Hastings Town Wall

In the civil parish of Hastings.
In the historic county of Sussex (Modern Authority of East Sussex, 1974 county of East Sussex).

The old town was protected towards the sea by a wall which stretched across the mouth of the valley from the castle headland to the East cliff. The wall was provided with towers at each end and had three gates. Built in late C14 to protect town from French. Very scanty remains now exposed by demolition

This site has been described as a;
Urban Defence.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Cropmarks/slight earthworks remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 294156)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TQ8209

PastScape number; 417248

Books

Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p129, 156, 173, 203, 260
Salter, Mike, 2000, The Castles of Sussex (Malvern) p40
Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p92-116
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p476
Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA research reports) pp57-71
Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p155 [slight]
Salzman, L.F. (ed), 1937, VCH Sussex Vol9 p4-5
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co) p209

Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)

Martin, D., Martin, B. and Wittick, C., 1985, An Archaeological Interpretative Survey of The Old Town Wall, Hastings, East Sussex [University College London Field Archaeology Unit] (Lewes: East Sussex SMR)

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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Hastings Town Wall

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is TQ8209

Sources of information, references and further reading