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LORD HAW-HAW’S PLACE, THE LAST ENGLISH KING, AND PEVENSEY CASTLE - July 11

We saw the site where the English lost their island to the French (who were really assimilated Vikings!), and learned a lot of about the complicated story of just how that got set up and then climaxed in the Battle of Hastings (1066).  Then we went to one of the early fortifications of the Roman invasion, later refortified and reused…..Check it out:

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This is the West Gate of the Roman fort—HUGE walls with towers all around, and standing here almost 2,000 years.  The castle inside was made much later, of course….begun by William on his arrival from France.

UPDATED with photos

July 11, 2006

Hastings YHA was once owned by Lord Haw-Haw’s sister, we were told this morning as we were leaving.  But it was built long before that – as a hunting lodge in the 19th century.  We got away about 9:30, suggesting they look into wireless internet service, at which they just sort of goggled at us……  Headed for the town of Battle, which grew up around Battle Abbey, which was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings – some say to assuage the bad conscience of William the Conqueror for the evils of his conquest. 

We learned that there’s a good deal of argument as to the exact events that led up to the battle and the conquest – both men had a claim to the throne, through genealogy as well as by the words of the previous kind, Edward the Confessor, who had a fairly peaceful rein during which he spent most of his time hunting and enjoying himself.  Anyhow, the battlefield is little changed, apparently – not a terribly prepossessing place for something so momentous as the Battle of Hastings to have taken place. 
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William had about 7,000 men with him, including archers, foot soldiers, and mounted knights.  Harold had at least that many, comprising shield bearers with swords and/or spears and axe-men that sent terror through the opposing soldiers. 

The Saxons held the high ground and were in place before the Normans were completely ready.  It appears that Harold needed to either be bold and attack at once, before the enemy got organized, or he needed to maintain his defensive posture with great discipline, ordering his men to refuse to leave the shield wall that protected them from the archers and knights of the Normans.  Sadly, he held his position while the invaders got prepared, and then his men were fooled multiple times by fake retreats – a section of the line breaking in order to chase the fleeing foe, only to be flanked and cut to pieces by the counter-attacking Normans.  The Normans were up a creek at this battle – they HAD to beat Harold or perish, as their retreat across the Channel was being cut off by the Saxon navy, and Harold had reinforcements coming up on land to help him.  Harold’s men had been marching for over a month – first north to Yorkshire to fight a smashing battle against his half-brother and a Norwegian king who wanted England, and then back south to fight William and his horde.  Hindsight is 20-20, but had he simply remained on his hill and held it, England would have been Saxon, and we wouldn’t have all these magnificent Norman castles today…..

The best part of the Battle Abbey that remains is the fortified gate
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the rest was largely lost to the dissolution of the monasteries.  The guy who got it from Henry retained the abbot’s residence and even enlarged it – but it’s now a school so we couldn’t see inside.  Foundations for the church and some monastery buildings are still there, and the audio tour is interesting and informative.  English Heritage is building a major new structure for orientation and interpretation of the site and its history – it will be ready in October. 

From here we went to Pevensy Castle
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a Norman castle built inside a Roman fort.  It’s really incredible….to see giant walls that have stood for almost 2,000 years now is awe-inspiring.  The towers are still apparent
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although stone-quarrying has stripped virtually all of the cut stuff away, leaving the flint/tile/concrete core.  There is a gigantic west gate, in which a small piece of the columns on one side remain, and you can still see the old Roman postern gate on one side.  We took the audio tour of the castle – it was actually re-fortified for WWII, with machine-gun nests camouflaged in the ruins of the keep that still stands on one side of the inner bailey.
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Fascinating story.

An interesting drive along the coast to Eastbourne and inland a bit to Telscombe Village, which is set on a dead-end road up in the fields of the South Downs.  What a spot!  Across the street is the Stud Farmhouse Farm Visits – a kind of “farming vacation” sort of place, I guess.  Lots of horses around, and I’m guessing that’s a big part of the whole experience over there.  It’s incredibly lovely.  The hostel is crammed into three tiny cottages once separate, but now joined together.  It’s very small, but the people are friendly and interesting – we’ll be here tonight and tomorrow before meeting Stacey.

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