Rare Footage Captures the 1966 Re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings

English Heritage has acquired rare footage of the first re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings, which took place on 14 October 1966. This event, marking the 900th anniversary of the historic battle, featured around 500 students from Kent and Sussex universities who gathered to recreate the famous clash between the English and the Normans.

At the top of a hill near Hastings, the English combatants awaited the arrival of the Norman army led by William the Conqueror. However, the re-enactment faced an unexpected delay of 20 minutes due to traffic on the A27 from Brighton. The students, dressed in makeshift costumes, were not entirely historically accurate, sporting belted sacks and wielding wooden and hardboard weapons painted silver.

The rivalry between the two universities was palpable. Peter Sampson, a Sussex fresher, recalled the day as a “God-almighty punch-up.” He described the scene: