Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel,

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

, England. It was established during the reign of Edward the Confessor and completed by Roger de Montgomery. The castle was damaged in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

and then restored in the 18th and 19th centuries by

Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk (15 March 1746 – 16 December 1815), styled Earl of Surrey from 1777 to 1786, was a British nobleman, peer, and politician. He was the son of Charles Howard, 10th Duke of Norfolk and Catherine Brockho ...

. Since the 11th century, the castle has been the seat of the

Earls of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used (along with the Earl of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. The ...

and the

Dukes of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

. It is a

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

Arundel Castle - motte and quadrangle, England (18 April 2006)

Arundel Castle -West Sussex, England-12Aug2007

The original structure was a

motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy t ...

Roger de Montgomery Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...

was declared the first

Earl of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used (along with the Earl of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. The ...

as the King granted him the property as part of a much larger package of hundreds of manors. Roger, who was a cousin of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

, had stayed in Normandy to keep the peace there while William was away in England. He was rewarded for his loyalty with extensive lands in the Welsh Marches and across the country, together with one fifth of Sussex (Arundel Rape). He began work on Arundel Castle in around 1067. The castle then passed to Adeliza of Louvain (who had previously been married to

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

) and her husband William d'Aubigny. Empress Matilda stayed in the castle, in 1139. It then passed down the d'Aubigny line until the death of

Hugh d'Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel Hugh d'Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel (died 7 May 1243) was the last in the Aubigny male line to hold Arundel Castle. He was the son of William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel and younger brother of William d'Aubigny, 4th Earl of Arundel. He inh ...

in 1243. John Fitzalan then inherited ''

jure matris ''Jure matris'' (''iure matris'') is a Latin phrase meaning "by right of his mother" or "in right of his mother". It is commonly encountered in the law of inheritance when a noble title or other right passes from mother to son. It is also used in ...

'' the castle and honour of Arundel, by which, according to Henry VI's "admission" of 1433, he was later retrospectively held to have become ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' Earl of Arundel. The FitzAlan male line ceased on the death of

Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel KG (23 April 151224 February 1580) was an English nobleman, who over his long life assumed a prominent place at the court of all the later Tudor sovereigns, probably the only person to do so. Court caree ...

, whose daughter and heiress

Mary FitzAlan Mary FitzAlan, Duchess of Norfolk (1540 – 23/25 August 1557) was an English translator. She was the youngest daughter and child of Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel and his first wife Lady Katherine Grey, therefore Mary was a first cou ...

married

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, ( Kenninghall, Norfolk, 10 March 1536Tower Hill, London, 2 June 1572) was an English nobleman and politician. Although from a family with strong Roman Catholic leanings, he was raised a Protestant. He was ...

in 1555, to whose descendants the castle and earldom passed. In 1643, during the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

, the castle was

besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...

. The 800

royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

inside surrendered after 18 days. Afterwards in 1653 Parliament ordered the

slighting Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative or social structures. This destruction of property sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It is ...

of the castle; however "weather probably destroyed more". Although the castle remained in the hands of the Howard family over the succeeding centuries, it was not their favourite residence, and the various

invested their time and energy into improving other ducal estates, including

Norfolk House Norfolk House, 31 St James's Square, Westminster, was built between 1748 and 1752 as his London townhouse by Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk (1686–1777) to the design of Matthew Brettingham (1699–1769), "the Elder", and was demolishe ...

in London.

, was known for his restoration work and improvements to the castle beginning in 1787. The

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

that still stands on the hill above Swanbourne Lake was commissioned by and built for the Duke by

Francis Hiorne Francis Hiorne FSA (1744 – 9 December 1789) was an architect and builder based in Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwicks ...

at this time. In 1846,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

and her husband, Prince Albert, visited Arundel Castle for three days.

Henry Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk Henry Charles Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk, (12 August 179118 February 1856), styled Earl of Surrey between 1815 and 1842, was a British Whig politician and peer. Background Norfolk was the son of Bernard Edward Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk, ...

, internally remodelled the castle in time for her visit. The architectural firm responsible for design of the furniture was named Morant. The work included a suite of six rooms, built on the second floor of the south-east range at this time. After the 1846 Royal visit the 15th Duke began re-structuring the castle again from 1875-1905. The work, which was done to the designs of

Charles Alban Buckler Charles Alban Buckler (1825–1905) was an English author, topographer, architect, artist and officer of arms. According to Historic England, he "became one of the most distinguished of the early to mid-Victorian Catholic architects."Historic ...

and undertaken by Rattee and Kett of Cambridge, was completed in the late 19th century. The 16th Duke had planned to give the castle to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

but following his death in 1975 the 17th Duke cancelled the plan. He created an independent charitable trust to guarantee the castle's future, and oversaw restorative works. The extensive gardens had received significant improvements by early 2020 through the efforts of head gardener Martin Duncan and his crew. A horticulturalist and landscape designer, Duncan has been working at the Castle since 2009; in 2018, he received the Kew Guild Medal. The gardeners and volunteers "have worked wonders with their bold and innovative plantings", according to an April 2020 report by '' Country Life''. Their most recent efforts led to a wild water garden around the ponds.

Cricket

The cricket field in the castle grounds has, since 1895, seen matches of standards involving teams from local youths to international sides.

Other events

* On 14 October 1651, Captain Morley, who held the Castle for Parliament, while out hunting, almost captured Charles II and Colonel Phillips. Charles II was on the run for his life at the time, fleeing from the Royalist defeat at Worcester. His party managed to just stay clear of Morley's party by dismounting as if to descend the hill more easily, thereby letting Morley's group run past them. (See Gounter, Last Act, p. 12.) * The visit of

and Prince Albert (1846) * The opening of the Collector Earl's Garden 14 May 2008 by

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

. * On Friday 21 May 2021 there was break-in. A set of "irreplaceable" gold rosary beads carried by

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, to her execution in 1587 were among items stolen. Other items taken included coronation cups given by monarchs to the Earl Marshal.

Filming location

Arundel Castle has been used as a filming location for several television and film productions. The BBC filmed extensively at the castle and its grounds in 1988 for the '' Doctor Who'' serial ''

Silver Nemesis ''Silver Nemesis'' is the third serial of the 25th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC1 in three weekly parts from 23 November (the 25th anniversary) to 7 ...

'', where it doubled for

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

. It also doubled for Windsor Castle in the 1994 film ''

The Madness of King George ''The Madness of King George'' is a 1994 British biographical historical comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his own 1991 play '' The Madness of George III''. It tells the true story of George III of G ...

''. Arundel Castle was also a location for the 2009 film ''

The Young Victoria ''The Young Victoria'' is a 2009 British period drama film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and written by Julian Fellowes, based on the early life and reign of Queen Victoria, and her marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Produce ...

'', and the 2017 DC film ''Wonder Woman''.

In literature

Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'Ar ...

's epic ''

Morte D'Arthur ' (originally written as '; inaccurate Middle French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the Rou ...

'', Arundel Castle is the castle of Anglides, the mother of Alisander le Orphelin.

References

External links

Arundel Castle – Official Website

Arundel Castle

{{Authority control Arun District + Castles in West Sussex Gardens in West Sussex Houses in West Sussex Grade I listed buildings in West Sussex Grade I listed castles Historic house museums in West Sussex History of West Sussex Decorative arts museums in England Tourist attractions in West Sussex Castle Motte-and-bailey castles