Hastings · Rock Sublime: The Sussex Coast in the British Imagination

Hastings is a world-historically famous site, and one which is lodged firmly in the English imagination. It lent its name to the battle which established Norman rule in England in 1066, and which marked the death of Harold and the end of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom. However, Hastings is actually the small town nearby — William landed just to its west, at Pevensey Bay, and then made his way East to the site of Battle, about 6 miles north of Hastings. It was on the hilltop there the battle was fought, and where an Abbey built by William as penance stands. Hastings occupies an interesting position, forming both a key geographical marker for the 'Norman Yoke' which was understood to hold the English under a continental tyranny (evoking nationalistic response), while simultaneously representing its defeat in the last successful invasion of the island.

We see a strong emphasis on the history of the place in this section of the travel guide, framed not just as the details of some local history but instead given a larger historical scope which extends beyond the boundaries of the site. It discusses nearly the full canonical story of the Norman conquest while simultaneously, tying that national history to specific places in the landscape to which one could travel.

This illustration shows the ruins of Hastings Castle, atop the mighty cliffs from which it overlooks the sea. It is an excellent spot from which to view Beachy Head on a clear day. Again, we see similar emphases on the elements of the Sussex landscape which are seen as noteworthy — white cliffs, deep history, the sea, and the ships upon it.

Like the travel guide, this travelogue gives a historical recounting of the events of the conquest as they relate to the landscape (using considerably more dramatic language to do so). It is, however, interesting that as much attention is paid in the text to the various notable contemporary houses and manors (to us today, of course, all firmly in the Romantic past) encountered on the route – the continuous nature of the journey demanded moving from one place to the next in the writing as much as it did in the travel itself.