BattlefieldsDanish Fleet Besieges Rochester 884
Early Medieval

Danish Fleet Besieges Rochester 884

884
Kent, England
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Siege
Location
Kent, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Danish besiegers
VS
Victor
Alfred (Anglo-Saxons)
Outcome
Rochester garrison held the city; the besieging Danes abandoned their siege-fortress and fled to their ships on Alfred's approach, later departing overseas. The same year Alfred's fleet, sent to East Anglia, defeated sixteen Danish ships at Stourmouth but was itself defeated by a larger Danish fleet on the return voyage, aided by East Anglian Danes who had broken their peace.
The Battle

History & Significance

Danish Fleet Besieges Rochester 884 was an early medieval siege, the investment of a fortified position, fought at Kent, England in 884. Alfred (Anglo-Saxons) prevailed over Danish besiegers. Rochester garrison held the city; the besieging Danes abandoned their siege-fortress and fled to their ships on Alfred's approach, later departing overseas. The same year Alfred's fleet, sent to East Anglia, defeated sixteen Danish ships at Stourmouth but was itself defeated by a larger Danish fleet on the return voyage, aided by East Anglian Danes who had broken their peace.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Danish Fleet Besieges Rochester 884 lies on Cenozoic sedimentary rocks, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is sedimentary rocks; London Basin.

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Overview
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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.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Danish Fleet Besieges Rochester 884

Rochester city wall
Rochester city wall
Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Rochester city wall is a substantial medieval fortification enclosing the historic settlement of Rochester in Kent, England. The wall was constructed primarily during the Norman period, with significant portions dating from the twelfth century onwards, and represents one of the most complete urba…

Chris Whippet / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Open areas within Roman, Saxon and medieval town
Open areas within Roman, Saxon and medieval town
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

Open areas within Roman, Saxon and medieval town is an ancient monument designation in Kent that encompasses the public and private spaces that structured urban life across multiple periods of occupation and development. The site represents the archaeological remains of a settlement that was cont…

Chris Whippet / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

Rochester Castle is a Norman fortress situated on the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, originally constructed following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The castle's most imposing feature is its great keep, a four-storey stone tower erected in the early twelfth century, which stands approximately thi…

Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent / CC BY 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Bridge Chapel
Bridge Chapel
Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

Bridge Chapel is a medieval chapel situated in Kent, England, with origins in the fourteenth century. The structure represents a rare surviving example of a bridge chapel, a building type designed to serve both religious and practical functions within the medieval landscape. The chapel was constr…

ClemRutter / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Former guardhouse
Former guardhouse
Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

The Former guardhouse is a military structure located in Kent, England, dating from the Napoleonic Wars period of the early nineteenth century. It forms part of the defensive infrastructure constructed along the Kent coast during the period of heightened threat from French invasion between approx…

Dhowes9 / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Chatham Dockyard, Storehouse No 3
Chatham Dockyard, Storehouse No 3
Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

Storehouse No 3 at Chatham Dockyard is a brick-built warehouse constructed during the eighteenth century as part of the Royal Dockyard's extensive storage facilities. The building exemplifies the functional Georgian industrial architecture developed to serve the operational needs of one of Englan…

Clem Rutter, Rochester Kent / CC BY 2.5 / Wikimedia Commons
Remains of Rochester Priory cloister
Scheduled monument · ~0.3 miles
Chatham Dockyard, Chain Cable shed
Scheduled monument · ~0.6 miles
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