Battle of Hastings 1066
Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1066 | Historic England NHLE name |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 11th century | derived |
| Period | Norman & medieval | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | Norman conquest of England | Wikidata |
| Participants | Duchy of Normandy, Kingdom of England | Wikidata |
| Registered area | 77.2 ha | Historic England |
| Grid reference | TQ7453215562 | Historic England |
| Historic England list entry | 1000013 | Historic England |
| Designated | 1995-06-06 | Historic England |
About the battle
The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place approximately 7 mi (11 km) northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory.
The background to the battle was the death of the childless King Edward the Confessor in January 1066, which set up a succession struggle among several claimants to his throne. Harold was crowned king shortly after Edward's death, but faced invasions by William, his own brother Tostig, and the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada (Harold III of Norway). Hardrada and Tostig defeated a hastily gathered army of Englishmen at the Battle of Fulford on 20 September 1066. They were in turn defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September. The deaths of Tostig and Hardrada at Stamford Bridge left William as Harold's only serious opponent.
Visiting the battlefield
Because many of the primary accounts contradict each other at times, it is impossible to provide an authoritative description of the battle. The only undisputed facts are that fighting began at 9 am Saturday 14 October 1066 and that the battle lasted until dusk. Sunset on the day of the battle was at 4:54 pm, with the battlefield mostly dark by 5:54 pm and in full darkness by 6:24 pm. Moonrise that night was not until 11:12 pm, so once the sun set, there was little light on the battlefield. William of Jumièges reports that William kept his army armed and ready against a surprise attack for the entire night before.
Location
- OS grid reference: TQ7453215562
- Approximate centre of registered area: 50.9120, 0.4852
- Registered area: 77.2 hectares
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Hastings (revision 1380225409), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Background and location”; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations removed. No text added.
Battlefield data © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Mercredesburne 485 · 5 km
- Battle of Lewes 1264 · 35 km
- Battle of Maidstone 1648 · 40 km
- Battle of Aylesford 455 · 45 km
- Battle of Otford 776 · 50 km
- Raid on the Medway 1667 · 55 km
Other battles of the Norman conquest of England
- Siege of Exeter 1068
All battles of the Norman conquest of England →
Browse more: battles in England · Norman & medieval · 11th century battles