The Battle of Hastings may have changed the direction of English history and altered our English landscape, but it is, essentially, a Sussex story. If you’ve ever stood on the quiet slopes at the back of Battle Abbey, it’s hard to imagine the gruesome and bloody Battle of Hastings that unfolded there, with vast loss of life on both sides. Unless, of course, you spot a couple of the sculptures that dot the grounds of the battlefield or visit on re-enactment day when the two army camps bustle with smoke and preparations, followed later by the sound of fighting from the battlefield.
The Battle of Hastings took place on just one day, 14 October 1066, but its Sussex origins started well before that.
A little background
Harold Godwinson believed he had a rightful claim to the English throne because he was the most powerful noble in England, chosen by the King’s council and allegedly promised the crown by Edward the Confessor on his deathbed. William, Duke of Normandy, however, claimed that Edward had earlier promised him the throne and that Harold had sworn a sacred oath to support this claim, giving William what he saw as both a legal and moral right to invade and take the crown by force.
Pevensey: the Normans have landed
On 28 September 1066, William’s ships appeared on the horizon at Pevensey Bay. Historians estimate there were between 500 to 700 ships. It must have been a terrifying sight for the locals. The invading army encountered no resistance as they arrived, as Harold’s army was in the north, having just fought at the Battle of Stamford Bridge (25 September 1066). William used the crumbling remains of the Roman fort of Anderitum (now Pevensey Castle) as a temporary camp, fortifying it and cutting a ditch across the peninsula to isolate the ruins from the mainland.
The march to Battle and the 1066 Country Walk
William’s men quickly moved to Hastings, where they 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. Next, William’s men began to march, ravaging everything and everyone that got in their way. To experience some of the route that they took, you can walk the 1066 Country Walk from Pevensey to Battle and on to Rye with a link down to Hastings. It is 31 miles and dotted with sculptures along the way.
The Battle of Hastings: 14 October 1066
The morning mist lifted slowly over the ridge that would become Battle. Harold’s army, about 7,000 men, mostly on foot, had hurried south and formed a shield wall along the high ground. Below them, William’s army of Normans, Bretons and Flemings prepared to climb, cavalry and archers poised. At first, the English held firm. Every Norman charge was beaten back. The noise must have been deafening, but by afternoon, William’s archers began to break the wall. Rumours that he had fallen caused panic, but then his famous rallying cry, “I am alive!” turned the tide.
When Harold fell, either struck in the eye or cut down where he stood, the shield wall collapsed. By dusk, the Saxons lay dead or scattered. England’s last Saxon king had fallen on Sussex soil, and with him, an era ended.
Of course, as with all great battles, there is a little controversy that rather than taking place at Senlac Hill, where Battle Abbey now stands, the Battle of Hastings probably took place a little further north at Caldbec Hill. Perhaps, but we’ll probably never know.
Battle Abbey
William ordered an abbey to be built where Harold fell both as penance and a monument. Battle Abbey grew into a great and important abbey. Around it, a new town grew, named simply Battle.
A Sussex ending
What’s striking, a thousand years later, is how local it is. The Norman Conquest is taught as national history, but it happened here, in Sussex lanes, on Sussex beaches, under Sussex skies. So next time you walk through Bosham’s harbour mist or climb the battlements at Pevensey, take a moment. This was where history changed course, where a kingdom fell, as another one rose. Where future lives and landscapes were altered forever.
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