Battle of Ashdown Battle of Ashdown The Battle of Ashdown, in Berkshire (possibly the part now in Oxfordshire), took place on 8 January 871. Alfred the Great, then a prince of only 22, led the army of his brother, King Ethelred of Wessex, in a victorious battle against the invading Danes. Accounts of the battle are based to a large extent on Asser's "Life of Alfred", however there is some dispute about whether this is an authentic account. By the year 871 AD, most of England was no longer ruled by the English (that is Anglo-Saxons), and for years, Danish Viking invaders had
Battle of Ashdown the surrounding countryside. Alfred reputedly took his favourite white mare and rode up onto Blowingstone Hill (near Kingston Lisle), where stood an ancient perforated sarsen stone, called the "Blowing Stone". Anyone with the appropriate skill could generate a booming sound from this stone, by blowing into one of its holes. Alfred took a deep breath and was able to sound the alarm across the downs. All over the surrounding country, men were woken and gathered to defend their homes. In late 870, King Ethelred led the army of Wessex against the Danes in their stronghold at Reading. The attack failed,