PLACE NAME
One of four streets named after important phases in British history, in this case the Norman Conquest which saw William the Conqueror defeating the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. William was a descendant of the Viking Rollo, the leader of a group of norsemen (known as Northmen, from which Normandy and Normans are derived) allowed to settle in Normandy as part of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. He served as Duke of Normandy from 1035. Having secured his hold on Normandy by 1060, the Duke launched the Norman conquest of England six years later. His claim to the throne derived from his familial relationship with the childless Anglo-Saxon king, Edward the Confessor. The English confronted the Norman forces at the Battle of Hastings on October 14 and lost. The reigning English monarch, Harold Godwinson (about 1022 – October 14, 1066), was killed marking the end of Anglo-Saxon rule over England. It was at Barking Abbey that William resided while the Tower of London was being constructed.
