Battlefields›Siege of Pevensey Castle (Anarchy)
Medieval

Siege of Pevensey Castle (Anarchy)

1088
East Sussex, England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Siege
Location
East Sussex, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Odo of Bayeux / Robert of Mortain and rebel garrison
VS
Victor
William Rufus (William II)
Outcome
Pevensey's defences resisted assault from land and sea, but the garrison surrendered after roughly six weeks when food ran out and no relief arrived from Normandy (blocked by bad weather); Odo of Bayeux was captured, breaking the rebellion.
The Battle

History & Significance

Siege of Pevensey Castle (Anarchy) was a medieval siege, the investment of a fortified position, fought at East Sussex, England in 1088. William Rufus (William II) prevailed over Odo of Bayeux / Robert of Mortain and rebel garrison. Pevensey's defences resisted assault from land and sea, but the garrison surrendered after roughly six weeks when food ran out and no relief arrived from Normandy (blocked by bad weather); Odo of Bayeux was captured, breaking the rebellion.

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Siege of Pevensey Castle (Anarchy) lies on Wealden Group, bedrock that formed in the Barremian. The rock here is sandstone and siltstone, interbedded.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Siege of Pevensey Castle (Anarchy)

This page covers Siege of Pevensey Castle (Anarchy). 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.
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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Siege of Pevensey Castle (Anarchy)

Pevensey Castle: a Saxon Shore fort, Norman defences, a medieval enclosure castle, and later associated remains
Pevensey Castle: a Saxon Shore fort, Norman defences, a medieval enclosure castle, and later associated remains
Scheduled monument · ~0 mi

Pevensey Castle is a complex fortified site in Sussex that originated as a Roman Saxon Shore fort of the late third century, built to defend the coast against Germanic raiders. The Romans constructed distinctive D-shaped outer walls, portions of which survive to substantial height, enclosing an a…

Piotr Zarobkiewicz / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Martello tower no 64 at the Crumbles, 1.3km north east of Langney Point
Martello tower no 64 at the Crumbles, 1.3km north east of Langney Point
Scheduled monument · ~1.6 mi

Martello tower no 64 at the Crumbles is a defensive fortification built during the Napoleonic Wars, constructed as part of the coastal defence network established along the Sussex coast between 1804 and 1812. The tower is a circular brick structure typical of Martello towers, designed to provide…

David Dixon / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Martello tower no 66, 320m north east of Langney Point
Martello tower no 66, 320m north east of Langney Point
Scheduled monument · ~2.2 mi

Martello Tower No. 66 is a circular defensive tower constructed during the Napoleonic Wars, forming part of the chain of fortifications built along the Sussex coast between 1805 and 1812. The tower, located near Langney Point east of Eastbourne, follows the standard design of these coastal defenc…

J2hey / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Martello tower no 55, 500m south west of Normans' Bay Station
Martello tower no 55, 500m south west of Normans' Bay Station
Scheduled monument · ~2.3 mi

Martello tower no 55 is a defensive coastal fortification constructed during the Napoleonic Wars, part of the extensive chain of Martello towers built along the Sussex coast in the early nineteenth century. The tower exhibits the characteristic cylindrical or near-cylindrical form typical of thes…

Alexis Markwick / CC0 / Wikimedia Commons
Deserted medieval village of Northeye, 885m south-west of Old Road Farm
Deserted medieval village of Northeye, 885m south-west of Old Road Farm
Scheduled monument · ~2.8 mi

Deserted medieval village of Northeye is a scheduled ancient monument located in Sussex, south-west of Old Road Farm, comprising the earthwork remains of a settlement that was inhabited during the medieval period. The site preserves ridge-and-furrow field systems and toft platforms characteristic…

Alexis Markwick / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Eastbourne Redoubt
Eastbourne Redoubt
Scheduled monument · ~3.4 mi

Eastbourne Redoubt is a Napoleonic-era coastal defence fortification constructed during the early nineteenth century on the Sussex coast near Eastbourne. Built as part of the extensive system of martello towers and redoubts erected to defend against potential French invasion, the structure repres…

The Voice of Hassocks / CC0 / Wikimedia Commons
Medieval moated site and associated earthworks, Pound Piece, Manxey
Scheduled monument · ~1.5 miles
Shinewater Bronze Age settlement
Scheduled monument · ~2.1 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Siege of Pevensey Castle (Anarchy)

Siege of Anderida
491
~0 miles away
Raid on Pevensey Bay, French 1377
1377
~0.1 miles away
Siege of Pevensey Castle 1088, Odo of Bayeux rebellion
1088
~0.1 miles away
Aelle of Sussex: Landing and Early Sussex Battles, c.477 to 491
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