Hastings Castle is a keep and bailey castle ruin situated in the town of

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, East Sussex. It overlooks the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, into which large parts of the castle have fallen over the years. Tapestry by unknown weaver - The Bayeux Tapestry (detail) - WGA24172

History

Immediately after landing in England in 1066,

William of Normandy William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 108 ...

ordered three fortifications to be built,

Pevensey Castle Pevensey Castle is a medieval castle and former Roman Saxon Shore fort at Pevensey in the English county of East Sussex. The site is a scheduled monument in the care of English Heritage and is open to visitors. Built around 290 AD and known to ...

in September 1066 (re-using the Roman Saxon Shore fort of

Anderitum Anderitum (also ''Anderida'' or ''Anderidos'') was a Saxon Shore fort in the Roman province of Britannia. The ruins adjoin the west end of the village of Pevensey in East Sussex, England. The fort was built in the 290s and was abandoned after it ...

), Hastings (prior to the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conque ...

) and Dover. Hastings Castle was originally built as a motte-and-bailey castle near the sea. Later that year, the famous

took place some miles to the north of Hastings Castle, in which William was victorious. In 1070, William issued orders for the castle to be rebuilt in stone, along with the St Mary's Chapel. The

Counts of Eu This is a list of the counts of Eu, a French county in the Middle Ages. ( Eu is in the department of Seine-Maritime, in the extreme north of Normandy.) House of Normandy * 996–1015: Geoffrey, also Count of Brionne, illegitimate son of Duke ...

held the castle for most of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

period, beginning with

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. In 1216, King John gave orders to destroy ( slight) the castles at Hastings and Pevensey, while he retreated from a French army led by Dauphin Louis that had landed in Kent. In 1220, Henry III re-fortified the castle. In time however the house of Eu forfeited control of Hastings Castle, when the family heir William made the decision to keep his French assets over the English ones, and was denied the right to his inheritance. In 1242, Henry III bestowed rule of the castle and its lands to his wife's uncle, Peter of Savoy, who then governed the estate until passing away. In 1287, violent storms bomboclatted the south coast for many months and the soft sandstone cliffs eventually succumbed to the elements. Large sections of the face fell into the sea along with parts of the castle. In both 1339 and 1377, the town was attacked by the French leaving many burnt buildings which included homes. Throughout the next century erosion was unchecked and gradually more of the castle was lost to the sea. The site was purchased by Thomas Pelham on 23 June 1591. After the purchase, the site was purchased by the Pelham family and used for farming until the ruins had become so overgrown they were lost from memory. In 1824, the then owner the

Earl of Chichester Earl of Chichester is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The current title was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1801 for Thomas Pelham, 2nd ...

commissioned some archaeological investigations of the ruin. As a result of these, the chapel floor and parts of the chancel arch and walls were re-constructed out of blocks found lying on the ground.Historical Hastings Wiki
Hastings Castle - Historical Hastings Wiki
accessdate: 24 December 2019 During World War II, the castle received more damage as Hastings was a target for bombing raids. In 1951, the Hastings Corporation purchased the site and converted it into a tourist attraction. The castle is open to the public between March and October.

References

*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980.

External links

* {{Hastings Buildings and structures in Hastings History of East Sussex Castles in East Sussex Ruins in East Sussex Grade I listed buildings in East Sussex