Hastings Castle
History
There is evidence of people living on this site in prehistoric times and of a hill-fort in the Iron Age, and the site may have been occupied in the Roman period. In September 1066, William of Normandy sailed across the Channel with his invasion force. As well as soldiers, weapons, and horses, he brought several prefabricated wooden forts. He erected one at Pevensey, inside the ruins of the Roman fort, and then, the next day, moved his army along the coast to the West Hill of Hastings, where he erected another. Most experts believe that William set up camp on the West Hill and fortified the site before setting off to fight, and win, the Battle of Hastings on October 14th, 1066 against Harold II.
Hastings Castle started as a wooden tower built atop a man-made mound or motte, and a wooden palisade enclosed the bailey around it. The Bayeux Tapestry shows the Normans raising a mound of earth and placing a timber building on it, so Hastings can claim the first motte and bailey castle in England. Following the conquest, the Norman motte and bailey castle would become a standard fixture across England. William, who planned ahead, took several wooden castles, prefabricated in Normandy, with him to England. A current theory is that the original bailey was to the east, including the area now known as the Ladies Parlour, but the date of the east ditch that separates the castle from it is not known.
After becoming king, William ordered the castle rebuilt in stone, and in about 1069, he gave it to his trusted commander, Robert, Count of Eu. Hastings had a fine harbour at the time and was a very important port and a main route to and from Normandy. The count was required to provide 60 knights to serve the crown in exchange for the castle, town, and surrounding lands. There had probably been a small church on the West Hill before the Normans came. In about 1070, the Count of Eu rebuilt it as the Collegiate Church of St. Mary, with a dean and eight canons. Just outside the east wall of the castle, the church had a college for training priests, a school for boys, and a training center for choir singing, and its central bell tower was added in 1182-1183, during a period of major building works.
The castle thrived. The first tournaments in England are said to have been held on the Ladies Parlour, attended by William's beautiful daughter Adela. Several Norman kings stayed at the castle, including William's son William Rufus and later King Stephen, and John and Edward I also stayed there in the following two centuries. During the reign of Henry II, much building work was undertaken, and the castle keep was rebuilt in the 1170s. The motte could not support a large stone building, so the keep was moved to the southeastern corner of the castle.
The ruins of the Chapel of the Holy Cross.
At this time, the main way into the castle was through a fine northern gatehouse, of which little now remains. Normandy was lost to the French during King John's reign, and in 1216, fearing an invasion, John ordered all the Sussex castles dismantled rather than let them fall into French hands. Hastings Castle was refortified in the 1220s, and further alterations were made between 1220 and 1240, when the east gate and east wall were built, with more rebuilding work in 1249. The east gate probably became a more important entrance than the older north gate, and slots for its portcullis can still be seen. In 1274, King Edward I issued naval ordinances from the castle.
The 1200s were a time of unprecedented storms, which caused huge changes to the coastline around Hastings. In February 1287, the cliffs beneath the castle gave way, and the southern part of the castle, including the magnificent keep, fell into the sea. Hastings' great harbor also silted up, which rendered the port useless to shipping. The rest of the castle fell into disrepair, leaving only the church buildings inhabited.
The French attacked Hastings in 1339, looting the houses of the canons of the Collegiate Church. The French landed again in 1377, and soon after that, the church was robbed by ordinary burglars. The castle became a ruin.
In 1546, King Henry VIII dissolved the church as part of his reformation of the church in England, and the church and the remains of the castle rapidly became a ruin, overgrown and forgotten for more than two hundred years. The castle ruins became the property of the Pelham family when Thomas Pelham purchased them on June 23rd, 1591, and the site was used for farming for centuries.
The 13th-century arch.
In 1824, the Earl of Chichester, the owner of the ruin, had the site excavated, and workmen stumbled upon a spiral stone staircase in the central tower, at the bottom of which they discovered stone coffins containing the remains of people in perfect preservation. William Herbert, who described the excavation, also recorded walls covered with fine white plaster, an altar table painted with the celestial bodies, coins, a metal pitcher, more coffins with skeletons, stained glass, pottery, a crucifix, and a sacring-bell. These artifacts have since disappeared, although other finds are in the Hastings Museum. Large portions of the castle then underwent reconstruction, including the chapel floor and parts of the chancel arch and walls, and the castle became a popular tourist attraction. In the 1870s, the castle's dungeons were rediscovered near the north gate.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the Ladies Parlour was extended to take cannon to protect Hastings from another invasion from the sea, and during World War II, there was an anti-aircraft gun emplacement just outside the east wall. The castle also received damage when it was a target for bombing raids. In 1951, the castle was purchased by the Hastings Corporation and opened to the public as a tourist destination. A plaque on the wall marks the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, placed on October 14th, 1966, by the British and French members of the Souvenir Normand on the site of the first Norman castle erected in England.
Castle Highlights
Hastings Castle resides high atop a cliff overlooking the old town of Hastings and the English Channel. You can reach it by driving through the back streets or by parking in the car park near the seaside and taking the West Hill Cliff Railway from town to the top of the cliff.
The motte and the north wall.
The castle's south wall and keep were lost to the sea, while the remaining walls are ruins. However, castle remnants still afford insight into its original architecture. Entry to the castle is through the north gate, with the dungeons located thereafter. The walls of the Chapel of the Holy Cross, located along the interior of the north wall, are the largest ones remaining, and the chapel was reputed to be a place of miracles that drew pilgrims from far and wide. A gate locks a high archway and spiral staircase to prevent visitor entry. In the nave, outlines of two rows of seats are visible on the wall, possibly used by the canons.
Remains of the east gate and east wall, which served as the foundation for the two towers, can still be seen. The motte is located in the northeast corner of the castle, but it only possesses limited stonework due to the relocation of the keep during the 12th century. The passage in the castle wall near the square tower has long been known as a sally port, a quick way out for a surprise attack on invaders, but experts now believe it led to a garderobe, or toilet. The 1066 Story, an audio-visual program that was once shown in the castle courtyard, has closed.
Hastings Castle is also haunted.
