CASTLE HISTORY: ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE: AD 1052: VERSION  E 

AD 1052... Then went Earl Godwin out from Bruges with his ships to Ysendyck; and sailed forth one day before midsummer-eve, till he came to the Ness that is to the south of Romney. When it came to the knowledge of the earls out of Sandwich, they went out after the other ships… Earl Godwin… to the Isle of Wight… they plundered so long that the people gave them as much as they required of them…to Portland, where they landed and did as much harm as they could possibly do… Then ordered King Edward to fit out forty smacks that lay at Sandwich many weeks, to watch Earl Godwin… he enticed to him all the Kentish men… and all the men of Essex and Sussex and Surrey… When the fleet that lay at Sandwich had intelligence about Godwin’s expedition, they set sail after him; but he escaped them, and betook himself wherever he might… When they came to London, there lay the king and all his earls to meet them, with fifty ships… And Godwin stationed himself continually before London with his fleet… the king had also a great land-force to his side… it was determined that wise men should be sent between them, who should settle peace on either side. Godwin went up, and Harold his son, … then advanced Bishop Stigand with God’s assistance, and the wise men both within the town and without; who determined that hostages should be given on either side. And so they did. When Archbishop Robert and the Frenchmen knew that, they took horse; and went some west to Pentecost Castle, some north to Robert’s castle. Archbishop Robert and Bishop Ulf, with their companions, went out at Eastgate, slaying or else maiming many young men… then was proclaimed a general council without London; and all the earls and the best men in the land were at the council. There took up Earl Godwin his burthen, and cleared himself there before his lord King Edward, and before all the nation; proving that he was innocent of the crime laid to his charge… and the king gave the earl and his children, and all the men that were with him, his full friendship, and the full earldom, and all that he possessed before… Archbishop Robert was fully proclaimed an outlaw, with all the Frenchmen, because they chiefly made the discord between Earl Godwin and the king… then they outlawed all Frenchmen… except so many as they concluded it was agreeable to the king to have with him, who were true to him and to all his people… It was on the Monday after the festival of St Mary, that Godwin came with his ships to Southwark: and on the morning afterwards, on the Tuesday, they were reconciled as it stands here before recorded…

Ref: http://celtic-twilight.com/anglosaxon/asc/index.htm

 NOTE: the reference ‘north to Robert’s Castle’ is thought to refer to Robert FitzWimarc, whose seat at that time was Clavering, which is north of London where this altercation took place. This Robert was a Frenchman, but normally close to Edward the Confessor, so why would he allow his castle to be used by the rebels? After the Conquest, he also found favour with William the Conqueror, and moved his centre of operations to Rayleigh Castle, abandoning Clavering Castle presumably. The other castle to which the rebels fled was in Herefordshire. This remains a mystery but, although some historians are unsure, the eminent Essex historian, J.H. Round definitely identified Clavering as the ‘Robert’s castle’ mentioned. This would show it was one of the rare examples of a pre-Conquest castle. However, the leading landscape historian, Christopher Taylor, who led our tour round the castle last year, said it was not a castle but an important moated manorial settlement site probably dating from the mid-12^th century. We shall see!