Hastings
Hastings – the 2nd burh to be cited in the Burghal Hidage
Kingdom | Type of Burh | No. of Hides | O.S. Grid Ref |
Wessex | Burghal Fort | 500 | TQ 832 099 |
It is argued that the place-name is not a reliable indication that the burh was at modern Hastings. The old fort at Anderita, Pevensey, would have been a far more appropriate site.
Three place names in early documentary sources, the burh of Haestingaceaster, Haestingaport wher Duke William constructed a castle before the Battle of Hastings, and the town of Hastings, have been asumed to be synonymous. There is however no tangible evidence for any significant pre-Conquest settlement at Hastings.
Archaeological evidence from Pevensey shows there to have been almost continual occupation from the mid-late Saxon period within the Roman walls, while topographical evidence suggests that Hastings was an unlikely place for an Alfredian burh. It is therefore suggested that Pevensey was the site of a the burh of Haestingaceaster, that Hastings was a mid or late 11th century foundation, and that Haestingaport could refer to either location.”
Text from Historic England Research Records: Haestingaceaster
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