The Norman Conquest

Upon the death of Edward the Confessor (so-called for his strong religious beliefs), who had ruled England since 1042, there was some dispute over who his rightful successor was. One contender was Edward’s grandson, Edgar the Aethling, but it was reported that on his death bed Edward had named Harold Godswinson, Earl of Wessex, as his heir. Harold was also Edward’s brother-in-law.

However, another person who believed that they had a legitimate claim to the throne was William, Duke of Normandy (in France). William had supported Edward during a dispute with Harold’s father Godwin and claimed that in 1051 Edward had promised him the throne. Harold argued that this promise had been cancelled out by Edward’s deathbed promise to him, but William disagreed and replied that in 1064 Harold had promised to support William’s claim.

In January 1066, Harold was proclaimed King of England by the Whitan (The Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Parliament). William was outraged by this and prepared for an invasion. Bad winds prevented William from invading in the South but whilst Harold was preparing for the Norman invasion, Harold Hadrada King of Norway had landed in the North of England. Harold Godswinson and his men rode up to meet them and defeated them at Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire on September 25th. Just two days after this battle William and his army landed at Pevensey in Sussex and spent two weeks ransacking the area.

On the 14th October, Harold Godswinson stood against William at the Battle of Hastings. Harold’s troops were tired from their previous battle and the travelling and quickley succumbed to the strength of the Normans. Harold and his brothers died in the fighting, thus removing any organised resistance to the Norman invasion and on Christmas Day 1066, the Whitan hesitantly declared William King of England.

After the Norman victory the entire ruling class of Saxon thegns (nobles) were replaced by Norman lords in an attempt to prevent any rebellions by anti-Norman natives. For every Anglo-Saxon settlement sacked (raided), a Norman stronghold appeared. William the Conqueror had raised his Norman army by promising a share in the spoils of war and the most prosperous spoils were English lands. To his most loyal supporters William gave large areas of land and around 200 Norman barons replaced 4,000 Anglo-Saxon nobles. This would have altered not only the landscape of England but also the way it was run as the power was now concentrated in the hands of a few powerful men.

Shropshire under the Normans

Immediately after the Norman Conquest, Shropshire was placed under the control of the Anglo-Saxon Earl Edwin of Mercia, who had accepted William as Monarch and was therefore not thought to be of any threat to the new Norman ideals. However, Shropshire was a volatile county and in 1069 the Anglo-Saxon Eadric (or Edric), a landowner on the Shropshire/Herefordshire border, rebelled against Norman rule. He launched an assault on the Norman garrison at Shrewsbury and burnt and looted the town.

At this time Roger de Montgomery was earl of Shrewsbury. He was one of William’s most loyal aides and he had been entrusted to look after Normandy whilst William invaded England, before he joined the Normans and took up the position as earl. The two were blood relations and close friends and the fact that William put Roger in charge of Shrewsbury shows how important the area was at this time. (Picture of Shrewsbury Castle)

Throughout the early years of Norman rule there were various small uprisings, which were quickly quashed by the Normans until they had complete control of England by 1072.

To guard against further uprisings and to set up efficient centres of administration for the newly conquered lands the Normans built castles.