Itineraries:
1066
An itinerary that touches on all the main Norman sites of the area, and other sites of interest to the historically-minded.
Day one
Arrive at Pevensey and visit the magnificent castle. Having started as a Roman fortress ("Anderida"), it served the Britons well, after the Romans left in the 5th century, and then the invading Saxons. On September 28th 1066, after beaching his invasion fleet at nearby Normans Bay, William sheltered within Pevensey Castle's massive walls and started important building works (still visible today). The castle continued to play a defensive rôle right up to 1940, when gun emplacements were built there to resist air attack. Westham Church, a few yards from the castle, prides itself on being the first Norman church to be built on English soil, and is well worth a visit. If you have time, Herstmonceux Castle is within easy reach. The name derives from the 12th century union of the Saxon Herst family and the Norman de Monceux family. The present superb castle was started in 1441 and is one of the first major brick buildings in England.
Day two
You should consider dividing the day between the two major sites bound up with the history of the Norman Invasion: Battle Abbey and Hastings.
William marched first to Hastings, where he had a prefabricated wooden fortress erected on the West Hill overlooking the town, to be replaced as soon as time permitted by a stone castle. A video (in either French or English) evokes the history of the invasion and the subsequent story of the castle. While you are in this fascinating town, don't miss the Smugglers Adventure in the caves beneath the West Hill, where the violent story of smuggling in the 18th century is told in English, French or German through video, film and interactive displays. Hastings' Old Town, and the Stade (the fishermen's quarter) are full of picturesque sights.
Spend the afternoon in Battle. The gatehouse of Battle Abbey dominates the centre of this fine old market-town. William had the abbey built to commemorate the dead of England's most important battle. Start with the interpretive centre and a video, and then soak up the atmosphere of the grim events of 1066 as you take a guided tour of the battlefield with the help of the audio-guide, which allows the visitor to hear about the various stages of the battle from the viewpoint of a Norman knight, a Saxon thegn or of Edith Swan-neck, Harold's wife.
Day three
There are many other sites in the area which bear witness to Norman influence and to the development of the Anglo-Norman tradition. Icklesham, between Hastings and Rye, has an early Norman church of great simplicity. A little further on lies the village of Winchelsea. Originally one of the 'Cinque Ports' that defended the south-east coast against attack, the port was destroyed by storms in the 13th century, and was rebuilt by Edward 1 on high ground, on a grid pattern: the first English 'new town'. It seems to have been untouched by time; whereas Rye, perched on a hill, is full of picturesque streets, yet is full of life, too. Don't miss cobbled Mermaid Street and the Mermaid Inn, once the meeting-place of smugglers.
St Mary's Church has a fine clock, and superb views across the marshes from its tower. The Town Model in the Tourist Information Centre is a minutely detailed miniature version of the town, not to be missed: a sound and light show brings to life over 1000 years of the town's history.
Depending on the time available, you should try to visit:
Also in Rye - The Treasury of Mechanical Music, and the Rye Castle Museum
Bodiam Castle - the most photogenic of all the Sussex castles, with its moat, its crenellated walls and its idyllic setting.
Northiam - for the Kent & East Sussex Steam Railway
Bateman's, at Burwash - the manor-house that was the home of the writer Rudyard Kipling, author of the Jungle Book and Kim, amongst other works.
Great Dixter, at Northiam - a superb 15th century manor-house reworked by Lutyens, with the finest garden in the county, created by the gardening-writer, Christopher Lloyd.
East Sussex villages such as Robertsbridge or Sedlescombe, or Alfriston, nestling in the South Downs.
