to between six and seven thousand men, principally from Somerset though some came from East Devon and West Dorset and a few from Wiltshire.

The critical decision was now taken by 'King Monmouth' to march on Bristol, but, knowing the city to be well fortified and prepared on the southern side, he planned to attack from the eastern or Gloucestershire side, after crossing the river Avon at Keynsham. At this strategic point efforts had been made to destroy the bridge, but they failed to prevent the rebel army from filing across into Gloucestershire. Heavy rain, however, drove them back into Keynsham for shelter. During the night, Royalist cavalry under Colonel Oglethorpe, following the rebel route to Keynsham and joining by chance with another party of cavalry which had swum across the Avon into Somerset, launched an attack on the rebels and, without doing a great deal of harm, were successful in breaking their morale.

Almost all chances of success had now vanished. Monmouth's men, at dead of night in rain and darkness, moved hastily out of Keynsham towards Bath which was defended and refused them entry. So they moved on to Norton St Philip where they stayed for the night.

Regular troops, under Lord Feversham and Colonel Churchill, had joined forces in Bath and, with the Wiltshire militia, moved against the rebels. All movement was slow, for only the cavalry could advance easily along the deep lanes and rough roads of this hilly countryside. Heavy guns and waggons with supplies needing teams of horses were ponderous and very slow in movement. An advance party of dragoons and musketeers made contact with the rearguard of the rebel army, well sited behind hedges covering the deep lane leading into the village of Norton St Philip. In this, the first real contest between Monmouth's men and the King's regular troops, the fierce fighting demonstrated the strength and courage of the rebel forces and resulted in a tactical victory for the rebels when the Royalist forces withdrew. Yet it was evident to all that in open ground, against regular troops with full cavalry and artillery support, there was little hope for the rebels.

Monmouth, having retreated to Frome, now considered a plan to move eastward towards Warminster: but the royal army had marched to Westbury to bar the way, and so the decision was taken to return to Shepton Mallet and then to Wells. In a spiteful outburst of fanatical Puritan bitterness against the Established Church, the rebel army attacked the Cathedral Church at Wells and damaged the West front. They tore lead from the roof to make bullets, broke the windows and smashed the organ and the furnishings, and for a time stabled their horses in the nave.

As Monmouth retreated from Wells towards the west, the royal army, now fully reinforced, moved after him, sending out scouting parties to discover where he was going and preparing to cut off any movement towards Exeter and Cornwall. So Feversham moved from Frome to Glastonbury and then to Somerton a central position from which to strike in any direction against the rebels.