BATTLE ABBEY

SUSSEX IS A BEAUTIFUL SLICE OF THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE, RIDDLED WITH CORRUPTION IN POLITICS AND LOCAL COUNCILS - BUT NEVERTHELESS - AND DESPITE MP'S THAT FAIL TO ACT TO PROTECT OUR HERITAGE AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE ELECTORATE, IT IS AN AREA FULL OF WONDEROUS HISTORY, INCLUDING THE SOUTH DOWNS WAY AND PLASTIC AND SEWAGE POLLUTED BEACHES, THAT BATHERS AND DIVERS WOULD DO WELL TO AVOID

Please use our A to Z INDEX to navigate this site

Sussex is a glorious county, the so-called garden of England and for very good reason.  I've lived in Sussex most of my life, including: Brighton, Eastbourne, Seaford, Newhaven, Hadlow Down, and of course Herstmonceux.

There is so much of interest to see and do in the United Kingdom, and we hope to expand the local geography section as time allows, to cover the most interesting aspects of this wonderful country. 

Battle Abbey, actually named St. Martin's Abbey, is a partially ruined abbey in the small town of Battle in East Sussex, England.

In 1070 the Pope ordered the Normans to do penance for killing so many people during their conquest of England. So William the Conqueror vowed to build an abbey where the Battle of Hastings had taken place, with the high altar of its church on the very spot where King Harold fell in that battle on Saturday, 14 October 1066. He did start building it and named it Battle Abbey, though he died before it was completed. Its church was finished in about 1094 and consecrated during the reign of his son William Rufus. It was re-modelled in the late 13th century but virtually destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII.

The Main Gate of the Abbey

The building used to be a large private home, but it was an all girls' boarding school when Canadian troops were stationed there during the Second World War and still boasts a school to this day. All that is left of the church itself today is its outline on the ground, but parts of some of the abbey's buildings are still standing: those built between the 13th and 16th century. These are still in use as an Independent School known as Battle Abbey School.

The church's altar allegedly stood on the spot where Harold died. This is now marked by a plaque on the ground, and nearby is a monument to Harold erected by the people of Normandy in 1903. The ruins of the abbey, with the adjacent battlefield, are a popular tourist attraction (see Battle of Hastings reenactment, for example).

Ruins at Battle Abbey

Battle Abbey ruins inside

SUSSEX INDEX A - Z

ALFRISTON

ARUNDEL CASTLE - WETLANDS WILDFOWL TRUST

BATTLE

BATTLE ABBEY

BATTLE OF HASTINGS

BEACHY HEAD - BELL TOOT (BELLE TOUT) LIGHTHOUSE

BEXHILL

BIRLING GAP

BISHOPSTONE

BODIAM CASTLE

BRIGHTON

CHICHESTER

CHIDDINGLY - HORSE SHOW and GYMKHANA

CROWBOROUGH

CUCKMERE VALLEY - EXCEAT

DISTRICT AND BOROUGH COUNCILS

DRUSILLAS

EAST SUSSEX
EASTBOURNE - EASTBOURNE PIER

FIRLE

FIRLE BONFIRE SOCIETY

GLYNDE

GUY FAWKES

HADLOW DOWN

HAILSHAM

HASTINGS - NET SHOPS - PIER

HEATHFIELD

HERSTMONCEUX - CASTLE - CE SCHOOL - LINKS - FESTIVAL - MUSEUM

KNOCKHATCH

LEWES

LEWES DISTRICT COUNCIL

LIME PARK - HERSTMONCEUX - AUGUSTUS HARE

NEWHAVEN

PEVENSEY CASTLE

RYE

SEAFORD

SEVEN SISTERS

SHOREHAM - PORT

SUSSEX - SUSSEX BAY, MARINE REWILDING PROJECT

SUSSEX THINGS TO DO GUIDE

THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS

TRUGS

TWISSELLS MILL, OLD HEATHFIELD

UCKFIELD

WEALD

WEALDEN DISTRICT COUNCIL - COUNCILLORS 2023

WORLD GEOGRAPHY

Solar Cola drinkers care about planet earth

.. Thirst for Life

(330ml Planet Earth can)

This website is Copyright © 1999 & 2024.   The bird logo and name Solar Navigator and Solar Cola are trademarks. All rights reserved.  All other trademarks are hereby acknowledged.       Max Energy Limited is an environmental educational charity.