Battlefields›Viking Raid on Sheppey (835 AD)
Early Medieval

Viking Raid on Sheppey (835 AD)

835
Kent, England
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Raid
Location
Kent, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Inhabitants of the Isle of Sheppey
VS
Victor
Vikings
Forces involved

Viking raiders (nationality unspecified in sources beyond the general descriptor "Vikings")

Outcome
The Isle of Sheppey was ravaged by the Viking raiders.
The Battle

History & Significance

Year 835 (DCCCXXXV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian Calendar.

Ragnar Lodbrok, a Norse Viking ruler, rises to power. He becomes the scourge of France and England (approximate date).

Vikings raid Ireland on the Kingdom of Munster, at Inis Cathaigh.

Danish Viking raiders ally with the Cornish, against the rule of Ecgberht, King of Wessex (approximate date).

The Isle of Sheppey (off the northern coast of Kent) is attacked by Vikings.

December 14 – Sweet Dew Incident: Emperor Wenzong of Tang plots to free the court from the influence of his palace eunuchs. In the northeast sector of the capital, Chang'an, after the failure of the emperor's chancellor Li Zhongyan to subdue the eunuchs' influence, troops under the eunuchs' command slaughter many officials and other associates.

November 1 – Pope Gregory IV promotes the celebration of the feast of All Saints on this day throughout the Frankish Empire.

Song Ruoxian, Chinese scholar, lady-in-waiting and poet (b. 772)

Confirmed battlefield location
The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Viking Raid on Sheppey (835 AD) lies on Thames Group, bedrock that formed in the Eocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.

Buried history

The raid on Sheppey in 835 was part of a remarkable year of Viking activity across the British Isles, during which Norse forces also struck at Inis Cathaigh in the Kingdom of Munster in Ireland and Danish Viking raiders forged an alliance with the Cornish against the rule of Ecgberht, King of Wessex, demonstrating the wide reach and coordinated menace of Scandinavian raiding in this period.

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Everything a full report reveals about Viking Raid on Sheppey (835 AD)

This page covers Viking Raid on Sheppey (835 AD). 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 Viking Raid on Sheppey (835 AD)

Queenborough Castle
Queenborough Castle
Scheduled monument · ~1.8 mi

Queenborough Castle is a fourteenth-century fortification constructed on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent under the direction of Edward III, likely beginning around 1361. The castle was built as a royal stronghold with defensive and administrative functions, featuring a distinctive circular plan with…

Richard Dorrell / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Queenborough Lines
Queenborough Lines
Scheduled monument · ~2.6 mi

Queenborough Lines is a fortified artillery work located on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, dating from the late sixteenth century. The lines were constructed as part of the coastal defence strategy during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, from whom the settlement of Queenborough takes its name. The f…

Penny Mayes / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Murston Old Church, Sittingbourne
Murston Old Church, Sittingbourne
Scheduled monument · ~3.3 mi

Murston Old Church is a medieval parish church located in Sittingbourne, Kent, with origins dating to the Norman period. The church survives as substantial ruins and represents an important example of medieval religious architecture within the local landscape. Its listed status reflects the archa…

David Anstiss / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Sheerness defences
Sheerness defences
Scheduled monument · ~3.5 mi

Sheerness defences is a complex of 19th-century coastal fortifications located at Sheerness in the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. The defences were constructed from the 1860s onwards in response to perceived threats from continental Europe, particularly France, representing the Victorian era's investment…

Chris Whippet / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Coastal artillery defences on the Isle of Grain, immediately east and south east of Grain village
Coastal artillery defences on the Isle of Grain, immediately east and south east of Grain village
Scheduled monument · ~4.4 mi

Coastal artillery defences on the Isle of Grain is a scheduled ancient monument comprising defensive fortifications constructed during the Second World War to protect the Kent coast against invasion. The site lies immediately east and southeast of Grain village on the Isle of Grain, strategically…

Chris Whippet / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Oare gunpowder works
Oare gunpowder works
Scheduled monument · ~6.4 mi

Oare gunpowder works is a scheduled ancient monument located near Faversham in Kent, representing one of England's important early industrial sites. The works dates from the sixteenth century and was established to manufacture gunpowder for military purposes during a period of significant expansi…

David Anstiss / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
World War II Heavy Anti-aircraft gunsite (TS2), 300m east of Chetney Cottages
Scheduled monument · ~2.1 miles
Nunnery at Minster Abbey
Scheduled monument · ~2.4 miles
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In the same landscape

Battles near Viking Raid on Sheppey (835 AD)

Battle of Graveney Marsh
1940
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Battle of the Medway
43
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Peasants' Revolt: Rochester Castle and Bridge, 1381
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Wyatt's Rebellion: Rochester Bridge Skirmish, 1554
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Sources
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