Battle Abbey & 1066 Battle Site | Exploring The Battle Of Hastings Battlefield

Hi all, Adie here from Hans & Jons. As always thank you so much for clicking on the video. Today I'm in deepest darkest Sussex and I've got an extra special treat. You see behind me here I'm at Battle Abbey and this is where the Battle of Hastings took place in 1066. We're going to have a look around what's left of the Abbey and then take a lovely walk around the battlefield. I'm really excited about this. I've wanted to come here for ages and this is the first chance that I've got. So let's go and have an explore. I'm going to start the video at the gatehouse. We will then be going into the ruins of the Abbey and then we'll then head over to the battlefield. But before we start I just wanted to give a little bit of context. I was actually born and raised in Ireland and I moved to England when I was 17. So growing up in Dublin I didn't really learn very much about English history at school, at least not in any great detail. And because of that everything I'm seeing now, all these places that I visit to record for my YouTube channel, the churches, ruins, battlefield, all of it and most of its history is completely new to me. I think that's kind of what sparked my interest to be honest because I'm not coming at this as an expert or a historian. I'm just genuinely curious. I'm looking around, I'm trying to answer my own questions and understand it for myself. I want to understand what happened in these places and the people that lived here and what we're actually walking through. So the video isn't going to be a full-on documentary. I won't be going into very much detail about each of the areas. I'll just share with you some of the key facts, some of the stories and I'm just going to take you along with me as I explore. Because places like these, they're not just old buildings or ruins. They're moments in time that completely changed the course of English history and today we're standing on one of the most important of them all, Battle Abbey, which was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings which was the battle that reshaped England forever. To enter Battle Abbey you have to come through the gatehouse so I thought this was the perfect spot to start the video. It's quite an imposing structure as I'm sure you've already noticed and this part of the site is actually dating much later than the battle itself. It was built in the 14th century so even though the battle actually took place in 1066, what we're seeing here is kind of an evolution of the site over time. The gatehouse would have been the main entrance into the Abbey complex and it wasn't just decorative, it was defensive as well. Thick stone walls, narrow windows, it was built to control who came in and who went out. And as we walk through here there's something about it that feels a bit heavy. It's like you're crossing a threshold into somewhere that's seen a lot and there was a wonderful display in the gatehouse. There were plenty of information boards around and that was a little bit about how the monks lived on vegetable soup, bread and beer. They only occasionally had meat and it used to cause them stomach troubles and that's perfect timing because this would have been the lavatory. I'm sure this would have been used by whoever was on duty within the gatehouse. Battle isn't just any Abbey, it was built under direct orders of William the Conqueror after his victory here at the Battle of Hastings. The idea was that this Abbey would act as a kind of a penance, a place to pray for the souls of those who had died in the battle. And when you think about that standing here on top of the gatehouse, it's not just an Abbey, the whole site really is a memorial. And some accounts even suggest that the high altar of the church was placed on the exact spot where King Harold fell and we will actually be going to visit that spot later on on the video. And this just gives you an idea of how vast the Abbey's estates were where they made much of the revenue. But right from the beginning of walking into this place it's so deeply tied in with death remembrance, it just gives you a slight feeling of unease. All right so this next part of the ruin isn't something you really think about when you picture medieval life. This was the monk's toilet and they had direct access to it from the dormitory. And the paved main drain discharged down here and the arches were kept big so it was easy for them to clean. I don't want to think about it to be honest. But we'll have a little walk down there and it's surprisingly well preserved. So this would have been built over a flowing stream which carried the waste away. It was actually quite an advanced system for the time especially compared to what most people would have had access to. But walking through here it's dark and closed and you can almost imagine the daily routine, the quiet, the repetition, that very human side of monastic life. It's strange isn't it? You've got this site built to commemorate one of the most brutal battles in English history and then right here just the ordinary reality of people living day to day, doing their day-to-day business. So now I'm heading into what's believed to have been the novice's room. This is where new monks, young men, entering the order would spend time learning the rules and adapting to the life in the abbey. And again although it's very spacious with its vaulted roof it feels quite enclosed. I felt quite oppressive. The thick stone, the light, it's very quiet in a way that feels almost suspended. And we head up the stairs and there's some more vaulted rooms. The architecture here really stands out and these arches weren't just practical they were designed to last and to endure and that they most certainly have. There's still a lot of detail to be found. There's something you really notice about this whole site even though so much of it is now ruins. What has survived has survived for centuries. This area here, another vaulted area, would have been the common room. Now in this space the monks would have gathered, read, maybe even spoke to each other but that all would have depended on the rules at that particular time. Because monastic life was actually quite strict with silence being a big part of it. So when you stand here it's not hard to imagine just how quiet it must have been. Not just peaceful but controlled. There's something about the silence here, something that feels a little bit eerie. I've just headed upstairs up onto the next level and this is what would have been the monks dormitory. And you can see some fireplaces dotted along the walls there because no doubt it got absolutely bitterly cold during the long cold winters. This is a place where the monks would have slept and often in a simple beds, very minimal comfort. They would have woken early, maybe even multiple times during the night for prayer. And again it's that contrast between the discipline of their daily lives and the fact that this entire place exists because of such a single violent event. Here we've got the refectory and now this is where the monks would have eaten their meals. And meals were usually taken in silence, often while someone read aloud from religious texts. And then just outside there would have been the cloisters. These would have been used for walking, meditation and quiet reflection. I can imagine the monks pacing slowly here day after day, the same paths, the same routines. And on the wall here is a very interesting stone. So I'm not sure if the stone was put here originally or if it's a later edition. It just says this stone has been set in this place to commemorate the fusion of the English and Norman peoples which resulted from the great battle fought here in 1066. So now we're coming to one of the most significant spots on the site. There's a marker here which indicates the location of the high altar of the original abbey church. And according to tradition this is the spot where died. Now historically the exact details of this are debated but this has long been accepted as the symbolic location. And standing here it does just feel a bit different. And just beyond there is a good information panel of what the abbey church would have looked like. But this is all that remains of the abbey itself. I'm just going to head down into the crypt. And for me this was one of the spookiest places on the whole site. I didn't see anything but it just felt really really creepy. Now down here would have been the 13th century crypt chapels. And these are the oldest surviving parts of the original structure. There's still a few original features left that you can quite clearly make out. One of which is this piscina of which there were many. And that would have been the bases of some pillars. There's an altar around here. I'm not sure if this was the only altar down here in the crypt chapels or if there would have been more. And I found another piscina over there on the wall. They're beautiful. It's beautiful down here but it's also quite haunting because this is all that's left of what would have been a huge dominant building. So now I'm going to head over to what would have been part of the old precinct wall. And it's something that is really easy to overlook when you visit here. But it actually tells you quite a lot about how this place worked. Because this wasn't just an abbey. It was a defined controlled space. Everything inside these walls belonged to the monastery. The monks lived their entire lives within this boundary. And once you stepped outside it you were back into the ordinary world. Now these walls weren't just symbolic. In 1338 the abbey was granted a license to crenellate. I'm not sure I pronounced that properly. But basically that was royal permission to fortify the site. That meant adding battlements and strengthening the defences including the gate house. And the timing of this is important because this was right at the start of the hundred years war when the south coast of England was under real threat from French raids. So places like this weren't completely cut off from conflict. The abbey actually had a role in local defence which isn't something you would naturally associate with such a religious site. We're now going to head out towards the battlefield. And this is where everything changed. Not just for England but for its future as a whole. The battle of Hastings took place on the 14th of October 1066. On one side you had King Harold and his Anglo-Saxon army. And on the other side you had William of Normandy. And what's fascinating is that Harold's army had just marched all the way down from the north of England from another battle which was Stamford Bridge. And they were exhausted. There's loads of information boards if you want to read a little bit more information and see where I actually am on the battlefield then do pause it. Harold's men were exhausted but they took up position here on higher ground. And that gave them an advantage. The battle itself lasted for hours and it was brutal. There's a famous story that the Normans pretended to retreat at one point drawing the English forces out of position. And whether that's entirely true is debated as is a lot of history. But it's part of the traditional account. As we walk around the battlefield site you'll see these carved wooden figures placed across the landscape and they help mark out different stages of the battle giving you a sense of where things unfolded. At certain points during the battle parts of William's army appeared to fall back either intentionally or possibly in genuine retreat. And some of Harold's troops broke formation to chase them. And that's where things started to shift. Because once that shield wall broke even slightly it became much harder to hold the line. The battle went on for most of the day. Hours of fighting back and forth. It would have been chaotic. It would have been loud. It would have been confusing. It's not the kind of clean organized image we sometimes see in films. This would have been close combat, hand-to-hand fighting, very little visibility, a lot of noise. And then towards the end of the day everything changed. King Harold was killed. And it's one of those things that is greatly debated. The exact details of his death aren't completely certain. Now the famous image from the Bayeux Tapestry shows him being struck in the eye with an arrow. But historians still debate whether that's exactly what happened or whether he was being cut down in the fighting. Either way once Harold was gone the English army began to collapse. And that was it. William had won. And with that victory he became William the Conqueror, the first Norman king of England. And the impact of that is hard to overstate. It changed the ruling class, the language, the culture and even the structure of the country itself. So when we're standing here it's not just about what happened on this field. It's about everything that came afterwards. And now as I walk further across the battlefield it's strange how calm it feels today. We've got lovely open grass, trees, birds. It's quiet. It's beautiful. But there's this awareness that underneath all of that this ground saw thousands of men fighting and dying in a single day. And that's where some of the more unusual stories come in. There have been many spooky reports about this place over the years, especially around dusk, of people hearing things out here. Shouting, the sound of movement, even what some describe as the clash of weapons. Nothing that's ever been proved of course, but it's a story that comes up again and again. Whether it's imagination, atmosphere or something else, it really does make you think. Because places like this, they carry memory. Even if it's not something you can see. And as we walk around, especially on a quiet day like today, it's really easy to let your imagination fill in the gaps. To picture the lines of soldiers, the movement, the noise, and then just as quickly it's gone again. Back to silence. And I think that's what makes this place so powerful. It's not dramatic in an obvious way. It just looks like a field, doesn't it? Just people sitting at the picnic benches, walking the dogs, having a day out with their family. But when you think about everything that happened on these fields, it changed everything. And standing here now, knowing what happened, it gives the whole place a very different weight. There's one story connected to this battlefield that I keep coming across. And it's one of those that just lingers with you. Some visitors and a few local people have described seeing what they thought were figures moving across the field, usually at a distance. Not clearly enough to make out faces or details, just shapes, groups sometimes, as if they're walking in formation. And the strange part is that when they've tried to focus on them or walk closer to them, there's nothing there. No one's here. It's just the empty field again. And there's also stories of people hearing sounds like movement in the grass, footsteps, or something shifting out of Of course, like I said earlier, there's no proof of this, but this is a site where thousands of men fought and died in a matter of hours. So it doesn't feel like a stretch of the imagination to think about how much of that energy might still linger. There's also a visitor centre here and it's definitely worth stopping in. They show a short film which gives you a really helpful overview of the events that led up to the Battle of Hastings and how the battle itself unfolded. And what I like about it, it doesn't just focus on one side, the French or the English. It gives you a sense of both armies, decisions that were made, and just how much was at stake. It's quite immersive as well. It helps you visualise everything. And it might be worth even popping in here before you step out onto the battlefield. And as you can see, there's also a number of exhibits in here with things like weapons, armour, and displays, how people would have fought, what they would have fought, and some of the battle tactics that worked. It's a good place to start. So just that bit of context before coming out here and walking around the ground where it all actually happened. And if you've got children, I'm sure they'll enjoy it as well. I'm going to wrap the video up here. I do hope you enjoyed our trip to battle. If you did, if you could please like, subscribe, hit the high button down below. It doesn't cost you anything, but it really helps the channel out. And if you want to help a little bit more, you can buy me a coffee. Thanks again for watching and I shall see you for the next one. Bye for now, if I don't get blown away!