1066: Stamford Bridge to Hastings

The Confessor's new abbey at Westminster was consecrated on 28 December 1065. Days later, on 5 January 1066, the king died at Westminster, leaving no clear heir. He was buried in the abbey on 6 January, and Harold Godwinson was crowned the same day by Ealdred, Archbishop of York, after the Witenagemot, gathered for the feast of Epiphany, elected him. Edward's church was demolished in 1245 to make way for Henry III's building, which still stands; his shrine lies in a chapel east of the sanctuary.

Visitor guidance: Edward's shrine stands in a chapel east of the sanctuary of the present abbey.

In mid-September Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, brought a fleet to England: one chronicle speaks of 300 ships, carrying Norwegians, men from Orkney and a contingent led by Tostig, the English king's brother. They reached the mouth of the Humber on 18 September, sailed up the Ouse and made camp at Riccall, nine miles south of York. A small information panel at the bottom of Landing Lane stands approximately where the fleet moored.

Location precision: The landing is placed on the Ouse at Riccall, not at a named spot; the pin marks Landing Lane.

Visitor guidance: A small information panel at the bottom of Landing Lane marks the landing, approximately where the fleet moored.

On 20 September Hardrada and Tostig met the Northern Earls, Edwin and Morcar, on the outskirts of Fulford, just south of York. The English had the Ouse on their right and a swampy area, the Fordland, on their left. They struck first and pushed part of the Norwegian line into the marshes, but, outnumbered and outmanoeuvred, the defenders were beaten. Edwin and Morcar survived. York surrendered on the promise that the victors would not force entry, and the Norwegians withdrew to Stamford Bridge, seven miles east, to await hostages.

Location precision: The line of battle is not fixed to one spot; the pin marks the battlefield on the outskirts of Fulford.

Harold covered about 185 miles from London to Yorkshire in four days and caught the Norwegians unaware on 25 September. In Snorri's saga a lone rider offered Tostig his earldom back and Hardrada "six feet of ground"; the rider was Harold himself. The chronicles tell of one axeman who held the narrow bridge and cut down more than 40 Englishmen. Hardrada fell with an arrow in his windpipe, Tostig was slain, and only 24 of over 300 ships were needed to carry the survivors home.

Location precision: The exact ground is debated: in 2020 Viking artefacts turned up about a mile south of the village; the pin marks the battlefield memorial.

Visitor guidance: The battlefield memorial is at the end of Whiterose Drive; the village memorial is on Main Street (A166).

William had been ready to cross from Saint-Valery-sur-Somme by about 12 August, but the crossing was delayed. He landed at Pevensey Bay on 28 September, three days after Stamford Bridge, once Harold's naval force had dispersed. His army spent the night in a temporary fortification inside the old Roman fort, digging a ditch across the causeway to the mainland and repairing the Roman walls. The next day it left for Hastings. The ruins are in English Heritage's care, and Second World War machine-gun posts are still built into the walls.

Location precision: The landing beach is not pinned; the pin marks the Roman fort where the army sheltered for the night.

Visitor guidance: Pevensey Castle is in the care of English Heritage and is open to visitors.

After landing, William's forces built a wooden castle at Hastings and raided the surrounding area. It was one of three fortifications he ordered, with Pevensey and Dover. The first Hastings Castle was a wooden motte-and-bailey near the sea; in 1070 William ordered it rebuilt in stone. Storms in 1287 sent large parts of the cliff, and the castle, into the sea. The ruins on West Hill give clear views west along the coast towards Pevensey Bay.

Visitor guidance: The castle on West Hill is open to the public between March and October.

Harold camped at Caldbec Hill on the night of 13 October and took a defensive position on Senlac Hill, today's town of Battle. Fighting began at 9 am on Saturday 14 October and lasted until dusk. The English formed a shield wall; the Normans pretended to flee to draw their pursuers out, and a rumour that William was dead ended when he rode through his lines showing his face. How Harold died is unclear: the Chronicle of Battle Abbey says no one knew who killed him.

Location precision: Sources differ on where the English line stood, the abbey site or Caldbec Hill; the pin marks Battle Abbey.

Visitor guidance: English Heritage runs a visitor centre with a film and audio tours; only the outline of the abbey church remains, its high altar marking the supposed spot where Harold fell.

Harold's death did not end the war: the Witenagemot proclaimed Edgar Ætheling king instead, backed by Edwin, Morcar and both archbishops. William defeated an English force at Southwark but could not storm London Bridge, so he crossed the Thames at Wallingford, where Stigand submitted. The English leaders then surrendered to him at Berkhamsted, on a key route into the Midlands, where he probably ordered the castle built.

Location precision: The chroniclers do not fix the spot of the surrender; the pin marks Berkhamsted Castle, which William probably had built there.

Visitor guidance: The castle site is open daily and free to enter.

William was acclaimed King of England and crowned on 25 December 1066 in Westminster Abbey, by Ealdred, the archbishop who had crowned Harold. The abbey was Edward the Confessor's royal burial church, begun between 1042 and 1052 and consecrated barely a year earlier. Resistance continued for several years. Edward's church was demolished in 1245 and Henry III's abbey replaced it; since 1066 the abbey has hosted the coronations of 40 English and British monarchs.

Visitor guidance: The present abbey, begun by Henry III in 1245, stands on the site of Edward's church.