Page:VCH Sussex 1.djvu/564

 A HISTORY OF SUSSEX Anderida, the Duke mustered his troops and found that only two ships had gone astray — possibly the detachment cut up by the men of Romney. Leaving a small force to guard the ships the cavalry pressed on towards Hastings to secure forage and provisions for the army. As soon as the soldiers had occupied that town William caused them to construct a fortification with fosse and mound and wooden palisade, probably upon the commanding hill which is now crowned by the ruins of the later masonry castle/ Meanwhile the invading host plundered and ravaged the country round with fire and sword in the usual manner of troops in an enemy's territory/ driving the terror-struck inhabitants to seek refuge in the churches and cemeteries. While the Norman army was landing at Pevensey a local thegn who had watched their movements took horse and rode to Harold's camp, and from Hastings another messenger sped north with the evil news.^ The tidings reached Harold as he was feasting with his soldiers after the glorious victory of Stamford Bridge. He at once marched down to London, and remained there a week collecting reinforcements, drawing up plans for the coming campaign, and exchanging messages with the Norman Duke, to all of whose demands and wily suggestions of compromise he returned an indignant refusal.* Some of his counsellors advised the isolation of the invaders by ravaging the district round Hastings, and so cutting off supplies and compelling them to retire without fighting, but Harold determined to fight and to command the English troops in person.^ Accordingly on the twelfth he left London and marched south towards Hastings through Kent and Sussex, and on the next day, Friday, occupied the position which he decided to defend — for it was his object to act on the defensive. The spot selected was well chosen ; some seven miles north-west of Hastings, the present road to London crosses, and is commanded by, a ridge of high land running east and west, of no great altitude but somewhat steep ; from the centre of this ridge on the London side a sort of isthmus runs back to the higher land, while on the side toward Hastings the ground is broken and undulat- ing with marshy land in the hollows." On this ridge stands now the town and ruined abbey of Battle, and on it, then wild and desolate, marked only by an ancient apple-tree," Harold drew up his men. His flanks were well protected by marsh and woodland, and he hastily strengthened his front by digging a fosse,' possibly covered with branches or in some way concealed, with three entries or passages for his skirmishers. Having done all that could be > Freeman, Norman Conquest, iii. 407-11. 2 There seems little proof of any exceptional harrying of the country as implied by Professor Free- man (ibid. 412). 3 Ibid. 418. « Ibid. 430-2. ^ Ibid. 434-6. « Ibid. 441-4. ' The site of the battle was that part of Battle afterwards known as Sandlake, or Sentlache, which Orderic adopted— Normanizing it as Senlac— for the name of the battle. Prof. Freeman pedantically rejected the name of Hastings, which had been applied to the battle for eight hundred years, in favour of Senlac — a name which, even if contemporary, was used by only one writer, and misspelled by him. 8 According to Wace. For the destruction of Mr. Freeman's famous ' Palisade ' by Mr. Round, see Feudal England, pp. 340-58. 486