MSO7884 - Anglo-Saxon buildings in Porlock area (Monument)

In the third invation, at Porlock, "the Danes in the night, leaving their Shipps on the shore, plundered and burnt the said Towne, and other Places adjoyning, but were all slain by a partie of the King's Armie, which was desighned for the defence of that Coast, and the present Inhabitants of that Towne speke traditionallie thereof to this day, and if they were silent, the burnt Foundation Stones of some of the antcient Houses would proclaim the truth thereof." [1] Porlock (SS 88 46) is supposed to have been sacked by Harold, son of the Earl of Kent, and a raiding party from Ireland about midsummer 1052. "The inhabitants preserve the memory of the above occurrences to this day; and no longer ago than the beginning of this century, they could point out the burnt foundation stones of some of the ancient houses, and the vestiges of what had once been, in the vulgar opinion, an extensive and magnificent city" [3]. [1-3] No precise grid reference has been provided for this entry and so the mapping is approximate. [4] A reference to the event in 1052 is made in the Saxon Chronicle. [5] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [6]