Battle of Mercredesburne 485
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 485 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 5th century | derived |
| Period | Early medieval, Anglo-Saxon & Viking | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | Anglo-Saxon settlement of England | Wikidata |
| Participants | Celtic Britons | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of Mercredesburne was one of three battles fought as part of the conquest of what became the Kingdom of Sussex in southern England. The battles were fought between the Saxon leader Ælle's army and the local Britons.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, states that Ælle arrived in Sussex with three ships and went on to fight at Cymenshore in 477 CE, Mercredesburne in 485, and Pevensey in 491. Ælle became the first king of the South Saxons. The Kingdom of Sussex was eventually annexed by the Kingdom of Wessex in the 9th century and went on to become the county of Sussex, England.
Visiting the battlefield
The location of the battle is unknown.
The villages of Ashburnham and Penhurst in East Sussex maintain a tradition that a pre-Saxon earthwork known as Town Creep, situated in Creep Wood which adjoins the two villages, was the site of Mercredsburn. Oral tradition surviving to the end of the 19th century referred to the earthwork as being the site of a town which was besieged and destroyed by the Saxons.
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 50.9305, 0.4267
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Mercredesburne (revision 1370449582), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Location”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).