English Heritage Battlefield Report, Hastings

English Heritage Battlefield Report for The Battle of Hastings

https://historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/listing/battlefields/hastings/

 William of Newburgh, writing in the late 1100s, states:-

" In the place where the vanquished English were slain, a noble monastery, called St. Martin of Battle, was built by the victors, to be a lasting monument, at once to man as a memorial of the Norman conquest, and also to God as a propitiation for the effusion of so much Christian blood. "

English Heritage have a 'location certainty' criterion for designating a battlefield.  The legend states that the Abbey was built on the spot that Harold fell, but overlooks the fact that the top of the hill had to be leveled to make room for the monastery. This is why there is a huge visitor centre for the battle of Hastings at the location of Battle Abbey, which no doubt generates substantial revenues for the upkeep of the site. 

When I visited Stamford Bridge I was surprised to find no visitor centre, souvenir shop or even signage designating the site of the battlefield, which is currently believed to be at Battleflats, which is now underneath a housing estate. All that indicates the presence of the second great battle of 1066 is a viking sign on the local pub, and a memorial stone in the town centre.  It reads "1066 The Battle of Stamford Bridge. King Harold of England defeated his brother Tostig and King Hardrada of Norway here on 25th September 1066."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The situation is even worse at Fulford where the only marker is a flagstone concealed by long grass adjacent to a playing field and which is difficult to locate even if its existence is known. It reads " This stone is to commemorate the Battle of Fulford fought in this area between Hardrada and Morcere on September 20th 1066. Fulford Parish Council 1972." 

As far as I can ascertain English Heritage have not published a battlefield report for Fulford.

There is now a new housing estate at Germany Beck, which English Heritage itself admits is “... the most likely location for the Battle of Fulford.” See the recent judgement on the case for Fulford:-
https://cornerstonebarristers.com/cmsAdmin/uploads/charles-jones-v-english-heritage-final-judgment-9-july-2014.pdf

Due to the uncertainty of locating the exact position of the first two battles, English Heritage has declined to designate their locations and thus they are relegated to an underserved obscurity. 

However, the caution in refusing to identify the battlesites may be justified. My research, using previously overlooked primary sources, suggests that Battleflats and Germany Beck are not the locations of the first two battles. The alternate locations and the analysis that determines them are in my forthcoming book.