| Year | Day/Month | Title |
| Canute (1016 - 1035) |
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1027 | |  Birth of William, the future conqueror of England
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| | William is born at Falaise. |
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1033 | | Robert Assists English and French Kings
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| | Robert I, Duke of Normandy was an ally of the French King Henry I and also assisted the two English brothers Edward (to become Edward the Confessor) and Alfred, sons of Athelred King of the English who was overthrown by Canute in 1016. Robert may had tried to assist Edward and Albert in their attempts to retake the English throne back from Canute. It may have been for this assistance that Edward was to promise Robert's son William (the Conqueror) the future crown of England. |
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| Harold Harefoot (1035 - 1040) |
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1035 | Jul | William the Conqueror becomes Duke of Normandy
|
| | In the eighth year of his life William (the Conqueror) became the Duke of Normandy when his father Robert died on a pilgrimage at Nicea. Robert's death led to a period of instability in Normandy as William was too young to take his father's place and the nobles in the region took the opportunity to settle old feuds and to increase their private wealth. |
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| Edward the Confessor (1042 - 1066) |
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1053 | | William marries Matilda
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| | In spite of objections from Pope Leo, William married Matilda, the daughter of Baldwin V, Earl of Flanders. |
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1054 | | Battle of Mortemer
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| | Battle fought between Henry, the King of France, and William, the Duke of Normandy. Henry wanted to take control of the Normandy area which was preventing the French access to the English Channel. The Normans defeated the French. |
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1057 | | The Battle of Varaville
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| | Another battle fought between Henry, the King of France, and William, the Duke of Normandy. Again the Normans defeated the French King's army. |
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1065 | | Mysterious meeting in Normandy
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| | A mysterious meeting is reported to have taken place in Normandy between William the Conqueror and Harold in 1065. In the meeting it was claimed that Harold agreed that William should become King of England when Edward the Confessor died. From what is known of Harold it seems unlikely that he would agree to something like this. We know that he went against this agreement when assumed the role as King after Edward's death. |
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| William the Conqueror (1066 - 1087) |
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1066 | Jul | Harold prepares for William's invasion
|
| | Harold, King of England, gathered an army and waited on the south coast of England to defend the country against an William's invasion. |
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| Jul | William's Invasion fleet gather in the estuary of the River Dives
|
| | William the Conqueror prepared to invade England. His invasion fleet gathered in the estuary of the River Dives and other ports in Normandy. |
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| Sep 20 | Battle of Gate Fulford
|
| | Harold Hardrada's forces invaded and started ravaging the countryside as they made their way to York. English forces led by Earl Edwin and Earl Morcar battled with Harold Hardrada at Gate Fulford, but the English were severely beaten. Following this defeat Harold, King of England, was forced to march his army away from the south coast where they were preparing to defend against William the Conqueror's invasion to deal with the invasion in the north. |
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| Sep 25 | Stamford Bridge Battle
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| | King Harold II defeated the invasion threat from Harold Hardrada, King of Norway and his own brother Tostig, both of whom were killed. This stretched his forces to the limit as they quickly had to march south to defend against William of Normandy's invasion at Hastings. |
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| Sep 27 | William lands at Pevensey
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| | After dawn the main part of William's fleet landed on the English coast at Pevensey while some split from the main group and landed at Romney. |
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| Oct 1 | Harold learns of William's arrival
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| | Harold was resting his army in York when he learnt that William had landed on the south coast. |
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| Oct 6 | Harold and his forces reach London
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| | Harold II had to march south from Stamford Bridge to counter the threat of invasion from William of Normandy. |
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| Oct 14 | Battle of Hastings
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| | William the Conqueror and Harold II met in battle at Hastings. Although Harold had the superior position on the battlefield his tactics failed and he was killed. This left England open for William to continue with his invasion plans. |
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| Dec 25 | William the Conqueror becomes King of England
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| | William the Conqueror was coronated as King of England in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day of 1066. |
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1067 | | Odo becomes William's deputy
|
| | Odo,the Bishop or Bayeux, became William the Conqueror's deputy in England and was assisted by William Fitz Osbern until Osbern's death in 1071. Odo also became the Earl of Kent and his wealth and land became considerable. |
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| Mar | William returns to Normandy
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| | William returned to Normandy taking as guests Edgar the Aetheling (the grandson of Edmund Ironside), Stigand (Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earls of Mercia and Northumbria and the brothers Edwin and Morcar. |
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1068 | | Northern English move to Scotland
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| | Many of the northern English lords escaped to Scotland and the court of Malcolm III when it was clear that William had control of the country. |
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| | Warwick Castle built on William's orders
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| | William the Conqueror ordered the building of Warwick Castle. |
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| | Construction of Nottingham Castle
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| | William and the Normans started construction of the castle at Nottingham. This would have been a wooden building. It was built on the high ground above the town using the step slope down to the river Leen as a defence. |
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| | The Curfew Bell
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| | William the Conqueror ordered that all church bells should be sounded at eight o'clock each night as a signal for everyone to put out fires and candles and retire to bed. The term appears to come from the French couvre feu meaning cover the fire. |
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| | Construction of Lincoln Castle
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| | William the Conqueror ordered that building work on a castle at Lincoln was to be started. |
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| Feb | Exeter falls to William
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| | Although William had defeated Harold at Hastings, Harold's mother Gytha and her forces still had not submitted to William's rule. They held out at Exeter until William broke the defences. William had to take heavy casualties in the confrontation. |
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| Spring | Construction begins on Exeter Castle
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| | Following the rebellion in the West William orders the construction of a castle at Exeter. |
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| May 11 | Matilda is crowned Queen
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| | William brought his wife Matilda of Flander to England to crown her Queen of England. |
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1069 | Dec | The North is devastated by the Normans
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| | William's forces defeat rebels in the North and Midlands. |
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1070 | | Castles at Chester and Stafford begun
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| | William continues his castle building spree at both Chester and Stafford. |
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| | Castle at Old Sarum
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| | Using the prehistoric hill fort's defensive position to good use, the Normans built a new castle on the Old Sarum site. William the Conqueror paid off his soldiers here in this year. |
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| | Lanfranc becomes Archbishop of Canterbury
|
| | William the Conqueror placed Lanfranc in the position of Archbishop of Canterbury a move designed to strengthen his hold on the English throne. Thomas of Bayeux, a pupil of Odo (William's brother), was put in the position of Archbishop of York after the death of Ealred who died on September 11, 1069. Archbishop Stigand was imprisoned in Winchester. |
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1071 | | Ely castle ordered
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| | William orders a castle to be built at Ely. |
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| | William puts down the revolt
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| | The rebels Hereward the Wake and Morcar on the Isle of Ely were attacked and defeated by William the Conqueror. |
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1072 | | At Durham, another castle is ordered
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| | William orders the castle as Durham to be built. |
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| | Serlo takes over at Gloucester
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| | Serlo, William the Conqueror's chaplain, revived the floundering monastery at Gloucester and started major rebuilding work. Serlo died in 1104. |
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| | Treaty of Abernethy
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| | Treaty between William the Conqueror and Malcolm III of Scotland. In this treaty Malcolm paid homage to William. |
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| Jun | William leads an army into Scotland
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| | It is possible that William the Conqueror was planning to attack King Malcolm to prevent him protecting Edgar the Aetheling and to stop him advancing into the north of England. The treaty 'Peace of Abernethy' brought a solution to the situation where Malcolm agreed to become William's vassal and to expel Edgar. |
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1073 | | Edgar the Aetheling attempts to take the English throne
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| | Edgar joins forces with King Malcolm in Scotland and King Philippe I of France. |
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1075 | | Chepstow Castle passes to the crown
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| | Roger Fitz Osbern joined an unsuccessful uprising against the king and lost. The castle then passed to the crown. |
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1080 | | Colchester castle begun
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| | To defend the estuaries of Essex against attacks from the Danes William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a new castle at Colchester. |
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1081 | | William tours south Wales
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| | William the Conqueror visited South Wales and St. David's. He met Rhys ap Tewdwr, the ruler of the area and allowed him to remain in control of the region for a yearly sum of money. |
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| | Cardiff Castle construction
|
| | William the Conqueror may have ordered the creation of a castle at Cardiff during his tour of Southern Wales. The first castle on the site would have been a motte and bailey type and it was built on the site of existing Roman fortifications. |
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1083 | | Odo imprisoned
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| | William imprisoned his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. |
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1085 | Dec 25 | Domesday Book
|
| | At the Christmas Council William ordered the creation of survey of property with their values and populations county by county covering most of England. Commissioners were sent all over England, apart from the far north, to make a record of the population, value, state and ownership of the land. The book consisted of two volumes and was completed by 1088. |
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1086 | Aug 1 | Oath of Salisbury
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| | William the Conqueror called a meeting at Old Sarum where he invited his most important vassals and tenants-in-chief in England to swear allegiance to him. The oath is now known as the Oath of Salisbury. |
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| William Rufus (1087 - 1100) |
|
1087 | Sep 9 | William the Conqueror Dies
|
| | William I of England died at the abbey of St Gervais, near Rouen. |
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| Sep 26 | William II (Rufus) crowned at Westminster
|
| | William II (Rufus) was crowned at Westminster by Archbishop Lanfranc after the death of his father William the Conqueror. |
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| Henry I (1100 - 1135) |
|
1100 | Aug 2 | William II (Rufus) is killed while hunting
|
| | William II (Rufus) was (accidentally ?) killed while hunting in the New Forest. He was succeeded by Prince Henry, who became Henry I. |
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| John (1199 - 1216) |
|
1215 | Jun 17 | John's Great Charter (the Magna Carta)
|
| | A large number of barons, led by Stephen Langton the archbishop of Canterbury, meet King John on an island in the Thames at Runnymede. They forced the king to sign the 'Great Charter' or Magna Carta that would limit the power of the monarchy. The barons insisted that the old feudal contract should be reinstated and that the king should abide by the laws that the rest of the population did. The feudal contract allowed the barons to run their own lands, renting it from the king but paying rent by supplying knights rather than money. This feudal system had been set up by William the Conqueror. |
