Battle of Hastings

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If there is one date in English history that everyone knows, it is 1066. In the space of just two weeks three major battles were fought that were to decide the fate of England.

On 14th October, on Senlac Hill at what is now Battle in Sussex, a battle took place for an incredible prize: the throne of England. By dusk that night hundreds of men lay dead, strewn across the hillside, among them the king of England.

His Saxon followers were defeated, dispersed and in disarray, and the Norman victors were able to begin a programme of conquest that would soon see England under the yoke of an oppressive foreign aristocracy.

Suggested Itinerary

1-day Battle of Hastings
Battle Abbey & battlefield; Pevensey Castle

 

Themes

  • William of Normandy – his background
  • Causes of the crisis of 1066
  • Background to the battle
  • The reasons for the Norman victory
  • The ‘truth’ about Harold’s death and the legacy of the Norman Conquest
  • The Norman castle building programme
  • What methods were used to both attack and defend these castles?

 

Specifications/topics supported by these tours:

A' level: AQA Unit 2 > 'Conqueror and Conquest'

OCR 'A' > From Anglo-Saxon England to Norman England (1035-1087) > The Normans in England (1066-1100)

OCR ‘B’ > The Debate over the Impact of the Norman Conquest 1066-1216 Edexcel Unit 1 > The Norman Conquest and its Impact on England 1066-1135

Other options


Norman Conquest

Central to any study of the causes, events and effects of the Norman Conquest of England is an understanding of who the Normans were: where they came from and what motivated them. This tour examines the Conquest from an unusual perspective – that of William and his followers.