Battle, East Sussex

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View along the high street towards the abbey.

Battle is a small town in the local government district of Rother in East Sussex, England, about 5 miles (8 km) from Hastings, and the site of the Battle of Hastings, where William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold II to become William I in 1066.

1 The Abbey
2 The town
- 2.1 Gunpowder works
3 See also

[edit] The Abbey

Battle Abbey was founded to commemorate the battle, and dedicated in 1095. The high altar of the Abbey church was reputedly on the spot where Harold died. The Abbey gateway is still the dominant feature of the south end of the main street, although little remains of the rest of the Abbey buildings. The remaining cloisters, part of the west range, were leased to Battle Abbey School shortly after the first world war, and the school remains in occupancy to this day. Although referred to as 'Battle Abbey', it is actually named 'St Martin's Abbey'.

[edit] The town

A modern shopping development designed to blend in with the town.

The town of Battle was gradually built around the Abbey, and later developed a reputation for the quality of the gunpowder produced in the area. In the mid 1700s, the town supported five watchmakers in the High Street. Today Battle is known as a tourist destination.

The local bonfire society, Battel Bonfire Boyes, is claimed to be the oldest of the Sussex Bonfire Societies^[1]. The importance of Bonfire Night in Battle is because it is located in the wooded Weald of Sussex. Most of the area was heavily wooded, which provided oak and other timbers for Navy Shipyards, power for making cannons (shipped to Portsmouth or Chatham), cannon balls and gunpowder.

Battle was a refuge in World War I, and tunnels still exist, leading from various fields and cellars to Battle Abbey itself. However, they are deemed unsafe and are now closed.

The band Keane hails from Battle.

[edit] Gunpowder works

The first gunpowder mill in Battle was in 1676 when John Hammond was granted permission to build a mill on land owned by the Abbey^[2]. A gunpowder works was located in Powdermill Lane - the remains of which have been converted into a hotel^[3]. The Duke of Cleveland refused to renew the licence in 1847 after many mishaps^[4], including one occasion in 1798 on which more than 15 tonnes of gunpowder was left in the oven for too long and exploded.