Battle
Despite being the location of “arguably the most decisive battle ever fought on English soil”, the small town of Battle is rarely suggested in Top 10 day trips out of London. Maybe “small” explains why.
London spans 600 sq miles and has almost 2,000 years of history behind it, whereas Battle has the ruins of an Abbey and a high street less than half a mile long. It’s lovely, but admittedly there’s not enough there to fill a full day.
However, at under 90 min from Central London and 7 miles from the Hastings seafront it’s a worthwhile side trip to add to your UK bucket list. And it certainly helps if you know a local, like I do.
The Abbey
William the Conqueror founded the Abbey as a monument to those who died at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. For it’s first five hundred years it housed a few hundred monks. Then Henry VIII re-zoned it as housing. After that, various Dukes and Lords maintained the property as a county estate until the mid-1970’s when it was taken over by English Heritage, who promptly installed a gift shop.
Today it’s mostly ruins, but what I love about English Heritage is that except for the few bits deemed unsafe you can access pretty much all of it. Including the dank undercroft, a defensive precinct wall you can walk and various nooks and crannies within the gatehouse towers.
As for the battlefield itself? Well… it’s a field.
For a somewhat less snarky recap, read what English Heritage has to say or visit the Wikipedia page.
Around Town
Across from the Abbey is St Mary's Parish Church — founded circa 1115 AD and now Grade I listed. It’s still in use today but like most medieval churches in England, it’s been repeatedly expanded and heavily restored over the years.
It’s worth a visit for various architectural details (I was particularly impressed by the wooden roof timbers!) and a more recent artefact, The Battle Tapestry — which was a community project that took 741 registered stitchers 10 months to create a 3 metre long depiction of the town’s history.
If you’re fascinated by comprehensively detailed articles about the history of medieval churches, then the ironically titled A Short History of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Battle will be just your cup of tea.
At the other end of the high street — a mere 7 min walk away — is the local history museum which claims to have the world’s oldest Guy Fawkes – or at least a representation of his head. Alas, the museum and it’s award-winning Almonry Gardens were closed for renovations when I arrived, though I did get to see the lovely front lawn and a Millennium Bench.
Arts & Craft Ale
The local I mentioned earlier is Sam Peacock (@sampeacockart), an abstract landscape artist who has his studio in Battle. Sam’s works are made up of paint, varnishes, coffee grains and a variety of miscellaneous raw materials, all burnt onto sheets of steel of various shapes and sizes.
I first acquired one of Sam’s works in 2014. Out of all the works in my private collection, the official description of “Ironsea 44” is my favourite. It reads: Arabica coffee, demerara sugar, oils, varnish, liquorish, carbolic soap on a mild steel plate. I acquired another work from Sam in 2020, titled “Elmfield Coast”.
The names are taken from places Sam’s been to, or sometimes just seen on a map. Something about them might catch his eye or ear. They are part of the landscape, and in line with him being a landscape artist he lends them to his work.
It was great spending time with Sam in his studio, seeing so much of his work and talking about art. When the coffee ran out we moved to warmer accommodations just up the road at the Battle Brewery Bottle Shop, where a few pints and a few locals made me feel right at home despite my accent.
Plan your visit:
In addition to all the links I’ve included in this article, visit1066country.com is the official website for tourism and travel information for Battle and the surrounding areas. There’s a lot more to see and do in the wider Sussex surroundings, but be sure to stop by Battle and say hi to Sam when you do.