The Crowhurst Tithe Map of 1841

Undoubtedly Wilting was an excellent choice of landing site, because it guaranteed an unopposed landing. The Carmen reports that "they left the sea behind them at the third hour" - an unfathomable expression, since it was before the actual landing - unless you understand exactly where they had chosen to land.

The tide was with them on that day and so such a force of water was travelling through the narrow confines of what is now the constriction where the holiday camp at the Bulverhythe entrance now stands. Any opposition would have been completely inefective if it had been there. The arriving boats would have sped right past any defensive positions, where they would have arrived in a calm and extensive inshore estuary out of range of any long bow.

That estuary was, as we have discussed at some length elsewhere called the Port of Hastings, the largest Cinque Port on the south coast. Having sailed into that port unopposed the Normans then had a choice of three possible landing sites; Wilting being the prime site, where I strongly believe the original town of Hastings stood pre 1066. I believe that because of the pottery found on the Wilting Manor site, where there is none of that age found anywhere else associated with the Norman Invasion or even Hastings town itself. Should Wilting have been occupied by a defending force, then there were two alternate sites which could have taken the force of the landing. They were either Bynes Farm to the west of the Crowhurst inlet, or in the area to the west of the second arm of the inlet now known as Bexhill.

In many ways it shows William's expertise as a military strategist. The choice of sailing into Hastings port guaranteed that Harold could not mount a defense on three sides at the same time. It guaranteed the Normans a successful landing, even if Harold was waiting at the port with 10,000 men, because the area to defend was too great. It was not possible to defend three separate shores at once. William has never been given the credit for this and now we can see that landing at Hastings was not luck - but must have been a well researched plan.

The Tithe Map shows a number of roads in existence in 1841. The copy of the map shown above has been recreated using photocopies of the original from East Sussex County library. This was done twenty years ago, before computers, but is still valid. I believe you can now buy CDs online should you wish. It was done before the days of computer graphics and you can see old fashioned marker pens have been used. None the less it does the trick and even though rather elementary by modern standards it will suffice.

I have marked the roads in existence at that time red. However these roads where not there in 1066. We know that because the properties that developed in the valley developed along the old coaching route.

The coach road from Battle to Crowhurst and on to Hastings followed the route of the old properties. It did not run along what is locally called the Ridge, now the A2100. The Ridge is 140 meters high and until 1820 was covered in ancient oak forest. Some of which can still be seen to the east of the A2100 at Crowhurst Park. Indeed there is public access by footpaths to the old iron bloomery at Beauport Park - I recommend a visit to Ring Wood and Alder Wood. There you can still see ancient trees in excess of 500 years old, in places resembling the ancient English woodlands that surrounded the Crowhurst Valley, undisturbed by man. (Note: take wellies and a map - you can still believe it or not get lost).

There is a general assumption by the population at large that because you travel by car from the town of Battle to Hastings, along the A2100 (the Ridge road), that this is how the Normans came. That is because it is difficult for people today to understand the logistics of moving iron ore, and a world where the horse or cart was the way normal people travelled, until the last two hundred years. The Romans knew that carts with oxen can only carry heavy goods up and down certain gradients. Consequently roads developed according to the requirements of the transport and people who lived there. Very few people travelled any great distance unless you were nobility and appointed to the court.

In the case of the road to Hastings from London the Ridge was a major obstacle to early development, where Hastings is now located.

This is the picture taken from the Wilting Norman Invasion site near the coast, showing the main field where the Normans camped on the night before the battle. Wace recorded that camp fires were lit and the Normans said prayers preparing for battle. You can see in the distance the line of what locals call "the Ridge".

A closer look at that view into the distance shows that there is line of site between that field and Telham on the Ridge.

In the very center of this photograph is a difficult to distinguish white building right on the ridge line. That building is located on the Hastings side of the road on the Crowhurst parish boundary to the north. The field to the left of it is the field that is to the east of the Malfosse and the site of the Saxon camp is in the field to the west (left) of that. That field shows as a dip in the trees. It is difficult to identify from Wilting because the area is still well wooded either side of the real battle site.

The land between us and the Ridge rises steeply as we are looking up the hill. Between us and the Ridge there are two deep wooded valleys, making approach in that direction impossible.

Looking the other way, from the Saxon's perspective at the top of the Ridge, looking down upon the Norman camp we see this view:

I apologise for the poor image. I will try to get a better one. You will see that we are looking towards the coast in a direction that is southeast of where we are located in the photograph. The town of St Leonards occupies most of the view along the coast. Again in the center is a green field and a ridge line that runs left to right across our view. The green field is located on that ridge line that is just below the line of the coast. If you follow the ridge line to the right (west) you will see what looks like a white building. It is in fact a greenhouse type building located at the entrance to the Combe Haven and Bulverhythe site of the old port of Hastings.

Wilting Farm house and the Norman Invasion camp field is located in the middle of the point between the greenhouse building and the green field on that ridge line. It too is partly obscured by trees and not easily identifiable from this photograph. Wilting farm house has an elevated chimney stack and that can just about be made out on the photograph. The farm house is located in the field that the Normans camped in.

This photograph does however show the perspective of how the Saxons dominated the landscape, because it was this field that Wace identified as the Saxon Camp, on the night of the Battle. It is the highest ground on the old London road and now private land. I am hopeful that the owners will allow tours to visit in the course of time.

Hastings was on a peninsular with little access. Indeed until 1820, quite recently in terms of history as a whole, the old London road went directly from what is currently the Tesco site, at Senlac Hill, at the entrance to Battle railway station, to Crowhurst. The old track can be found on the Ordnance Survey map, as a field boundary footpath running past the back of Telham Court School to Malthouse Wood. It is still a public footpath (next to the Tesco Store) and can be travelled on foot - I recommend it if you really want to understand how the people who fought this battle on the side of the Saxons felt in 1066.

If you are brave enough to take this journey you can travel the same way that Harold's army came to the Battle site. There are some minor recent diversions, but it is quite clear to anyone with any knowledge of map reading where the early road went. It was travelled by cart and so the signs remain in the hedgerows and field boundaries even today. It takes about an hour from Battle to Crowhurst on foot.

This is not an easy footpath, as it has sections that are very steep, but it does not go through the ancient woodland known as Great Wood, which ran from the marsh of the Wilting inlet to the north, through to the bloomery at Beauport Park. The old London road was therefore probably relatively safe, because of the open pasture of most of the journey. Travelling along this ancient way you pass through two valleys from Battle, before ascending the main ridge at Telham Hill, into the Crowhurst battle site valley.

Here again a misconception needs to be addressed in those who study the Battle of Hastings and do not live in the area. Telham is the name of the hill where the Crowhurst parish meets the Battle parish at the north of the Crowhurst Tithe Map. It is not where the Ordnance Survey map shows Telham Post Office on the A2100 road. A post office that I believe has now gone.

The name Telham Hill features in the history of the Abbey, because it was the name of the hill where the Battle took place. The crossroads at Telham Hill is not in existence today, but is easy to find where Forewood Lane in Crowhurst joins the Crowhurst to Battle road, next to the Old Forewood Lane signpost. This is as you enter Crowhurst village from the north, along the main road, in a section that was also the original old road to Battle and London.

Three of the roads are in existence, but the fourth going east is the parish boundary and is now only a footpath. That footpath shows the original road with cart tracks, where it enters the tree line to the east, at the property known as Telham Place. It is likely that the land to the north of this footpath, which is now in the Battle parish, was included in the Battle Abbey lands (the Leuga) around the time that Battle Abbey decided to support their claim to the Battle site in 1180. They did this by recreating the names of land within their control, with the same names as those featured in their foundation Chronicle. It is of particular interest that they also purchased one large site in the Crowhurst parish on the south side of the ridge.

That site is now called Telham Place and is the property that runs down from the Ridge that is on the opposite side of the Malfosse from the actual Battle site. I find this an intriguing coincidence. It suggest to my suspicious mind that the Abbott knew what they were doing and wanted to make sure no element was left to come out later. In order to eliminate any possible discovery of deception he ordered the land where he thought the Battle had really been fought to be included in the Abbey's lands.

The Abbey protected its lands and only those within its control farmed there. At the same time the Church diverted the road in Crowhurst away from the Great Field and purchased the land for the Rectory right in the middle of the Battle site - not next to the Church of St George's at the bottom of the hill.

I do understand that some considerable time elapsed between the building of those properties you see today, but clearly there were properties there before under the ownership of the Church. It does to my mind imply that those who faked the Charter, upon which the Abbey was founded, did their due diligence in order to make sure that later nothing came out of the ground to haunt them.

It must also be remembered that not one Norman or Saxon body has ever been found relating to the Battle of Hastings. Not a buckle, belt, horse shoe from the relevant period, axe head, ring or trace of any kind. Harold was reported to be buried overlooking the shore and the sea which can be seen from that ridge. It is in my view more than probable that evidence exists on that ridge somewhere, which will confirm the Battle site. Too many men died on that day to be buried and the earth holds memories that today can be recovered using modern technology.

Those who look on the Ordnance Survey map will see that Telham is marked at the top of the Ridge, at the entrance to Crowhurst Park. This is the place people in the area know Telham to be today. However it is not Telham Hill and the difference is probably an important difference that accounted for the mistake in locating the original battle site 100 years after the battle took place.

The crossroads at Telham Hill is an important place, because next to it is apple tree field. It is my contention that this is because it is the place where the hoary apple tree was located. Names in farming communities stick and there are names on the Tithe Map which are still known today.

It is one of the most ancient English traditions to mark parish boundaries with trees. In particular the yew, because of its ability to live longer than any man, and a it's use to mark circles at religious sites, prior to the arrival of Christianity. However the hoar apple also played its part as I have seen a report in the authoritative 800 page Hastings Castle study, by Charles Dawson, confirming 19 separate examples of "hoar trees" marking parish boundaries. Now with the benefit of the internet it is possible to confirm that this was a very common practice, as the records still exist of many more than that online.

I think this is significant information, because it has always been assumed that the hoar apple tree was simply a marker tree of unknown significance, known only to the Normans. However it could not have been a boundary marker, because it was not on the boundary according to those who created the place where the Abbey now stands, a hundred years after the Battle. It's absence from being a boundary marker is an important clue to where the battle really took place. It acts as a really good colloquial confirmation of the real battle site, once the significance of the name is known.

In the Saxon Chronicle (Manuscript D) there is reference to the fact that the Battle of Hastings was at first known as "the battle of the hoar apple tree". A hoar apple tree being one that is old (probably hollow) and with gnarled witch like features. If the Battle of Hastings first attained that name to the population at large, without any explanation of the location, the name must have had a meaning to the common man of the area. Indeed it suggests the Battle took place where there was no other name for the location. It looks highly likely that it meant the parish boundary marker, because of its use throughout the country in such a manner. As a consequence of that you would ask "which parish was it in" - and the answer is of course Hastings - and so you have another confirmation that this was the Battle of Hastings location. It isn't rocket science to come to this conclusion on how a name comes into existence, especially when the battle isn't in the place it is meant to be.

It cannot be proven that this field adjacent to the cross-roads at Crowhurst is the site of the hoary apple tree, from a field name alone, but it is a remarkable coincidence if it isn't. There is no evidence of a hoary apple tree in any of the abbey documents and of course there is none on that site today. But most telling of all there is no parish boundary anywhere near the abbey site. Indeed the monks probably chose the site in question specifically because it was not near any boundaries. Having made the decision to move the abbey it would only have been moved in order to locate a better site where they exert their control over as much land as possible. The fact that they chose the field that straddled the London road, at the entrance to the peninsular, confirms a motive for that move

I do not think it is a coincidence that the lady who built the new property at Pye's Farm, immediately adjacent to apple tree field, found a spear head in the property foundations when the new extension was built. It is a shame she did not know the significance at the time, so she threw it away. None the less it is a true story and it will not be the only one from this site, because of the large numbers of properties that have been built within the boundary of what was then the Great Field.

As you come into Crowhurst from the north using the old London road from Battle, which is now a track, you eventually reach the top of the lower part of the Ridge at Telham Hill. This is below the summit of the Ridge, by at least 40 meters and to the east of the main ridge line that surrounds Hastings. Telham Hill is about 100m (330ft) above sea level. That ridge is a defining barrier in the landscape, rising to over 140 meters (450ft) further to the east. Those who lived to the north of this Ridge were in a different landscape from those who lived south of it.

This is best demonstrated by going there yourself. However today we live in a world where private land has removed our ability to see what Harold saw when he arrived at this crossroads in 1066. In consequence you need to take that road until you come to the "hoary apple tree crossroads". There you must take the footpath over the style to the east and follow the path up to the top of the first field and look south under the pylon wires. When you get to the top of that path you will see what Harold saw - the whole of the Hastings coast, port and Invasion site at his feet.

As we have seen from the above photographs without detailed knowledge it is difficult to identify the Norman camp site during the day, but with camp fires burning at Wilting at night, it was easy for the two sides to see one and other. This is at the head of the Crowhurst Valley and the place where Harold camped on the night of the battle. It provides a stunning view of the landscape, where you can see in front of you much of the south coast, as far as Eastbourne and Beachy Head to the west on a clear day. Behind you less than two miles away you can see where the Abbey was eventually built.

THE BATTLE SITE

Looking at the Tithe Map and putting the woodland back where it can be seen to have been is not too difficult (courtesy of Google Maps). We cannot be 100% accurate, but we can see from the aerial photographs which areas are still wooded. We can also make a good estimate based upon local knowledge as to what fields were wooded in the past based upon the road and property development. Using that information it is possible to have a reasonably good estimate of what Crowhurst would have looked like in 1066.

I have drawn a map of how the land would that Crowhurst occupied in 1066 probably would have looked like. This shows the road to Wilting in the south (the Invasion Site where the Normans camped). It shows where Harold camped on the night before the battle with a red cross. I have marked the Saxon defense with a row of black crosses across the Great Field. I have marked the clefts in the landscape dark green, with the woodland lighter green. I have marked what was probably pasture or arable land light brown, with the main road from Wilting to Battle red. Some of this road is still in use today, with some of it marked on the Ordnance Survey map as footpath. I have also marked buildings that act as landmarks.

To open the map in a separate window click here

We see that the arrival of Harold at his camp site, on the day of 13th October 1066, caused William a great deal of difficulty. This is because the road from Wilting was the only way off of what was then a peninsular. To the east, from the Norman camp, the road led to Hastings, but that was a dead end. The Crowhurst road to Catsfield, to the west, was a later development around the time that Hye House was built in Georgian times. Hye House and the road between the church and the Plough pub, were developments associated with the 1840 coach road to Bexhill. That road came from Telham Hamlet at the top of the ridge and cut through from the top right of the Tithe Map to the bottom left, going around Hye House. It split at that point and went across the marsh to Bexhill via Bynes Farm and back down the twitten to the pub. It then crossed the inlet, before following the existing road out to Hastings following the old road to Wilting.

The Field at Hye House is called the Tye Field and it has always been difficult to understand why it held that name. The Tye Field was always the center of a village, whereas Crowhurst didnt have an obvious center, being strung out along the roads that went into it. However when seen in the context of Crowhurst in 1066, with the agricultural land mainly to the south towards Byne Farm, the centre point by ox cart was exactly where the Tye Field is located.

The crossroad at the hoary apple tree was the way to exit the peninsular, not as many historians have assumed, much further north at Battle. Initially I had made that mistake when I had started my search for the site of the Battle of Hastings. I had assumed that Battle was the only exit, because this is what I had read and assumed it to be true. However anyone who has done feet on the ground research would know, if they live in this area, that you can get to Pevensey from Crowhurst without going to Battle, and without crossing the inlet.

Even now the road along the ridge between Telham and the Powdermills Hotel exists. In those days this road was a small track further south, through the edge of Fore Wood, connecting to the hoary apple tree crossroad. This was the dividing track that became the parish boundary. The parish boundary identified the fastest and most direct way from the crossroads off of the peninsular, without going anywhere near where Battle. Parish boundaries came into existence because they were easily identifiable - not just a random choice.

The exit point from the Hastings peninsular was on the main road at Saw Mill, close to the Squirrel public house, as well as where the Abbey is located. It can be seen thatthe parish boundary turns sharp left at this point joining what was then the coast road to Pevensey, from Battle via Boreham Bridge.

The important aspect of the terrain of the Crowhurst valley is that the road from Wilting Manor through Crowhurst had no usable exit points. The woodland was dense, as it still is today in places. There were no side roads to make a detour to avoid the enemy. It was a single track road heading north/south. To the west the ancient Forewood occupied most of the land. To the east the road was confined by a deep cleft in the land, less than 100 meters from the road in most places. To the west of the road there is also another cleft, starting half way down the slope, whilst to the south of the main battlefield a third deep trench confines anyone hoping to bypass the only road out of what was to become Hastings town.

In short if you are camped at Wilting you have no-where to escape. You have to take the road to London and confront your enemy in battle at Crowhurst. When Harold arrived on the day before the Battle he must have thought there could only be one possible outcome of this battle. He would have known that he had superior numbers, because he had the whole of the English army rapidly approaching along the road from London. He would also have known that even though the Normans may have as many as 5,000 men he would probably have double that. All he had to do was build a defense at Crowhurst and wait.

The main feature of the map is the location of the Crowhurst church and the Manor site, which I shall deal with in the next chapter. This is located at the bottom of the hill, more or less at the center of the parish. That hill to the north, rises all the way from there to the top of the ridge, where Harold camped. The Tithe Map clearly shows that there were a continuous series of fields that mark their way up this ascent. It is called the Great Field in the section below where the railway is now located.

It is my contention that this great field was so called because it was one great field in 1066, upon which the Battle of Hastings was fought. One of the Saxon Chronicles also states that the battle was fought in "a great field".

Having read all the accounts of the Battle, especially Wace, I am not convinced this battle took place in a small section of field, but was spread between the plain at the bottom of this valley and the top where Harold had built his defense. That defense is still visible on Google maps as a scar on that field.

In all respects this great field fits all the battlefield descriptions, with nothing missing. In particular the issues of the battle itself, as described by Wace and the Malfosse incident, also described by Poitiers. A stream also crosses the bottom section of the plain, as shown in the Bayeux Tapestry, at the foot of the main hill - exactly as found on this site.

Unlike the site which was previously thought to be the battle site at Battle Abbey, this land upon which this battle was fought was hard upon the Normans. They had to fight up a very steep and arduous hill.

Since publishing this information it has been brought to my attention, by archers who have attended the re-enactments, that they consider the site at Battle Abbey to be wrong, because the Normans could not pull their bows with sufficient poundage to attack the Saxons. This needs an explanation, it is because those who occupy the higher ground have a major advantage in being able to use their bows over greater distance. It is therefore illogical, and some say impossible on the Battle Abbey site, for the Norman archers to have done what is reported.

In the case of the Crowhurst site that would also apply to a greater degree, except it is probable that Harolds initial activity was to harass the Normans with his archers to his advantage keeping the horse at bay. This partly explains why the battle took much longer than a normal battle to take place. It lasted all day and was only concluded at dusk. However as the battle progressed up the hill, there is level ground where the Saxon line was positioned, where the Normans could respond on an equal basis. The heavy horse cavalry, William's secret weapon, proved useless, because Harold had as Wace described built a defence of stakes across the field. This defence was erected on the night before the battle and went right across the field - there was no way out and it rendered the cavalry impotent.

The Normans would be forced to come to Harold on foot, as Wace had confirmed. All Harold had to do was sit and wait while his men arrived. Every hour that William waited was an hour that would mean certain death, if battle did not commence immediately.

The Normans arrived on the plain, as described in detail by Wace, where the church and manor house now stand. At that stage battle commenced and the long fight up the hill took all day. I have marked on the above plan the exact spot where I believe the Saxon defence was located and the ditch that can be seen on google maps is located. Historians have denied that a defence was dug, because archaeologists have not looked in the right place. In fact there is no archaeology to support the Battle at Battle Abbey. The bank and ditch located near the top of this site, where the image can be seen on the aerial photographs, is also the place where the crossbow was located. We shall deal with that in a later chapter.

Having lived in Crowhurst for nearly thirty years I shall also recount the story of the spears found at Blacksmiths Field, because it may be true. When I arrived in the village I was told that the village policeman had found three ancient spears under the old barn at Blacksmiths Field, when it was demolished.

A number of people in the village, including parish councilors, told me that prior to my arrival in the village these spear heads had been mounted in a glass display case in the village hall. The research into trying to locate these objects lasted many months and the policeman in question had unfortunately died and moved from the village to Bexhill. I was therefore unable to confirm whether this story was true. Being a small village I wondered if the people concerned were pulling my leg, because no-one at that time ever believed the research I was doing would ever prove anything.

Now, knowing what I do, I realise that Blacksmiths Field, and the reported find under the barn was exactly where the blacksmith would have been located when this battle took place. It was at the rear of the battlefield, ready to support those who needed their armour reworked, and where those who organised the supplies would be located.

It is another colloquial story that indicates this site probably has archaeology present and should therefore be thoroughly surveyed by a proper team of archaeologists.

Lastly I shall attempt to finally create a map, where you can click on parts to show the images of what you see, when you are in any of the positions marked by a yellow dot. Click on them and you will see the view and scope of this battlefield.

The Malfosse incident is I believe clearly identified by the fact that there is a hidden path that runs from the battlefield position of the Saxon defense. However this particular cleft in the landscape is not the only one. It separates the whole of the eastern side of the battle site from any exit, and is impassable even today. Part of that ditch become marsh, around the point where the old coach road crosses. There is a bridge built there with the Pelham Buckle confirming it's construction at the time the coach road was built.

This is a photograph of the Malfosse at the point where the old coach road crosses about two thirds down from the top of the ridge. The image was taken from the coach road bridge, which is now south of the mainline railway.

At this point the Malfosse is marsh and quite impassable on foot or horse.

The Malfosse stream cuts south, through the landscape and meets a second tributary at the bottom of the great field, forming another hidden trap for anyone who should think it might be an escape route. I have called this Malfosse 2 on the battle site map.

At the same time there is another ditch running through the landscape to the east of the Great Field. This is now the approach road to Crowhurst Station. This is to the left(west) as you look at the map. It performs the function of funneling any enemy into what Harold must have believed would be his killing field. The ability to go around or avoid the Saxon archers on the higher ground was impossible. It was in many respects a brilliant strategy for Harold. However he made one fatal flaw.

It was not the issue of arriving at the battle site too quickly, because he was the lord of this manor and he knew the site. I am convinced of that, by the decision to build a defense in the place he chose. The fatal flaw in Harold's plan was the decision to allow flat ground to sit in front of his main defense, half way up the battlefield.

The Normans were able to use that land to regroup or create their main attack, once they had established themselves. In so doing the Saxon archers lost the advantage of bow pull and the Norman crossbows played their part in destroying the Saxon shield wall. The Normans had a lucky break when Harold was hit above the eye. Once that happened, in the absence of most of his force, who had still not arrived, the Normans were able to obtain a win through luck alone. They should have lost - this is the story of history - the tide on that day flowed with William and his men, not with Harold.

The Normans would have known this field well, because they needed to exit the peninsular on raiding parties to provide provisions for the army stationed there. Having been located at Wilting Manor for two weeks there would have been many raiding parties needed to sustain a large force of men and their support troops. In consequence they would all have known the tree well that marked the crossroads. This is almost certainly the reason the battle was called the battle of the hoary apple tree - because it was the landmark that the raiding parties used to establish where to turn left, right or go straight on. They did not know the name of the place. Only later did it become known as the Battle of Hastings.

There is a compulsive logic in the fact that the battle became known as the Battle of Hastings later, because those who knew where the battle really had taken place identified the land south of the Ridge as Hastings. Crowhurst was the manor between the port of Hastings and the Ridge. In consequence the battle was known by the name of the land in which the locals recognised it as having been fought. Even school children ask the obvious question "Why wasn't the Battle of Hastings in Hastings?"

The answer is - it was. It was in the Hastings area and so the name stuck, even if the monks moved the abbey after the event.

This map will shortly be the one that allows you to look at the battlefield from the different locations. I shall mark it with yellow dots. Once it is put in place you will be able to click the dots to see the views as it is now, and compare it to what the historians have said about the Battle. Click on maps to enlarge for better resolution view.

I remain optimistic that the force that brings the information to you regarding this site is more powerful than those who are supposed to represent our people at this time. This is the second time greedy politicians have tried to destroy the Norman Invasion site by selling land next to the proposed road. I am confident they will all be gone soon. Hopefully the site will remain intact, but it is currently still under threat.

The next chapter is probably one of the most important on the whole web site, because it is about Crowhurst Manor House and its secrets. Possibly the most important manor house ever built, because of it's pivotal position in the history of England and at this time ignored by the world at large.

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