1070s in England

Monarch – William I

• 1070
  • Winter of 1069–1070 – Harrying of the North: King William I quells rebellions in the North of England following an invasion by Sweyn II of Denmark. Widespread famine follows the devastation wrought.[1]
  • Spring – King Sweyn II of Denmark joins English rebels, led by Hereward the Wake, and captures the Isle of Ely in The Fens of eastern England.[2]
  • 11 April – Archbishop of Canterbury Stigand deposed.
  • 1 June – Hereward plunders Peterborough Abbey.[2]
  • June – Denmark signs a treaty with England; Sweyn and his forces leave the country.[2]
  • 15 August – Lanfranc appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury.[3]
  • Invasion of England by Malcolm III of Scotland repelled.[2]
  • Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester, the first Marcher Lord, invades Wales, capturing parts of Gwynedd.[2]
  • Osmund succeeds Herfast as Lord Chancellor; Herfast becomes Bishop of Elmham.
  • Rebuilding of Canterbury Cathedral following a fire.[4]
  • Rebuilding of York Minster begins.[2]
  • Construction of Dudley Castle in the west midlands by Ansculf de Picquigny begins.
  • Construction of Richmond Castle in North Yorkshire by Alan Rufus begins.
  • Jews from Rouen, in Normandy, settle in England at the invitation of the King.[5]
• 1071
  • William defeats Hereward the Wake's rebellion on the Isle of Ely.[3]
  • Edwin, Earl of Mercia, again rebels against William but is betrayed and killed, leading to the re-distribution of land within Mercia to William's subjects.
• 1072
  • 27 May – the Accord of Winchester establishes the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury over the Archbishop of York in the Church of England.[2]
  • August – William invades Scotland, reaching the River Tay.[2]
  • At Abernethy, King Malcolm III of Scotland submits to William.[2]
  • Bishop of Lincoln raised to diocesan status.[2] Construction of Lincoln Cathedral begins.[6]
• 1073
  • Rebuilding of St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury.[3]
• 1074
  • Roger de Montgomerie is created Earl of Shrewsbury, and invades Wales, reaching as far as Powys.[2]
• 1075
  • Revolt of the Earls: three earls rebel against William in the last serious act of resistance to the Norman conquest of England.[3]
  • August (approx. date) – Council of London reforms Church administration in England. It approves union of the dioceses of Ramsbury and Sherborne into a new Diocese of Salisbury with a new cathedral at Old Sarum, Herman becoming first Bishop of Salisbury.[2]
  • First Bishop of Chichester (Stigand of Selsey) consecrated.[2]
• 1076
  • April – Council of Winchester confirms ecclesiastical authority, insists on celibacy of the clergy and marriage within church.[2]
  • 31 May – execution of Waltheof II, Earl of Northumbria, for his part in the Revolt of the Earls.[1]
  • Approximate date of the Trial of Penenden Heath to settle a land dispute between King William and his half-brother Odo of Bayeux.
• 1077
  • The Bayeux Tapestry completed depicting the Norman conquest of England.
  • William's son Robert Curthose stages an insurrection against him in Normandy.[2]
  • Construction of St Albans Cathedral begins under Abbot Paul of Caen.[7]
  • Foundation of the first Cluniac abbey in England, at Lewes.[2]
  • First recorded Trial by combat in England.
• 1078
  • 3 June (approx. date) – consecration of Osmund as Bishop of Salisbury. He will introduce the Sarum Rite.
  • (approx. date) – construction of the White Tower (Tower of London) begins[2] under the direction of Bishop Gundulf of Rochester.
  • Construction of Colchester Castle begins[2] under the direction of Bishop Gundulf of Rochester.
• 1079
  • January – Robert unhorses William in battle in Normandy.[3]
  • William creates the New Forest as a hunting ground.[8]
  • Rebuilding of Winchester Cathedral begins.[9]

• 1075
  • Orderic Vitalis, chronicler (died c. 1142)

• 1072
  • 10–11 February – Leofric, first Bishop of Exeter
  • c. 21–22 February – Stigand, deposed Archbishop of Canterbury
• 1075
  • 19 December – Edith of Wessex, queen of Edward the Confessor (born c. 1029)
• 1076
  • 31 May – Waltheof II, Earl of Northumbria, last of the Anglo-Saxon earls (born 1050)