A Tour of Battle Abbey and Battlefield, Hastings
By Roy Stevenson

Looking out over a green expanse of gently rolling farmland, dotted with piles of newly mowed hay, it’s hard to believe that the most famous battle in English history was fought here. I’m standing on a wide, brown gravel pathway, with towering ruins of an old stone Abbey behind me, trying to picture this quiet English countryside as it would have been on 14 October 1066. In just over one square mile thousands of Saxons and Normans fell in the Battle of Hastings.

About six miles inland from the wind-swept coastal town of Hastings, in a small, quaint village called Battle, you can walk around the former battlefield and explore the ruins of the abbey that William the Conqueror had built as a memorial to the soldiers who died there. Lesser known is the fact that William had the grandiose abbey built as a way of showing the Saxons his power and authority, and that he was there to stay.

My tour starts outside the magnificent great medieval gatehouse, dating from 1338 that served as the entrance to Battle Abbey. Two round stone towers, 60 feet high, stand above the gapped battlements overlooking the entrance. With its cross-shaped arrow slits and arched windows the sandstone gatehouse is one of the finest medieval facades in England, and very much dominates the town of Battle.

Once inside, I enter the Museum of Abbey Life up some spiral stone stairs. The museum’s signs, artifacts and diagrams describe the life of the Benedictine monks who lived in Battle Abbey since 1076. When first started, the abbey was merely a series of timber buildings but by 1094 the completed church was consecrated with King William II (1087-1100) present. I learn that the abbey managed its lands competently, and was one of the wealthier ones in the country, being a special project of King William I and thus generously financed.

Next stop is the Visitor’s Centre, with a short, informative film about the history and tactics of the Battle of Hastings. By now I’m primed to see the battlefield. Walking across a wooded field I come to a brown dirt and gravel path meandering along the edge of a hill, called the Monk’s Terrace. With the Battle Abbey ruins behind me, and a long gentle hill sloping down in front, I’m overlooking over the battlefield.

The Saxons, under King Harold, made their stand on the hill behind me, with their front ranks right where I’m standing. They were packed tightly, about 6,000 of them—foot soldiers loaded down with steel helmets, mail armor, shields, swords and bows. They formed a wall of shields against William’s 2,000-3,000 knights, mounted on horses, and about 3,000 foot soldiers.

So defensively packed were Harold’s men, that when they fell they remained upright, supported by their comrades. The battle raged for 9 hours, so evenly matched were the two sides. Norman attacks were made up the hill to be repulsed by the fierce Saxons, wielding massive battleaxes that cleaved the Norman shields and armor. Finally, Harold fell, an arrow through his eye, and was hacked to pieces. A rout ensued and the retreating Saxons were mercilessly hunted down. I continue my walk through the atmospheric ruins of the Abbey.

The long, rectangular stone walls of the chapter house and dormitory remain, interspersed with narrow arched windows. Beneath the chapter house I get lost wandering through the undercroft, with gothic naves gracefully curving up the high ceiling above me. A few paces further on a series of foundation stones mark the outline of the abbey church and high altar. In the middle, a large sandstone plaque inset into the ground, marks the site of the high altar, where King Harold fell. It’s the site of the fiercest fighting on that fateful day. A little girl kneels in front of the memorial, making a poignant sight.

I continue past the Abbot’s great hall and library, a beautiful 13th century house rebuilt as the Abbot’s house, now used as Battle Abbey School. The tour ends here. The entire circuit from the gatehouse is less then a mile, but each step is a powerful reminder of the magnitude of the battle that was fought here, and how King William cunningly transformed the battlefield into a memorial, while making it serve as a reminder of his new power over the Saxons.