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Henry of Huntingdon, who gives many minute particulars 
which others do not, says “the armies were engaged from 
daybreak to noonday.” He also states that “ the Norwegian 
who took post on a bridge killed forty of the English with a 
battle-axe, and stayed the advance of the whole English army 
until the ninth hour.” Harold Godwinson then had clearly 
made a detour, “qui avait marche de maniere a eviter les 
postes enemis,” as Thierry puts it; he had most probably 
pushed on with his cavalry, whilst his main body came on 
by Watling Street to Tada ; it is evident he was on the other 
side the bridge, as when the whole army had forced a passage 
they fell upon the “dispersed and flying Norwegians,” and 
made the defeat a rout. In those days, armies when they 
marched must have followed the main track ways. We 
have an account of the highway from Pontefract to York, 
such as it was, in Orderic Yitalis : “ When William passed 
Pontefract the road now lay through forests and moors, and 
over hills, and along valleys, by paths so narrow that his 
soldiers could not march two abreast ; in this way they at 
last reached the neighbourhood of York : ” and yet it is over 
roads of this sort that our writers of philosophic history 
would fable them to march 18 or 20 miles, from Tadcaster to 
Stamford Bridge, and arrive “in the early morning;” or, 
vice versa , Harold of Norway to send for reinforcements from 
his ships, which, spite of the dreadful heat of that day, come 
up in time from “ Suth Bicall ” to take part in the contest ! 
It is just simply an impossibility, it could hardly and 
with difficulty be done from Brayton to Xing’s Standard 
Hill. 
If, then, the Standford Bridge could not have been the 
other side of York, where then is this bridge to be looked 
for ? Why, here — “ Standing Bridge,” — near “ Standing 
Flat,” where the “ Boman Big ” crosses the river Went. 
Note the curve it makes to take in the bridge, leaving the 
