Berkhamsted Castle

In 2016, the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings was celebrated.

A number of events at historic sites across England marked the occasion. A group of 2000 battle re-enactors in medieval costume went on a 300-mile march from York to Battle Abbey, near Hastings, following the route south that King Harold and his men took to face William, Duke of Normandy in 1066. They travelled on foot and horseback and lived in Saxon-style camps along the way. At Battle Abbey, celebrations organised by English Heritage included a re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings on the battlefield where King Harold fell.

In Berkhamsted,  a bronze bust of William the Conqueror by sculptor Peter Walker was unveiled at Berkhamsted Castle, where the Saxon nobles surrendered to the Normans 1066.

A special 10-day exhibition was held in Berkhamsted Civic Centre and in the Old Hall at Berkhamsted School, in which the the Alderney Bayeux Tapestry Finale was loaned from the Channel Islands and put on show to the public. The Alderney Tapestry is a modern work of embroidery which “completes” the missing parts at the end of the Bayeux Tapestry with scenes showing William accepting the surrender of English nobles at Berkhamsted and his coronation in Westminster Abbey.