A team of archaeologists has uncovered evidence that a private home in England may stand on the site of a long-lost residence belonging to Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon King of England. Their findings suggest that this location, depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, was a major centre of power before the Norman Conquest.
Researchers from Newcastle University and the University of Exeter re-examined previous excavations and conducted new surveys to confirm the presence of high-status medieval buildings in Bosham, West Sussex. The village appears twice in the Bayeux Tapestry, which illustrates the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. In one scene, Harold is shown feasting in an opulent hall before setting sail for France. Later, he returns to Bosham before the fateful Battle of Hastings, where he was killed.
The exact location of Harold’s residence in Bosham has long been debated, but archaeological evidence now strongly suggests that it was situated at a site currently occupied by a private home.
Unearthing a Forgotten Anglo-Saxon Power Centre
The Bayeux Tapestry, showing King Harold riding to Bosham, where he attends church and feasts in a hall, before departing for France – Wikimedia Commons
To piece together the early history of the site, archaeologists employed a range of investigative techniques, including geophysical surveys, analysis of historical maps, and re-examination of findings from a 2006 excavation by West Sussex Archaeology. Their efforts uncovered two previously unknown medieval structures—one incorporated into the current house and another in the garden.
The most telling clue, however, came from the 2006 excavations, which identified a latrine within a large timber building. Archaeologists have noted a trend in high-status English houses from the 10th century onward that incorporated private toilets—an indication of elite status. This discovery strongly suggests that the timber structure was part of Harold’s residence, aligning with the depiction in the Bayeux Tapestry. The complex also included a church, which still stands today.
“The realisation that the 2006 excavations had found, in effect, an Anglo-Saxon en-suite confirmed to us that this house sits on the site of an elite residence pre-dating the Norman Conquest,” says Dr Duncan Wright, Senior Lecturer in Medieval Archaeology at Newcastle University and lead researcher on the project. “Looking at this vital clue alongside all our other evidence, it is beyond all reasonable doubt that we have here the location of Harold Godwinson’s private power centre, the one famously depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry.”
Professor Oliver Creighton of the University of Exeter, a co-investigator on the project, added “The Norman Conquest saw a new ruling class supplant an English aristocracy that has left little in the way of physical remains, which makes the discovery at Bosham hugely significant—we have found an Anglo-Saxon show-home.”
Part of the garden ruin at Bosham, confirmed as a medieval building by recent research. Photo courtesy Newcastle University.
The research, published in The Antiquaries Journal, was conducted as part of the Where Power Lies project, which explores the origins and development of aristocratic centres across medieval England. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the project seeks to reassess the archaeological evidence for these influential sites.
The article, “Where Power Lies: Lordly Power Centres in the English Landscape c. 800–1200,” by David Gould, Oliver Creighton, Scott Chaussée, Michael Shapland and Duncan W Wright, appears in Antiquaries Journal. Click here to read it.
A team of archaeologists has uncovered evidence that a private home in England may stand on the site of a long-lost residence belonging to Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon King of England. Their findings suggest that this location, depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, was a major centre of power before the Norman Conquest.
Researchers from Newcastle University and the University of Exeter re-examined previous excavations and conducted new surveys to confirm the presence of high-status medieval buildings in Bosham, West Sussex. The village appears twice in the Bayeux Tapestry, which illustrates the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. In one scene, Harold is shown feasting in an opulent hall before setting sail for France. Later, he returns to Bosham before the fateful Battle of Hastings, where he was killed.
The exact location of Harold’s residence in Bosham has long been debated, but archaeological evidence now strongly suggests that it was situated at a site currently occupied by a private home.
Unearthing a Forgotten Anglo-Saxon Power Centre
To piece together the early history of the site, archaeologists employed a range of investigative techniques, including geophysical surveys, analysis of historical maps, and re-examination of findings from a 2006 excavation by West Sussex Archaeology. Their efforts uncovered two previously unknown medieval structures—one incorporated into the current house and another in the garden.
The most telling clue, however, came from the 2006 excavations, which identified a latrine within a large timber building. Archaeologists have noted a trend in high-status English houses from the 10th century onward that incorporated private toilets—an indication of elite status. This discovery strongly suggests that the timber structure was part of Harold’s residence, aligning with the depiction in the Bayeux Tapestry. The complex also included a church, which still stands today.
“The realisation that the 2006 excavations had found, in effect, an Anglo-Saxon en-suite confirmed to us that this house sits on the site of an elite residence pre-dating the Norman Conquest,” says Dr Duncan Wright, Senior Lecturer in Medieval Archaeology at Newcastle University and lead researcher on the project. “Looking at this vital clue alongside all our other evidence, it is beyond all reasonable doubt that we have here the location of Harold Godwinson’s private power centre, the one famously depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry.”
Professor Oliver Creighton of the University of Exeter, a co-investigator on the project, added “The Norman Conquest saw a new ruling class supplant an English aristocracy that has left little in the way of physical remains, which makes the discovery at Bosham hugely significant—we have found an Anglo-Saxon show-home.”
Part of the garden ruin at Bosham, confirmed as a medieval building by recent research. Photo courtesy Newcastle University.
The research, published in The Antiquaries Journal, was conducted as part of the Where Power Lies project, which explores the origins and development of aristocratic centres across medieval England. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the project seeks to reassess the archaeological evidence for these influential sites.
The article, “Where Power Lies: Lordly Power Centres in the English Landscape c. 800–1200,” by David Gould, Oliver Creighton, Scott Chaussée, Michael Shapland and Duncan W Wright, appears in Antiquaries Journal. Click here to read it.
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