Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established by Roger de Montgomery in the 11th century. The castle was damaged in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and then restored in the 18th and early 19th centuries by Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk. Further restoration and embellishment was undertaken from the 1890s by Charles Alban Buckler for the 15th Duke. Since the 11th century, the castle has been the seat of the Earls of Arundel and the Dukes of Norfolk. It is a Grade I listed building.

History

The original structure was a motte-and-bailey castle. Roger de Montgomery was declared the first Earl of Arundel 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 the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

, 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 The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...

and across the country, together with one fifth of Sussex (Arundel Rape). He began work on Arundel Castle in around 1067. Between 1101 and 1102 the castle was besieged by the forces of Henry I after its holder Robert of Bellême rebelled. The siege ended with the castle surrendering to the king. The castle then passed to

Adeliza of Louvain Adeliza of Louvain (also Adelicia, Adela, Adelais, and Aleidis; c. 1103 – March/April 1151) was Queen of England from 1121 to 1135 as the second wife of King Henry I. Adeliza was the eldest child of Godfrey I, Count of Louvain, and Ida ...

(who had previously been married to Henry I) and her husband William d'Aubigny.

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

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'' 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'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

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

Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel (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. Court career under Henry VIII He was the only s ...

, whose daughter and heiress Mary FitzAlan married

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1536 or 1538 2 June 1572), was an English nobleman and politician. He was a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth I and held many high offices during the earlier part of her reign. Norfolk was the s ...

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. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

, the castle was besieged. The 800 royalists 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 is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It ...

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

Norfolk House Norfolk House was the London residence of the Howard family headed by the Dukes of Norfolk, and as such more than one building has been given this name. The first was opposite Lambeth Palace, set in acres of garden and orchards on a site o ...

in London. Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk, 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 at this time. Some stained glass was supplied by William Raphael Eginton. Circa 1816, he described it thus: 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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and her husband,

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

, visited Arundel Castle for three days. Henry Howard, 13th 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 to 1905. The work, which was done to the designs of Charles Alban Buckler 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 () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

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 restoration works. The 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 medieval friary ponds.

The Collector's Earl Garden

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of ''Elizabeth (given name), Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th c ...

and Julian Bannerman, The Collector's Earl Garden was opened in 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. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

as a tribute to Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, known as ‘The Collector’. The garden's centerpiece, Oberon's Palace, is a stunning pavilion that features a shellwork grotto and a fountain that supports a golden corona when the water spurts.

Cricket

The cricket field in the castle grounds has, since 1895, seen matches 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

(1846) * The opening of the Collector Earl's Garden 14 May 2008 by Charles, then Prince of Wales. * On Friday 21 May 2021 there was a 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 List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, 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 ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' serial '' Silver Nemesis'', where it doubled for

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. It also doubled for Windsor Castle in the 1994 film '' The Madness of King George''. Arundel Castle was also a location for the 2009 film ''

The Young Victoria ''The Young Victoria'' is a 2009 British period drama, 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 Albert, Prince Consort, Prince Albert ...

'', and the 2017 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'A ...

's epic '' Morte D'Arthur'', Arundel Castle is the castle of Anglides, the mother of Alisander le Orphelin.

Gallery

File:Arundel Castle and town 1644.gif, Arundel Castle and town in 1644 File:Arundel Mill and Castle ).jpg, '' Arundel Mill and Castle'' by

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...

, 1837 File:ArundelCastleWall.jpg, Junction of the old and new walls File:Arundel Castle - motte and quadrangle, England (18 April 2006).jpg, View of Arundel Castle's Norman motte with the quadrangle in the foreground File:Arundel Castle -West Sussex, England-12Aug2007.jpg, Courtyard File:Arundel Castle from the Arun Valley line.jpg, Arundel Castle from the Arun Valley line.

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 A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Motte-and-bailey castles