Everyone knows the date, fewer know the fighting happened here, not in Hastings itself
Open to visitorsan English Heritage site — check opening times and admission before you go
1066 is the one date English schools reliably manage to implant, and the battle that goes with it wasn’t fought in Hastings at all. It happened here, on a ridge that’s now the town of Battle, several miles inland — Hastings was simply the nearest place worth naming on a map at the time, and the name stuck to the wrong spot.
On 14 October 1066, King Harold’s army, freshly marched south after beating a Norwegian invasion at Stamford Bridge only weeks before, held a shield wall along the ridge against William of Normandy’s infantry, archers and cavalry for most of the day. Repeated Norman feigned retreats eventually drew enough of the English line out of position to break it, and Harold was killed as the battle turned, late in the day.
William had Battle Abbey built on the site afterwards, and the town that grew up around it took the battle’s name in turn.
The battlefield itself is open ground within the High Weald, managed by English Heritage alongside the abbey ruins, with a walking route around the field setting out roughly how the two armies lined up. Battle station is a short walk from the entrance, rather more convenient than anyone fighting here in 1066 had it.
More at the National Heritage List entry
