The Ham Nomads

22 Oct 2015. <GB-ENG> Farthing Common, Kent; Battle, & Footland Wood, East Sussex —

 We woke up to a lovely morning at Farthing Common. Our friendly refreshment van was there, so Warren went over and indulged in a bacon-and-egg bun for breakfast — and a long chat with the man there, who was most interested in our travels so far. He actually came from Sofia in Bulgaria, so there was a bit of talk of our travels in Bulgaria.

Today we went to Battle, a lovely village about 7 miles northeast of Hastings, and the site of perhaps the most famous battle in British history — the Battle of Hastings, on October 14, 1066 (Julian Calendar). The drive was about forty miles through beautiful English countryside, and when we got to Battle itself — where we had dropped in a few weeks ago to re-sign with English Heritage — the place was familiar and friendly.

We know how he feels ...

The work must always go on!

We went into the Abbey, which sits right on top of the hill so stoutly defended by Harold and his yeomen. The huge Abbey was put in place by William a few years after the battle itself, as he had been dismayed at the loss of life there — or, more likely, to fulfill papal penances imposed on him in 1070.

We walked the battlefield. The terrain is somewhat less steep than it was in 1066, as the whole area has been farmed extensively in the intervening years, but you can still see the basic shape of the battlefield. Harold had the high ground, and William had to force his way up the slope, where he met the interlocked shields of the English forces — a stout defence.

The gate to the battlefield walk

The holly is out, as it probably was in that fateful October day

Suzie surveying the battlefield from near the top of the hill.
It doesn't look steep at all from here, but be assured, there is a slope up to where we were standing.

William's men, perhaps numbering 9000, were fresh, as they had landed unopposed some days before. Harold's men were probably fewer, probably nearer 7,000. This was a huge force for those days! Many of Harold's men had just come through a forced march up to York, where on September 23 they won a fierce battle at Stamford Bridge against Harold Hardrada's Viking invasion force. Then, on learning of William's landing, the part of his army with mounts (although they fought on foot) rode rapidly back to London, where they hurriedly gathered reinforcements before proceeding to the area of Telham Hill to meet William and his troops.

Harold, although a good leader and well liked, was inclined to be a little rash. It is thought that if he had delayed the battle, William's men would have become somewhat disillusioned, as supplies were becoming critical. Moreover, a delay would have allowed Harold's archers, who travelled on foot, to catch up in time to take part in the battle. So Harold had a core of experienced men who, however, were tired from the march up to Stamford Bridge, the battle there, and the rapid ride back to the south. The rest of his army were virtually raw recruits, lacking in discipline.

The battle itself was a near-run thing. William repeatedly advanced up the hill, only to be repulsed at the English shield wall. The turning point, as some see it, came when William's left flank broke and ran back down the hill. The inexperienced English art the top broke ranks to pursue them. William, on seeing this, deployed some of his troops to fall on the pursuing English from the side, with murderous effect. William saw this as a new tactic, and a little later, directed part of his troops to fall back in a similar way, only to turn when the pursuing English had become little more than a rabble. In this way, William reduced Harold's army significantly.

The view downhill from just below the Abbey

But the battle still was not won. Harold was still secure at the top of the hill. Here is where archers become significant. Harold had very few archers, so most of the missiles rained on the Normans were axes, spears, rocks, rather than arrows. This was a problem for the Norman archers, as their usual practice was to recycle the arrows that came down near them, and redeploy them against the enemy. This just wasn't happening. But William had his archers make a massed arrow attack to cover his army's advance up the hill — and one of these arrows struck Harold. Whether it was in the eye, as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, is unclear, but this was the final turning point of the battle, and England was William's. At the end of the day, around 10,000 lay dead on the field of battle.

Harold rex interfectus est
(King Harold was killed)

While walking the area of the Abbey — basically Harold's position at the top of the hill — we came upon the site of the high altar of the Abbey Church. Although huge church was demolished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII, its outline is still clearly marked. The site of the altar is traditionally the site where Harold fell. We watched a group of schoolchildren contemplating this, and when we came near, we found that wreaths are still being laid in honour of Harold and his men. British History is so alive here!

We walked around parts of the Abbey — particularly the Chapter House and the Dormitory. The 13th century Abbot's Lodging faces the Dormitory, but this is now part of the Battle Abbey School and not open to the public. But its outline is virtually unchanged in 800 years.

The Abbot's Lodging

One of the rooms beneath the monks' dormitory

There are some rather delightful statues scattered about the site!

After a wonderful day wandering back to 1066, we left and drove a little way to Footland Wood, a likely camping site we had noticed as we passed it on our two trips across to Battle. We wanted to stop nearby because we had discovered a camping supplier near Battle, but it was getting late and we wouldn't be able to get there before he closed. So we camped in the forest, in peace and quiet, with the company of little grey squirrels.

Distance driven — today, 67 miles ( 108 km ); to date, 30,069 miles ( 48,392 km )