BattlefieldsDanes Sack London 851
Early Medieval

Danes Sack London 851

851
Middlesex, England
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Siege
Location
Middlesex, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Mercia (Berhtwulf)
VS
Victor
Danes
Outcome
London and Canterbury were sacked/stormed by a Viking fleet of 350 ships; Berhtwulf, King of Mercia, was put to flight with his army. The Viking force subsequently moved south and was defeated by Aethelwulf of Wessex at the separate Battle of Aclea.
The Battle

History & Significance

Danes Sack London 851 was an early medieval siege, the investment of a fortified position, fought at Middlesex, England in 851. Danes prevailed over Mercia (Berhtwulf). London and Canterbury were sacked/stormed by a Viking fleet of 350 ships; Berhtwulf, King of Mercia, was put to flight with his army. The Viking force subsequently moved south and was defeated by Aethelwulf of Wessex at the separate Battle of Aclea.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Danes Sack London 851 lies on Thames Group, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Danes Sack London 851

This page covers Danes Sack London 851. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Danes Sack London 851 report
Or see a real report first
Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Danes Sack London 851

The Chapter House and Pyx Chamber in the abbey cloisters, Westminster Abbey
The Chapter House and Pyx Chamber in the abbey cloisters, Westminster Abbey
Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

The Chapter House and Pyx Chamber in the abbey cloisters, Westminster Abbey, is a significant thirteenth-century monastic structure forming part of the claustral complex. Built in the mid-thirteenth century, the octagonal Chapter House served as the meeting place for the monastic community's admi…

Cmao20 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
The Jewel Tower
The Jewel Tower
Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

The Jewel Tower is a stone tower standing within the Palace of Westminster complex, dating from the mid-fourteenth century. Built during the reign of Edward III, probably around 1365-1366, it originally served as a secure stronghold for royal treasures and valuables, hence its name. The structure…

No machine-readable author provided. Lonpicman~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Inner Temple Hall Buttery
Inner Temple Hall Buttery
Scheduled monument · ~0.8 mi

Inner Temple Hall Buttery is a sixteenth-century service building forming part of the Inner Temple precinct in London. The structure dates from approximately 1570 and served the practical function of storing and dispensing provisions for the Inn of Court. It represents an important example of Tud…

Jim Linwood / CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Barnard's Inn Hall (Mercers' School)
Barnard's Inn Hall (Mercers' School)
Scheduled monument · ~1 mi

Barnard's Inn Hall is a timber-framed building of fifteenth-century origin located in Gresham Street, London. The hall formerly served as the principal building of Barnard's Inn, one of the Inns of Chancery that provided legal education and accommodation for trainee lawyers during the medieval an…

Apothecaries' Hall
Apothecaries' Hall
Scheduled monument · ~1.1 mi

Apothecaries' Hall is a Grade I listed building located in Blackfriars, London, that serves as the headquarters of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London. The hall was constructed in the seventeenth century following the Great Fire of London in 1666, replacing an earlier medieval struct…

Elisa.rolle / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Baynard's Castle, 78m south-west of St Benet Metropolitan Welsh Church
Baynard's Castle, 78m south-west of St Benet Metropolitan Welsh Church
Scheduled monument · ~1.2 mi

Baynard's Castle is a Norman castle of which only fragmentary remains survive in the City of London. The site was originally established in the late eleventh century by the Baynard family, who were prominent Norman landholders, and the castle subsequently passed through various aristocratic hands…

Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Remains of Roman and medieval wall and gateway W of boundary of Stationers' Hall to Ludgate Hill
Scheduled monument · ~1.2 miles
London Wall: section in Amen Court
Scheduled monument · ~1.2 miles
Aubrey Research

Explore the landscape around Middlesex

Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the UK — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.

Research a location near MiddlesexView a sample report