Harold's march north and back, in English Heritage's 1066 shorts
Episodes seven and eight of the charity's everyday-people take on the Norman Conquest went up, with Mrs. Crocombe trading the news of Tostig and Norway.
English HeritageStory of Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.
#strava goals in #1066
What did ordinary people make of 1066 while it was happening? That is the question English Heritage keeps answering, one short at a time, and its two uploads this week carried the series to its seventh and eighth episodes.
The first, "#1066 Scandinavian plot twist 😱👑", brings in Tostig, King Harold's rebellious brother, who has thrown in his lot with the King of Norway, while another rival waits in Normandy. Viewers recognized the gossip at once: the news is delivered by Mrs. Crocombe, the Victorian cook of Audley End who made the channel famous, here in medieval dress. The comments are full of that surprise, and of a pun on Norway that many people quote back. It has passed 57,000 views.
The newer short, "#strava goals in #1066", turns Harold's army into a step-count joke: some 200 miles north to fight, then all the way back south to meet the Normans. That is the forced march between Stamford Bridge and Hastings, and the short is the channel's busiest video right now, ahead of the Tostig episode.
The channel added about 10,000 subscribers over the week and is drawing a little more than its usual daily views. Among the history and explainer channels around its size it is one of the quieter ones; Drew Durnil is having a big week, while Fall of Civilizations and Lindybeige are running below their usual pace. The series, which began in August with the death of Edward the Confessor, has the Battle of Hastings itself still ahead.
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What viewers say
I see Mrs. Crocombe likes to cosplay on the weekends 😂
@bw2082See it on YouTube"Norway?"🤨
"Yes, way!" 😀@FuruyaHaKokoniImasuSee it on YouTubeI have been enjoying these. As an American, I didn't learn much about 1066 in school. These shorts have given me information to use as points to dive in and learn more.
@minisandmulesSee it on YouTube
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The videos drawing views on English Heritage right now
- Channel
- English Heritage
- Subscribers
- 1,400,000 ▲ 10,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 176,949
- Videos published this week
- 2
- Video published
- October 1, 2026
- Video views so far
- 6,353
- Views on its first day
- 5,672
The numbers
Here is how English Heritage's channel moved over the past seven days.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which English Heritage site is home to Mrs. Crocombe's kitchen in the channel's Victorian Way series?
The Victorian Way videos are filmed in the kitchen of Audley End House in Essex, where Avis Crocombe was cook in the 1880s.
