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1066 Battle Field and Abbey

(vero;2022-Feb-27)

On October 14th 1066, the Battle of Hastings raged and it was the day when the fate of England changed for ever: after a ferocious battle leaving many dead, King Harold died and William the Conqueror conquered his kingdom, ending the rule of Anglo-Saxon kings.

In 1070, in light of the heavy human losses incurred during the battle and the subsequent conquest of England, Pope Alexander II ordered the Normans to do penance. To comply, William had a mighty church and abbey built on the site of the battle, the main altar of the church standing right on the spot where King Harold died. There is not much left of Battle Abbey, Henry VIII made sure of this when he broke with Rome. He gave it to his friend Sir Anthony Browne, who demolished the church and parts of the cloister and turned the abbot's quarters into a country house which is now a school. Only the foundations of the church can be seen today and a plaque marks the place of the main altar but the monumental gate house and what remains of the monastic buildings is quite impressive…

The visit of the battle field starts at the visitor centre where a small film with scenes from the Bayeux tapestry illustrates the course of the battle. This is very well done. After this introduction, once outside in the fields, it is easy to recreate the events: Harold's army in a strong position at the top of a steep slope overlooking the marshy fields where William's army stands and starts to fight its way up.

The monumental Gate House of the abbey seen from inside the grounds (built in the 12th and 13th centuries). There is a roof top between the two towers from where one has a good view over the town of Battle.

Close-up of the Gate House of the abbey (seen from inside the grounds).

Exhibit inside the Gate House, not sure what animal this is supposed to represent, but I like its grin.

Keystone in the passage of the Gate House.

View on Battle's parish church and the surrounding countryside from the roof top of the Gate House.

The small town of Battle seen from the roof top of the Gate House.

Western view of Battle's private school. It is housed in the country house built as enlargement from the original abbot's house in the 1540s by Sir Anthony Browne.

Sculpture on a turret of the roof top of the Gate House. Maybe one of Shrek's ancestors?

Yet again, detail of the Gate House architecture.

Monastic buildings seen from the battle field. On the left, the library of Battle's school (19th century). On the right, the ruins of the dormitory (13th century).

View from the battle field. The buildings have been built on top of the slope where Harold's army was standing, waiting for the assault of William's soldiers who had to fight their way up from the marshy fields below.

The monks' dormitory seen from the south-west. This is a very interesting structure built into the slope with two floors. The ground floor has higher ceilings on the front than on the back side as the builders had to accommodate the declivity of the ground.

Eastern view of the dormitory. The left part of the ground floor has higher ceilings than the right part to accommodate the declivity of the ground.

The facade of the dormitory in the midday sun seen from the top floor.

The common room on the ground floor of the dormitory with its magnificent vaulting (13th century).

Ground floor of the dormitory: door leading into the common room.

Ground floor of the dormitory: the novice's chambers. Spot the staircase in the background leading to the elevated part of the ground floor.

Remains of the crypt of the abbey church (12th century).

The abbot's house converted into a country house in the 1540s and now home to Battle school. Part of the green lawn is where the cloister used to be. Spot the arches of the deambulatory still visible on the right side of the building's facade. The part of the building left of the central pediment is a Great Hall added during these works.

The Great Hall which has been attached to the abbot's house during the transformation of the monastic buildings into a country house in the 1540s.

The Gate House seen from the town side with the entrance to the site on the left hand side.

Go back to East and West Sussex, go on to Petworth House or up to South East England