1066 history across the border in Battle
Kent is awash with landmarks of great historical significance, but just across the county line in Sussex is a gem worth exploring, as Simon Finlay found out…
Ask anyone to name a famous battle, the response might be “Waterloo” or “Britain” but, arguably, it would just as likely be the Battle of Hastings. Today, an open stretch of Sussex
farmland just over the Kent border in The Weald, with rural birdsong and flowering grasses, is all that remains of a theatre of conflict which would alter the course of these islands’ history. Standing here, it is hard conceive that on October 14, 1066, thousands of soldiers from the armies of William, the Duke of Normandy, and English King Harold Godwinson, gathered close to the present-day town of Battle and engaged a fierce and bloody battle to the death. Arrow showers sent high out of sight at 9am were the precursor to a barrage of missiles, wielded axes and spears, hand-to-hand combat and cavalry charges which lasted until dusk.
LEADING TO THE BATTLE
The prelude to the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066, was a turbulent passage in British and European history. English King Edward the Confessor had died on January 5. But having left no heirs to the throne, the kingdom was immediately under threat from two claimants, William of Normandy and King Harald of Norway. In those times, a claim had to backed up by invasion. Edward had entrusted the English
throne to Earl Harold (Godwinson) of Wessex, his brother-in-law and the commander of the royal army. Although Harold was consecrated king
in Westminster Abbey, London, on January 6, the day after Edward’s death, he was soon under extreme pressure from his rivals. Following news of Harald’s army
20 Mid Kent Living
landing near York in mid-September, Harold moved quickly north, decisively defeating his forces at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on September 25. But a matter of days later, Duke
William had landed at Pevensey in Sussex and in a series of forced rides, the English army returned south. Then, pausing in
London to gather fresh troops, they headed directly to what is now the
town of Battle (about eight miles from the town of Hastings) on the evening of October 13. By modern standards, the opposing
forces were quite small, with estimates of 5-7,000 on each side. Historical estimates of 100,000 plus are now discredited, not least because the battlefield is unlikely to have been large enough to accommodate such numbers.
the battle itself. But the accurate period costumes and faithfully copied reproductions of the armour and weaponry certainly are. The sounds, sights and smells of the
re-enactment go a long way to conjuring an evocative portrayal of what happened that day. In short, if all you know is what you’ve read in a Ladybird book as a child or imagined in photos of the Bayeux Tapestry, then this really does bring it to life.
Not only is the engagement of hundreds of authentically-attired re- enactors in staged battle mode a hugely sensory experience, but there are also the abbey ruins, discovery trails and dozens of stalls to sustain the day.
Bodiam images©National Trust, Caroline Irby In a masterstroke of deception, as
William struggled to break the Anglo- Saxon lines, his men appeared to turn on their heels and flee in panic. But it was a rehearsed tactical ruse. They suddenly turned and confronted their pursuers. Harold’s death – an image of an arrow in his eye famously, but perhaps not historically accurately, captured forever in the Bayeux Tapestry – led to retreat and ultimate defeat and William’s coronation on Christmas Day that year. There was much bloodshed, many
deaths and injury. No exact figures exist, but the death rate was estimated as somewhere around 50 per cent. Thankfully, marvellously descriptive
audio guides – there is also a children’s version – will take you around the entire site of the Battle of Hastings. Sound effects of battle conflict add realism and stoke the imagination. Many history lovers or the merely curious will return in the autumn for the battle’s re-enactment on October 14 and 15. The scale of the mock conflict is
nowhere near the many thousands who engaged in bloody warfare on the day of
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