History

Aldreth has been the site of two major battles in history. They both were between Hereward the Wake (Saxons) and William the conqueror (Normans). Aldreth is located on the edge of the Isle of Ely and because the isle was surrounded with water Aldreth was a good place to invade the isle from. Aldreth was also the main route into the isle. William the conqueror knew this. He invaded the whole of England apart from the Isle of Ely. He wanted to capture the isle so badly that he built a 3km causeway from Willingham to Aldreth. In both battles Hereward held out with his knowledge of the fens and guerrilla warfare. These victories for Hereward did not mean and end to Williams's determination and he eventually found another way through in 1071.

The 1st Battle at Aldreth

William had taken over most of England and by this time he thought a little place like the Isle of Ely would be an easy battle but he was wrong. William began by finding out the narrowest strip of water between two pieces of dry land. This just happened to be between Willingham and Aldreth and so he decided to build a causeway bridging this gap. He built the causeway and while Hereward had the chance to destroy it he did not and let it be. Hereward built a turf rampart at the end of the causeway near Aldreth and he was effectively setting a trap for the Normans.

After the causeway had been built the Norman army swarmed towards the isle in the thousands. The bridge began to sink under the pressure and many Normans found themselves pushed into the water in the mad rush to get at the riches of Ely. All this time Hereward stayed extremely calm. The bridge began to tilt and men began to lose their footings and slip. They arrived at the foot of Hereward's fort and then came an avalanche of spears, arrows and stones from Hereward's fort. The Norman knights were basically being massacred at the foot of this fort. The catastrophe that Hereward had predicted happened a few moments later. The whole bridge rolled over and the dark water of peat and mud engulfed all the men on the bridge.

Thousands of Normans are believed to have been killed here and still nowadays weapons and armour are being found around Aldreth and the Old West River. After seeing this disaster, William and his surviving men retreated and made other plans to invade the isle.

The 2nd Battle at Aldreth

Before this battle the isle had been suffering from a drought and this was to be a major part of Hereward's plan to hold out the Normans.

William moved his troops to Willingham and began to build his causeway stronger and broader. William asked all the Ouse fishermen to help him in transporting materials across the marsh. Hereward cut his hair and beard and sailed over to help William. At the end of the day Hereward set fire to the reeds surrounding and the causeway itself. The causeway was burnt and some Normans were killed in the fire. For seven days Hereward ambushed William's men and his causeway. William eventually managed to build the bridge.

William started his main attack with catapults and balistas firing at the Aldreth fort. William saw the English retreating and hurried quickly on. The Normans were searching the reeds for Hereward's army and all of a sudden they heard shouts. It was Hereward and his men. They were over the other side of a 50ft stretch of water. Javelins and spears were thrown at every moment and the occasional man fell forward into the water. William got his boats and pushed them into the water. Some men slipped and fell in but their comrades were too busy to help them. The reeds that boats were crossing were set on fire and then another avalanche of firepower hit the boats and the men inside them. William himself got an arrow shot straight through his shield and into his chain mail. William was dragged from the battle. Meanwhile men were burning and now the bridge was set alight. It was a scene of chaos and death. The next day William withdrew his Army and vowed never to fight there again.

How did Aldreth get its name?

• The name may be a corruption of the patron saint of Aldreth, �thelthryth or Etheldreda. Audrey is short for Etheldreda and so the name may come from the name Audrey itself.
  
  
• It may be a derivation of the words Alder Hithe (the old shore), which relates to the Old West river flowing near Aldreth.
  
  
• It could also come from the words Alder Reche (the old reach), which also relates to the Old West river.
  
  

What did Aldreth used to be called?