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Battle in Sussex County England History and GeographyBATTLE, or BATTEL, a market town and parish, in the hundred of BATTLE, rape of HASTINGS, county of SUSSEX, 7 miles (S.) from Hastings, 63 (E. by N.) from Chichester, and 56 (S.E.) from London, containing 2852 inhabitants. This place previously called Epiton, derives its present name from the memorable battle fought there, October 14, 1066, between Harold, King of England, and William, Duke of Normandy. Though generally called the battle of Hastings, it took place south ward from that town, where, in fulfilment of a vow, William the Conqueror founded a magnificent abbey for monks of the Benedictine order, and raised the high altar on the very spot where Harold and his valiant brothers fell covered with wounds, by the side of the English standard. William conferred many extraordinary privileges upon this abbey, in which were preserved, until its suppression, the sword and royal robe which he wore on the day of his coronation, and the celebrated roll on which the names of the warriors who accompanied him to England, were inscribed: he conferred on it the privilege of sanctuary, and raised it to the dignity of a mitred abbey, investing its abbots with the power of saving a criminal from execution, if accidentally passing at the time. At the dissolution, its revenue was £987. 0. 10½.: there are still considerable remains; the gate-house is in entire preservation, and many parts of the conventual buildings have been retained in the mansion of Sir Godfrey Webster. After the establishment of the abbey a town arose in its vieinity, which rapidly increased, until it had become a place of considerable importance in the reign of Henry I., who conferred upon it many privileges, among which was the grant of a market. In 1347, the French having effected a landing at Rye, the abbot of Battel, assisted by the inhabitants, marched to that place, and drove the enemy to their ships with great slaughter. The town is situated in a beautiful valley, bounded on the south and south-east by wood-crowned eminences, and consists of several streets, the principal of which, nearly half a mile in length, is terminated by the magnificent gateway of the abbey: the houses, in general, are ancient and of mean appearance, but there are several modern and handsome structures; the town is lighted, and well supplied with water. The manufacture of fine gunpowder, established here at a very early period, and for which this town has attained the highest celebrity, is carried on to a very great extent. The market is on Thursday; the fairs are on Whit-Monday and November 22nd, a great number of horned cattle are sent from this part of the country to the London market. The town is within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who hold their petty sessions here for the district, but being a franchise, the inhabitants are exempt from serving on juries at the assizes and sessions for the county. A coroner and other officers are appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Chichester, and is a deanery of itself, still retaining the exercise of its jurisdiction; it is rated in the king's books at £24. 13. 4., and is in the patronage of Sir Godfrey Webster, Bart. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a spacious structure partly in the Norman, and partly in the early and later styles of English architecture. There are places of worship for Baptists, Wesleyan Methodists and Unitarians. In 1791, Mrs. Elizabeth Langton bequeathed £1500 for the instruction of fifteen boys and fifteen girls, the interest of which is paid to a master; and a charity school for forty boys is supported by subscription. In the abbey grounds there is a place called 'Tell man hill,' where William is said to have mustered his army the evening before the battle. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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