HISTORICAL figure Judge Jeffreys visited Chilton Trinity last week after the school’s choice of theme for Somerset Day finished runner-up in a ferocious voting battle.

At one point the Battle of Sedgemoor, which was fought at Westonzoyland on July 6, 1685, was a clear leader over King Alfred and St Dunstan to be remembered as the new Somerset Day.

Eventually, Alfred the Great won through with 51% of the 7,776 people who voted, followed by the Battle of Sedgemoor with 47%.

This week, Judge George Jeffreys, played by David Sebborn, local historian and expert in The Pitchfork Rebellion, turned up to talk to students about the historical event.

Chilton Trinity’s head of history, Howard Mills, said: “We were really disappointed to finish runner-up and felt we had a really strong case, but it was excellent to be able to hear some more information from a real expert on this fascinating period of history.”