[sej-moo
r] 
| a plain in SW England, in central Somerset: final defeat of Monmouth 1685. |
| Sedge·moor (sěj'mŏŏr', -môr', -mōr') A marshy tract in southwest England where the forces of James II defeated the Duke of Monmouth (June 6, 1685). |
Sedgemoor
district, administrative and historic county of Somerset, southwest England, in the north-central part of the county. Sedgemoor district is generally a low-lying basin with rich alluvial soils. It is bordered by the Quantock Hills on the southwest, the Bristol Channel on the northwest, the Mendip Hills on the northeast, and the more elevated extensions of the Sedgemoor Basin on the south and east. There are sandy beaches at the estuary of the Rivers Brue and Parrett, which merge near Burnham-on-Sea on the Bristol Channel. The Sedgemoor, for which the district is named, is a formerly marshy tract drained and protected from the sea by many dikes; it comprises most of the southeastern part of the district. It was in the Sedgemoor in 1685 that James Scott, duke of Monmouth and pretender to the throne, was routed by the forces of James II
Learn more about Sedgemoor with a free trial on Britannica.com.