Three Days in Sussex — Day 1
Sussex is a county in the south of England, on the English Channel, west of Kent and east of Hampshire. It gets its name from an Old English word, Suth-Seaxe, which meant “South Saxons.” South Saxons were a Germanic tribe that settled in the region from the North German plain in the 5th and 6th centuries. The Kingdom of Sussex was founded by Ælle of Sussex in AD 477, right after the Romans left England. Sussex was merged into Wessex in 827 and remained there until 1066, when King Harold reunited the earldom with the crown and Wessex ceased to exist. Today, Sussex is divided into two ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex.
In our three days in Sussex, we are going to work east to west along the coast, starting in Hastings.
Day 1 – Battle and Hastings and the Battle of Hastings
The year is 1066.
The year 1066 was a pivotal time for England. First, King Edward the Confessor died on January 5th. Because he had no heirs, his death triggered a major upheaval in the country. Edward, during a trip to Normandy, apparently promised to William of Normandy, his cousin, that William would be his successor. One account says that King Edward sent Harold Godwinson to William in Normandy in 1064 to confirm his succession. Harold was a powerful earl and a member of the prominent Godwin family who, in January of 1066 claimed that Edward had named him to be the successor on his deathbed. Harold was crowned as King Harold II on 6 January 1066, one day after Edward died. When William heard about Harold’s move, he was not pleased.
Harold had other problems, however. Harold Hardrada, of Norway, also thought he had a legitimate claim to the throne, so he brought an invading force to England settling in the area of York. Hardrada had conspired with King Harold’s brother Tostig to seize the throne and restore Tostig to a position from which King Harold had removed him. King Harold led his army north from London and caught Hardrada by surprise. On 25 September, Harold defeated Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford, killing both Hardrada and Tostig.
William, in the meantime, had sought and been granted approval from the Pope to assert his claim to the throne, so he started raising an army and building a fleet to take him to England. The weather did not cooperate, however, so his departure for England was delayed until September 12th, and then delayed again as they waited in France for favorable winds to cross the Channel. On 27 September, the fleet sailed, arriving the next day at Pevensey on the coast of East Sussex, with about 7,000 men. Harold heard of the invasion and force-marched his army 241 miles from York to Sussex and clashed with William’s forces at Senlac Hill near the coastal town of Hastings on 14 October. Harold was killed, along with his two brothers, Gyrth and Leofwine. William then secured Dover, part of Kent, and Canterbury, along with Winchester, the previous capital of England. By Easter of 1067, William had conquered London and the surrounding territory and was eventually crowned King in May 1068. The Norman invasion of England had begun!
Battle Abbey, from the battle site. Built as penance by William the Conqueror. (c) 2020 EnglandForAllReasons.com
Because William had killed so many people during the conquest of England, Pope Alexander II ordered the Normans to do penance. William vowed to build an abbey where the battle of Hastings had been fought, with the high altar to be at the very spot where Harold fell in that battle. William died before the abbey was completed in 1094. The church was remodeled in the late 13th century and then almost totally destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538 at the order of Henry VIII. During WW II the abbey was the location of Canadian troops, who took over an all-girls school, Battle Abbey School, which is there to this day. Today the property is owned by English Heritage, which operates it as a tourist attraction. Battle Abbey School is not open to tourists except when the school is closed. There is a tourist center in the abbey, with movies about the history, self-guided tours of the battlefield and a cafeteria.
Tea Room across the street from the museum, Battle. (c) 2020, EnglandForAllReasons.com
All around the hill and abbey a town has grown up. That town is called, logically, Battle. Most of the 6,700 residents are dependent on commuting to London for work. The town is typical of a small English town, with lovely shops on the High street. There are several tea rooms in the vicinity of the Abbey where you can find refreshments after your tour of the battlefield and abbey.
Fishermen’s Museum and Shipwreck Museum, Hastings. (c) 2020 EnglandForAllReasons.com
Panoramic of Hastings from the East Funicular hill. (c) 2020, EnglandForAllReasons.com
Eight miles to the south of Battle is the coastal town of Hastings. Hastings, in addition to providing the name for the battle in 1066, was the location of the British detective series, Foyle’s War. In the 19th century the arrival of train service meant that Hastings became a major seaside resort, with tourists and visitors able to get there more easily. The town is in the Priory Stream Valley, with an extension to the east along the coast to meet the demand of the influx of tourists in the 19th century wanting to be near the coast and the seawater. There are tall sandstone cliffs to the east of the town. To get to the tops of the cliffs there are two funicular railways, known as the West Hill and East Hill lifts. The view from the top of the hills is spectacular. Along the shore is a museum called Fishermen’s Museum, along with another museum called the Shipwreck Museum.
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