The Burning of Southwark was a battle fought in Southwark during the Norman Conquest of England in October 1066. The

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

soldiers of

William, Duke of Normandy William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

fought with Anglo-Saxon soldiers in Southwark for control of London Bridge, crossing the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

to the English capital

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The Normans defeated the Anglo-Saxons in the battle but withdrew from Southwark due to strong local resistance, setting fire to the town during their retreat to spread terror. Southwark was destroyed and William marched westwards and cut off Anglo-Saxon supply routes to London which led to the city submitting to his rule.

Background

had launched his invasion of the Kingdom of England in late September 1066, declaring his claim to the

English throne The Throne of England is the throne of the Monarch of England. "Throne of England" also refers metonymically to the office of monarch, and monarchy itself.Gordon, Delahay. (1760) ''A General History of the Lives, Trials, and Executions of All th ...

following the death of the childless Anglo-Saxon King Edward the Confessor, the son of his great-aunt

Emma of Normandy Emma of Normandy (referred to as Ælfgifu in royal documents; c. 984 – 6 March 1052) was a Norman-born noblewoman who became the English, Danish, and Norwegian queen through her marriages to the Anglo-Saxon king Æthelred the Unready and the ...

. Edward's death in January 1066 saw his brother-in-law

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the ...

proclaimed king by the Anglo-Saxon

Witenagemot The Witan () was the king's council in Anglo-Saxon England from before the seventh century until the 11th century. It was composed of the leading magnates, both ecclesiastic and secular, and meetings of the council were sometimes called the Wi ...

, but still resulted in a violent succession crisis contested by his brother

Tostig Godwinson Tostig Godwinson ( 102925 September 1066) was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson. After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada's invasion of England, and was killed ...

, the King of Norway Harald Hardrada, and

Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia Ælfgar (died ) was the son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, by his famous mother Godgifu (Lady Godiva). He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on the latter's death in 1057. He gained the additional title of Earl of East Anglia, but a ...

's sons

Morcar Morcar (or Morkere) ( ang, Mōrcǣr) (died after 1087) was the son of Ælfgār (earl of Mercia) and brother of Ēadwine. He was the earl of Northumbria from 1065 to 1066, when he was replaced by William the Conqueror with Copsi. Dispute with t ...

and Ēadwine. Harold had defeated his other opponents by 25 September, leaving William's invasion on 28 September his only remaining threat. On 14 October, William defeated an English force at the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conque ...

and killed Harold, then moved to secure the English capital at

, where

Edgar Ætheling Edgar Ætheling or Edgar II (c. 1052 – 1125 or after) was the last male member of the royal house of Cerdic of Wessex. He was elected King of England by the Witenagemot in 1066, but never crowned. Family and early life Edgar was born ...

had been proclaimed king by the Witenagemot. Expecting little resistance, William sent a small force of cavalry to the strategic town of Southwark to secure the southern end of London Bridge, which provided a crossing of the

and direct access to London. At the time, Southwark was a partially-

fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

suburb town of London and formed part of the personal estate of Godwinson's family.

Battle

Some of London's population supported William but many resisted the Norman invaders, with the local Anglo-Saxon forces led by Ansgar (or Esegar) the "Staller" (Royal standard bearer) and sheriff of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. Ansgar had been wounded whilst leading a contingent of Londoners for Harold at the Battle of Hastings, but had returned to the city with a number of other Anglo-Saxon leaders to organise a defence against William. Although Ansgar's wounds were so severe that he was not capable of walking and had to be carried in a

litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups ...

, he seems to have mustered a force by that season's third raising of the

fyrd A fyrd () was a type of early Anglo-Saxon army that was mobilised from freemen or paid men to defend their Shire's lords estate, or from selected representatives to join a royal expedition. Service in the fyrd was usually of short duration and ...

and his troops were described as "numerous and formidable". William made an offer to Ansgar that he could retain his estates and position as sheriff and join William's council if he recognised him as king. Ansgar refused to accept the terms and led a number of London citizenry against the Norman force at Southwark:

Edwin, Earl of Mercia Edwin (Old English: ''Ēadwine'') (died 1071) was the elder brother of Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, son of Ælfgār, Earl of Mercia and grandson of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on Ælfgār's de ...

, Morcar, Earl of Northumbria and Ealdred, Archbishop of York may possibly have been amongst the defenders. The 500 Norman knights defeated the Anglo-Saxon force and reached London Bridge but, shocked at the fierce defence put up by the defenders, they were unable to hold the structure and soon withdrew. The town of Southwark was set ablaze by the Normans as they withdrew to spread terror amongst the inhabitants of London across the river. Almost the entire town was destroyed, including the Southwark mint, which did not recover its former levels of production until the late 1080s.

Aftermath

William postponed his attempt to directly storm London as a result of the defence made at Southwark. The Norman probing force reunited with the main army which began a circuitous march around the west of London. This country was strongly anti-Norman and William found many of the Thames crossings defended, avoiding

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

and reached Wallingford where he crossed the river after securing the support of Saxon

thegn In Anglo-Saxon England, thegns were aristocratic landowners of the second rank, below the ealdormen who governed large areas of England. The term was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers. In medieval Scotland, there ...

Wigod Wigod (also spelt Wigot) was the eleventh-century Saxon thegn or lord of the English town of Wallingford, and a kinsman of Edward the Confessor. After the Battle of Hastings, during the 1066 Norman invasion of England, William the Conqueror mad ...

. William then split his forces into two divisions; leading one personally northwards via

Wendover Wendover is a market town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road a ...

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

with the other marching via

Sonning Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book '' Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Geo ...

Wargrave Wargrave () is a historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon and lies on the border with southern Oxfordshire. The village has many old ...

, Maidenhead and Chalfont St Peter. William's forces cut off the supply routes to London from the rest of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom and, together with the burning of Southwark and the Duke's negotiation with the county of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, led to the submission of the city. William had been in contact with leading clergymen in the English capital to persuade them to support his cause, and it seems that they were successful in influencing the Anglo-Saxon leaders of the city who travelled to Berkhamsted to pledge their loyalty to William and deliver him the keys to the city gates. William entered the city peacefully and was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day.

References

{{reflist Southwark Southwark Southwark Southwark Norman conquest of England Fires in England