CONCORDE 1066 RESUME JULY 2015
The concept of how to commemorate the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings came into being in June 2013. A committee was formed and planning began to develop ideas as to what form the commemoration should take.
1066Country Marketing and Hastings itself are represented on the committee. Please have a look at: for details of the Concorde committee.
I have been reporting regularly to the Chamber of Commerce and to Battle Town Council. Both organisations have supported Concorde 1066 financially as have the Muffins and Battle Rotary Club. I am conscious that not all High Street businesses are members of the C of C so I am therefore writing to put you in the picture as to what Concorde 1066 is planning for October 14th 2016.
The name Concorde 1066 seemed appropriate especially as the dictionary definition is: “An agreement between like-minded people with a willingness to come together for a common cause.”
The Battle of Hastings, fought around the environs of Battle and memorialised in the building of Battle Abbey, is arguably the most significant event in English history since the Romans left these shores in the 5th century.
Agincourt and Waterloo have achieved national status but it was Hastings that started England on the road to greatness. It is very probable that descendants of the Normans who came over from Normandy in September/October 1066 were fighting at Agincourt some 350 years later. After that battle the English/Normans marauded back into Normandy the wheel thus coming full circle.
The three main “pods” of Concorde 1066 are a church service, a performance by the Military Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas and an evening Reception in the Abbots Hall at Battle Abbey School.
Concorde 1066 is such an important event for Battle, 1066 Country and the South East as a whole that financial security is essential to enable the commemoration to achieve its international, national and local objectives.
Concorde 1066 is funded by donations and advertising in the 56 page handbook. It is planned that this handbook will become a permanent record of the Conquest and, subsequently, Battle itself.
It will be available to libraries and schools. Schools will also play a part in the parade through the town when there will be a road closure from 5.00pm until 6.30pm.
There is a distinct international aspect to Concorde 1066. Articles have been contributed by the Curator of the Bayeux Tapestry, by the Curator of the Normandy Museum in Caen and by the Medieval Curator of the Huntington Library in Los Angeles. (This is where many of the old Abbey records are kept)
Concorde 1066 will bring visitors to SE England and 1066 Country in particular. Battle now earns its living from tourism and Concorde 1066 will contribute significantly to this. Concorde 1066 will undoubtedly be the biggest event, along with the Battle Festival and the EH re-enactments, forour town in 2016.