The Battle Abbey Archive: a talk by Christopher Whittick
In penance of killing so many in the Norman conquest of England in 1066, William the Conqueror built Battle Abbey on the site where the Battle of Hastings took place. In 1923, the American railway millionaire Henry Edwards Huntington bought the archive of Battle Abbey, which had been sold by the owners of the estate in 1835. This talk will describe the chequered life of the papers, now in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, and how they relate to The Keep’s own Battle Abbey archive, which was presented to East Sussex Record Office under the Acceptance in Lieu scheme this year.
Christopher Whittick is Senior Archivist for East Sussex Record Office. His interest lies in medieval legal history and manorial records.
Talks are free, but booking is essential.