This year sees the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings
English Heritage is marking the anniversary with a new exhibition
which tells the full story
of how William of Normandy defeated King Harold
on this very site, to take the English throne.
For the first time, visitors will be able to access
the roof of the iconic Abbey gatehouse
and look out across the area in front of them
where the course of English history changed forever.
Having defeated his own brother Tostig,
and Norwegian King Harold Hadrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge,
Harold had one rival to the throne left
and before the month’s end
William and his army had landed on English shores.
The two armies met at Battle.
The fighting was fierce
and even though King Harold held the tactically advantageous higher ground,
his forces were mostly consisted of infantrymen
whereas William’s had more archers and cavalry.
The interesting thing about the Battle of Hastings,
is we know very little with absolute certainty
because a lot of the sources disagree with each other.
But the one thing we can be fairly certain about,
is the location of the battle.
I’m standing within Battle Abbey
I’m standing on the site of the Battle of Hastings,
and we can be fairly sure about that,
because we have very early sources, such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
that tells us, that on the very spot,
where God granted him victory over the English,
William caused a great abbey to be constructed
to be filled with monks and to be endowed with riches.
And that’s a statement which was written shortly after William’s death.
One of the burning questions we’re asked,
by visitors who come to Battle Abbey is where was Harold killed?
We think we have a fairly good idea,
of that location.
And that’s because of the historic tradition,
that the high altar
of Battle Abbey was placed on the location
that Harold’s body was found, after the battle.
There’s also the evidence of the Bayeux Tapestry,
which shows Harold being killed, next to his standard
and some of the early sources of the battle
describe the standard being placed on top the hill,
overlooking the battlefield.
The Battle was exceptionally long by medieval standards,
lasting all day.
Gradually the Normans gained the upper hand
until in the last attack
Harold was killed.
Leaderless, the English finally gave way and fled.
William was crowned King of England
on 25th December 1066
and ordered the Abbey to be built on the site of the battle
as a form of penance to God for his bloody seizing of the throne.
To help improve understanding of the events
of this most momentous of days
English Heritage has looked again at how we present the site
and the battlefield.
Many people assume the open parkland to the south of the monastic precinct
is where the battle was fought
little realising the key part occurred not in the fields below the ruins
but on the very ground on which the abbey was later constructed.
The new gatehouse exhibition will help visitors understand the detail
of the Battle of Hastings.
For the first time we’re going to have an exhibition,
which focuses on the events of that one day,
the 14th October 1066.
So in that exhibition, visitors will hear a soundscape
with some of the noises of battle,
they’ll be able to see some of the weapons on battle.
And we’re going to talk about some of the big historical questions,
the tactics of the time,
and also questions like, how did Harold die.
The viewing platform in the gatehouse,
gives visitors one other thing
which is an amazing view, over the Sussex countryside.
So as much as for the history of the place,
you can go there to enjoy the thrill
of looking out over an amazing landscape.
950 years after the battle took place,
we hope a visit to the very spot on which it was fought
will help you to look back over the events of 1066,
and consider the causes and consequences of the Norman Conquest.