King Alfred wins 8,000 vote battle to be crowned ‘Somerset Day’

Some 1,300 students from The King Alfred School are among thousands celebrating after their school’s inspiration became the theme for the new Somerset Day.

An incredible 7,776 voters from right across the whole county voted in Alfred the Great with 51% of the vote, beating the Battle of Sedgemoor, 47%, with St Dunstan third, 2%.

Organisers now see the new 11th May Somerset Day date as a ‘reawakening of the Somerset giant’ and have evoked the spirit of King Alfred by aiming to see Somerset again take its rightful place as the hub and gateway of the South West.

The vote will now lead in to celebrations on 11th May in villages, towns and cities across the whole county – from Bath in the East, to Minehead in the West, Yeovil in the South and Portishead in the North.

John Turner, Passion for Somerset, comments: “The sleeping giant of Somerset has well and truly been woken. What an amazing voting battle.

“The 11th May will now each year remember the historic date when Alfred the Great ‘gathered all the people’ of Somerset.

“Now more than 1100 years on, we want to gather all the 900,000 people of Somerset to let the world know we are one of the best places to live, work and invest in.

“We will again to take our place as the hub and gateway of the South West.”

Denise Hurr, Head Teacher of The King Alfred School in Highbridge and Burnham, said: “This is fantastic news. We are delighted that King Alfred will be remembered by the whole county every year on 11th May.”

‘Passion for Somerset’ was created by Somerset businesses to represent the county’s 900,000 residents who live in an area from Bath in the East, to Minehead in the West, Yeovil in the South and Portishead in the North.

Passion for Somerset was the ‘brainchild’ of Nigel Muers-Raby at Pardoes Solicitors, with the support of Andrew Scott, Managing Director of the Ascot Group.