Arundel
 Castles |  Cathedrals |
The charming little town of Arundel was founded during Saxon times, long before the Norman Conquest of England during the 11th century. Its location on an important east-west route through Sussex where the river Arun was navigable always made Arundel a strategically important town.
Its documented history, however, begins with the Normans in the late 11th century. After the Norman King, William I's (The Conqueror) victory against the Saxon King, Harold at the Hastings in 1066, he gave Arundel, together with the rapes of Chichester, which consisted of some 60,000 acres of land, to one of his most trusted advisors, Roger de Montgomery. De Montgomery subsequently built a castle at Arundel from which he commanded the surrounding area.
The town of Arundel grew up in the shadow of the castle, becoming a river port, importing goods from London and wines from France and exporting local goods, notably lime, timber, wool and corn. During the 19th century the town prospered at the centre of a flourishing agricultural estate.
Because of the castle's strategic position, the town was besieged several times and as such it was re-built considerably down the years. During the English Civil War in the mid 17th century between King and Parliament, for instance, the parliamentary army, which wanted to weed out the castle's royalist defenders, hit the town particularly badly. An eye-witness wrote of "a most dismal sight, the town being de-populated, all the windows broken with the great guns, and the soldiers making stables of all the shops and lower rooms."
Arundel today is largely Georgian and Victorian in style. Dominating the skyline, apart from the castle, is the Roman Catholic Cathedral completed in 1870 by the 15 th Duke and designed by John Hansom, the inventor of the hansom cab. The town is peppered with some fine old cottages and brick houses. However, the parish church of St Nicholas is probably the most interesting building in the town. Built in 1380, it was a rare example in Sussex in the late medieval period of a church replacing an existing Norman church. The church is unique because it houses, under the same roof, the Church of England parish Church and the Roman Catholic Church, the private chapel of the Dukes of Norfolk and built by the Fitzalans, one of the erstwhile owners of the castle,. The building was once divided by a brick wall, but was replaced by an iron and glass screen, which is frequently opened today.
The town of Arundel is surrounded by several charming villages such as the ancient villages of Burpham, Lyminster and Poling. Lyminster is referred to in King Alfred the Great's will in 901 and is associated with the ancient legend of the Sussex dragon of Knucker Hole, a deep pool next to the church. The name "Knucker Hole" is derived from the Old English word "nicor" that means "water monster". Poling, on the other hand, housed the Sussex headquarters of the Knights of Hospitaller that was founded in Jerusalem in the XII century to provide hospitality and care to the sick. Initially their work involved caring for pilgrims to the Holy Land and those taking part in the Crusades, but now, through its network of St John's Ambulance brigade of volunteers, so named after the patron saint of the Order of St John, provide care to anyone who needs it and can be seen frequently at public gatherings.
Undoubtedly, Arundel and its surrounding area, is one of the most historically interesting and beautiful areas in the county. Being not too far away from London, it provides the visitor a fascinating insight into England's ancient past.