Battlefields›Viking Raid on Padstow and North Cornwall 981
Early Medieval

Viking Raid on Padstow and North Cornwall 981

981
England
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
North Cornwall defenders
Forces
north Cornwall defenders
VS
Victor
Norse raiders
Forces
Norse raiding fleet
Outcome
Padstow and associated monastic site sacked; population flees inland
The Battle

History & Significance

Norse raiders struck Padstow and the north Cornish coast in 981, sacking the monastic settlement and the harbour town in the renewed wave of Viking attacks on western England that marked the opening of the Ethelredian crisis; the raid was one of the first significant Viking attacks on Cornwall in the second Viking age.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Viking Raid on Padstow and North Cornwall 981

Churchyard cross shaft and base in St Petroc's churchyard, 30m south east of the church
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles
Churchyard cross in St Petroc's churchyard, 3m south of the church
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 miles
Cross base 30m south of St Merryn's Church
Scheduled monument · ~2.2 miles
Prehistoric inhumation cemetery at Harlyn
Scheduled monument · ~2.6 miles
Round 600m south east of Tregolds
Scheduled monument · ~2.7 miles
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455
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Anglian Assault on Roman York (c.450-500 AD)
450
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