Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Mr. Merrett, and I'll be guiding you through today's lesson.

So let's get started.

Today's lesson, looking at the historic environment for Norman England, is focusing on Pevensey's geography.

And by the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to describe Pevensey's geography.

In order to do that, we need to use some key terms, and our key term for today is peninsula.

And a peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on three sides.

Today's lesson will consist of two separate learning cycles, and our first learning cycle is looking at the geographical features of mediaeval Pevensey.

So let's get started.

Now today, Pevensey is a gently sloping shingle beach on the south coast that is popular with tourists.

The village of Pevensey itself is located about a mile inland from the coast and it sits at the base of its large ruined castle.

The area though is completely unrecognisable from how it would've looked a thousand years ago and not simply because of the impact of human habitation on the area.

In 1066, the land that the village of Pevensey sits on now and everything up to Pevensey Bay was completely underwater.

Right, so our first check for understanding.

So I'd like you to think, which coast of England is Pevensey located on? Is it the east coast, the south coast, or the west coast? Make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose B, then very well done.

That is the correct answer.

Now today, Pevensey Bay would quite frankly be a terrible place to launch a seaborne invasion from.

The gentle curve of the beach offers absolutely no protection from stormy weather.

However, a thousand years ago, on the 28th of September, 1066, the area around Pevensey was the perfect location for William the Conqueror to begin his campaign to become King of England.

The land that Pevensey Castle sits on was a peninsula jutting out into the English Channel, with only a very narrow spit connecting it to the mainland.

If you look at the map on the screen in front of you there, you get a very good idea about how Pevensey would've looked a thousand years ago.

To either side were natural harbours which protected his ships from the worst of the weather, which is also protected by a meandering shoreline, as well as the large natural barriers of Beachy Head to the west, which is a very large cliff formation, and the south down to the north, which is some very hilly terrain.

The shallow beach surrounding the Pevensey peninsula allowed William's soldiers to disembark safely without risk of drowning in deep water.

And the marshland adjoining the coast offered further protection by slowing down any potential attackers who might have attempted to prevent William's landing.

After taking up residence in the undefended Pevensey Castle, William ordered a ditch to be dug across the spits that connected the peninsula to the mainland, thus improving his defences even further by limiting the number of attackers who could gain access to the castle walls.

When night fell on the 28th of September, 1066, William the Conqueror must have felt very pleased with his choice of landing site.

Right, so another check for understanding now.

So it's a true or false question.

I'd like you to think, Pevensey's shallow beach made it a difficult place for a seaborne invasion to land.

Is that true or is that false? Make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose false, then congratulations, it's indeed a false statement.

In terms of why, well, the reason being is that a shallow beach would allow his soldiers to disembark safely with little risk of drowning.

And another check for understanding now.

What kind of natural feature was Pevensey located on in 1066? Was it a delta, an island, or a peninsula? Make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose C, then well done.

That is the correct answer.

And another check for understanding.

What did William order to be dug after he took up residence in Pevensey Castle? Was it a bridge across the moats connecting the castle to the mainland? Was it a ditch across the spits connecting the peninsula to the mainland? Or was it a bridge across the river connecting his boats to the mainland? Make your choice now.

Alright, if you chose B, then well done.

That is the correct answer.

Okay, let's have our first task for today then.

I'd like you to complete the table explaining how the geographical features of Pevensey made it a good defensible location for William's army.

So the four geographical features we are gonna focus on is the fact that it was located on a peninsula, that there were natural harbours, there were shallow beaches, and it was surrounded by marsh.

So what would the effects of those geographical features be for William's army? Pause the video whilst you complete this task, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you got on okay with that task.

Let's think about what you could have said then.

So in terms of the fact that Pevensey was located on a peninsula, well, the effect of that would be that any potential land forces that attacked William's army would only be able to attack from one side.

So it makes it much easier for William to concentrate his forces against any potential attack.

The fact that Pevensey had two natural harbours means that it was safe for ships and also that William's army would be able to be reinforced by sea if necessary as well.

The fact that Pevensey had shallow beaches meant that it was safe for soldiers to disembark.

There's no threat of when they're carrying all their heavy equipment if they jump into deep water, that they could potentially drown if they try and keep hold of that equipment.

But they're jumping into shallow water, then there's no real danger of that at all.

And finally, the fact that Pevensey was surrounded by marsh meant that it was difficult for the attackers to approach or certainly to approach quickly as well.

So hopefully you got some similar answers to what I have on the screen there in front of you.

Right, let's move on to our second learning cycle of today, which is looking at the geographical features of mediaeval Sussex.

Now, even though by itself Pevensey was a good choice for William to begin his conquest from, the county that Pevensey was located in, the county of Sussex, improved William's position even further.

One of the major problems of leading an army in the mediaeval period was finding enough food to keep the soldiers healthy and fed and also enough plunder to keep them happy.

Sussex provided William's army with solutions to both of these problems. Sussex was a particularly rich, arable corner of England.

It has some really, really good soil for really, really productive farmland.

As a result, it held abundant farmland for William's troops to forage food from.

The good farmland meant that Sussex held a number of wealthy towns and villages, many of which were plundered and laid waste by William's army soon after it landed.

Sussex was also located directly north of William's Duchy of Normandy in northern France, which afforded him the quickest possible journey from Normandy to England.

And this also allowed William to maintain quick and effective communications with his home region.

If things go very, very badly for William, it also meant that if William needed to very quickly return to Normandy, then anywhere along the Sussex coastline, but in particular, Pevensey would be a very good location for him to depart from.

Okay, let's have another check for understanding now.

I'd like you to identify two benefits to William beginning his invasion in arable land.

So is it that there was good land for his soldiers to plant crops? There's lots of stone to use for building fortifications? There were crops available for his troops to forage? Or that there were plenty of towns and villages nearby to loot? So choose two of those options now.

Okay, if you chose C and D, then very well done.

Those are the correct answers.

And yet another check for understanding.

It's a true or false statement.

So a base at Pevensey allowed William to maintain good links with Normandy.

Is that statement true or false? Make your choice now.

Okay, if you chose true, then well done.

That is the correct answer.

In terms of why it's correct, well, being on the south coast meant that Pevensey was as close to Normandy as England can get, as well as having a good harbour for ships to safely dock and depart from.

Alright, let's go for our first task in our second learning cycle.

So I'd like you to once again complete a table explaining how the geographical features of Sussex this time made it a good landing location for William's army.

And there are three geographical features that we've got here.

So the first is that Sussex was a rich, arable corner of England.

What effect is that gonna have for William's army? Secondly, that they held a number of wealthy towns and villages.

And thirdly, that it was directly north of William's Duchy of Normandy.

So pause the video whilst you complete this task, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

I hope you got on okay with that task.

Let's think of what you could have said then.

So in terms of the fact that Sussex was a rich, arable corner of England, well, the impact of that would be that it had abundant farmland for William's troops to forage food from.

The fact that Sussex held a number of wealthy towns and villages meant that it would allow William's troops to plunder for more supplies.

And finally, the fact that it was directly north of William's Duchy of Normandy meant that it afforded him the quickest possible journey from Normandy to England.

And it also allowed him to maintain communications and provide a quick escape route if that was necessary as well.

So once again, hopefully you've got similar answers to what I've got on the screen in front of you here as well.

Alright, let's go for our next task for today then.

So I've got an interpretation on the screen, it's from Jacob, and he says that Pevensey was the perfect place for William to land an invasion force.

And I'd like you to think, to what extent do you agree with Jacob's interpretation? And I'd like to support your answer with at least four pieces of evidence.

There's a variety of different pieces of evidence that I'd like you to use to support this answer.

And by all means, please use your completed tables from earlier in the lesson to help you answer this question.

So pause the video whilst you complete this task, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you got on okay with that task.

Let's think about what you could have said.

So you might have said, I agree with Jacob's interpretation to a great extent because Pevensey was a great defensive location.

This is because it was a peninsula, which meant that William's invasion force could occupy the land and limit the number of attackers that could assault them.

This was amplified by William's decision to dig a ditch across the spits that linked the peninsula to the mainland.

The natural harbours either side of the peninsula and shallow beaches around it also meant that William's ships would be safe from storms and his soldiers could safely disembark, increasing his chances of having the largest army and fleet possible.

Furthermore, Pevensey's location in Sussex allowed William's troops easy access to foraging and plundering, which would keep them well fed and sustained for the fight ahead.

Finally, Sussex was directly north of William's Duchy of Normandy, which meant that Pevensey as a landing destination afforded him the quickest possible journey from Normandy to England.

It also allowed William to maintain quick and effective communications and provided a quick escape route if needed.

Therefore, Jacob's statement is entirely correct, and Pevensey was the perfect place for William to land an invasion force.

So if you have a different opinion to me, as long as you can justify it and provide evidence to support that claim, then that's absolutely fine.

With your evidence as well, as long as you fully explain how it supports the point that you are making, that's what we're looking for here as well.

So hopefully your answer is similar to mine in the sense that it has a variety of pieces of evidence and you fully explain how that evidence supports the point that you want to make.

In my case, it's the fact that I fully agree with Jacob's interpretation.

Okay, let's summarise today's lesson now then.

So Pevensey is located in Sussex on the south coast of England, which is directly north of Normandy.

In 1066, Pevensey was a peninsula with natural harbours and shallow beaches surrounding it.

Sussex provided plenty of good arable farmland for its inhabitants, meaning lots of supplies for an invading army.

Pevensey's location meant that William was able to maintain effective links with his Duchy of Normandy.

Thank you very much for joining me today.

Hopefully you've enjoyed yourself, hopefully you've learned something and hopefully I'll see you again next time.

Bye-bye.