Battle of Stamford Bridge 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 | Viking activity in the British Isles | Wikidata |
| Participants | Kingdom of England | Wikidata |
| Registered area | 75.0 ha | Historic England |
| Grid reference | SE 72057 55125 | Historic England |
| Historic England list entry | 1000035 | Historic England |
| Designated | 1995-06-06 | Historic England |
About the battle
The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, in England, on 25 September 1066, between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force led by King Harald Hardrada and the English king's brother Tostig Godwinson. After a bloody battle, both Hardrada and Tostig, along with most of the Norwegians, were killed. Although Harold Godwinson repelled the Norwegian invaders, his army was defeated by the Normans at Hastings less than three weeks later.
The battle has traditionally been presented as marking the end of the Viking Age, although major Scandinavian campaigns in Britain and Ireland occurred in the following decades, such as those of King Sweyn Estrithson of Denmark in 1069–1070 and King Magnus Barefoot of Norway in 1098 and 1102–1103.
Visiting the battlefield
Manuscripts C, D and E of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle all mention Stamford Bridge by name. Manuscript C contains a passage which states, "Then Harold, king of the English, came upon them beyond the bridge by surprise; and there they joined battle and were fighting very hard long in the day." Though often interpreted to mean the main battle took place east of the Derwent River after the English army had crossed the bridge, Charles Plummer explains that the phrase "beyond the bridge" must be viewed "from the point of view of the enemy.
Two monuments to the battle have been erected in and around the village of Stamford Bridge.
The first memorial is located in the village on Main Street (A166) to the east of Church Road. The monument's inscription reads (in both English and Norwegian):
Location
- OS grid reference: SE 72057 55125
- Approximate centre of registered area: 53.9872, -0.9026
- Registered area: 75.0 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 Stamford Bridge (revision 1374654893), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Location”, “Monuments”, “Village monument”, “Battlefield monument”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; 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 York 867 · 12 km
- Battle of Fulford 1066 · 13 km
- Battle of Marston Moor 1644 · 23 km
- Battle of Selby 1644 · 25 km
- Battle of Tadcaster 1642 · 26 km
- Battle of Towton, 1461 · 29 km
Other battles of the Viking activity in the British Isles
- Battle of York 867
- Battle of Ashdown 871
- Battle of Basing 871
- Battle of Englefield 871
- Battle of Reading 871
- Battle of Chippenham 878
- Battle of Cynwit 878
- Battle of Edington 878
- Battle of Buttington 893
- Battle of Tettenhall 910
All battles of the Viking activity in the British Isles →
Browse more: battles in England · Norman & medieval · 11th century battles