9th July 2008 was officially the wettest day of the year so far, with a month's worth of rain falling in just one day, but it did not stop Class 3H having a wonderful day exploring 1066 country, a part of southern England that saw a lot of action in medieval times - especially in the year 1066.
After our journey down to the Saxon Shore, our first stop was at Pevensey Bay beach. This is where Duke William of Normandy and his ships arrived in England in September 1066 as their invasion of England began. It is said that when William arrived on the shore, he tripped and fell - but he saved himself from being embarrassed by pretending he had planned it. He picked up some of the English soil, and told his men that soon the land he was holding would belong to them. Steven did a fantastic recreation of this moment!
After returning to the van, we moved on to Pevensey Castle. Pevensey Castle was built starting in 1066, as it was Duke William's first base after he arrived in England. However, it was built inside the ruins of an old Roman fort dating from the 3rd century. It was also used to defend the country in Tudor times, against possible invasion by the Spanish Armada (Will became very interested at this point), and also during World War II when American and Canadian soldiers were based there.
All the 3H students went down into the dungeon for common people, even though it was a bit scary going underground down a narrow and winding spiral staircase! Matthew H. was very pleased that there were no prisoners chained to the wall when we visited. We also saw another dungeon, reserved for more important 'guests' who were held to ransom - including the future King James of Scotland! Angus was outraged that a fellow Scot had been kept in such conditions!
We stood underneath 'murder holes' and thanked our lucky stars that hot sand or boiling oil was not poured on our heads, and touched giant stone balls that had been flung by trebuchets (a kind of catapult) during the four sieges of Pevensey Castle. |
We continued our journey on to Battle Abbey, in the town of Battle - named after the Battle of Hastings which happened on the hill there in the year 1066. The ridge at the top of Senlac Hill was where the English army formed their shield wall against the Norman invaders - an excellent defensive position - which may have worked had the English soldiers followed orders and not fallen into the trap of chasing the Normans down the hill, which ultimately resulted in the death of King Harold Godwinson of England, and the crowning of King William The Conqueror.
We had brought along our own shields and used them to form our own shield wall in almost exactly the same spot, and recreated the battle scenes with a charge up the very same hillside that saw bloody warfare nearly 1000 years ago. Due to the heavy rain, the washable paint came running off the shields leaving everyone looking like they had been in a real battle, with red, blue and brown paint over faces, arms and legs! Thankfully there were no real casualties in our recreation although we may have frightened away some tourists with our impressive war cries.
Finally we ended up at Bodiam Castle, a beautiful moated castle built near the end of medieval times. After a tasty lunch and some hot drinks we crossed the bridge into the castle to explore the ruins. All the students climbed the south tower and immediately noticed the relative comfort that this castle would have provided to its guests, with nearly all the rooms having a garderobe (toilet) and fireplace. We investigated all areas of the castle, from the sunken well near the kitchen right up to the top of the three towers, which afforded wonderful views of the surrounding countryside.
Finally it was time for eight very soggy students and three equally soaked staff to return to the minibus and start our journey home, which was made additionally fun due to the rain-inspired soundtrack which we all sang along to. Thanks go to Miss Smith and Mrs. Bull for their unfailing support throughout a very long day.
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