Did the battle of Hastings destroy any cities or towns ?
not directly no – the battle was fought on an open piece of land – however in order to force Harold’s hand and force his troops into battle after having marched 600 miles in 20 days now with a depleted force and reduced numbers of housecarls (his own bodyguard) william sacked the towns around Wessex (Harold’s family towns and villages) – hence the battle of hastings was triggered by this sacking as without this Harold would have remained in London in order to wait for reinforcements to arrive
