Battlefields›Battle of Ely 1071
Medieval

Battle of Ely 1071

1071
Cambridgeshire, England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Cambridgeshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Hereward the Wake and Anglo-Saxon holdouts
Forces
Hereward the Wake and Anglo-Saxon holdouts
VS
Victor
Norman forces of William the Conqueror
Forces
Norman forces of William the Conqueror
Outcome
The island fortress fell to William after he built a causeway across the fens. Hereward escaped into legend but organised English resistance to the Normans was crushed.
The Battle

History & Significance

William the Conqueror besieged and captured the Isle of Ely held by Hereward the Wake and other Anglo-Saxon resisters. The fall of Ely ended the last serious English resistance to the Norman conquest.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Ely 1071

Ely Cathedral: claustral buildings
Scheduled monument · ~0.1 miles
'Cherry Hill', castle mound
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 miles
Hospital of St John the Baptist and St Mary Magdalene, St John's Farm
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 miles
Roman site near Old Fordey Farm, Barway
Scheduled monument · ~3.2 miles
Settlement site S of Tiled House Farm
Scheduled monument · ~4.5 miles
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Burning of Southwark
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Norman Storming of Romney — Reprisal 1066
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Submission of Canterbury to William I 1066
1066
Kent, England
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