History of Hastings Castle Vol. 1

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From the original tinted drawing in the Author's possession

 

Hastings Castle
View (circa 1750) from the west, showing projecting portion of cliff called the "Gun Garden" now destroyed and the remains of the ancient harbour in the foreground

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HISTORY OF HASTINGS CASTLE

CHARLES DAWSON

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Geological Society of London, etc.

VOLUME I

CONSTABLE & CO. LTD.

10, ORANGE STREET, 19L0E9ICESTER SQUARE, W.C.

1909 [   ]

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Preface

CONCERNING Hastings Castle a recently-published Hastings guidebook informs its readers that " one of the charms of this venerable ruin is, that no authentic record of its history exists." It is, therefore, with some diffidence that the author intrudes upon this state of bliss by presenting to the public a connected series of records, unrivalled in local history, relating to this castle.

The lack of special knowledge and opportunities under which the majority of students of history labour renders it impossible for them to study our ancient chronicles and records in their original form. The extended versions of the records, even when freed of caligraphic difficulties and contractions, do not always bear in their classical construction the mediaeval sense. The author believes that average readers will prefer to read their ancient records and chronicles, in the same way as most persons read their Bibles, that is, by means of a translation, and he has provided accordingly. For the rest, it is hoped that the references given to the original documents will prove sufficient.

The plan of the present work at the outset was an ambitious one, namely, to take as a type an English Castle and Barony, the details of the history of which were almost unknown ; to search out its records in the British and foreign depositories, public and private ; and finally to arrange them in chronological order, interspersed with extracts from contemporary chronicles, in such a manner that the whole collection may tell its own story. Indeed, its author hopes that it may do something more, by disclosing much of the military and fiscal working of a great castle and barony under feudal conditions ; and by following the vicissitudes of its various lords and by the introduction of pertinent matters of contemporary interest, he hopes to throw a strong side-light on the history of England itself.

The history of the Collegiate Church (or " Royal Free Chapel ") founded within the walls of the Castle forms another item of interest ; and, as the documentary evidence is most complete, the author is enabled to introduce ecclesiastical matters of great and unusual interest, both generally and with special regard to the history of this class of foundation.

An account of the Battle of Hastings (one of the " Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World ") is inseparable from the castle which formed its base. In view of what has already been written concerning the battle (educational though such criticisms may be), the author believes that the account will prove clearer and fresher by providing translations of the extracts concerning it, from all the known contemporary and other important chronicles, grouping them in parallel columns [ vi ]under the heads of the leading incidents of the battle to which they refer. Where previous translations have been adopted, care has been taken to check them by the aid of the best evidence available.

The aim of the whole work is thus to present to the reader the most reliable data obtainable, retaining, to a great extent, all the vigour and beauty of the original draftsmanship, freed from and untrammelled by former conclusions, and in such a manner that he may be enabled to picture for himself the true history, as nearly as possible, at first hand. The History of Hastings as a Cinque Port is in many respects so distinct from the history of the Castle and Rape, that the subject receives only passing references. The author is in possession of numerous local records relating to the former subject, and hopes to deal with it specifically on another occasion. In the meantime, those interested should refer to the short History of the Cinque Ports by the late Prof. Montague Burrows (Chichele Professor of Modern History, in the University of Oxford), in the revision of which the present author was concerned for the edition of 1903.

In the present work the author has endeavoured to avoid, as far as possible, matters of controversy, and it is only here, in mentioning the former literature relating to the Castle, that he points out certain matters which require refutation because they appear to have taken an undue hold upon the public mind. William Prynne, in his history of the Papal Usurpations (entitled An Exact History of the Pope's Intolerable Usurpations Upon the Liberties of the King and Subjects of England and Ireland), Volume III., 1670, quoted largely from the public records (then preserved in the Tower of London) when dealing with the controversy between the Bishop of Chichester and the King's Clerks respecting the jurisdiction of the former over the Royal Free Chapels.

Of early published accounts relating to the Castle that of Francis Grose (Antiquities of England and Wales, 1773-87, Volume III.) may be considered the first important printed topographical reference, and it has been much copied and quoted by various local writers. The quotation referred to by Grose respecting Arviragus, of whom it is said that when he threw off the Roman yoke he fortified certain places including Hastings, turns out to rest historically upon the sole authority of the writer of the Chronicle of the Dover Monastery of St. Martin, a production of the late thirteenth century, and this statement is probably therefore mere guess-work of little historical weight.

The next account of any importance is by William Herbert who, in the year 1824, wrote the letter-press acknowledgment by the ostensible of Moss's History of Hastings, but without acknowledgement by the ostensible writer. This must be regarded as the first serious attempt to unravel the history of the Castle.

The Reverend Prebendary Mackenzie E. C. Walcott, B.D. (Guide to the South Coast of England, Stanford's, 1859), is responsible for the publication of two absurd "traditions", as he calls them, relating to the Castle: one, that the first tournay in England was held there in the time of William I.: and another story ending with a conflagration at the Castle. These tales bear internal evidence of having been composed since the date of the excavations at the Castle in the year 1824, and would not have been mentioned here, had not some writers [ vii ](including Mr. T. H. Cole, M.A., in his Antiquities of Hastings) given undue prominence to them.

The Reverend E. Turner, M.A., compiled a very creditable summary of the history available to him of the Castle and Collegiate Church in the year 1861, which was published in Volume XIII. of the Sussex Archaeological Collections, page 132.

Mr. T. H. Cole, above mentioned, had few opportunities of original research, but did useful work in collating the works of some former writers and in offering from his stock of local knowledge suggestions upon them. Lack of knowledge of " Record Latin " led him (and his copyists) into confusion concerning the Royal Free Chapel, causing him to believe that there were two chapels, one of which he knew within the castle-walls, and a more ancient one which he thought existed below the present site. The assumed evidence for the existence of this last-mentioned chapel arose from his mistranslation in the records of the words " infra claustrum," which he read as beneath the fortification ; but the word infra, in Latin of the Records, was nearly always used in the sense of within and not below, for which the Latin word sub was commonly used.

Mr. G. T. Clarke (Medieval Military Architecture of England, 1884, republished from The Builder) wrote what is, in many respects, an excellent if brief description of the architectural details of the Castle and Chapel ; though, as he was wont, he identified the Castle Mount with an Anglo-Saxon keep, which is a matter open to the gravest doubt. As usual, his visit seems to have been a hurried one, or he would not have committed the unpremeditated irreverence of referring to the large circular roof of the modern St. Mary's Church as the local gas-works, a mistake which leads to some topographical confusion ; the latter nourishing concern being situate in an opposite direction. With respect to the materials made use of by the present author down to the reign of Henry IV., they are almost entirely the result of private researches in the public depositories of records in England, assisted by reference to the admirable catalogues and extracts of records compiled by the Royal Historical Commissioners and the Public Record Office ; some, however, are derived from France, and others from diocesan records in England and from private sources.

Hastings Castle having been one of the Royal Castles, held with its Rape as a tenancy-in-chief under the Crown till the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the documents relating to its transfer and to many titular and other proceedings were filed among the Royal records. In the same manner the documents of the Collegiate Church (which had been adopted, though improperly, as a Royal foundation), the visitations and appointments to its prebends, while under the Royal control, were filed among the Sovereign's records. One of the most useful documents relating to the history of the Chapel is one of extraordinary length among the Chancery Miscellaneous Rolls, containing a copy of all the evidence known respecting the jurisdiction of the King and the Bishop of Chichester over the Chapel that could be found in the year 1421, a special search having then been decreed. At this time a dispute had arisen, as before mentioned, between the King and the Bishop, and the document was drawn up on behalf of the King's Clerks in support of their case. It was written upon skins some twelve feet in length, and contains about 13,800 words. By [ viii ]means of the chronological arrangement of the present work these historical details are dissected, and fall into their proper order along with the other records exhibited.

From the time when the Pelham family obtained possession of the Castle and Rape, hi the year 1424, the documents respecting their title and proceedings had been preserved in extraordinary volume and completeness. It was not until subsequent to the year 1887 that a beginning was made with the dispersal of this series of records by Walter John Pelham, fourth Earl of Chichester. The earlier title-deeds among this series were presented by him to the then newly founded Hastings Museum, where they have been since preserved under the author's nominal keepership, as head of the section dealing with local records. Most of the later deeds and documents of the series were presented by his Lordship to the Sussex Archaeological Society, and a huge miscellaneous mass of documents relating to the manorial history of the Rape, since its possession by the family, was presented by him to the Manuscript Department of the British Museum, where they are indexed under the name of "The Newcastle documents."

As to the chapter relating to this latter mass of documents the author wishes to acknowledge the skilled assistance of Mr. D. T. Baird Wood, M.A., who catalogued this series for the Manuscript Department of the British Museum. For any record of the excavations conducted among the ruins of Hastings Castle, which took place in 1824, the author for a long time sought in vain ; but at last he discovered some drafts in manuscript of such a description in the Guildhall Library, where Mr. Herbert, above mentioned, was formerly the librarian.

Mr. Herbert, it seems, had been employed by Mr. Thomas Thorpe (the compiler of the catalogue of the Battle Abbey Documents in 1835) to examine the deeds and documents (then known as "the Pelham Evidences") in the possession of Thomas, second Earl of Chichester, with a view to the identification of the boundaries of the lands adjoining the Castle. This he had done in a full and conscientious manner. Upon the introduction of Mr. Moss he had conducted, for Lord Chichester, the excavation at Hastings Castle initiated by the discovery of certain remains by Mr. Joseph Kay (the Architect of Greenwich Hospital), who was engaged in excavating the Castle cliff for the building of Pelham Crescent and St. Mary's Church, now situate below the Castle. Mr. Herbert was indefatigable; he noted and planned almost every detail that was discovered, and subsequently prepared in handsome form a fair copy of his work, which he delivered to Lord Chichester.

Upon hearing of the present author's researches Lord Chichester (the fourth Earl) in 1897 most generously presented him with this invaluable record. Mr. Herbert's work is executed in a fine neat hand, and the text is illustrated by maps and drawings plotted out by an artist named B. Hewlett. Some of these drawings, executed in black and white wash, are originals, and others are copied from certain eighteenth-century drawings by James Lambert of Lewes and S. H. Grimm, now in the British Museum and in the Bodleian Library, at Oxford. The author in the compilation of the present work has made free use of this magnificent record.

Thus splendidly equipped, the author, by leave of Lord Chichester, commenced a further series of excavations at Hastings Castle, with the view of verifying Mr. Herbert's previous discoveries, which had subsequently been covered [ ix ]over, as well as to test many other doubts and theories. For assistance during these operations the author is greatly indebted to Mr. John Lewis, C.E., F.S.A., and for his drawing of the plan which appears in this section of the work.

Dealing with the history of the prebends of the Collegiate Church and its prebendal churches, the author wishes to make it clear that these accounts do not profess to be exhaustive histories of the several localities ; but he mentions such items of local interest as have presented themselves during the course of his researches. In the description of the architecture of the Castle Chapel and most of the prebendal churches the author is indebted to the able advice of Mr. W. M. Alderton, late Director of Art in the Education Branch of the Corporation of Brighton, whose kindness he gratefully acknowledges.

The ancient mint and coinage of Hastings having hitherto received inadequate treatment, the author has taken advantage of the opportunity to give an exhaustive account of the subject. It seems curious that many of the best preserved specimens of the mint, along with those of other English mints, found their way to Copenhagen ; and it is perhaps a little humiliating to modern ideas that their presence in Denmark is accounted for by their having been paid as tribute by the English to the Danes. In the compilation of this section of the work the author acknowledges the skilled assistance of Mr. G. F. Hill, M. A., of the Coin Department of the British Museum.

Owing to the chronological arrangement of the work, it has been thought unnecessary to elaborate unduly the index, which has been left in the able hands of Mr. George Clinch, F.G.S.

In conclusion, the author must express his grateful acknowledgment to the many experts, both living and dead, who have personally or by their writings contributed assistance to him in the production of these volumes. For those manifold errors and omissions inevitable in a work of this character, so easily overlooked and yet so vexatious to a conscientious writer, the author can but crave the indulgence of the reader.

UCKFIELD, SUSSEX. [ x ]

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Contents to Volume I

	PAGES
INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF HASTINGS CASTLE -- THE PHYSICAL CHANGES ON THE COAST -- PREHISTORIC REMAINS	1-10
PART I
EARLY HISTORY	11-16
PART II
A CHRONOLOGICAL AND CHARTULARY OF THE CASTLE AND CHAPEL OF HASTINGS FROM THE CONQUEST BY WILLIAM I OF ENGLAND TO THE DISSOLUTION OF THE MONASTERIES	17-319
PART III
CHART SHOWING THE DESCENT OF THE CASTLE AND THE RAPE OF HASTINGS	to face p.321
A RECITAL OF THE LEADING POINTS CONNECTED WITH THE TITLE AND DESCENT OF THE CASTLE AND RAPE FROM THE DISSOLUTION OF THE MONASTERIES TO MODERN TIMES, WITH NOTES ON THE MANORIAL RECORDS OF THE RAPE .	321-356

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List of Illustrations to Volume I

Frontispiece	Hastings Castle and remains of Old Harbour, circa 1750.
PLATE I.	Fig. I. Map of the Rape of Hastings by Christopher Saxton, 1589.
Fig. 2.	Map of the Rape of Hastings by John Speede, 1610	to face p. 6
PLATE II.	The Landing of William Duke of Normandy, from the " Estoire de Seint Edward le Rei " ; MS. Cambridge University Library	16
PLATE III.	Seals of the Counts of Eu and Collegiate Church	91
PLATE IV.	Carved Ivory Writing Tablet of the I4th century representing the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin St. Mary. Discovered in the Ruins of the Collegiate Church	147
PLATE V.	Seals of the Counts and Dukes of Brittany	223
PLATE VI.	Sepulchral Brass of William Prestwyk, Dean of Hastings and Master of the Chancery of Henry VI, at Warbleton Church, Sussex	250

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INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF HASTINGS CASTLE

PHYSICAL CHANGES OF THE COAST AT HASTINGS

THE artificial developments that have taken place in and about Hastings are by no means the chief cause of the difficulty which we shall have in giving some general idea of the site as it appeared in early times.

It may appear easy enough to strip the modern town of its buildings, and, by careful examination of the contour of the ground, to reconstruct the primaeval hills and valleys with their green tracts of forest-land running down to the verge of the sea. The real difficulty is to estimate, even approximately, the enormous physical changes which have taken place upon the coast-line. Even to attempt this it is necessary to be familiar with the operation of certain natural forces which have been, and are yet, at work upon the whole of the south-eastern shores of England. It is well known that for ages past the beach-drift or shingle has been moving along the coast in an almost continuous stream from west to east, whence it seldom returns. The average eastward tidal progress of the shingle at Hastings in calm weather, with a very slight westerly wind, is at the rate of about twenty-seven yards a day. This movement is popularly known as the phenomenon of the " Eastward Drift." The changes of the coast produced by this drift have alternately formed and ruined the port of Hastings and the majority of the " Cinque Ports." This same drift, which will under certain conditions produce a bar or breakwater of shingle, offering safe anchorage to a fleet, will, under other conditions, break through the bar and transform the haven into a howling wilderness of shingle.

The forces producing this phenomenon are the rising or flood-tide, acting in conjunction with the prevalent south-westerly winds. The great Atlantic tidal wave, when it strikes upon the western coast of Ireland, divides into two streams - one portion passing to the north and the other to the south. This latter stream enters the English Channel, and, gathering force as the straits become more contracted, it sweeps forward at a tremendous speed to find its level in the German Ocean. Twice a day this flood-tide, if the wind be blowing from the west or south-west, will cause countless thousands of tons of beach to roll in an easterly direction, gradually filling up the embayed portions of the coast, and massing in huge banks or "fulls " along the western sides of the capes and headlands. When the angle formed between the coast-line and any headland has been filled with shingle, the surplus masses of beach will continually drift round the nose of the promontory, and will generally either follow the coast-line, or will sometimes, if arrested by a submerged [ 2 ]

The " Eastward-Drift " of Beach

reef or bank, form a spit or bar of shingle extending in an easterly direction, and running out at a right angle on the eastern side of the point or headland. The bar of shingle running from Cliff End at Fairlight to the mouth of Rye Harbour is a good example of this phenomenon. This particular bar of shingle completely shuts out the sea from the cliffs and plains of Winchelsea. It is not, however, the usual result, and no great or permanent accumulations of beach exist on the eastern sides of the coast-projections or groins. The reason for the absence of such eastward accumulations is, that the motive power is continually exerted in one direction only, that of the flow, and scarcely ever in the reverse direction, the ebb of the tide in an open strait being practically a periodical cessation of onward motion. We may readily conceive that any movable body carried forward from west to east in the Channel by the tidal flow will never assume a retrograde course, unless for a very brief period through the intermediary of a temporary opposing force. This latter may arise if the tidal wave is met by a strong storm current coming from the east, when the opposing action of the two forces will result in a current more or less at right angles to the shore, and the shingle will be carried out to sea by an action that the Portland islanders call a " drawing sea," and that the Hastings folk term a " scour from the east." As soon, however, as the impeding cause has passed away, a fresh flow of shingle from the west restores the beach to its normal condition, and that frequently in the course of two tides.

It may well be asked, what is the origin of this enormous supply of shingle ? Without entering into a detailed geological explanation, it may be simply stated that in every district, and in all climates, from the Equatorial to the Polar regions, there is usually between the superficial covering of vegetable mould and the underlying rock a deposit of loose gravel, sand, and mud, to which the name " alluvium " has been applied. We will not here discuss the more complex causes of these beds, which have been the result of natural agents operating through a long succession of geological epochs, let it suffice to say that the gravels of our shores have been derived principally from beds of ancient drift formed from the denudation of the Chalk-formation, while other associated rounded fragments of stone and sand are for the most part derived from more ancient formations, either brought down by the agency of rivers, or filched from the cliffs and adjacent land by the action of weather and waves.

And now we may apply these known laws to the changes of the coast-line which have taken place at and near Hastings - changes of which there exist some records. Unfortunately, these records are deplorably vague and scanty. But we do know for certain that the coast-line on either side of Hastings extended for a considerable distance beyond the present sea-boundaries. There was also, at some comparatively recent period, a dense forest-growth upon much of this submerged land ; the ancient forest has left a record of its existence in the shape of a considerable deposit of vegetable matter, containing trunks and roots of trees in situ, and vast masses of leaves, nuts, and acorns. Records also are extant of great inundations (see postea) from the sea, by means of which the seaward promontories were denuded, large portions of ancient parishes submerged, and buildings upon them ruined and washed away. It has even been suggested that a more ancient town of Hastings once stood to seaward of our present sea-walls, and that an island a mile and a half long lay off the coast of Bulverhithe. However that may be, there can be no question that harbours once existed at Pevensey, Bulverhithe, [ 3 ]

The "Submarine Forest"

and Hastings, which have now vanished. These points need critical examination, and the " Eastward Drift " has an important bearing upon all of them.

No means are available for ascertaining the exact line of the coast in early times ; but at Hastings it has been proved beyond doubt that the forest which is now called the " Submarine Forest " formerly grew upon the site of the pierhead at White Rock. The line of the forest-growth has been traced at low tide at various intervals along the shore, at Warrior Square, St. Leonards, Bulverhithe, and Pevensey, and eastwards as far as the landing-place near the Queen's Hotel. It does not appear again until the levels at Pett are reached. The reason for this interruption doubtless is that, although the forest-growth formerly extended over the hills, no deposit would remain upon the shore when these higher lands were washed away by the sea. The old harbours of Pevensey, Bulverhithe, and Hastings were all situated on the eastern sides of promontories, namely, Langley Point, Bulverhithe Point, and the White Rock respectively ; and each was scoured by its river - the Ashburne, the Asten, and the Old Roar. So long as the promontory formed the natural groin arresting the flow of beach from the west, the harbour on the eastern side of it would remain open, scoured by its river, and by the flow and ebb of the tides, as well as by the occasional eastern storm-tides. But so soon as the angle on the western side of the promontory had been filled up with beach, the surplus beach, unless arrested by some natural or artificial means, would drift round the point, and commence filling up the embayed portions beyond, damming back the rmiovuetrh.with " fulls " of beach, and thus causing an accumulation of silt at its mouth.

In the absence of any detailed record, it is impossible to give a precise description of the appearance of Hastings in early and mediaeval times, since all its characteristic features would largely depend upon the length of the projections known as the White Rock and the Castle Cliff, as compared with the adjacent land. Nor can any reliable judgment be formed as to the position of the shingle with respect to these headlands, nor of the artificial moles and other works which may have been constructed (as in Romney Marsh) to strengthen and maintain the accumulation of beach on the western side of the harbour-mouth. If, however, we infer, from indications such as the situation of the remains of the submerged forest-bed, that when this " Cinque Port " was in its zenith of prosperity both the Castle Hill and the White Rock promontories projected some considerable distance into the sea, the latter probably as far as the modern pier-head, we shall perhaps not be very far wrong. From the last-named point, in later days, a spit or bar of shingle probably extended in an easterly direction, terminating along the adjacent ledge of rocks, opposite Carlisle Parade, where the western shore of the harbour- mouth was then probably situated. The Castle Hill, although projecting much more than it does now, sloped somewhat rapidly away southwards to a far lower level than that of the portion still standing. It probably formed the eastern and shorter wing of the old harbour, the estuary having a semicircular trend to the east. The whole space between White Rock on the west, as far as the Castle Cliff on the east, and Wellington Place on the north, is filled up with a mass of shingle, upon which the houses and streets are now built. The tract of land opposite Carlisle Parade, [ 4 ]

Ancient Maps

which we know to have been formerly covered with forest-growth, being probably then below sea-level, must have required " inning " by means of artificial embankments, to prevent a possible inundation by the sea at high tide, or flooding by a sudden displacement of the shingle-bar. These embankments would have been constructed along the former shingle-spit south-east of the White Rock, and on the western bank of the estuarine harbour. Speaking generally of these recent forest-beds on the south-eastern shores of England, it is never safe to infer that because submerged land containing these old forest-beds was dry land at a certain period of history, therefore this period must have been contemporaneous with the forest-growth. It is possible that the phenomenon of the formation and dissolution of the shingle-barrier may have been repeated more than once at considerable

 

Diagram showing, in outline, probable land surfaces off Hastings in mediaeval times. The present line of low tide is indicated. The land details are taken from maps of the eighteenth century. The letter M marks the site of the Albert Memorial Clock Tower.

intervals of time, the shingle alternately defending the land against the sea, and exposing it by its dispersal, and this without any alteration in the levels of the land by subsidence. Thus, in mediaeval times, one of these forest-beds, the product of some primaeval growth, may have been buried beneath a layer of alluvial soil, and as effectually hidden from view as others now are by superincumbent sea, sand, and beach.

So much has been said and written about the Island (a mile and a half long!) opposite St. Leonards and Bulverhithe, which appears marked on most of the seventeenth-century maps of Sussex, that the matter cannot be allowed to pass unnoticed here. It may be as well to state at once that this Island is as conspicuously absent from the original maps of the sixteenth century and of the early years of the seventeenth, as it is from our own Ordnance Survey maps. The earliest printed map of Sussex with which the author is [ 5 ]

The Lost Island

acquainted is that made by Saxton, probably drawn up a few years before 1588. There is a manuscript map on vellum (reproduced in a publication by Mr. M. A. Lower in 1870), the original of which was drawn up by Sir Thomas Palmere (Knight) and Mr. Walter Coverte, Deputy-Lieutenants of Sussex, in accordance with Queen Elizabeth's command to the High Sheriffs in 1587, drafted with the object of showing all places likely to be chosen by the enemy for a descent along the sea-coast of Sussex. It has a report annexed, containing recommendations as to the armament of sundry such places. Besides these maps, another was drawn by Johannes Norden, and engraved by W. Kip, which was subsequently published in Camden's Britannia in the year 1610. In none of these three maps is the Island shown, and the coast in the vicinity of Hastings does not seem to differ very greatly in outline from the coast-line of the present day. The map in which the Island first appears is the augmentation of Johannes Norden's map by John Speed, published in the latter's atlas of 1610. This map appears to have been slavishly copied by numerous map-makers, both English and Dutch, during the next hundred years. The more recent maps of Bugden, Bowen, and Kitchen do not include the Island, and it is never again seen or heard of in any map or contemporary writing. It should be remarked, moreover, that neither Speed nor any other author refers to the Island in his notes on the county geography, and on no map cited was there any description or mention of it. One might be inclined to doubt that the Island ever existed at all, if it were not for the fact that so large and striking an addition to a map could hardly have been inserted without some amount of deliberation. Assuming, however, that the Island really existed, and was not merely some large sandbank visible at low tide, noted hurriedly by the surveyor, and subsequently added to Norden's map, then the only explanation that the author can offer is that this Island may have been a large mass of shingle displaced, from the neighbouring western shores. Careful examination and comparison of the earliest maps above mentioned with Speed's map seem to give some support to this theory.

If the map of Christopher Saxton is first examined, it will be noticed that a huge mass of beach is shown encircling Beachy Head, and the words " The Beach " are written on the western side of the promontory. The probability is that, for ages past, Beachy Head had been accumulating shingle on its western side. Thus protected, the cliff would not suffer much denudation by the sea on that side ; on the eastern side, on the other hand, the cliff would suffer enormous damage. We know that constant denudation by sea and weather wore back the face of the cliff on the south-eastern side, until outliers stood boldly apart from it, forming huge pinnacles. These pinnacles or needles were nicknamed " The Churles" in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and early part of the nineteenth centuries. These Churles were repeatedly carved from the cliff, and washed away, [ 6 ]

Decay of the Harbours

chiefly by the force of the eastern reflux and storm-tides, assisted by subaerial denudation. Many headlands on the south-eastern coast of England must have suffered this cutting away of their unprotected sides. The result would be that the accumulation of sea-beach on the western side of Beachy Head would commence to pour round the promontory, until no appreciable quantity of beach could be detained there. The author is disposed to think, though with all due reserve, that the beginning of the failure of Beachy Head, and other intervening headlands to retain the huge masses of accumulated beach on the western side is coaeval with the commencement of the decay of the Cinque Port of Hastings and its fellows.

Johannes Norden's map of 1610 shows a large increase of beach collected at Langley Point, and this accumulation no doubt afterwards led to the utter decay of the port of Pevensey. In this map also we see a long stretch of shingle along the shore, damming back the stream which flows from the west of Bexhill, and creating a pear-shaped lake or lagoon known as the " Pell." On reference to the maps of Speed and his copyists, of 1610, we find that the " Pell " has become an open lagoon or inlet, by the removal of the mass of beach in front of it, and that the Island has now for the first time appeared to the east of it. The author's theory therefore is, that the nucleus of this island may have been derived from the displacement of beach by some enormous tidal scour, which may well have taken place between the drafting of the two maps. Perhaps so soon as a substantial nucleus had been formed off the coast of Bulverhithe, at St. Leonards, the passage of the beach from west to east was obstructed, and the shingle gradually accumulated against the obstruction to the westward, in the form of a long bank. It is possible that this shingle-island may have endured till the next century, when it may have finally disappeared by the action of the forces above described.

Prof. Airey has written an extremely interesting paper on Julius Caesar's invasion, in which he endeavours to prove that the landing took place at Pevensey Bay. But as the whole argument is founded on the action of the tidal currents of the present day, regardless of the alterations which we know to have been brought about by the denudation of the coast on both sides of the English Channel, by which the Channel has been greatly widened, the writer considers that such deductions are of too speculative a character to receive serious attention.

PREHISTORIC REMAINS

Before noticing later antiquities found at Hastings and in the immediate vicinity, it is proper to mention certain prehistoric remains which have been discovered.

The Wealden rocks, upon which Hastings stands, are, in common with the greater part of the Wealden area, rarely overlain by the more recent deposits in which the remains of the older flint-age may be expected to occur. However, a very considerable number of worked flints, belonging to the later or Neolithic stone-age, have been discovered at and near Hastings, either upon the surface or a few inches below it. These specimens have occurred mostly, if not exclusively, upon the higher levels of the district. [   ]

OLD MAPS OF THE RAPE OF HASTINGS

Fig. 1

 

From the Atlas of Christopher Saxton 1589

Fig. 2

 

From the Atlas of John Speede 1689

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[ 7 ]

Prehistoric Remains

Dr. Smart has remarked upon their discovery in the neighbourhood of Hastings, more especially at Ore. Mr. Thomas Ross and the present author have found them in a field immediately south of " Old Roar " and at the Borough Cemetery, Hastings, and the former also describes a flint arrowhead from the " East Hill " at Hastings. From observations which the author has made, these objects appear to be less uncommon in the upland areas of the Weald than has been generally supposed. What, however, more nearly affects our subject is the fact of their occurrence in considerable quantities on the southern and weathered slope of the outer earthwork at Hastings Castle, commonly known as " The Lady's Parlour." They were first remarked by Mr. Garraway Rice, F.S.A., who devoted much attention to their collection, and it was through him that the author first heard of their occurrence. Since then, repeated discoveries have been made by various explorers. Numerous examples have been collected recently, and the subject has been worked out in considerable detail by Mr. W. J. Lewis Abbott F.G.S., who has published a notice on these prehistoric remains in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute, vol. xxv.

The bulk of the specimens have been found in the surface-soil which rests upon the sand-rock of the hill, and in the earthy matter that fills the rock-fissures which abound in the Hastings Sands.

The earth in the fissures contains, besides worked flints, numerous bones, shells, fragments of rude pottery, and ashes, forming a midden-like deposit. The author has examined a large number of specimens discovered by different explorers. The flints seem to have been worked on the spot, and since flint does not occur in situ within 18 miles of Hastings (Eastbourne and Polegate), the matrix was probably selected by the ancient workmen from the seashore. Most of the specimens are small, and, probably owing to the condition of the flint, they do not show such elaborate working as may be seen in specimens from the Chalk districts, where flints can be obtained fresh from their beds.Finished implements are extremely rare. Both flakes and implements are commonly not much bleached or patinated. The pottery is of a crude and coarse thumb-made variety. Some of it is black, and is mixed with pounded flint (the so-called " Celtic " pottery). Other pieces are brown or red, very coarse ; they show rarely any trace of ornamentation, and are associated with a large quantity of ash and other charred substances. The brown or red pottery is sometimes found blackened, as if it had been used over a fire.

No bronze or other metal objects have been discovered among the specimens in these rock-fissures. The above-mentioned deposits must be distinguished from other midden-like heaps of the mediaeval period which occur at the foot of the hill to the south, and contain bones and glazed pottery.

Without entering into various controversial matters which might arise from details in Mr. Abbott's paper, it may be said that special interest attaches to the determination of the bones found in association with these early specimens of human handicraft. Mr. E. T. Newton, F.R.S., has identified traces of the following organisms among the specimens discovered by Mr. Abbott :-- Vertebrates : (fishes and reptiles), the gurnet, mackerel, turbot, plaice, whiting, cod,-- the toad or frog ; (birds), black grouse, red grouse, duck (of some kind) ; (mammals), rabbit [ 8 ]

Golden Treasure Trove

horse, deer, sheep or goat, ox, pig, badger, dog, wolf, fox, man. Molluscs (Linn.) : Ostrea edulis, Mytilus edulis, Cardium echinatum, Mactra sp. Pholas crispata, Buccinum undatum, Purpura lapillus, Littorina littorea, Patella vulgata (Da C.), and Natica catena. The bones appear to have been, sometimes, cut and notched by human hands and some are worked into tools.

The author knows of few instances of the discovery of implements of the Bronze Age near Hastings. One discovery of bronze axes occurred many years ago in forming the Sedlescombe Road, on the north side of Battle : this find is noticed in Thomas Ross's Handbook to Hastings, p. 57. Another was in a fall of the cliff behind the houses at West Marina, St. Leonards-on-Sea, which took place about the year 1869. Three whole axe-heads and a portion of a fourth were found, together with a piece of bronze, technically called a "runner," left over from the mould in casting. Hence it is probable that these implements formed portion of a " founder's hoard." They are of an ordinary type, with two lateral grooves for hafting ; and are now on exhibition at the Hastings Museum in the author's loan-collection. At what time iron-ore was first worked in Sussex for smelting, is a question which we cannot answer at present for want of evidence ; but it is almost certain that the passage in Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War (De Bella Gallico, B. V. chap, xii.), which states that " iron is found in the maritime districts," related to the iron found near the Sussex shores. If so, this would go to prove that the art of smelting iron was practised in Sussex before the first Roman invasion, although earlier remains have not yet been positively identified in the cinderheaps which abound in the vicinity of Hastings. Of the former presence of a Celtic population, considerable evidence exists both in local nomenclature and in the discovery of Celtic remains. The magnificent gold hoard discovered in 1863 at Mountfield,which unfortunately was disposed of surreptitiously and melted [ 9 ]

Early Iron Workings -- The Celts

down, testified that Hastings was, at all events, near some important centre of the Celtic tribes.

It is quite certain that iron-ore was extensively worked in Sussex during the time of the Roman occupation of Britain. Roman and Romano-British remains are common in the cinder-heaps of Beauport, near Hastings. They have also been discovered at Maresfield, in Sussex, and other localities in the Weald. So far as the author is able to ascertain, there is not sufficient evidence to show that any considerable settlement existed at Hastings itself, during Roman times. The reported discoveries of remains dating from this period are so extremely rare and doubtful, taking into account the large amount of excavation which has been carried out at Hastings for building purposes during recent years, that it is imposible to conceive that anything like a fair-sized settlement could have existed, without leaving some more definite mark of its presence. It is of course possible to suppose, as some have done, that formerly a Roman oppidum flourished south of the present shore, on land now submerged ; but even had this been the case, one would have surely found more evidences of its existence on the immediately adjoining land. On the other hand, it is quite within the bounds of possibility, owing to the operations of the " Eastward Drift," that there may have been no port on the site of Hastings during the Roman occupation. The supposed traces of Roman entrenchments upon the " East Hill" must be considered, for the present at all events, very much open to question. There are, indeed, the remains of a huge earthwork running north and south, and raised as if to guard the hill and town from assault on the Ecclesbourne or eastern side ; but the remaining earthworks upon the hill (excepting the small rectangular entrenchment to the east centre) are very obscure and inconsiderable. The rectangular enclosure parenthetically mentioned is known to have been nought else but the graveyard of the mediaeval [ 10 ]

The Roman Occupation

church of St. George, portions of which still exist on the eastern side. There is no record of the discovery of Roman remains upon the hill.

The foundations of a certain building near the south-western edge of the cliff, discovered by Mr. T. Ross, presented no features to which he felt justified in ascribing a Roman origin. Future excavations may lead to further evidence ; in the meantime, there is nothing sufficiently characteristic about the large bank, (though it has a somewhat pre- Roman appearance), or the other smaller banks, to enable us to determine their age.

Traces of Roman occupation have never been known to occur in or about the Castle or West Hill.

[ 11 ]

EARLY HISTORY

ALTHOUGH the recorded history of Hastings commences at a comparatively late date, perhaps something may be gleaned inferentially from examination of the history of the neighbouring settlements. As will be afterwards mentioned, there is reason for supposing that Hastings and its immediate district formed a settlement distinct from that of Jutish Kent on the one hand, and from the land of the South Saxons on the other. We find that the coast round Hastings in the early part of the fourth century must have formed portion of the shore which was under the jurisdiction of that Roman official whose duty it was to repel the frequent piratical and predatory attacks of the bold sea-rovers, known to the Celts by the name of Saxons. This official was called "the Count of the Saxon Shore." As the Roman power in Britain began to wane, the incursions of these marauders waxed ever bolder, until at last it would seem that the whole of Britain might have become subject to them, if it had not been for the severe check which they sustained at the hand of the Roman Governor Theodosius, in the year 367. It was upon the fall of Rome, in the year 410, that the grandson of this Theodosius was compelled to recall the Roman legions from Britain. Thirty-nine years later it is said that the Britons invited the Jutes to assist them in fighting against their northern enemies, with the result that the Jutes eventually secured to themselves a settlement in Kent, the first of the Teutonic colonies in Britain. It was not until this settlement had been firmly established, that in the year 477 the Saxon Ǽlla and his three sons began those operations which led to the founding of the kingdom of the South Saxons. Their landing and first settlement was effected in the western part of Sussex, at a place which they named Cymenes Ora (perhaps Shoreham). There they slew many Britons who opposed them, and drove the rest in flight to the wood called " Andreds-leah." The Saxons having thus secured their first lodgment in Britain, for the nine following years conquered inch by inch the surrounding land. Each lofty hill-top that rises between Cissan Ceaster and Andredes Ceaster yet tells its tale of stubborn resistance. Every Roman villa now unearthed along the sunny shores is eloquent of the waste and woe, the red ruin wrought by the Saxon conquerors. In the year 485 we read of something like an organized and determined attempt on the part of the Britons to check the Saxon advance. The Saxon accounts said that " British kings and chieftains had come together by the bank of the Mercredesburn, and [ 12 ]

The Saxon Conquest

fought against Ǽlla and his two sons." The place where this pitched battle was fought is yet unidentified, but it lies probably somewhere between Cissan Ceaster and Andredes Ceaster, possibly within sight of the Chalk hill upon whose steep the huge figure of the Traveller is graven ("The Wilmington Giant")

The result of this battle was doubtful, says the ; but by the Britons this check may have been justly hailed as a defeat inflicted on the advancing enemy. Greatly weakened, the Saxons fell back on their settlement to the west. It was not until the year 491, when Ǽlla was largely reinforced, that he opened his final campaign against the Britons. " Then Ǽlla and Cissa beset Andredes Ceaster and slew all that therein dwelled, and henceforth was there not one Bret left" This is the terse but terrible record of the Saxon Chronicler. Fuller details are to be found in the Chronicles of Henry of Huntingdon,which perchance he compiled from some old Saxon war-songs. Andredes Ceaster was stubbornly defended, both from within and without its fortifications. The besiegers were greatly harassed by the Britons who sallied to the rescue of the besieged from the fastnesses of the neighbouring Andredeswald. At the fall of the town, these Britons probably retreated in a northerly and north-easterly direction, perhaps not far distant from the spot where the golden treasure was found. We hear nothing of further operations by the Saxons near the site of Hastings. With the fall of Andredes Ceaster, what had been a mere settlement developed into the kingdom of the South Saxons. If, as seems probable, the land bordering the shore between the Jutish settlement of Kent and Andredes Ceaster was already a small Teutonic state, perhaps its Earldormen may have acknowledged to some extent the suzerainty of the South Saxon King. This little state, shut off on the west from the South Saxon kingdom by the lagoons or marshes of Pevensey, on the east from the kingdom of Kent by the marshes of Romney, and on the north by the great Andredeswald, would seem to have come into being as an independent settlement of a tribe known as the " Hestingi." Presumably [ 13 ]

Early English Settlement

the first and earliest reliable reference which we have to these folk is contained in the Chronicle of Simeon of Durham, who died about the year 1139, and who compiled his record from earlier Saxon documents. Speaking of the Conquest of Wessex by Offa in the year 771, he says: "In these days Offa, King of the Mercians, subdued by force of arms the Race of Hastings." Assuming that this passage refers to a tribe which settled in the district where the present town of Hastings is situated (though we must bear in mind that this is a transcript by an author of the twelfth century), it appears to tell against the traditional foundation of the town and ceaster at Hastings by the Dane of that name, of whom it is recorded that he overran the neighbouring country about the year 893. In connexion with this conquest by Offa, we may mention the Charter and confirmation granted to the Abbey of St. Denis in the year 795, in which Hastings is described as a seaport. So much doubt, however, has been cast upon the authenticity of these documents, that they must be viewed with the greatest suspicion.However, as they appear to date, at all events, from the twelfth century, they are extremely curious, and perhaps relate to real transactions, even though they may be forgeries. The following is an abstract of these documents, with their references :--

1. (Original now lost.) A.D. 795. A grant from Dux Berthualdus to St. Denis, of land at Ridrefelda in the country which is called Sussex, and of the ports of Hastingas, and Paevenesel, printed in Doublet, p. 718. Monasticon, vi. 1077 (Birch, Cart. Sax., i. 350).

Grant by Duke Berthuald to the Abbey of St. Denis in France, of land at Rotherfield, Hastings, and Pevensey, co. Sussex, A.D. (795, for) 788.

This grant purports to have been made in pursuance of a vow when Duke Berthuald was ill. The property granted to the Abbey is described as " my country-house which is called Ridrefelda (Rotherfield), situate on the river Saforda, Sussex, also the ports of my possessions which are in the same neighbourhood on the sea, Hastings and Pevensey, with their salt works." Signed by Berthuald and Eadbald, and eight witnesses, one of which, Aeanfric (Eanfric), " the chancellor," asserts that he has " written, re-read it and signed it." There is the entire seal of Duke Berthuald with his effigy in relief. Then follows confirmation of the above grant by Offa, given in the 33rd year of his reign, and King Ethelwulf, in the 19th year of his reign.

2. (Note, original lost.) A.D. 857. Confirmation by King Aedelwulfus (Ǽthelwulf), of the possession of St. Denis, in Ridrefelda, Hastingas, Pevensel, and " Lundenuic," printed in Doublet, p. 785 (Birch, ii. 97). Confirmation by Aedelulf, King of the English, to the Abbey of St. Denys in France, of all its possessions in England. i6th November, A.D. 857.

In the confirmation there is a recital that a monk of St. Denis had bitterly complained of the injuries which the King's men had miserably inflicted on the followers of the Saint in [ 14 ]

Saxon Charters

England, especially at Rotherfield, and in Hastings, and Pevensey, at the salt works, and in " Ludenuvic " (Sandwich ?). Restitution is decreed and gifts are made to the Abbey. Done by the King in the presence of his Nobles at London, and " marked with the sign of the most victorious Cross of Christ."

3. Restitution by King Aedgard (i.e. Eadgar) to Vitalis, the Provost of the Abbey of St. Denis in France, of its possessions appropriated by Togred, the Provost of the King's household. 26th December, A.D. 960.

4. Precept from beyond the Sea. The Precept of King Eadgar.
In this document of injunction it is recited that the Abbot Vitalis complains that one Togred, superintendent of the King's palace, had carried away 300 sheep, 50 oxen, and 100 measures of salt from their salt works and robbed the peasants, as if at the King's bidding. Restitution is decreed, and Togred is spared at the intercession of the monks ; the injunction was to be laid on the tombs of the Saints of the Abbey.
The document purports to have been written by one Edilvinus (amanuensis cartographus) of the King's household, who read it and signed it before those present, and it is certified that Togred carried this precept to the tombs of the Holy Martyrs, Dionysius, Rusticus, and Eleutherius.

5. Confirmation by Offa, King of the Mercians, to the Abbey of St. Denis in France, of land at " Ludenuoic" (Sandwich ?), Ridrefeld, etc., I2th April, A.D. 790.This deed purports to be a confirmation by Offa (called the glorious King of the English) of a gift to the Abbey of St. Denis in France, of land at Ludenuoic (Sandwich ?), and also the gifts of Ridrefeld (Rotherfield, Sussex) on the river Seaford and of the seaports Hastings and Pevensey, which had been given in the above grant. (Signed by Offa and attested by eight witnesses.)

There is a memorandum that the deed was deposited on the tomb of St. Denis by the King's Command.

The earliest direct and unquestionably genuine reference to Hastings is that in the law of Athelstane, where a moneyer is appointed to the Mint at Hastings (see account of Hastings Mint,post). The next reference appears in the Saxon Chronicle under the year 101 1, in connexion with the Danes.

Thorpe, p. 117. "An. M.XI. In this year the king (Ethelred II. the Unready) and his Witan sent to the Danish army and desired peace, and promised them tribute and food, on condition that they would cease from their plundering. They had then overrun, 1st, East Anglia, and 2nd, Essex, and 3rd, Middlesex, and 4th, Oxfordshire, and 5th, Cambridgeshire, and 6th, Hertfordshire, and 7th, Buckinghamshire, and 8th, much in Northamptonshire, and south of the Thames, all Kent and Sussex, and Hastings (Hasting and Hastingas), and Surrey, and Berkshire, and Hampshire, and much in Wiltshire. All these calamities befel us through evil counsels, that tribute was not offered them in time, or they were not fought against ; but when they had done most evil, then a truce of peace was made for them ; and nevertheless for all this peace and tribute, they went everywhere in flocks, and harried our wretched people, and robbed and slew them."

In connexion with this passage, it should be observed that the name Hastings here mentioned occurs rather as the name of a district or county than as that of a town. The caput, or chief place in this district, would probably have been " Hastinga-Ceaster." [ 15 ]

Origin of the Name of Hastings

From the authorities just quoted, it will appear that although there is great probability that Hastings existed as a distinct settlement, yet the date at which it was formed is unknown. It is quite possible that the Hastengi, who may have founded a colony here in the early days of the first Teutonic settlers, were an offshoot of the same family or tribe as that to which the Danish pirate Haesten belonged, living on the same seaboard district north of the Elbe. The remnant of this family may have continued to flourish in its old home, and some of its members may have played the same part in England, and in the English seas of the eighth century, as its earlier offshoot did in Britain and in the British seas of the fifth century. The settlement of the Hastengi was probably founded after some expedition, conducted either by a single chieftain or by a body of men representing adivision of a larger victorious host, to whom the district was allotted. We know that when these invaders settled in England, they had already their fixed laws and institutions ; that they had distinct classes in their communities, and that, in short, each settlement was rather a migration of an organized and classified body of people, than the irruption of a mixed tribe, having all things in common, and among whom no political system was as yet developed. They brought with them their families, and even their herds. No doubt the earliest task of these communities was to construct some convenient and central stronghold, for the defence and accommodation of its members and their property during the early days of the settlement. This defence, or, as the Saxons called it, " Ceaster," may have subsequently become the place of residence of the chief and his household, and the caput of his estate, the refuge for his tenants and their flocks in time of war.

The system of the allotment of land among the various families of the colony is imperfectly known. It seems that each family or house had a portion allotted to it, which was called a " hide." The quantity of land which composed a " hide " is altogether doubtful. It appears to have differed locally, and may perhaps have varied by fixed rules, according to the quality of the soil and the size of the family to whom it was apportioned, and whom it was intended to support. In the enumeration of the "hides" in several shires, given in the Liber Custumariam Saxonicum, the number of hides in " Suth Sexena " is stated to be 100,000 ; that in " Hastinge-cestre," 500. The "hundred" consisted of one hundred hides, and varied in size, not perhaps merely owing to the variation of the " hides," but also owing to the adoption of natural boundaries. The name appears to be derived from early Teutonic institutions. The Teuton hosts were divided into companies, or hundreds, of warriors, connected by social ties or kinship. A victorious army, in dividing a conquered region, would grant to each such hundred a tract of land, which would be subsequently divided by the hundred warriors into " hides." The " hundred " of the host, like the Roman legions and our own regiments, subsequently became a variable numerical division.

The Anglo-Saxon territorial division of the " hundred " first occurs at a comparatively late period, and although the hundred still continued to consist of one hundred hides for administrative purposes, the original signification was ultimately lost. The subdivision of the se1a5board areas into numerous unequal smaller " hundreds," compared with the larger hundreds of the inland areas, seems to bear a special military significance. The "rape," which is a division intermediate between the hundred and the shire, appears to be of much later origin. This division is peculiar to Sussex. There are five in all, and they consist of a [ 16 ]

The Saxon Castle

collection of hundreds, varying in number. The divisions are determined, as far as possible, by natural boundaries, as in the case of the hundreds, and each rape has its castle, a port, and a river. The name is not met with in England earlier than Norman times, and it seems to have been derived from the Norman measuring rope. It appears to have been a division created for military purposes, namely, for the raising of troops and for the defence of the Castle and its bailiwick.

The first mention of this Castle or Ceaster, in any record, occurs in the Saxon Chronicle under the year 1050 (in the Cott. Liber., B. IV. Version, Brit. Mus. The other versions say the " The men of Hastings"). Anno 1050. After reciting the murder of Beorn by Sweyn, and his exhumation at Dartmouth and burial at Winchester, the chronicler says :-

"A little before that, the men of Hastinga-Ceastre' and thereabouts won two of his ships with their ships, and slew all the men, and brought the ships to Sandwich to the King. He (Sweyn) had eight ships before he inveigled Beorn ; after that, all forsook him but two."

In this account we find the first mention of the mariners of Hastings as a distinct body in the King's service. In one other paragraph of the Saxon Chronicle we have a reference to them as a body of men in some manner distinct from the men of the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, namely, under A.D. 1052.

Speaking of Godwin's quarrel with King Eadward, the Saxon Chronicle says (anno 1052) :--

"When the King's fleet lay at Sandwich, Godwin's men got to land, so that they did not know it. And in the time that he was here in the land, he enticed all the Kentish men, and all the ' butse carls ' from Hastings (Hastingum), and everywhere there by the sea -coast, and all the east end, and Sussex, and Surrey, and much else in addition thereto : they all said that with him they would die and live." (The Sandwich fleet then comes out after Godwin, and he retreats. When they have gone to London, he goes to Wight, etc.)

All the known recorded evidences relating to Hastings before the year of the Norman Conquest have now been quoted, and it will be remarked how few there are, and how large are the gaps which remain to be filled up. It may now be fully realized how little there is to support those unwarranted and high-flown speculations and theories which have occasionally figured in many so-called guide-books and histories of Hastings. [   ]

Plate II. Vol. 1. To face p.16.

 

THE LANDING OF WILLIAM, DUKE OF NORMANDY
From the MS. Estoire de Seint. Edward le Rei: Cambridge University Library (see page after 568, vol. II, post).

[   ]

[ 17 ]

A CHRONICLE AND CHARTULARY OF THE CASTLE AND CHAPEL OF HASTINGS FROM THE CONQUEST OF WILLIAM I. OF ENGLAND TO THE DISSOLUTION OF THE MONASTERIES

CHAPTER I

WILLIAM I

AFTER the battle of Hastings, as William of Poitiers informs us, the Duke "gave the defence of Hastings to an active commander before departing for Romney." This commander, as we learn from Orderic Vitalis (512, B.), was Humphrey of Tilleul (Umfridus de Telliolo), " who had undertaken the custody of the Castle of Hastings from the first day of its building." Probably he continued to strengthen the works of defence at the Castle, and perhaps some of the older Norman building-work which we now see there was erected under his supervision. In March, 1067, William I. returned to Normandy, and, according to Florence of Worcester, he then specially charged Bishop Odo, Earl of Kent, and Osbern, the Dapifer, Earl of Hereford, with the building of fortresses. Humphrey of Tilleul was married to the sister of Hugh Grantmesnil, then Governor of Winchester and of the Hampshire district, whose wife was Adelaide (Adeliza), the beautiful daughter of Ivo of Beaumont. It is narrated by Orderic Vitalis (512) that these two Governors, as well as other Constables, deserted their posts, and returned to Normandy, under the following extraordinary circumstances :-

"At this time some of the Norman women were so inflamed by passion that they sent frequent messages to their husbands, requiring their speedy return, adding that if they were not immediate, they should choose others. They would not as yet venture to join their lords on account of the sea-voyage, which was entirely new to them. Nor did they like to pass into England, where their husbands were always in arms, and fresh expeditions were daily undertaken, attended with much effusion of blood on both sides. But the king naturally wished to retain the soldiers while the country was in so disturbed a state, and made them great offers of land with ample and great powers, promising still more when the whole kingdom should be freed from their opponents. The lawfully elected barons and leading knights were in great perplexity, for they were sensible that if they took their departure while their sovereign with their brothers, friends, and comrades were surrounded by the perils of war, they would be publicly branded as base traitors and cowardly deserters. On the other hand, what were these honourable soldiers to do when their licentious wives threatened to stain the marriage-bed with adultery, and stamp the mark of infamy on their offspring ? In consequence, Hugh de Grantmesnil, who was Governor of the Gewissae - that is, of the district round Winchester - and his brother-in-law, Humphrey de Tilleul, who had received the custody of Hastings from the first day it was built, and many others, [ 18 ]

The Domesday Book

departed, deserting with regret and reluctance their king struggling among foreigners. They returned obsequiously to their lascivious wives in Normandy, but neither they nor their heirs were ever able to recover the honours and domains which they had already gained and relinquished on this occasion" (Orderic Vitalis, B. IV. ch. iv.).

The latter remark as to forfeiture does not appear to be correct. Hugh of Grantmesnil certainly did not forfeit his governorship, and Humphrey de Tilleul seems to have retained his sovereign's favour. The story is not consistent with the history of these men subsequently given by Orderic Vitalis. Robert de Rhuddlan, son of Humphrey, was in high favour with the king long afterwards. The Castle of Hastings was probably strongly garrisoned in 1085, when the Danes under Cnut were expected to invade England. William, who was in Normandy, raised and brought over to England with him " a large army of horsemen and foot from France and Britanny, as never before had sought this land, so that men wondered how this land could feed all that army. But the king caused the army to be distributed through all this land among his vassals ; and they fed the army, each according to the measure of his land. And men had great affliction this year ; and the king caused the land about the sea to be laid waste, so that if his foes should land, they might not have whereon so readily to seize " (Peterborough Chronicle).

To what extent the above order for waste affected, if at all, the Hastings district cannot now be ascertained. If it had been very systematic it would surely have left some decided mark which would have been noticed in the Domesday valuation of the next year.

In Domesday the lands described as having been waste, presumably the result of the Hastings campaign of 1066, were the Manors of Drisnesel (near Salehurst), Higham (Northiam), Montifield, Nerewelle (Netherfield), Salherst, Selescombe, Brunham, Bexelie, Wittingham (Wilting), Holintun, Haslesse, Crowherst, I vet (Pett ? ), and Gestlinge, Most of these had recovered and even increased in value at the time of the Domesday valuation of 1086.

Probably beneath the shadow of Hastings Castle, in the valley to the East, there had sprung up one of those Norman boroughs so frequently founded and fostered by the new Lords, consisting of a colony of tradesmen and craftsmen as an adjunct to the new garrison colony. Such may have been the " new burg " which, according to Domesday, was founded on the land of the Abbot of Fecamp, and the " Nove Hasting " of the Pipe Rolls.

Immediately following the above quoted passage in the Peterborough Chronicle, and under the same year (1085), we read that at midwinter (25th December) the King was at Gloucester with his " Witan " :-

"After this the king had a great council and very deep speech with his Witan about this land, how it was peopled, and by what men ; then sent his men all over England into every shire, and caused to be ascertained how many hundred hides were in the shire, and what land the king himself had, and cattle within the land, or what dues he ought to have, in twelve months from the shire. Also he caused to be written how much land his archbishops had, and his suffragan bishops, and his abbots, and his earls ; and -- though I more narrate somewhat at length - what [ 19 ]

Count Robert of Eu

or how much each man had, who was a holder of land in England, in land, or in cattle, and how much money it might be worth. So very narrowly he caused it to be traced out, -that there was not a single hide, nor one yard of land, nor even - it is a shame to tell, though it seemed to him no shame to do -- an ox, nor a cow, nor a swine was left, that was not set down in his writ. And all the writings were brought to him afterwards."

Notwithstanding the extraordinary detail of this Domesday record, many instances occur where descriptions of the utmost importance are seemingly omitted, or else have been entered out of their proper order. These omissions and misplacements are probably due to some oversight in the final compilation of the record, after the return of the writs by the Commissioners to Winchester. There is no omission more curious than the absence of all direct mention of Hastings Castle or town. A slight but indirect reference does occur with respect to Hastings in the following account given of the land of the church of Fecamp in the Rape of the Count of Ou (Eu) :-

" In Gestelinges Hundred the Abbot of Fecamp holds Rameslie of the king ; and held it of King Eadward, and it then vouched for 20 hides, now for 17 hides and a half. There is land for 35 ploughs. In demesne is one plough ; and no villeins, less one, have 43 ploughs. There are five churches, returning 64 shillings. There are 100 salterns of £8 155., and 7 acres of meadow and wood for pannage of two hogs. In this manor is a new burg, and there are 64 burgesses returning £8, less 2 shillings. In Hastinges 4 burgesses and 14 bordars return 63 shillings.

"Of this manor Robertus de Hastinges holdes 2 hides and a half, of the Abbot, and Herolf half a hide. They have 4 villeins and 4 cottars and 2 ploughs. The whole manor in the time of King Eadward was worth £34. Now the Abbot's demesne is worth £50, and that of his men 44 shillings" (Domesday Book, VIII. col. 2, line 34).

It is very probable that the town of Hastings was destroyed at the time of the Norman Invasion in September, 1066, and it may have suffered again under the order of 1085 above quoted. The " new burg " of Domesday not improbably refers to the beginning of a new town of Hastings to the eastward, where it now stands, in the valley of the " Bourne," which forms part of the present manor of Brede. This manor seems to represent the old manor of " Rameslie " of Domesday, for it includes the same hundreds as are mentioned in Domesday, and was also land belonging to the church of Fecamp in this and in later years.

Another reference incidentally mentions the Castelry of Hastings in the following words :--

"In Bexelei Hundred.

"Osbern holds of the Count Bexelei (Bexhill). Bishop Alric (of Selsey) held it in the time of King Eadward, because it belongs to his See, and afterwards held it until King William gave the Castlery of Hastings to the Count. In the time of King Eadward and now it vouched for 20 hides. There is land for 26 ploughs " (Domesday Book, V. col. 2, line 22).

Now Bishop Alric was deposed from the See of Selsey in 1070, and therefore the grant of the Castlery to Robert, Count of Eu (which is first mentioned here), must have taken place before that date.

As Count Robert of Eu was the first lord of the Castlery of Hastings, which remained in his family for many years, and as his descendants will be frequently mentioned in this history, it may be as well to g19ive some account of his origin and connexions. [ 20 ]

The Family of Eu

The early history of the family of Eu has been somewhat difficult to unravel. Richard I. (Duke of Normandy, died 996), surnamed the Fearless, married Gunnor, daughter of Herfast (died 1031). Their son, Richard II., surnamed the Good (died 6th August, 1026), succeeded to the Dukedom of Normandy on his father's death. He had a uterine brother ('uterinus frater) named William, the father of whom we do not know. To this William was granted the County and Castle of Eu. At the time of its grant to William it was an ancient building, having been a stronghold of Rolf. The original fortress now no longer exists, but it formerly stood on the border-line between Normandy and Ponthieu. It was a citadel of great importance, and a favourite resort of the Norman dukes. Count William of Eu married Lesceline, daughter of Turketill d'Harcourt, who, as a widow, subsequently founded the Abbey of St. Pierre-sur-Dive, in 1057 (Gallia Christiana, vol. xi. p. 856). She was also a benefactress of the Church of secular canons, Notre Dame, at Eu (transferred to regulars, 1177 ;Gallia Christiana, vol. xi. p. 293), founded by her husband at Eu about 1024. She became joint founder with her sone Hugh of the Nunnery of St. Désiré, near Lisieux, where she afterwards lived as a nun; and dying there on February 1st, 1057, was buried in the choir of the nuns, in front of the high altar. Her son Hugh, the Bishop of Lisieux, was buried in 1077 in the same place, in the presence of his brother, Robert, Count of Eu (see Orderic Vitalis, B. V. c. viii., where Hugh's epitaph is given). It was at this church that William, Duke of Normandy, received his bride Matilda from her father, Count Baldwin of Flanders. Count William had three sons by her. The respective ages of these sons, and the order of their birth, are open to question ; but their names were Hugh, William Busac, and Robert. Hugh became Bishop of Lisieux (1050 till 1077). William Busac is stated by William of Jumieges (vii. 20) to have claimed the Duchy of Normandy, and at that time to have been in possession of the Castle of Eu. The Castle was besieged and taken from him by William, Duke of Normandy, and he was banished from the Duchy (1058). Robert of Eu, his brother, was then put in possession of the Castle and County of Eu. Robert was one of the chief companions and counsellors of William, and throughout his career proved himself a loyal and gallant soldier in the service of his lord and kinsman. He fought by William's side at the Battle of Mortemer, in Normandy, in 1054. He was one of the nobles who were summoned to the Council of Lillebonne, when William asked his great vassals for assistance to invade England ; and he contributed sixty ships towards the flotilla which bore the Duke's soldiery to the shores of Sussex. He fought also at the Battle of Hastings, and, as Wace says of him and his companions, they " demeaned themselves like brave men, and those whom their blows reached were ill-handled."

Nor was this the sum of his services to the Conqueror. He appears to have followed William through the various campaigns which led to the conquest of England. He was with the King when the Normans dispersed the Danes near Lindsey (1069), and he was there left in company with the Conqueror's half brother, the Count of Mortain, to check any further incursions of the Danes. At Christmas, 1069, they surprised the Danes in the Fens, driving them to their [ 21 ]ships with great slaughter (Orderic Vitalis, B. IV. c. 5). In later days, when matters were more settled, William gave him the Rape of Hastings, adjoining the lands of his old comrade and kinsman, the Count of Mortain, lord of the Rape of Pevensey. Robert of Eu probably had a residence within the newly-built Castle of Hastings ; but we find that when William was five years away in Normandy - namely from June, 1075, to 1080 - the Count was frequently at his Court.

Foundation of Collegiate Church

At Hastings Castle he established and endowed a church and college of secular canons in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which has since been known as the Church of St. Mary-in-the-Castle of Hastings. In a deed dated 25 Henry IV., it is recorded that the Bishop of Chichester (Selsey) held the jurisdiction of " a certain church of the Blessed Mary, within the Castle of Hastings, in the county of Sussex, since erected and established into a collegiate church by a certain Earl of Eu," from which it would appear that a parish church of that name existed in the Castle prior to its rebuilding or re-establishment by Count Robert. It would not, however, be well to be over-confident in this matter, since the deed is of a comparatively late date ; also, we are not aware of the authority for the assertion, and the statement itself may have been drafted without express authority of record in the interest of the See of Chichester, whose bishops were ever anxious to persuade a succession of sovereigns that from time immemorial they had held and exercised jurisdiction over the church. The original foundation-charter granted to the canons by Count Robert, seems to have been lost as early as the reign of Henry I., since we find that his grandson, Count Henry of Eu, was obliged to hold an inquisition and take depositions "of prudent and old men " before he could discover what grants Count Robert had made to the Church and its canons. The result of this inquisition, as recited in the deed, is given below :-

THE FOUNDATION CHARTER OF THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF ST. MARY IN THE CASTLE OF HASTINGS.
COUNT HENRY'S CHARTER.

In the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, H(enry) by the consent of divire mercy, Count of Eu, to all his chief men (primates) and subjects, and all his people (men) both in France and England, Greeting and benediction from the Lord God. To deserve and obtain his salvation (salutari suo), seeing that it behoves us not only to be successors in those things that belong to us by hereditary right, but rather to be heirs also of our pious forefathers, I therefore wish those holy places and churches which my fathers founded, to be reverenced and exalted : and although I am unable to augment the benefits belonging to those places as I should wish, I take such care as I can, at least to preserve entire the things demised to them by my fathers.

Forasmuch as for many years now the rents of the church of St. Mary of Hastyngs, both in my time and previously, without my knowledge, - many being led astray by their great cupidity, - have been demolished and privily taken, I have thought it good and desirable in the presence and view of all the Canons of that place, and of my barons called together, to order a record to be made of what my father, or rather my grandfather, R(obert) Count of Eu, gave and granted in [ 22 ]alms to the prebends and to what brothers they were originally constituted, so that, when this is ascertained,Imay know whether the present (canons) have lost what their predecessors had. The following record therefore of the benefits bestowed upon the church is made before us by the wise and seniors among you, as I had ordered, for the sake of concord : to wit R. Count of Eu,founder and builder of the Church of St. Marie of Hastyngs, gave and demised to Gwymundus, the prebend of the Chapel of Wartlyng, and that tithe of that place to wit, so much as there should be from all the demesne of the aforesaid lord in the manor thereto adjacent, and the land of Hada, to wit two rods together and in (ad) the said manor, a wist of land with the right for one guest to remain on the said land and the tithe of salt of the said manor of the lord's demesne and a certain art in the marsh, to make salt-pans, and the Chapel of Hoo, and the chapel of Nenefelde, and the tithes of Hoo,' wheresoever they lie, to wit whatever part of the manor he may have, the tithe thereof to the aforesaid prebend. He also granted to Hoo two wists of land with marsh and meadow, and the tithe of Franchusta, and the tithe of Donyngate, and the tithe of Cochersia, and the tithe of Codyng', and a dwelling in the castle and another in the baily at the bridge. To the prebend of William Allek the church of Bekele and the tithes and half a hide of land and one rod, and at Long Cistele (Cistele longa) two rods and the chapel of Bolewarehethe, and certain land close to that monastery, and two thousand herrings every year, with certain other customary fishes, and the Church of Stottyng, with land and the tithe, and the tithe of Chiteham, the third part of the tithe of Blakebroke, and one dwelling in the baily, and another beneath. And for the other prebend Roger purchased a garden at Boseham which Ralph de Balliol granted to him and his successors. To the prebend of Hugh de Floc, Walter, son of Lambert, granted tithes of his lands and of his vavassors (favessoribus), and right to a guest at Haylesham. And he constituted this prebend also in this way so that after the death of the Canon, the heir of Walter might constitute another Canon with the consent and election of the Bishop no favour being shown for money. And for this prebend he set. aside for Geoffrey, brother of the aforesaid Hugh, the tithe of Casebury and the church of Gastelyng, and the tithe of Genesyng, the tithe (sic) and also a dwelling in the Castle. For the prebend of Hubert de Marlreyght the tithe of Agyngton, and Count H(enry) increased this prebend by a meadow the other side of the mill under the Castle. To the prebend of Eustace, Rainbert the sheriff (vic) gave Robert's concession the church of Saleherst, and