The news that the Bayeux Tapestry will be making a once-in-a-lifetime visit to Britain from September 2026 until July 2027 made me think about sites associated with the Norman Conquest that might be of interest to the readers of Current Archaeology. By way of introduction, I will share some context-setting articles on the Bayeux Tapestry itself, which has featured regularly in the magazine, commencing in CA 5 (November 1967). This initial appearance came in a piece on the origins of the castle in Britain; subsequent mentions are found in CA 224 (November 2008), on the archaeology of the Domesday Book; in CA 320 (November 2016), on the life of William the Conqueror; in CA 407 (February 2024), on the evidence for the animals depicted in the Tapestry; in CA 421 (April 2025), on ‘lordly’ sites of the Conquest in the archaeological record; and, most recently, in CA 422 (May 2025), on medieval war horses.
Old battles and new beginnings
The site of the Battle of Hastings, and the abbey founded there, is the obvious place to commence this column. CA 60 first visited in February 1978 – alongside an unexpected diversion 70 miles (110km) north of the battlefield to Waltham Abbey in Essex, on the border of modern-day Greater London. A place of worship since the 7th century AD, Waltham Abbey was rebuilt and refounded by Harold Godwinson in 1060. It is also believed (though not proven) to be the king’s final resting place after his death at Hastings in 1066, a topic that CA 125 (July 1991) and CA 421 (April 2025) pick up on. So here is a ‘counter-pilgrimage’ site to visit amid the Norman lovefest that we will surely see in the later part of 2026. Current Archaeology has returned to Hastings three more times since the 1970s: in CA 224 (November 2008), in the above-mentioned project mapping the archaeology of the Domesday Book; in CA 286 (January 2014), when Time Team examined the official battlefield site alongside rival claimants; and in CA 421 (April 2025), which explored evidence for the Anglo-Saxon aristocratic sites of power that were swept away in the post-Conquest years.
Another ‘great site’ that I will mention in this section has an ambiguous position amid all the jockeying for power: Westminster Abbey. With pre-Conquest origins, this was a treasured place in Anglo-Saxon aristocratic high society, thanks to the patronage of Edward the Confessor, but it was also the place where William chose to have himself crowned king on Christmas Day 1066. It is hypothesised that Harold had been crowned there earlier that year, although there is no surviving evidence to prove this. Current Archaeology has visited this location repeatedly down the years, so much so that I will devote a future column to it.
Affluent hunters