Page "Norman conquest of England" Paragraph 18

After his victory at Hastings, William expected to receive the submission of the surviving English leaders, but instead Edgar Atheling was proclaimed king by the Witenagemot, with the support of Earls Edwin and Morcar, Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Ealdred, the Archbishop of York.

William therefore advanced, marching around the coast of Kent to London.

He defeated an English force that attacked him at Southwark, but he could not storm London Bridge and therefore sought to reach the capital by a more circuitous route.