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Above: St. Aidan's Statue, Holy Island, Northumberland. Photo courtesy of freefoto.com

Prime Minister Tony Blair and The Millennium History of North East England by David Simpson. Photo courtesy of The Northern Echo

 

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Timeline of North East History

THE NORMAN CONQUEST 1031AD - 1066AD

By David Simpson

In the years before the Norman Conquest, the North-East was administered by Earl Siward who died in 1055. Siward was succeeded by Tostig, brother of Harold who became king in January 1066. Tostig was so unpopular in the region that he was forced into exile. He returned in September 1066 as part of a Norwegian invasion of Yorkshire, but his brother, now King Harold, defeated him and the Norwegians at the Battle of Stamford Bridge near York. Harold, though, had to immediately return south to deal with yet another invasion, this time from the Normans in Sussex. On October 14, 1066, he was killed at the Battle of Hastings and William the Conqueror became king.

1031 – SIWARD BECOMES EARL OF YORK
(York)
Siward has become the Earl of York. He is a Dane who has married into the Northumbrian royal house - his wife is the grand-daughter of Uhtred - after winning their admiration as a warrior. He is encouraged to settle disputes between his deputies Carl the Hold of York and Ealdred the Earl of Bamburgh. Ealdred has been earl since the death of Eadulf Cudel sometime after 1019.

November 12, 1035 – CANUTE DIES
(Shaftesbury)
King Canute dies at Shaftesbury and is buried at Winchester.

1038 – EARL OF NORTH-EAST KILLED IN DISPUTE
(North-East)
Ealdred of Bamburgh, the Earl of the North-East, is killed by Carl the Hold of York following a long standing dispute. He is succeeded by Eadulf, the second earl of this name.

1038 – SCOTS REPELLED FROM DURHAM
(Durham City)
King Duncan of Scotland besieges Durham City but is repelled.

1041 – EARL OF NORTH-EAST KILLED
(North-East)
Eadulf of Bamburgh, the Earl of the North-East, is killed. The assailant was probably Siward who becomes Earl of all Northumbria.

1042 – CONFESSOR IS KING
(England)
Edward the Confessor has become King of England. For the last 25 years he has lived in Normandy.

1050 – DARLINGTON IS DEARTHINGTON
(Darlington)
At this time Darlington was known as Dearthington.

1051 – WESSEX EARL
(England)
Harold Godwinson becomes Earl of Wessex but Edward the Confessor is still king.

1054 – SIWARD DEFEATS MACBETH
(Battle of Dunsinane, near Scone, Perthshire)
Siward, Earl of Northumbria, defeats the Scots under King Macbeth and installs his nephew Malcolm Canmore as Lord of Strathclyde and the Lothian. This battle - in which Siward, Malcolm and Macduff disguised their attack by concealing themselves behind tr ee branches - gives Shakespeare the plot for his famous play as the apparition predicts: "Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him."

1055 – SIWARD DIES
(York)
Siward dies at York and is buried at St Olaf's church. The earldom is given to Tostig Godwinson, brother of Harold, the Earl of Wessex.

1056 – NEW BISHOP AT DURHAM
(Durham City)
Aegelwine becomes the last Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Durham.

1056 – CHESTER-LE-STREET CHURCH REBUILT
(County Durham)
Chester-le-Street church, a former minster, has been rebuilt in stone.

1058 – KING MALCOLM CANMORE
(North)
Malcolm Canmore, a nephew of the late Northumbrian Earl Siward, becomes King Malcolm III of Scotland after King Macbeth is killed in battle. Malcolm gives allegiance to Edward the Confessor at York.

1061 – SCOTS ATTACK LINDISFARNE AND CUMBERLAND
(Lindisfarne)
Despite his pledge of allegiance, King Malcolm of Scotland ravages Lindisfarne and north Northumbria and captures Cumberland. It is major defeat for Tostig, Earl of Northumbria.

1064 – BAMBURGH NOBLE MURDERED
(Wessex)
Cospatric, a respected noble of Bamburgh, is murdered in Wessex by Tostig, the unpopular Earl of Northumbria.

THE NORMAN CONQUEST (Norman period) other dates
1030AD / 1060AD / 1066AD

THE TIMELINE BY ERA

ROMAN PERIOD

ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD

VIKING PERIOD

NORMAN PERIOD

MEDIEVAL PERIOD

TUDOR AND STUART PERIOD

GEORGIAN PERIOD

VICTORIAN PERIOD

TWENTIETH CENTURY

 

THE MILLENNIUM HISTORY OF NORTH EAST ENGLAND

by David Simpson

Published by leighton in association with The Northern Echo

ISBN 0-9536984-3-2

The Millennium History of North East England by David Simpson is published by Leighton, The Teleport, Doxford International, Sunderland, SR3 3XD, Tel +44 (0) 191 5252400 Fax +44 (0) 520 1815 www.bepl.com. The book is a 322 page full colour hard back book covering the history of the region from Roman times to the present day. To order copies of the book you can e-mail Andrea.Murphy@bepl.com

Author David Simpson and Paul Callaghan, Managing Director of leighton at the book launch held at Lumley Castle, Durham December 1999

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