8:57am Sunday 18th June 2006
By Sarah Boobyer
WESTONZOYLAND Church - made famous by Monmouth's men using it as a retreat during the Battle of Sedgemoor - is in urgent need of repairs, with part of the work estimated to cost £350,000.
Rain drips onto both visitors and the small congregation as the beautiful roof of St Mary the Virgin church is leaking and the cost of repairs to just one side of the church is estimated to cost in the region of several hundred thousand pounds.
The church was made famous when Monmouth's men used it as a refuge after the Battle of Sedgemoor on July 6, 1685.
It was the last battle to be fought on English soil and its reported that 1,384 rebels were killed, compared to 50 of King James's army.
Diana Farthers, editor of the Westonzoyland Parish Magazine, said: "Of the rebels who survived the battle, many men and women, who had taken refuge in the church were tortured there by the notorious Judge Jeffreys, before the Bloody Assizes, when the survivors were either hanged or transported."
Last year, crowds gathered in the village to watch the 320th anniversary of the Monmouth Rebellion. The Sealed Knot carried out a full re-enactment of the famous battle.
This year an event has been organised to help raise money for the repairs to the village church.
A summer fair will be held on Saturday, June 24, starting at 2pm at the Young Farmers Club in School Road.
The event includes music by David White, lots of stalls and competitions, tombola and raffles, and much more.
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