Ancient site · England · Partial ruin

Battle Abbey

Battle Abbey is a Benedictine abbey founded on the site of the 1066 Battle of Hastings in Battle, East Sussex. Much of the medieval church is gone and survives as an outline on the ground, while later 13th–16th-century monastic buildings, the gatehouse and parts of the abbot's quarters remain; the site is managed by English Heritage and includes a visitor centre and battlefield landscape.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

First raised

1067

Its prime

1300

Today

Partial ruin

As it stood in 1300

What Battle Abbey looked like in its prime.

A fortified gatehouse of warm honey-coloured sandstone with two cylindrical, crenellated drum towers flanking a large pointed central gateway and two smaller side arches. Horizontal bands of dressed ashlar, blind arcading and a row of narrow traceried windows above the arches give the façade a layered, vertical rhythm. Surfaces are weathered; arrow-slits and cross-shaped embrasures puncture the towers. A gravel forecourt and short grass lead up to the recessed timber gates set within the moulded stone arch.

Step inside

10 places to explore in 1300.

The record describes 10 distinct spots at Battle Abbey, including 3 interiors: beneath the central gateway passage, inside the monks' gatehouse, visitor centre exhibition space. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more photos, more angles and more of the immersive experience.

Main approach: west front of gatehouseBeneath the central gateway passageClose-up of a drum towerCrenellated parapet and merlonsChurch outline and high-altar plaqueMonastic ranges around the cloisterAbbot's house and converted quartersInside the monks' gatehouseVisitor centre exhibition spaceView to Senlac Hill and the battlefield

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