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 | Anglo Saxon History |  | |
| Battle of Hastings 1066AD - Senlac Hill where is it?
and what might Senlac mean? |
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Table of Contents
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Senlac Hill was there only one? and what does it mean? ▲
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On this page I will try to put forward various comments on the origination of Senlac, and the possibility of a different
location from where the monks of Battle Abbey claimed it was.
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Current location of Senlac Hill ▲
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Senlac Hill is nowadays inside Battle Abbey in the small town of Battle in East Sussex and is shown by the red dot on
the map below.
| | Documentary evidence for Senlac Hill and Hegeland ▲ |
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By looking at the documents available from the time of the Battle, there is only one reference to Senlac which comes
from
Orderic Vitalis(Gesta Normannorum
Ducum)
the relevent passage reads :
' On the other side, the English troops, assembled from all parts of the neighbourhood, took post at a place which
was anciently
called Senlac, many of them personally devoted to the cause of Harold, and all to that of their country, which they
were resolved to
defend against the foreigners.'
The Battle
Abbey Chronicles
make no mention of Senlac - that seems odd as its in the current Abbey Grounds, and if the monks felt it was important
they would surely have had a mention in the text. The Abbey Chronicles refer to the nearby hill as Hecheland.
'Having arrived at a hill called Hecheland, situated in the direction of Hastings'
The name Senlac was introduced into English history by the Victorian historian E.A. Freeman who suggested that
Senlac meant Sand Lake
in Old English with the Norman conquerors calling it (in French) Sanguelac('Blood lake').
| | Possibly Senlac Hill/Hecheland from the Bayeux Tapestry ▲ |
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There is no mention of the name Senlac in the Bayeux Tapestry, but a hill is shown.
The ground looks very uneven, either from man made ditches (see our
Malfosse page) or just implying broken ground.
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| The local landscape relating to Senlac ▲ |
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Sinner Lake
It would seem unlikely that a place was called sinner lake in an area with minimal
population.
Sand Lake
To the north of modern Senlac Hill there is a very steep valley with a spring that flows down into the Brede valley, the
nearest pond in that direction would have been towards Marley Lane a mile or so away but no reason to call it senlac as
marley means marl island(marl meaning clay).
To the south east are a few small ponds, but again just the clayey ponds that cover the area. Please be aware that a lot
of ponds that are
now in the area were caused by doodlebug explosions from World War 2 falling short of London or being turned over by
typhoon fighters.
It would seem unlikely that a place was called sand lake in an area with no sand.
Iron Lake
To the south there is now the pond created at Powdermills, but originally this may have been created by the Romans
digging iron at Peppering eye a few hundred metres to the south east.
To the North West of the Battle Abbey lies the hamlet of Beech(now Beech Farm) which was in the Domesday Book and was an
iron working site that made cannons for the Royal Navy in the early 1700's.(please refer to the Wealden Iron Research Group's database )
It would seem quite possible that iron lake is the translation, however it could have been at
Pepperingeye near the Abbey, or towards Netherfield at Beech Farm
Ash tree Lake
To the west towards Ashburnham we have an area known for its ash trees, and near to Ashburnham(Meaning the Stream in the
Ash trees)
there are a number of lakes, probably formed again for iron working , so there may be a second Senlac hill. Please see
the map below.
It would seem quite possible that ash tree lake is the translation, however this would mean the
Battle was near Netherfield, Ashburnham or Penhurst and not at Battle.
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Possible alternative locations ▲
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The above map shows possible other Senlac Hills based on the local geography, please take a look at the above
details and make your own judgement on the location of the real Senlac.
The larger circles with names show the Domesday settlements in the area, the red lines are ancient Celtic ridgeways
that the Romans and Saxons used, the green shaded area shows the Forest of Andredsweald.
The shading of the settlements denotes the damage recorded in the Domesday Book, red denotes wasted, the yellow
denotes damaged and green undamaged settlements.
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| Conclusion ▲ |
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If Senlac is derived from isenlacu then this would mean that the real Isenlac Hill would have been either at
Netherfield, as this was the point where the main ancient ridgeways (taken over by the Romans) from Rye and Hastings to
London joined or on the B2096 at Netherfield High Wood. These were both very close to the edge of the great Forest of
Andredsweald, which is recorded in some of the chronicles. And finally the B2096 is also known as Kane Hythe Road(Cyne
hyð rad) which can be translated from the Saxon as 'the starting point of the King'.
The location of Battle Abbey (St Martin of Tours)
Regarding the current placement of Battle Abbey, this was built 20 years after the Battle of Hastings (when the
majority of the participants had died), on a position well suited to the monks as it was on a hill, it had nearby water
and ponds for fish, and was built across the Hastings to London main road hence capturing all the traffic on that route.
If the abbey was not the actual location for the Battle of Hastings then this legend could have been created as a
counter to other monastries that had relics that pilgrims (tourists) would pay to see.
My personal belief is that if Senlac Hill is a valid reference to the Battle of Hastings then
Isenlac was the iron pond near to modern Beech Farm, this was called Beech in the Domesday book.
If this is the case then there is a distinct possibility that the Abbey Battle site is not the real site of the
Battle of Hastings, and that it is along Kane Hythe Road either at Netherfield High Wood, or at Netherfield
itself.
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Local Interest
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