28 September 1066 -- Norman Conquest Starts

All summer, the English have feared an invasion, particularly in the Hastings/Pevensey area. But by 8 September it was thought that the beginning of the Autumn gales ruled out any seaborne attack. The English fleet was dispersed and the army disbanded.

The Norman force is supported by ships and men from Brittany, Flanders, Maine, Bologne and other parts of France. It formed up at Dives-sur-Mer, not far from Caen, in August, but had to wait several weeks for a favourable wind. On 12 September, the wind turned more westerly and the fleet set sail as far as St-Valéry-sur-Somme. It was only on the 27th that the wind turned south and the fleet could set sail across the Channel.

A massive invasion force under William, Duke of Normandy, landed at Pevensey,(28/09/1066)  unopposed. Although an invasion has been feared for some time, the townspeople were unprepared when, shortly after dawn, some 700 ships hove into view. William's ship, the Mora, entered the tiny harbour, but the Norman armada was so large that most of the ships beached in the lagoon or to the east of the town.

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Few expected such a seasoned campaigner as William of Normandy to risk a Channel crossing so late in the season. One squall, one encounter with English ships, and his force would have been dispersed. As it was, he lost only two ships. One, possibly both of them, made it to England but landed at Romney, far from the beachhead at Pevensey and were quickly despatched by locals.