Events

Battle of the Buckle 1545

Sunday 14th June 2026

The year 1545 saw French raids on the south coast starting with a failed attempt at Brighton. It was followed by the battle of the Solent which saw the loss of the Mary Rose. The French later attacked Seaford Bay landing 2,000 troops only to be repelled by mostly Kentish militia led by a local JP, Sir Nicholas Pelham (of buckle fame!).

The walk will be approximately 4 miles in length and will finish by 3.00 p.m. The walk leader is Pamela Earl, historian and author of ‘Seaford’s Battle of the Buckle, 1545’ in the Autumn 2025 issue of Battlefield [Volume 30, Issue 1].

Meet at 11.00 a.m. at the Buckle public car park, BN25 2QR, on Marine Parade at the west end of Seaford. There are public toilets and a café in the yacht club opposite. 

The walk will take you onto the Downs with scenic views to the eleventh-century St Andrew’s church in Bishopstone. Then onto the twelfth-century St Peter the Apostle in Blatchington, which likely featured in the battle. The walk will include St Leonards, an eleventh-century church, and the Crypt Gallery; Seaford’s only surviving medieval undercroft dating to the thirteenth-century. Return to the Buckle public car park along the Marine Parade.

In Seaford there are cafés, CAMRA pubs and an award-winning fish and chip restaurant. For further information and to register your interest, please contact John Freeman, Sussex coordinator, using the details below. 

For further information.

• Contact name : John Freeman
• Contact email : seandls@battlefieldstrust.com
• Contact phone : 07957 829997