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Designations

• Listed Building (I) 1043579: HASTINGS CASTLE
• Conservation Area: Old Town
• Scheduled Monument: HASTINGS CASTLE, THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF ST MARY AND THE LADIES' PARLOUR

Summary

Castle & Collegiate Church. Castle built c.1170, ruined by 1399. Church founded c.1090, dissolved in 1546. Foundations of church, N and E curtain walls and east gate of castle visible.

Monument Types

• CASTLE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• COLLEGIATE CHURCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• INHUMATION (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• SITE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• WALL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Description

(TQ 820 094) Castle (NR) (Remains of) (1)
Hastings Castle stands on a rocky promontory, and the first artificial work on the site was probably an Iron Age enclosure or fort. It has been proved by excavation that the main bank of the 'Ladies Parlour' (the outer bailey) is partly Iron Age work (4) and Dawson is of the opinion that the whole promontory was an Iron Age site (2). The castle itself started as a Motte with wooden keep erected by William immediately after landing (as shown on the Bayeux tapestry), but the mound in its present state is 13 or 14 c with the original motte contained within it (4). The stone works were mainly erected 1171-4, 1182-3 and 1190-91 (3). The castle suffered from encroachments by the sea and 14 c raids, and by 1399 had apparenly been allowed to fall into decay (3). The Collegiate Church of St Mary within the precinct is thought to have been founded in c 1090 (5) but it may have existed before the Conquest (6). It also was demaged in French raids in 1399. In 1470 an unsuccessful attempt was made to turn it into an alien Benedictine cell, and it was dissolved in 1546 (5). See attached Guide and Archaeology Division Map diagram with field notes. (3-8)
The remains are generally as described in the Guide and and Map Diagram and have been revised on 1:1250 plan. The Road ditch or hollow on the eastern side (TQ8226 0949-82170962) may have continued along Castle Hill Road and formed an outer boundary to the whole complex. (9)
5204 CASTLE HILL Hastings Castle TQ 8109 SE 13/1A 19.1.51. TQ 8209 SW 14/1A 2. C11 and C13 ruins, principally of the collegiate Church of St Mary, and the North and East curtain walls with East gate and bastions. The Castle built circa 1070. The church was started afterwards but before 1094. More building work in early 1170s to 1190s including the keep in 1172. Repairs of 1216 and afterwards progressive ruin. The walls are stone rubble, and as it exists now there are ruined walls and foundations of the church which had a central tower the western arch of which has been rebuilt, there are remains of a square tower at the west end of the nave. There remains the curtain walling along the North, North-west, North and North-east with the gatehouse on the North-east side with 2 rounded towers. Outside the walls on the north side are store-rooms (known as the Dungeons) in the form of narrow tunnel-vaulted passages. The keep and other buildings no longer exist. AM. (10)
In 1999 a re-interpretation of Hastings Castle was made. From what is already known it is obvious that the Hastings Castle/Ladies Parlour part of West Hill was the site of Mesolithic settlement/activity site, furthermore 1968 excavations of the outer earthworks indicated that the site was occupied or used during the Iron Age. It seems probable that the origins of at least part of the Ladies Parlour earthworks started as a prehistoric ditched enclosure and there was some evidence that the site of Hastings Castle/Ladies Parlour may have been occupied or used Roman Times. It is possible that at the time of the conquest the Alfredian Burgh of Haestingaceaster occupied the site although no artefacts from this period have been discovered. A chapel or church may too have been in existent by the time of the conquest. If so parts of the pre-conquest structure are likely to survive within the present structure. Regardless of whether there was Saxon occupation upon the hill at Hastings, it can be certain that the counts of Eu’s early Norman castle occupied the site of earlier earthworks of which at least part date from the Iron Age. Modified later during the Medieval period, the conquest or immediate post-conquest castle mound or ‘motte’ was never large.
In 1330 the Dean and Chapter of the collegiate church within the castle partitioned the king regarding the state of the castle, they noted that their chapel ‘is decayed and gone to wreck’ there can be little doubt therefore that by this date the castle had ceased to fulfil any regular role. After Hastings, Castle and college were sacked in 1339 the castle was put into the hands of William de Percy as constable, thereby ensuring its adequate defence. It is not known how long the castle remained in active service, or when it was returned to the cannons, though both had certainly occurred by 1943. After 1339 no further reference is found to the site fulfilling a military role and it must be assumed that after 275 years of service, for the next 200 years the castle’s sole function was as college precinct. The castle’s story throughout the 14th, 15th and early 16th centuries is one of major decline and abandonment for military purposes, a story mirrored to a lesser extent b the collegiate church within the castle walls. The deanery and Prebends of Hastings College were valued by the king’s commission in 1537 pursuant to the general instructions which they had received regarding the valuation of the religious houses. The colleges and chantries escaped the dissolution of the monasteries and survived for a while longer however on October 1546 the commission to seize Hastings College was issued. The buildings were never re-occupied. [11]
In 2016 an evaluation and watching brief were undertaken in advance of the extension of an existing toilet block and the construction of a fence at Hastings Castle, Hastings.
The evaluation identified a substantial east to west aligned mortared sandstone wall in the southern side of the evaluation area, below an extant wall of probable 19th century date. The position and alignment of the earlier wall strongly suggests that it represents the remains of the Medieval curtain wall which would have extended from the eastern side of the castle’s north gate.
A series of made-ground deposits were identified on the northern side of this Medieval wall, which were likely laid down in advance on the construction, in the 19th century, of a “caretaker’s cottage” and associated ancillary buildings.
A substantial north-east to south-west aligned mortared sandstone wall, perhaps incorporating an opening, was also recorded in the western side of the watching brief area, between the site of the castle’s south-west tower and the southern end of the Medieval collegiate church. A tamped chalk surface was also identified, which may have served as a pathway towards the church’s narthex or towards the south-west tower.
Two fragments of disarticulated human remains, apparently from an adult, were also retrieved from a dumped deposit against the face of this sandstone wall, and may indicate the presence of inhumations within the castle walls.
In addition, two masonry structures were recorded within the area of a proposed access ramp to the existing WC facilities, on the exterior of a 19th century extension to the northern side of the castle. These were shown to be of modern date, relating to the housing of drainage and electrical services, and of no archaeological importance. [12]
A watching brief at the Eastern Curtain Wall of the castle recovered a small amount of low status Medieval pottery. [13]

Sources

Associated Events

• Field observation on TQ 80 NW 2
• HASTINGS CASTLE (Ref: EI 670)
• HASTINGS CASTLE (Ref: EI 671)
• HASTINGS CASTLE (Ref: EI 672)
• HASTINGS CASTLE (Ref: EI 673)
• HASTINGS CASTLE
• HASTINGS CASTLE
• Hastings Castle, Evaluation & Watching Brief
• Hastings Castle, Hastings : Site Re-appraisal
• Eastern Curtain Wall, Hastings Castle, Hastings : Watching Brief

Associated Monuments - none recorded

Associated Finds

• HUMAN REMAINS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• ROOF TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• SHERD (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• TILE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)

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