Anglo Saxon History Home Background Landscape Changing Landscape and Language Sea Levels in AD400(Pevensey) Sea Levels in AD400(The Wash) Sea level changes last 2000 years Andredsweald and Anderida Where are the Roman Roads History of the Romney Marsh The Great Storm 1287AD List of Landscape Documents Local The Haestingas The Cinque Ports 914AD Alfred the Great's fort in Hastings Battle Museum Battle History Society Villagenet Local Gazeteer World War 2 Tank database Simon the Piman(Raspberry Pi) Tourist Guides for the area Romans First Invasion 55BC Second Invasion 43AD Roman roads in Britannia Ptolemy Geographica Tribes MAP-Margary Roman Roads MAP-Roman Roads South East MAP-Roman Roads South West MAP-Roman Roads Wales MAP-Roman Roads South Midlands MAP-Roman Roads South Yorkshire MAP-Roman Locations Norfolk MAP-Roman Locations Essex MAP-Wealden Roads/Bloomeries Wealden Bloomeries 1st Century Wealden Bloomeries 2nd Century Wealden Bloomeries 3rd Century Wealden Bloomeries 4th Century MAP-Antonine Itinery I Roman Industry in the Brede Valley Decline in Roman Wealden Ironworking The Gallic Empire 260AD - 274AD Types of Roman Fortification List of Roman Documents Saxon Chronicles 449AD Hengest & Horsa arrive 455AD Hengest & Horsa defeat Wurtgern 457AD Hengest & Horsa take over Kent 460AD Hæstinga Saxons arrive 477AD Cymensora 485AD Suth Saxons Mercredesburnan 491AD Suth Saxons Pevensey 914AD Burghal Hideage Locations - 449AD Ebbsfleet Locations - 455AD Agelesþrep Locations - 485AD Mearcredesburnan Stede Locations - 914AD Eorpeburnan List of Saxon Chronicles Documents 1066 Battle Documentary Evidence Available Documents 1 Anglo Saxon Chronicles 2 Battle Abbey Chronicles 3 Bayeux Tapestry 4 Carmen Guy d'Amiens 5 Florence of Worcester 6 Henry of Huntingdon 7 Master Wace 8 Orderic Vitalis(Gesta) 9 William of Jumièges(Gesta) 10 William of Malmesbury 11 Quedam Exceptiones Reference to Locations Phases of the Events Phases 1066AD 1 Background 1066AD 2 In Normandy 1066AD 3 Channel Crossing 1066AD 4 The Landing 1066AD 5 Feast after Landing 1066AD 6 Building the Forts 1066AD 7 Raiding the Area 1066AD 8 Warning to Harold 1066AD 9 Stamford Bridge 1066AD 10 Harold returns to London 1066AD 11 William is Alerted 1066AD 12 Exchange of Messages 1066AD 13 Defenses 1066AD 14 Harold Reconnoitres 1066AD 15 Preparations 1066AD 16 The Night Before 1066AD 17 The Battle 1066AD 18 Harold is Killed 1066AD 19 The English Rout 1066AD 20 After the Battle 1066AD 21 The Malfosse Warriors, Weapons & Snippets Saxon - Huscarl Saxon - Fyrd(Fyrð) Senlac Hill The Malfosse The Hoar Apple Tree The Shield Wall Salt Production near Hastings The Battle of Jengland 851AD William's Ship List Norman/Viking Ships and stuff Norman bows and crossbows Harold was NOT killed by an arrow The Time Team view of the Battle 1066AD Landscape Details 1066AD Sailing from Normandy 1066AD Norman Landing 1066AD Possible Fort 1066AD to Pevensey and Hastings 1066AD Manors Wasted 1066AD Manors All 1066AD Warning to Harold 1066AD Harold to Hastings List of 1066AD Documents List of 1066AD Weapons 1086AD Domesday Boundary of Anderida Domesday Hursts Post Domesday Hursts Domesday Manors Wasted UK Norfolk Salt Production Salt Production near Hastings The Wash at 1086 The Humber estuary at 1086 Domesday County details B Bedfordshire Domesday Population Berkshire Domesday Population Buckinghamshire Domesday Population Domesday County details C Cambridgeshire Domesday Population Cheshire Domesday Population Cornwall Domesday Population Domesday County details D Derbyshire Domesday Population Devon Domesday Population Dorset Domesday Population Domesday County details E Essex Domesday Population Domesday County details G Gloucestershire Domesday Population Domesday County details H Hampshire Domesday Population Herefordshire Domesday Population Hertfordshire Domesday Population Huntingdonshire Domesday Population Domesday County details K Kent Domesday Population Domesday County details L Leicestershire Domesday Population Lincolnshire Domesday Population Domesday County details M Middlesex Domesday Population Domesday County details N Norfolk Domesday Population Northamptonshire Domesday Population Nottinghamshire Domesday Population Domesday County details O Oxfordshire Domesday Population Domesday County details R Rutland Domesday Population Domesday County details S Shropshire Domesday Population Somerset Domesday Population Staffordshire Domesday Population Suffolk Domesday Population Surrey Domesday Population Sussex Domesday Population Domesday County details W Warwickshire Domesday Population Wiltshire Domesday Population Worcestershire Domesday Population Domesday County details Y Yorkshire Domesday Population Place names Translate my Location Celtic name snippets Jutish name snippets Roman name snippets Saxon name snippets Viking name snippets Norman name snippets Modern name snippets Villages containing EY/EYE/SEA Villages containing HAM Villages containing TON Villages containing CASTLE Sussex Locations with ING Domesday Sussex with ING Kent Locations with ING Sussex Locations with HURST Loads of Village Translations Res Battle of Hastings 1066AD ‑ New Romney Romney is mentioned in the Chronicles There are reports of Romney being destroyed after William defeats Harold, but why ? Documentary evidence Master Wace The Duke placed a guard in Hastings, from the best of his knights, so as to garrison the castle well, and went thence to Romenel, to destroy it utterly, because some of his people had arrived there , I know not by what accident, and the false and traitorous had killed them by felony. On that account he was very wroth against them and grievously punished them for it. Orderic Vitalis When his own dead had been given honorable burial he advanced to Romney, defeated the garrison and avenged the slaughter of some of his men. They had landed there in error and had been routed in the ensuing battle by the fierce defenders, with terrible losses on both sides. Battle of Hastings 1066AD - The Norman route across the Channel What we know of the area The name Romney is derived from the Saxon 'rom' meaning a ram and 'ney' derived from 'en æg' - en - people of and æg - an island - so 'the island of the ram people'. The first written reference to Romney is dated 740AD in a grant of King Ethelbert which mentions the chapel of St. Martin being located here. Sometime before this the Rother/Limen changed its course from where it originally reached the sea at Hythe and broke through to the sea at ‘Old’ Romney. Anglo Saxon Chronicle mentions A.D. 893. This year went the large army, that we before spoke about, back from the eastern district westward to Bologne; and there were shipped; so that they transported themselves over at one time with their horses withal. And they came up with two hundred and fifty ships into the mouth of the Limne, which is in East-Kent, at the east end of the vast wood that we call Andred. On this river they towed up their ships as far as the weald, four miles from the mouth outwards; and there destroyed a fort within the fen, whereon sat a few churls, and which was hastily wrought. A.D. 894. Hasten was there with his gang, who before were stationed at Milton, and also the main army had come thither, that sat before in the mouth of the Limne at Appledore. Post 900AD New Romney and the Langport The Vikings had left but slow moving Rother continued silting up the area around Old Romney, and the port had to be moved to modern New Romney in the late 900's AD, where it was known as Langport. The Domesday Book only shows one entry for Romney with a tiny population and no damage, there is no mention of Langport, however the Normans created the Rape of Langport, and not the Rape of Romney. This means its likely that the Chroniclers were referring to the 'area of Romney' when they mention Romenel and not the settlement. This in turn means that the Langport was the place that was destroyed and not Old Romney. An Interpretation of the Chronicles Some of the Norman vessels landed on the Romney marsh probably near to Langport, the only logical explanation is that these vessels were overloaded, or were taking on water and the nearest land was the Romney area. The locals wouldn't have taken kindly to this as they had been supporters of Earl Godwin in the early 1050's, unlike nearby Hastings who seemed to support the King and his Norman influence. Conclusion It seems unlikely they would have landed in Romney by error as 700 ships were sailing together, it is much more likely that the vessels were taking on water and they needed to reach the nearest shore, and if the route went from the Colbart Ridge to Pevensey, then Romney would have been the nearest shore line. Copyright saxonhistory.co.uk 2013 - 2025Contact SimonAuthor Simon M - Last updated - 2025-02-10 20:45:02All pages on our site (Sitemap)