William the Conqueror's Stone
| Browse information by: Location Makers General Information Classification Object Parts Object Condition History References Photographs |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright for Photograph: Creative Commons |
Location
| Street: | Marina |
| Town: | St. Leonards on Sea |
| Parish: | Hastings |
| Council: | Hastings Borough Council |
| County: | East Sussex |
| Postcode: | TN38 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Road or Wayside |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | At the roadside opposite the Undercliffe |
| In the AZ book: | East Sussex |
| Page: | 127 |
| Grid reference: | H8 |
| The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks. | |
| Previous location: | St. Leonard's Gardens |
| Previous location: | At the entrance to Hastings Pier (? sometime in the 1960s) |
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Makers
| Name : | Unknown |
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General Information
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | Hastings Borough Council |
| Object listing: | Not listed |
| Description: | A slab of local sandstone that rests on a concrete plinth. A bronze plaque is fixed to a wooden support that sits on the stone. William the Conqueror is said to have used the slab as a table on landing in Sussex. |
| Inscription: | TRADITION SAYS THAT WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR LANDED AT BULVERHYTHE AND DINED ON THIS STONE |
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Classification
| Categories: | Commemorative, Natural, Roadside / Wayside, Free Standing |
| Object type1: | Marker |
| Object subtype1: | Commemorative stone |
| Subject type1: | Non-figurative |
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Object Parts
| Part 1: | Stone, including plinth |
| Material: | Local sandstone |
| Height (cm): | 79.5 |
| Width (cm): | 305 |
| Depth (cm): | 193 |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 24/05/2007 |
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History
| History: | William landed at Bulverhythe on 28 September 1066, building a fort in Hastings and engaging Harold Godwinson’s (c.1022–1066) armies seven miles north of Hastings on Senlac Hill, now the town of Battle on 14 October 1066. Harold was killed, it is said, by an arrow that struck him in the eye. The events of the day, subsequently known as The Battle of Hastings, are depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry.
This stone slab was also know as ‘Old Woman’s Tap’ or ‘Tapshaw / Tapshore’. It originally stood roughly at the bottom of Maze Hill and a spring / stream flowed over it (hence the name). It is possible that there, it was in the way of Burton’s development and he possibly invented the legend and moved it to be opposite the Royal Victoria Hotel on the seafront. A Hastings Guide of 1794, cited by J. Manwaring-Baines, states that the rock known as William the Conqueror's Table, was also known as 'Old Woman's Tap' and was in what is now known as St. Leonard's Gardens. A newspaper report from 1828 places the stone near the St. Leonard's Hotel. It was moved to near the entrance to the Pier some time in the 60s, perhaps in 1965/6, when the Triodome was erected on the Pier to house the newly-made Hastings Embroidery. At some later date it was moved back to St. Leonards seafront. William landed at Pevensey (it was a big natural harbour where the levels are now, with an entrance from the sea roughly where Normans Bay is now) – there is proof of this from the trail of devastation recorded from Pevensey to Hastings in Domesday Book, as well as the Bayeux Tapestry and other records. (Heather Grief, Hastings Local History Group) |
| Hard archive file: | No |
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References
| Source 1 : | |
| Title: | Burton's St. Leonards |
| Type: | Book |
| Author: | Baines, John Manwaring |
| Date: | 00/00/1956 |
| Page: | 11, 20 |
| Publisher: | Hastings Museum, Hastings. |
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Photographs
Date: 24/05/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Date: 24/05/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
 Date: 24/05/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Date: 24/05/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
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