Castleham

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Richard
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Castleham

Postby Richard » Fri Nov 17, 2017 6:47 pm

There is a 'Castleham' industrial estate in Hastings and a 'Castleham' road in St. Leonards.
Also a 'Castleham' MOT test centre in Manor road, where it drops down from Mount Pleasant Road, Hastings.
Does anyone know where the name 'Castleham' first arose from and why?

KevinBattle
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Joined: Wed Aug 28, 2019 11:40 am

Re: Castleham

Postby KevinBattle » Wed Aug 28, 2019 12:48 pm

Hello Richard
I see no one replied to your enquiry of almost 2 years ago.
The history of Hastings simply says "Castleham
A mansion named Castleham was situated on a commanding site to the north of Hollington. Built by David Henry Stone in about 1868, Castleham was a delightful example of mid-Victorian Gothic architecture. The house was demolished in 1977 and the land is now used for Castleham Industrial Estate."
but as you rightly enquire, there must have been some reason for the choice of Castleham, or even Castle Ham. As you may know, "ham" is Old English for "settlement or village" and everyone associates Castles with the Normans....
Now, think back to September 1066. William has crossed the Channel and successfully landed his troops from about 700 ships using the large tidal bay at Pevensey. He's an astute military tactician and the first task would be to secure the shore from possible Saxon attack. Pevensey had the old Roman fort of Anderita on its western edge, so those walls, no matter how ruinous, would have provided an immediate refuge in case of attack. His troops would then have spread round the shore line seeking any potential force marching towards Pevensey. Anderita would secure the western flank of Pevensey Bay from attack, but that still left the north and east shores exposed. William had brought 3 prefabricated forts with him, so it's easy to surmise they would be on hills to the north (Windmill Hill) and east at Ninfield (Standard Hill gives a clue). However, a shallow tidal bay doesn't provide deep water for heavily loaded cargo vessels with larger pieces of equipment. After a day or two of throwing up hasty defensive positions around the three strongpoints, he would need to capture a deep water port, such as was at Bulverhythe (which many believe was the original Hastings). So William captured Bulverhythe but would also need to protect that port from attack.
Now, search on the internet for a topographical map of East Sussex and zoom in towards Hastings. You'll see that Castleham is ideally situated on high ground to overlook Bulverhythe to guide in supply ships, and also defend the port from attack and dominate the surrounding countryside. So it would make sense for William to erect a motte and bailey defence there.
Now look at the Bayeux Tapestry: it clearly shows William landing at Pevensey, but then goes on to state that William built a castle at Hastingae. Two clearly different locations. Firstly we can dismiss the new location for Hastings, as the shore would not have been suitable for unloading heavy cargoes, and would require a steep climb uphill.
Now consider where the name "Hastings" may have originated. The Romans had a variety of spears and javelins in their arsenal. One type was the "hasta" about 6ft long. The Romans were exporting iron ore but would also be able to fashion weapons "on site" as it were. The Old English word "Ingas" meant people of that area, not specifically confined just to a town limits. So by saying William built a castle at "Hastingae" that doesn't specify it was the TOWN of Hastings, but the area (much as we call 1066 Country nowadays).
If William confined all his defences around Pevensey, there would be no need to use two names for the same place.
Now consider the generic Roman word for arrow, missile, dart, spear, javelin is the noun "telum" and there is a settlement named Telham close by. In fact many believe it was on this hill that the Normans saw the approaching Saxons. Certainly from there (Blackhorse Hill) you can see the crest of Caldbec Hill, where it is believed the Saxons camped before moving to the spur known as Senlac and it is recorded that the two armies could see each others camp fires.

So, that's my theory as to why Castleham gained its name, from being the site of one of Williams temporary motte and bailey defences protecting Bulverhythe.

.... but I wasn't there in 1066, so I could be wrong!!

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Richard
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Re: Castleham

Postby Richard » Thu Aug 29, 2019 6:41 am

Hello KevinBattle, Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed reply.
William would definitely have needed a suitable site to moor his large fleet and a nearby castle, or castles, to supply/defend his intended battle.
He managed to run rings around the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants as there was an extensive network of supply and local knowledge from lands owned across the area, available to William from pre-battle times, i.e. in Hastings itself and at other outlying districts, where lands were owned by the French Church. (We know the Normans were not indigenous French but would have had access to such information).

Castleham itself is somewhat lost in the mists of time but it adds to the interest.

Gorbag 67
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Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2023 1:41 am

Re: Castleham

Postby Gorbag 67 » Sat Jun 03, 2023 2:32 am

Hi Richard and Kevin
I was really interested to come across this thread from nearly 4 years ago. It cropped up when I was searching for information on Castleham. I had always wondered about this placename but it does not appear in Placenames of Sussex or in Domesday. I agree with Kevin that strategically the site would be ideally suited for a fortification with its commanding position over Coombe Haven and the likely Port of Hastings at Bulverhythe which is mentioned in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle. A recent paper by Jeremy Haslam puts forward the current Hastings castle as William's likely headquarters based on a previous castle built by under Aethelred's reign to ward off Viking raiders. However I don't think this makes sense from a strategic point of view for the same reasons you mention Kevin. Not only does the Castleham site (which I think is actually at the highest point where Beech Hill Farm was, just beyond Queensway) command the inlet of the sea but it also gives easy access the The Ridge, an ancient trackway which leads up to Battle. William would want to be close to both his ships in the port of Hastings at Bulverhythe and also be near the Ridge from where Harold would be likely to emerge with his army on his march down from London.
I am interested in trying to find earlier references to Castleham perhaps in the archives and tithe maps. The farm building that was pulled down probably dated to the 17th century but Castle ham is clearly Anglo-Saxon in origin so it may date back to then, either post-Conquest or perhaps relate to an earlier Roman fortification on that site.


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