The most famous date in English history – perhaps the only historical date that virtually everybody knows – is 1066. Why does William the Conqueror’s victory over King Harold at the Battle of Hastings echo so powerfully down the ages?
Standing beneath the ridge of Senlac Hill in Sussex, with the substantial ruins of Battle Abbey at your back, it is still possible to look out over open countryside crossed by William’s mounted Norman knights as they charged up towards the English shield-wall on 14 October, 1066.
How poignant it is to think that the whole future of England turned on the outcome of a bloody day in this lovely place.
What happened at the Battle of Hastings?
Hastings was a long and hard-fought battle for the throne of England between two evenly matched armies of about 5,000 to 7,000 men. The atmosphere that inhabits this tranquil location is undeniable. Switch on the excellent audio tour and suddenly the slopes and footpaths are alive with the sound of ferocious fighting, the impression heightened by wooden sculptures of combatants along the route.
Much of the battlefield was later built on by the abbey and the town, and a millennium of farming has taken place since, so physical relics of the battle haven’t survived.
Our best visual evidence is the Bayeux Tapestry, a 70m embroidered account of the fighting and its prelude made in the late 1070s. (The original is at the Bayeux Museum in France, but a replica can be found at Reading Museum.) In the tapestry both armies appear similarly dressed in suits of knee-length chainmail and open- faced helmets with a distinctive nose guard.
The Normans, led by Duke William, had the advantage of mounted knights and archers, but King Harold’s English troops, who traditionally fought on foot, occupied the stronger position along the crest of the ridge.
Despite repeated attacks, the Normans failed to break the English lines so feigned retreat to tempt their opponents down from the ridge in pursuit. At one point a rumour circulated of William’s death and the battle seemed lost, but at the vital moment he pulled off his helmet to rally his exhausted men.
Who won the Battle of Hastings?
A final Norman assault broke the English ranks and King Harold was killed, possibly struck by an arrow in his eye before being cut down by a mounted knight. William had conquered.
What happened after the Battle of Hastings?
William the Conquerer’s journey to victory takes in Pevensey Castle, where he landed and secured his first base, via Dover Castle and Canterbury Cathedral (One of England's finest cathedrals), to Wallingford where the Normans crossed the Thames, and to Berkhamsted Castle where the English finally submitted.
At Westminster Abbey, William was crowned king of England on Christmas Day 1066.
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Founding Battle Abbey was one of William’s first actions as king, supposedly in an act of penance for the bloodshed of the Conquest. An early account states that the church’s high altar was located “on the very spot where, according to tradition, among the piled heaps of corpses Harold was found”.
The abbey church was virtually destroyed by Henry VIII in 1538 but English Heritage have managed to pinpoint the precise site of the high altar in the ruined church.
The story of the battle is told in an exhibition at the abbey’s impressive medieval gatehouse, the roof of which is opened to the public, affording a magnificent panorama over the battlefield.
Why is the Battle of Hastings 1066 important?
Late Anglo-Saxon England had the most sophisticated system of centralised government in Western Europe. For William I, the main priority was not to change this system but to secure tight control. Repeated uprisings against Norman rule were suppressed with harsh efficiency, securing their brutal reputation in the eyes of posterity. During William’s reign (1066-87), England experienced a scale of upheaval never to be witnessed again.
By 1086, the vast Doomsday Book survey of England revealed a kingdom in which less than 6% of the land remained in English hands, all the pre-Conquest earls had long been replaced by Normans, and just two native English bishops survived among the entire leadership of the English church.
How many castles did the Normans build?
The most obvious Norman legacy in the landscape is a profusion of castles constructed as bases from which to control restive subjects. As many as 1,000 castles may have been built after 1066.
The classic design had an earthen ‘motte’ surmounted with a wooden tower and protected by a ditch, while a palisaded outer court or ‘bailey’ extended beneath the motte. More permanent stone structures rarely appeared until a generation after the conquest.
Few buildings survive from the Anglo-Saxon era, because the Normans were enthusiastic rebuilders of churches, which are usually the oldest surviving structures in most settlements. Sussex is an exception, with superb pre- Conquest churches at Worth and Bosham, the latter depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. You can also see a reconstruction of an Anglo-Saxon house at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in Singleton.
How did the Normans influence England?
Change on this scale leaves an indelible mark and the imprint of the Norman Conquest is evident to this day, from our language (we use Anglo-Saxon derived words such as ‘cow’ but Norman derived words such as ‘beef’), to the prevalence of rabbits (introduced by the Normans as a culinary delicacy).
The abundance of Romanesque architecture in England is a product of Norman enthusiasm for church building, while King William’s New Forest in Hampshire is a Norman landscape originally created for royal hunting trips.
The drama of the Norman Conquest can seduce the imagination and encourage the taking of sides. The truth is that after nearly a thousand years of integration and intermarriage, today’s ‘English’ are a mix of Norman, Anglo-Saxon and many other influences besides.
Discover more about Britain's bloodiest past
- Medieval slaughter: the site of Britain's bloodiest battle remains an evocative place to visit
- Brutal massacre at Battle of Culloden. The bloody final clash that crushed the Jacobite Rebellion
- Decisive clash at Naseby: How one battle changed the fate of the English Civil War and the way the country was governed forever
