Taunton

Taunton stands on the River Tone in Somerset, a market town with a castle and a long history of cloth making. During the Civil War it became a Parliamentary stronghold and endured repeated Royalist sieges in 1644 and 1645. The defenders held out until relief arrived, though fighting damaged the town. In 1685 the Duke of Monmouth came to Taunton during his rebellion against James II. His supporters welcomed him, but the rising ended in defeat at Sedgemoor. The reprisals that followed reached Somerset communities that had supported his claim to the throne.