Battlefields›Eustace II's Attack on Dover Castle

Medieval

Eustace II's Attack on Dover Castle

Q: When did Eustace II's Attack on Dover Castle take place?

Eustace II's Attack on Dover Castle took place in 1067, in Kent, England. Eustace II, joined by Kentish rebels taking advantage of the absence of Bishop Odo's knights, launched an immediate assault on the reduced Norman garrison at Dover Castle. The attack was repulsed; retreating rebels, believing Odo had arrived with reinforcements, panicked and many fell to their deaths from the cliffs. Eustace escaped to Boulogne but his illegitimate son Geoffrey was captured; the Kentish rebellion dispersed and Eustace was formally banished and had his English lands confiscated at William's Christmas court that year (later restored).

Q: Who won Eustace II's Attack on Dover Castle?

Norman garrison at Dover Castle was victorious. The defeated side was Eustace II of Boulogne and the Kentish insurgents. Eustace II, joined by Kentish rebels taking advantage of the absence of Bishop Odo's knights, launched an immediate assault on the reduced Norman garrison at Dover Castle. The attack was repulsed; retreating rebels, believing Odo had arrived with reinforcements, panicked and many fell to their deaths from the cliffs. Eustace escaped to Boulogne but his illegitimate son Geoffrey was captured; the Kentish rebellion dispersed and Eustace was formally banished and had his English lands confiscated at William's Christmas court that year (later restored).

1067

Kent, England

Era

Medieval

Battle Type

Skirmish

Location

Kent, England

Status

Unregistered

The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated

Eustace II of Boulogne and the Kentish insurgents

Victor

Norman garrison at Dover Castle

Outcome

Eustace II, joined by Kentish rebels taking advantage of the absence of Bishop Odo's knights, launched an immediate assault on the reduced Norman garrison at Dover Castle. The attack was repulsed; retreating rebels, believing Odo had arrived with reinforcements, panicked and many fell to their deaths from the cliffs. Eustace escaped to Boulogne but his illegitimate son Geoffrey was captured; the Kentish rebellion dispersed and Eustace was formally banished and had his English lands confiscated at William's Christmas court that year (later restored).

The Battle

History & Significance

Eustace II's Attack on Dover Castle was a medieval skirmish, fought at Kent, England in 1067. Norman garrison at Dover Castle prevailed over Eustace II of Boulogne and the Kentish insurgents. Eustace II, joined by Kentish rebels taking advantage of the absence of Bishop Odo's knights, launched an immediate assault on the reduced Norman garrison at Dover Castle. The attack was repulsed; retreating rebels, believing Odo had arrived with reinforcements, panicked and many fell to their deaths from the cliffs. Eustace escaped to Boulogne but his illegitimate son Geoffrey was captured; the Kentish rebellion dispersed and Eustace was formally banished and had his English lands confiscated at William's Christmas court that year (later restored).

Confirmed battlefield location

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Eustace II's Attack on Dover Castle lies on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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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

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Local Names

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Historical Maps

Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.

Literature

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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Eustace II's Attack on Dover Castle

St Martin's Priory (remains of)

Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

St Martin's Priory is a former Benedictine priory situated in Dover, Kent, founded in the late Anglo-Saxon period, possibly in the tenth century, making it one of the earliest monastic establishments in the region. The surviving remains comprise fragmentary stonework and earthworks that testify t…

Edward Stock, Poplar / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

The Bath House, N of Market Street

Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

The Bath House north of Market Street is a Roman structure located in Kent, England. The site represents evidence of Romano-British settlement and the domestic infrastructure of the Roman period in the region. As a designated ancient monument, it contributes to understanding the distribution and…

St Martin's Church

Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

St Martin's Church is a medieval parish church located in Kent, England, and represents one of the county's significant ecclesiastical monuments. The church displays architectural features characteristic of the medieval period, with construction and modifications spanning several centuries of dev…

John Baker / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

St James' Church

Scheduled monument · ~0.4 mi

St James' Church is a medieval parish church located in Kent, England, with origins dating to the medieval period. The church reflects the architectural traditions of its era, featuring characteristic elements typical of parish churches constructed during the Middle Ages. As an ancient monument r…

Stephen McKay / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Dover Castle

Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

Dover Castle is a medieval fortress occupying a commanding position on the white cliffs overlooking the English Channel in Kent. The site has been fortified since the Iron Age, with significant Roman remains including a lighthouse, but the castle was substantially developed from the 11th century…

Chensiyuan / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Fairbairn-type crane, Wellington Dock

Scheduled monument · ~0.7 mi

Fairbairn-type crane, Wellington Dock is a cast iron mechanical crane of mid-nineteenth-century industrial design, located at Wellington Dock in Kent. The crane represents the technological advancement in dock machinery during the Victorian era, employing the distinctive Fairbairn engineering pri…

Gerd Fahrenhorst / CC BY 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Maison Dieu

Scheduled monument · ~0.1 miles

The Painted House, N of Market Street

Scheduled monument · ~0.3 miles

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Battles near Eustace II's Attack on Dover Castle

French Raid on Dover 1380

Sea Beggars at Dover: Expulsion and Brielle 1572

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Siege of Dover Castle 1265

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