From Westminster to Winchester, Bosham to Battle and from Caen to Conqueror, follow the 1066 story from both sides of the Channel with The Sussex Exclusive 1066 Trail ©
2026 marks 960 years since the Battle of Hastings, and in honour of 1,000 years since the birth of William the Conqueror, 2027 is the Year of the Normans. These were events that changed the course of Anglo-Saxon and English history; from our culture and language, to our architecture, government and administration. 2026 will also see the Bayeux Tapestry return to England for the first time in hundreds of years. It will go on display at the British Museum in September. So, join Sussex Exclusive as, during the course of this year, we explore Sussex and beyond and visit the places that played a pivotal role in the events of 1066 and shaped the people who shaped those events as they unfolded.
The stars of the show and a little background.
There were, of course, many players in the events that unfolded in Sussex in 1066. Supporting roles go to Edward the Confessor, his mother Emma of Normandy and her husband King Canute. Then there is Harold’s wife, parents and siblings, and let us not forget William’s wife Matilda of Flanders, and William’s half-brothers, not to mention the many noblemen and clergy who played their own part. But the stars of the show are:
King Harold (1020-1066), aka Harold Godwinson. Harold had a Danish mother and was the son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and Kent. In about 1044, Harold became Earl of East Anglia, Essex, Cambridgeshire, and Huntingdonshire. Harold had an important residence in Bosham which appears in the Bayeux Tapestry.
William the Conqueror (1027 – 1087), aka William I and the Duke of Normandy, was the illegitimate son of the Duke Robert I of Normandy and his mistress Herleva. William was born in Falaise in Normandy. He became Duke of Normandy in 1035.
In 1064 Harold set sail for Normandy from Bosham, near Chichester. William alleged that on this trip, Harold swore an oath of fealty to William and promised to protect William’s claim to the English throne.
1066
On 5 January, King Edward the Confessor died in London. The next day, the Witan, a council of powerful men, elected Harold Godwinson as King Harold II. Harold’s sister was Edward’s widow. However, Edward had previously designated William of Normandy as his heir. In April 1066, Halley’s comet was seen in the night sky and the Normans took this as a powerful omen.
By September, King Harold Godwinson had led his army north and defeated a Norwegian invasion at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile, on 27 /28 September, William had landed without resistance at Pevensey in East Sussex, staying briefly in the remains of an old Roman fort, now known as Pevensey Castle.
Harold hurried south, reaching London on 6 October. From there, he travelled on, possibly staying near Isfield just outside Lewes overnight on his way and reaching the town that is now known as Battle on 13 October.
The Battle of Hastings took place on 14 October. King Harold’s army was defeated, Harold was killed and the shape and direction of English history and the Sussex landscape were about to change irrevocably.
And the rest is history
William was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066. He then founded Battle Abbey and saw that his men built a series of castles across the south. These include Hastings Castle, Lewes Castle and Bramber Castle, which you can still visit today.
William died in Rouen, in Normandy and is buried in Caen. The burial place of Harold has long been a mystery. However, there is speculation that a coffin found at Bosham containing a skeleton could be his burial place.
The Sussex Exclusive 1066 Trail ©
Sussex Exclusive will be visiting many of the places that feature in this incredible story and creating a cross-Channel 1066 Trail © itinerary:
Part 1. Westminster to Winchester
Our Sussex Exclusive 1066 Trail © starts in London on 5 January 1066, with the death of Edward the Confessor at Westminster. Edward had a complicated backstory and started his reign in Winchester, where he was crowned and which was a major administrative centre in the years before and after 1066. The day after Edward’s death (6 January 1066), Harold had been crowned king at Westminster, but before the year was out, Harold was dead and William the Conqueror had been crowned at Westminster (on Christmas Day).
So, whilst it’s fair to say that the year of 1066 starts and ends in Westminster, much of the background (the making and shaping of people, the influence and the intrigue of the Saxon era) would have played out in Winchester, which William quickly made a stronghold after his successful invasion. So, next stop on our trail really has to be the historic and beautiful former capital of Wessex, Winchester in Hampshire:
Part 2. Bosham and Harold
Bosham is a small and beautiful village that is famed for being one of only four English places to get a mention in the Bayeux Tapestry. Harold had a family home there, and recent research has shed light on exactly where this home was in the village. In 1066, Bosham would have been a busy and important venue, with a harbour full of ships. Harold’s children may have played on the shores and in the fields, and he is known to have worshipped in the church. It was also from Bosham that Harold set off in 1064 and met William in Normandy. As such, it’s both an important and evocative part of the 1066 story, and indeed, a local historian believes it may actually be the burial place of King Harold:
Part 3. Pevensey and Hastings
On 28 September 1066, William and his army landed at Pevensey in East Sussex. Although his landing place may have been due to a large extent to the weather, Pevesney would have been known to Willliam as land here had belonged to a French Abbey (and been seized by Earl Godwin in earlier years).
In 1066, it would have looked very different to how it looks now, with a large lagoon (now land) and a busy port. Views differ on how many ships William landed with, but there could have been as many as 700. It’s worth a moment spent on the beach here, reflecting on what this must have looked and felt like to the locals.
William quickly fortified an old Roman fort (now known as Pevensey Castle), while some of his men went on to Hastings and started building fortifications. You can visit Hastings Castle, which went on to become the first Norman castle to be built in England and which stands in proud ruins on the cliff overlooking the town. Then visit a sculpture of a Norman ship on the beach below. In 1070, William issued orders for the castle to be rebuilt in stone, along with the St Mary’s Chapel.
Next, William marched north to Senlac Hill where Battle Abbey now stands and you can follow the 1066 Country Walk from Pevensey to Battle.
Part 4. Battle and the Battle of Hastings
Harold and his army had been engaged in fighting in the north at the Battle of Stamford Bridge (25 September 1066), but when they heard news of William’s invasion, they hurried south. On the morning of 14 October 1066, the two armies met at Senlac Hill just south of where Battle now stands. A bloody battle ensued, with thousands killed, but as most people know, by the end of the day, Harold was dead and William was victorious.
William later built a Benedictine Abbey on the site, although it wasn’t finished until after he died. You can visit both the abbey and the battlefield itself.
The Battle of Hastings 1066: the Battle that Changed Sussex & History
Part 5. Normandy
William the Conqueror was, of course, from Normandy. His great-great-great-grandfather was Rollo, a Viking chieftain who founded Normandy in France around 911 AD. William was born in about 1027 in Falaise, as the illegitimate son of Duke Robert I and he inherited the duchy as a child in 1035. William made Caen his capital, building Caen Castle and commissioning two abbeys there, one of which now houses his tomb. He died in September 1087 in Rouen.
William’s army and fleet initially gathered at Dives-sur-Mer in Normandy, but due to bad weather, he eventually sailed from Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme in September 1066. The Bayeux Tapestry, which tells the story of 1066 and was created not long after the events that unfolded that year, is normally housed in Bayeux, a beautiful Medieval town.
Part 5. The Norman legacy
The impact of the Norman invasion is still very visible in Sussex today. Across the county, you’ll find dozens of Norman churches as well Chichester Cathedral and the castles at Lewes, Bramber and Arundel.
We will be adding more detail to our Sussex Exclusive 1066 Trail © ititnary during the course of the year, so do check back in, but for more ideas, you may like:
