Anchor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kent
Viking attacks: 825–1066
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Kent was first attacked by Viking raiders in the late eighth century.[58] Kent and southeast England would have been an attractive target because of its wealthy minsters, often located on exposed coastal locations.[58] In 804, the nuns of Lyminge were granted refuge in Canterbury to escape the attackers, while in 811 Kentish forces gathered to repel a Viking army based on the Isle of Sheppey.[58] Further recorded attacks occurred on Sheppey in 835, through Romney Marsh in 841, in Rochester in 842, Canterbury (Battle of Aclea) and Sandwich (Battle of Sandwich) in 851, Thanet in 853, and across Kent in 865.[58] Kent was also attractive for its easy access to major land and sea routes.[59] By 811, it is recorded that Vikings built fortifications on the Kentish north coast, and over-wintered their armies on Thanet in 851–852 and Sheppey in 854–855.[59] At this point, Canterbury and Rochester still had Roman walls that could have been refurbished,[60] but they were nevertheless attacked by the Vikings: Rochester in 842, Canterbury in 851, and Rochester again in 885, when they laid siege until it was liberated by Alfred's army.[61] The Burghal Hidage lists the construction of the Eorpenburnam fort, possibly Castle Toll.[61] Hoards have been found, particularly around the West Kent coast, that might have been wealth hidden from the Vikings.[62]
In 892, when southern England was united under Alfred the Great, Kent was on the brink of disaster. Alfred had defeated Guthrum the Old and allowed Vikings by treaty to settle in East Anglia and the North East. However, other Danes were still on the move. Haesten, a highly experienced warrior-leader, had mustered huge forces in northern France having besieged Paris and taken Brittany. As many as 350 Viking ships sailed from Boulogne to the south coast of Kent in 892. Between 5000 and 10,000 men, with their families and horses, came up Limen estuary (the east-west route of the Royal Military Canal in reclaimed Romney Marsh) and attacked a Saxon fort near St Rumwold's church, Bonnington, killing all inside. They moved on and over the next year built a fortress at Appledore. Hearing of this, Danes in East Anglia and elsewhere then rose against Alfred. They raided Kent from Appledore, razing a large settlement, Seleberhtes Cert (present-day Great Chart near Ashford). They moved further inland and engaged in numerous battles with the English, but after four years they gave up. Some retreated to East Anglia and others fled to northern France and settled in Normandy.
A large Viking army led by Thorkell the Tall besieged Canterbury in 1011, culminating in the pillage of the city and the eventual murder of Archbishop Alphege, on 19 April 1012, despite Thorkell’s attempts to keep him alive to sell him for ransom.[63]
