Why Crowhurst is probably not the Site of the Battle of Hastings

Why Crowhurst is probably not the Site of the Battle of Hastings

Initially I was quite taken with the idea that the Battle of Hastings (BoH) could have taken place at Crowhurst even as far as thinking that Nick Austin (NA) had chosen the adjacent field in error. However, the more I delved, the more I found flaws in his logic. In this blog I will try and convince the reader why I think Nick Austin is wrong. 

Landing at Bulverhythe

There are records which clearly state that the Normans landed at Pevensey and re-fortified the old Roman fort still standing. Physical evidence is also evident on the surface of the possibly later stone keep. 

The name Pevensey suggest that the stone curtain wall marked the extent of the ISLAND of Peven. The giveaway is the suffix "-sey". "Sey" or "Sea"denotes an island in one of the Germanic languages ( Angle, Saxon, Jute or Scandinavian) hence Wallasey, Southsea, Anglesey to name three. ( there's bound to be more). In the present day language of Norway the tradition of using a suffix to denote an island still continues as Hufterøy demonstrates ( "øy" being the Norwegian for island). 

So the island of Peven sits at the mouth of a large sheltered bay suitable for the mooring of boats. 

Let's look at the geography of "Crowhurst Creek" (CC). 

Firstly, let's examine how we can identify where CC is from the sea. CC sits between Harley Shute ( highest point 35 m asl) and the shopping development at the junction of the A259 and A2036. This is about 2 km in distance. The local high spot is Galley Hill, about 20 m asl. So the distance one can see from the land is given by the formula:-

Distance to the Horizon = sq rt of ((radius of the earth + observation height)2 - (radius of the Earth)2)

Using this formula, Galley Hill can be seen 10 miles out and Harley Shute, 13 miles out. (Beachy Head being 151 m asl could have been seen 27 miles out)

So in order to navigate to CC which landmarks would Williams fleet have used? 

Using the North-eastern route i.e navigating via Fairlight (162 m asl) would have resulted in trying to sail against the prevailing wind (South westerlies) or the South-western route i.e via Beachy Head (151 m asl) which would have resulted in sailing past the defensible island of Peven. I am now wondering about the general sense of direction of one colour blind sea captain if the order was "go north to England, once you find the white cliffs turn right and follow the coast until you find a sheltered bay". The said captain found the sandy coloured cliffs of Hastings and Fairlight and turned right and came ashore only to find the hostile local folk. Anyway they didn't turn up until years later...... Mind you the order could have been  "go north to England, once you find the sandy coloured cliffs  turn left and follow the coast until you find a sheltered bay". The said sea captain turned right......  Anyway, on paper it seems more likely that the south western route was taken by the majority of the fleet.

Where is the shore line?

The amazing thing about this stretch of coastline is that the land is rising faster than the sea is rising. It's generally accepted that what is now Pevensey Levels once was a bay area. Also look at Hastings Castle and the church in the Old Town - both built on the 20 m present day contour. Even Crowhurst Church is built on the same contour. What needs to happen, I think, is a survey needs to be undertaken to determine the shoreline in 1066. This will either confirm anything lower than 12 m asl would have been under water at low tide. ( we have 8 metre spring tides in the area) or not. It will also define the limit of where NA needs to investigate to see his fleet landing in CC. 

By the way, if the shoreline was at the present day 12 m contour then the fleet could have moored there without the need of William to declare "we've burnt most of our boats now fight you bast!"#ds.

Crowhurst Church

The present Crowhurst Church lies on the 20 metre contour. Back in the day this would have been quite close to the high water mark. See Hastings Castle and  the church in the Old Town ( what would have been the "New Town" in the 1080's). So to get to the Crowhurst Church, William would've had to find a route from Hastings and/or Telham Hill fort good enough to stream his troops down to the shoreline. Also it means giving up the high ground which no sane commander would do.

Another point to consider is the Bayeux Tapestry. This shows in Section 49 William receiving news of the English at the top of a ridge and in Section 50 shows Harold getting news of the Bastard. The next Section, I think, shows fighting. Obviously the seamstresses  either weren't told of a meeting between Harold and William or it was commonplace for the two leaders about to have a battle to have a parley in order to give the other a chance to back down and avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

Alternative solution?

Just as Nick's claim that Hastings Port was in "Crowhurst Creek" is possible due to the possible fragmented nature of Manors it is also possible part of the Manor of Crowhurst could be located near the present day Crowhurst Farm and Crowhurst Wood ( to the North-east of my chosen battlefield site).