ARUNDEL castle takes high rank among the “Stately Homes of England.” Some of its more prominent features we present to our readers. Of very remote antiquity—for it traces back to a period long anterior to the Conquest; deeply interesting in its historical associations—for it has played a leading part in the principal events of the kingdom; and of great importance in its family connections—for a long line of noble and illustrious names, from the reign of Alfred the Great to our own time, are associated with its history—Arundel stands, a proud monument of England’s greatness, and of the beauty of England’s fair domains.

The manor of Arundel was, it is stated, given in the will of Alfred the Great (“Æthelme mines brother suna thone ham Æt Ealdingburnam, & Æt Cumtune, & Æt Crundellan, & Æt Beadingum, & Æt Beadingahamme, & Æt Burnham, & Æt Thunresfelda, & Æt Æscengum”) to his nephew, Æthelm, the son of his brother. To Earl Godwine, and to King Harold, it is also stated successively to have passed. At the time of the Norman Conquest the possessions and the earldoms of Arundel, Chichester, and Shrewsbury, were given to Roger de Montgomery, a relative of the Conqueror, and “one of the council which formed the invasion of England, leading the centre of the army in that famous battle of Battle Abbey, wherein the crown accrued to the Norman.” He commanded the entire army of archers and light infantry in the decisive battle; and to his superior skill in military tactics was principally owing the successful issue. To requite him for his valuable services, and place him in a position of advantage, the Conqueror established him at Arundel in all the magnificence of the age. Of his immense possessions, those by which he was immediately surrounded constituted three lordships, ten hundreds and their courts and suits of service, eighteen parks, and seventy-seven manors. He took a prominent part in affairs of state, both in the reign of the Conqueror and in that of William Rufus, and at last entered the monastery at Shrewsbury, which he had founded, and where he died. He was succeeded in his possessions in Normandy by his eldest son, Robert, Comte de Belesme, and in his English earldoms and possessions by his youngest son, Hugh, who led a turbulent life, and met with a premature death at Anglesey, in repulsing the descent made by Magnus, King of Norway, on that island; he was shot from his horse by an arrow, which pierced through his brain.

On the death of Hugh, his elder brother, Robert, came over from Normandy to claim the earldoms and inheritance, to which, on paying a heavy fine, he succeeded. “He was a cruel, crafty, and subtle man, but powerful in arms, and eloquent in speech, and for fifteen years seldom out of rebellion; till at length peace being made between the king and his competitor, he was called to account for all his actions, but shifted away and fortified his castles, which the king (Henry I.) besieged, and forced him to sue for clemency, which was granted; but all his possessions were seized, and himself banished.” He ultimately died in Warwick Castle—the earldoms reverting to the crown.

Before tracing the descent to a later time, a word on the derivation of the name Arundel may not be out of place. It has been conjectured to be derived from various sources. Thus, Hirundelle, from Hirundo, a swallow; from the name of a famous horse, Hirondelle, which was the favourite of its owner, one Sir Bevis, who is said to have been warder or constable of the castle; from Arundo, a reed, which grows in the river; from Portus Adurni; and from Arun, the name of the river, and dell, from the valley along which it flows; as well as from araf and del, and other sources.[29]

The estates and earldom having reverted to the crown under Henry I., were settled upon that monarch’s second wife, Adeliza, daughter of the Duke of Lorraine, who married, for her second husband, William de Albini (son of William de Albini, surnamed Pincerna, who came over with the Conqueror), who is said to have been called “William of the Stronghand,” because, when cast into a lion’s den—so the story goes, in consequence of his refusal to marry the Queen of France—he seized the lion, thrust his hand into its mouth, and down his throat, and tore out its heart! He was Lord of Buckenham, and one of the most powerful of the barons. In the troublous reign of Stephen, Albini and his royal wife lived at Arundel Castle, and here received the Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I. by his first wife, and mother of Henry II., who, with her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, and a retinue of knights and retainers, remained there for some time. Stephen, on news reaching him of the presence of his rival, the Empress, drew his forces to Arundel, and laid close siege to the castle. Albini, however, not only preserved his royal guest from violence, but by good generalship or caution, secured for her a safe conduct to Bristol, from which she took ship, and returned to the Continent. Albini was, subsequently, the meditator between Stephen and the son of Queen Matilda, Henry, afterwards Henry II., by which the crown was secured to that prince and his heirs, and so brought about a happy peace. For his loyalty and good services he was, by Henry II., confirmed in the estates and titles he had enjoyed through his wife Queen Adeliza, and was, in addition to the earldoms of Arundel and Chichester, created Earl of Sussex. Besides taking a very prominent part in most affairs of the nation, Albini was one of the deputation to the Pope in the matter of the king’s dispute with A’Beckett; was sent to conduct the daughter of Matilda into Germany on her marriage with the Duke of Saxony; was one of the king’s trustees to the treaty of the marriage of Prince John to the daughter of the Count of Savoy; and commanded the royal forces against the rebellious princes, taking prisoners the Earl of Leicester, and his countess, and all the retinue of knights. He and his wife founded the Priory of Calceto, near Arundel; built the Abbey of Buckenham; endowed prebends in Winchester; founded the Priory of Pynham, near Arundel; and the Chapel of St. Thomas at Wymondham. This earl having, in conjunction with his wife, founded the Priory of Calceto, near Arundel, granted its priors many privileges: among which were an annual allowance of timber for the repairs of the bridge, and a right of pasturage for cattle in common with the burgesses of Arundel. At the dissolution of the monasteries, the office of bridge-warden, previously held by the friars, devolved on the Mayor of Arundel, who still continues the office. The meadows were retained in the possession of the burgesses, and are still held by them. He died in 1176, and was succeeded by his eldest son (or grandson), William de Albini, who married Maud, widow of the Earl of Clare, by whom he had issue, two sons, William and Hugh, and six daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest son, William, who, dying without issue, was succeeded by his brother, Hugh de Albini, the youngest son, who married Isabel, daughter to the Earl of Warren and Surrey, but died without issue. The estates then passed to his sisters and co-heiresses; that of Arundel descending to John Fitzalan, son of the second sister of Hugh de Albini, by her husband, John Fitzalan, Baron of Clun and Oswestry.

He was succeeded in the earldom and estates by his son, John, who dying two years afterwards, was succeeded by his son, Richard, then only five years of age. That nobleman greatly improved the Castle of Arundel, and is thus described in “the Siege of Caerlaverock:”—

“Richard, the Earl of Arundel,

A well-beloved and handsome knight,

In crimson surcoat marked, and well

With gold and rampant lion dight.”

In 1302 King Edward I. was the guest of the earl, at Arundel, and at that time created Arundel a borough, and granted the earl certain privileges, of taxes, &c., for the purpose of fortifying it. He was succeeded by his son, Edmund Fitzalan, who, being taken prisoner by Mortimer, was beheaded at Hereford. He was succeeded by his son, Richard Fitzalan, to whom Arundel Castle, which had, on the execution of the last earl, been giving to the Earl of Kent, was restored, as were also the baronies of Fitzalan, Clun, and Oswestry. He led an active and useful life, and distinguished himself at Crescy, Vannes, Thouars, and other places, and founded a chantry of six priests at Arundel. He was succeeded by his son, Richard, in his titles and estates; he died on the scaffold, in Cheapside, in 1397, the king, Richard II., being present at the execution. Ten days afterwards, “it being bruited abroad for a miracle that his head should be grown to his bodye againe,” the king sent, secretly, by night, “certaine nobilitye to see his bodie taken up, that he might be certified of the truth, which done, and perceiving that it was a fable,” he had the grave closed up again. Through this attainder Arundel reverted to the crown, and was given to the Duke of Exeter.

The earl was succeeded by his son, Thomas Fitzalan, who was, by Henry IV., restored both in blood and in all his possessions and titles. He held, among other important offices, those of Warden of the Cinque Ports, Constable of Dover Castle, and Lord High Treasurer of England. He married, in the presence of the king and queen, Beatrix, daughter of John, King of Portugal, but died without issue, when the Arundel estate passed, by entail, to his cousin, Sir John Fitzalan (or Arundel, as he called himself), Lord Maltravers. His son, John, succeeded him as Baron Maltravers and Earl of Arundel, and was created Duke of Touraine, but being wounded before Beavois, was carried prisoner to that place, where he died, and was succeeded by his son, Humphrey, who died a minor. The title and estates then passed to the brother of Earl John, William Fitzalan, who, in his turn, was succeeded by his son, Thomas, who again was succeeded by his son, William, who died in 1543. This nobleman was succeeded in his titles and estates by his son, Henry Fitzalan, who in the four reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, led a most eventful life, holding many important offices, and acquitted himself nobly in all. He left issue, two daughters (his only son having died a minor in his father’s lifetime), Joan, married to Lord Lumley, and Mary, married to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. But the latter lady having died after giving birth to a son, Philip Howard, and the other, Lady Lumley, having been married twenty years without issue, the earl entailed the estates, &c., on Lord and Lady Lumley for their lives, and then to Philip Howard, the son of his sister Mary. Thus ended the Fitzalan family, and from that time the titles and estates have belonged to the ducal family of Howard.

Philip Howard, so christened after Philip I., of Spain, one of his godfathers, was only son by his first wife, Mary, daughter of the Earl of Arundel, of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, who was beheaded for high treason in 1572. The title of Duke of Norfolk being lost by his attainder, Philip Howard did not enjoy it, but was Earl of Arundel and Surrey. He was also unjustly attainted, was tried for high treason, sentenced for execution, but ultimately died, during his imprisonment, in the Tower. This ill-fated young nobleman had married Anne, daughter and heiress of Lord Dacres of Gillesland, by whom he had an only child, born after he was cast into prison, and who succeeded him. This was Thomas Howard, the celebrated Earl of Arundel and Surrey (and afterwards Earl of Norfolk), whose brilliant career and high attainments are matters of history. His lordship, who is so well known as the founder of the collection of marbles, &c., married the Lady Alathea Talbot, daughter and one of the co-heiresses of Gilbert Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, by whom he had issue, Henry Frederick, Lord Mowbray and Maltravers (who succeeded him), Sir William Howard, ancestor of the Earls of Stafford, and James, Thomas, Gilbert, and Charles, who all died unmarried.

Henry Frederick, the eldest son, who, during his father’s lifetime, had been called to the Upper House by the title of Baron Mowbray and Maltravers, married the Lady Elizabeth Stuart, eldest daughter of the Duke of Lennox, of the blood royal, for which, for a time, he incurred the displeasure of his Majesty, and, with his lady, was placed in confinement. He had issue, ten sons and three daughters. These sons were, Thomas, who succeeded him; Henry; Philip, who became a cardinal, and was variously styled Cardinal of Norfolk and Cardinal of England; Charles, who married Mary Tattershall and founded the Greystocke line; Talbot, Edward, and Francis, who died unmarried; Bernard, who married Catherine Tattershall; and two others.

Thomas Howard, who succeeded his father as Earl of Arundel, Surrey, and Norfolk, &c., had restored to him, and to the heirs male of himself and his father, the dukedom of Norfolk and all the honours belonging to that title. He thus became fifth Duke of Norfolk, a title which has continued without further interruption till the present time. He died unmarried in 1677, when the title and estates passed to his brother Henry, sixth Duke of Norfolk, who had been previously created a peer by the title of Baron Howard of Castle Rising, Earl of Norwich, and Earl Marshal of England. He married, first, Lady Anne Somerset, daughter of the Marquis of Worcester, and by her had issue, two sons and three daughters; and secondly, Grace Bickerton, by whom he had three sons and three daughters. Dying in 1684, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry Howard (who had been summoned to Parliament in his father’s lifetime as Baron Mowbray), as seventh Duke of Norfolk, who was one of the supporters of the Prince of Orange. He married the Lady Mary Mordaunt, daughter of the Earl of Peterborough, from whom he was divorced in 1700, but died without issue in 1701, when the title and estates passed to his nephew—

Thomas, eighth Duke of Norfolk, who married Mary, daughter of Sir Nicholas Sherburn, by whom he had no issue; and dying in 1732, was succeeded, as ninth Duke of Norfolk, by his brother Edward, who married, in 1727, Mary Blount, but died without issue in 1777, at the age of ninety-one. The titles and estates then passed to a distant member of the family, his third cousin, Charles Howard, of the Greystocke family, who thus became tenth Duke of Norfolk. He married Catherine, daughter of John Brocholes, Esq., and by her had issue, besides a daughter who died young, one son, Charles, who succeeded him, as eleventh Duke of Norfolk, in 1786.

This nobleman, who was the restorer, or rebuilder, of Arundel Castle—a man of considerable literary and scientific attainments—married, first, Mary Anne Copinger, and second, Frances Scudamore, but had no issue by either. He was succeeded by his relative, Bernard Edward Howard, as twelfth Duke of Norfolk, who, marrying the Lady Elizabeth Belasyse, daughter of Earl Faulconberg (from whom he was divorced), had an only son, Henry Charles, who succeeded him in 1842.

Henry Charles, thirteenth duke, who was born in 1791, married, in 1814, the Lady Charlotte Leveson Gower, daughter of the Duke of Sutherland (she is still living), by whom he had issue, Henry Granville, Earl of Surrey, who succeeded him; Lord Edward George Fitzalan Howard, of Glossop Hall, Derbyshire, created, 1869, “Baron Howard, of Glossop;” Lord Bernard Thomas; and the Ladies Mary Charlotte and Adeliza Matilda. His Grace died in 1856, and was succeeded as fourteenth duke by his eldest son, Henry Granville Fitzalan-Howard (who had assumed, by royal sign-manual, in 1842, the surname of Fitzalan before that of Howard). He married, in 1839, Augusta Mary Minna Catherine, daughter of the first Baron Lyons (she still survives), by whom he had issue, two sons, viz., Henry Fitzalan-Howard, the present Duke of Norfolk, and Lord Edward Bernard Fitzalan-Howard; and seven daughters, viz., the Lady Victoria Alexandrina, born 1840, and married in 1861 to James Robert Hope-Scott, Esq., Q.C.; the Lady Minna Charlotte, born 1843; the Lady Mary Adeliza, born 1845; the Lady Ethelreda, born 1849; the Lady Philippa, born 1852; the Lady Anne, born 1857; and the Lady Margaret, born 1860. During the life of this nobleman, who was universally beloved and respected, her Majesty Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort paid a visit of three days to Arundel Castle, where the reception was kept up with regal magnificence. His Grace died in 1860, and was succeeded by his eldest son, then in his thirteenth year.

The present peer, his Grace Henry Fitzalan-Howard, fifteenth Duke of Norfolk, Earl of Arundel, Earl of Surrey, Earl of Norfolk, Baron Maltravers, Baron Fitzalan, Baron Clun, Baron Oswestry, Premier Duke and Earl next to the blood royal, Hereditary Earl Marshal, and Chief Butler of England, was born on the 27th of December, 1847, and attained his majority in 1868. His grace is unmarried. He is the patron of seven livings; but, “being a Roman Catholic, cannot present.”

The arms of the Duke of Norfolk are—Quarterly: first, gules, on a bend between six cross-crosslets, fitchÉe, argent, an escutcheon, or, charged with a demi-lion rampant, pierced through the mouth with an arrow, within a double tressure, flory counter-flory, all gules, for Howard; second, the arms of England (gules, three lions passant guardant, or), charged with a label of three points, argent, for difference, for Plantagenet; third, chequy, or and azure, for Warren; fourth, gules, a lion rampant, argent, for Mowbray. Crest, on a chapeau gules, turned up, ermine, a lion statant-guardant, or ducally gorged, argent. Behind the arms two marshal’s staves in saltire, or, enamelled at each end, sable. Supporters:—on the dexter side a lion, argent, and on the sinister, a horse of the same, holding in his mouth a slip of oak, fructed, proper. The motto is “Sola Virtus Invicta.”

Thus having briefly traced the history of the house of Howard, so far as the main line connected with Arundel Castle is concerned, we turn our attention to some of the many beauties and attractions of the domain of Arundel.

In situation, as a fortress, few sites were so well chosen as that of Arundel Castle. At the southern extremity of the elevated platform on which it stands a strong wall enclosed the inner court, containing upwards of five acres; on the north-east and south-east a precipitous dip of the hill to ninety feet, rendered the castle inaccessible. On the remaining sides a deep fosse, protected on the north by a double vallation, and cutting off all external communication in that direction, secured the garrison from any sudden incursion or surprise. In the centre rose the Donjon, or Keep, circular in form, enormous in strength, crowning a lofty artificial mound, and commanding a wide and uninterrupted view of all the neighbouring approaches. “The walls, from eight to ten feet in thickness, enclosed a nearly circular space of more than sixty feet in diameter, and of great height—the apartments being all lit from the central well-staircase, and there being no loopholes in the walls. This Keep—which still stands in all its venerable and hoary age—is supposed to have been built by Alfred the Great, and to have been recased in Norman times, when the present doorway was made. To the same period belongs a portion of the tower near it, and which is connected with the Keep by a covered passage carried across the moat. The Barbican, or Bevis’s Tower, occupying the north-west side of the ditch surrounding the Keep, has also some good Norman features, and it, as well as the Keep covered with luxuriant ivy, and the old entrance, built by Fitzalan, form the most interesting and picturesque portions of the venerable place.”

The entrance to the castle at the present time is at the top of High Street. The approach is enclosed by embattled walls with turrets, and the entrance gateway, surmounted by a portcullis and the arms of Howard, is between two massive embattled towers: of this gateway we give an engraving, taken from the interior. Following the carriage-way, the visitor arrives at the entrance to the grand quadrangle, a massive and lofty arched gateway flanked by two towers. Passing through this gateway the appearance of the castle is grand and imposing. On the right of the gateway is the Chapel, and adjoining it is the Baron’s Hall, or Banqueting Chamber; on the south side is the grand, or state entrance; and in the north-east wing is the Library, &c. None of these buildings, however, are of ancient times.

One of the first objects that will be noticed by the visitor is a bas-relief, which occupies a large space in the front wall of the Alfred Saloon, next to the Great Library. It represents Alfred the Great instituting, or founding, trial by jury—the king himself standing in the centre surrounded by his nobles and people, and delivering a scroll, which he holds in his hand, bearing the words, in Saxon characters, “That man fioebe gemot on cum Wapentace” (That man, in every hundred (Wapentake), shall find twelve jury). It was designed by Rossi, a sculptor of modern time.

The castle is entered from this quadrangle or court-yard, by the grand entrance, or state entrance, as it is called. This is a fine modern doorway, of Norman design, in a machicolated central tower of three stories in height. Over the doorway is a large central window, on each side of which is a colossal figure of Hospitality and Liberty respectively. Over this again are the arms of the Howards, sculptured, and these again are surmounted by the machicolations, parapet, &c. Immediately on entering this splendid ducal residence, the visitor reaches the Grand-staircase leading to its various apartments.

The Baron’s Hall, or Banqueting Chamber, is a remarkably fine, and even gorgeous, apartment. “Its architecture, like that of the chapel, is in the style of the fourteenth century. It is 71 feet in length, by 35 in breadth, lofty in proportion, and, as a whole, produces a striking effect on the spectator.” The roof is of Spanish chestnut, elaborately carved, and the sculptures around the walls and on the windows are of elegant design. The stained-glass windows are, however, “the grand attraction, for in these the story of English freedom is brilliantly told. They are thirteen in number. The great window illustrates the ratification of the great charter by King John, who seems to pause in the act of affixing his signature to the instrument.” Behind him are several prelates, while to his right are the Pope’s Legate and the Archbishop of Dublin, and, to his left, Cardinal Langton. There are also Baron Fitzwalter, the Master of the Knights Templars, the Lord Mayor, and others. In the other windows, which were superbly executed by Eginton, one of the best of our artists in stained glass, are full-length figures of eight barons of the Norfolk family, who aided in procuring the charter—the heads, however, as well as those in the large window, being portraits of members of the Howard family of the beginning of the present century, at which time the windows were executed. On the walls are several fine suits of armour, &c. This magnificent hall was first opened on the 15th of June, 1815, being the 600th anniversary of the signing of the charter.

The Great Drawing-Room is a noble apartment, commanding a magnificent and extensive view of the valley of the Arun, and the surrounding country. In it is a large collection of family portraits, among which are Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, vindicating himself (“Sire, he was my crowned king. If the authority of Parliament had placed the crown on that stake, I would have fought for it. Let it place it on your head and you will find me as ready in your defence”) before Henry VII. for the part he took at the battle of Bosworth field; John, Duke of Norfolk, who fell at Bosworth, and who is generally known as “Jocky of Norfolk,” from the rude couplet:—

“Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold,
For Dickon thy master is bought and sold”—

which was found written on his gate, as a warning, on the morning when he set out on his fatal expedition; Henry, Earl of Surrey, the great poet of his age, “who was not only the ornament of the court of Henry VIII., which he attended in the capacity of companion to the Duke of Richmond, but of the still more brilliant and chivalrous court of Francis I. His travels on the Continent were those of a scholar and knight-errant; and the vision which he had in Agrippa’s magic mirror of his lady-love, the ‘Fair Geraldine,’ whom he has so nobly perpetuated in verse, excited in him such a transport of enthusiasm, that, at a tournament in Florence, he challenged all who could handle a lance—Turk, Saracen, or cannibal—to dispute against him her claims to the supremacy of beauty, and came off victorious: but the well-known hatred of the tyrant Henry to all the Howards prematurely extinguished this bright promise of excellence, and Surrey, the last victim of the royal murderer, perished on the scaffold at the early age of twenty-seven:”—

“Who has not heard of Surrey’s fame?
His was the hero’s soul of fire,
And his the bard’s immortal name.”

In 1547, he was beheaded on Tower Hill. One of the dark blots on British history, was the execution of this true hero of the pen and sword. The portraits also include those of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk (by Holbein), who was beheaded, and his wife, Mary Fitzalan; Henry Fitzalan; Cardinal Howard; “Belted Will Howard,” of whom we shall speak in our account of Castle Howard; and various other members of this distinguished family.

The Dining-Room, formed out of the ancient family chapel, is principally remarkable for its large stained-glass window, the subject of which is the meeting of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba—the heads being portraits of the twelfth duke and his duchess. On each side is respectively the mercy-seat in the tabernacle, and the interior of the tabernacle.

The Library, the building of which was commenced in 1801, is an apartment of much magnificence. The book-cases and reading-galleries are supported by fifteen columns, wrought out of the richest Spanish mahogany; while the spidered roof displays a beauty of workmanship and delicacy of carving, enriched with fruit-foliage, which have seldom been surpassed. It is divided into several compartments for reading recesses, and communicates with the Alfred Saloon by folded doors.

The Chapel adjoins the Baron’s Hall, and is a chaste and beautiful apartment.

It is not necessary further to describe the interior of the castle; but it will be well to note that a chamber over the inner gateway enjoys the traditionary fame of having been the sleeping-place of the Empress Matilda. It is a low square apartment, and contains a bedstead which the queen is said to have occupied; but, unfortunately for the charm of the tradition, it is some centuries later in date than the time in which she lived.

Under the east end of the castle is a large vault, upwards of 60 feet in length, the massive walls of which are formed of blocks of chalk, strengthened with ribs of stone, and are of about 7 feet in thickness. This vault was used, of course, as a place of safety for prisoners, and a curious instance of escape from it is recorded. It seems that in the year 1404 one John Mot was here confined on a charge of robbery, but contrived to make his escape. Before he could get clear away, his flight was discovered, and he was followed. Finding himself closely pursued, he suddenly turned to the College of the Holy Trinity, and seizing the ring attached to the gate just as his captors were about to lay hands on him, claimed the right of sanctuary. He was, however, forcibly seized, and carried back to prison. Knowledge of the affair reaching the ears of the priests, two of the parties who assisted the constable in making the seizure of Mot were summoned before the bishop, found guilty, and “ordered to make a pilgrimage on foot to the shrine of St. Richard at Chichester, to present an offering there according to their ability, to be cudgelled (fustigati) five times through the church of Arundel, and five times to recite the paternoster, ave, and creed, upon their knees before the crucifix of the high altar.” Before the sentence, however, could be carried into execution, the prisoner was wisely restored to the church, the cudgelling was remitted, and offerings of burning tapers were substituted.

A word may be said about the fine old horned owls that at one time gave renown to the Keep—owls of a peculiar breed, and about whom many curious anecdotes have been related. At present, however, they greet the visitors under glass, in cases; but it is understood that some of their progeny are preparing to take the places in life of the old denizens of the time-honoured ruin.

It will be seen that all the inhabited portions of Arundel Castle are of comparatively recent date; they are fitted up with much judgment and taste, but by no means gorgeously. In one of the lesser chambers are hung some modern drawings of great merit and value, by Prout, Hunt, Copley Fielding, David Cox, and other artists of the best days of the British school.[30]

The Keep is the great attraction of the castle and domain of Arundel. Though now but a picturesque ruin, it has been prominent in all the internal contests of the kingdom, from the days of Alfred the Great to the reign of the third William. To this relic of a remote age the public are freely admitted; and a courteous custodier is always at hand to detail its history, and conduct through its winding and tortuous paths from base to summit.

Dating from a time certainly anterior to the Conquest, before the application of “villainous saltpetre,” it must have been impregnable—commanding the adjacent country on all sides, and rendering the Arun a mere tributary to the will of its lords; it had a large share in controlling the destinies of the kingdom during the several civil wars to which it had been subjected. It remains one of the most picturesque of the ruins that in England recall the memories of battles lost and won, of glories continually claimed and resigned by rival competitors, and of heroes whose mortal parts have been dust from ages so remote that their records are read only in “the dim twilight of tradition.”

The historian, Tierney, states that the Keep probably comprised the principal feature of the Saxon stronghold. It is of a circular formation, and of immense strength. The height from the bottom of the fosse, on the external side, was 70 feet; on the internal, 69; which, with walls and battlements, produced an elevation altogether of 96 feet on the east; 103 on the west. The walls varied from 8 to 10 feet, strengthened by ribs and buttresses. The inner space, which is circular, afforded accommodation to the garrison; in extent it varied from 59 to 67 feet in diameter. In the interior were several chambers, converging towards a subterraneous room in the centre. Differing from other Keeps, it contained no openings or loopholes from which the enemy could be annoyed, and it was only from the ramparts and battlements that the garrison could repel the assaults of the assailant. No traces can be seen of the original Saxon entrance.

Connected with the Keep is, of course, the Well-tower. Bevis’s Tower, the Barbican, is seen immediately underneath, while, at a short distance, is “the Chapel of St. Mary, over the gate.”

The square building, known as the Clock Tower (introduced in the engraving), and through which a vaulted Norman passage leads to the Keep, dates from a period not long after the Conquest; parts of it bear unequivocal marks of so early an origin. The upper portion of the building has been renovated; but the lower portion remains almost as perfect as when completed, as it is said to have been, by the first Earl of Arundel. “The passage abutted to the fosse, and was defended by a portcullis and drawbridge.” A window is pointed out from which, A.D. 1139, the Empress Maud, it is said, “scolded” the King, Stephen, who besieged the castle in which she was a guest.

The Church of St. Martin forms a portion of the Keep, and some relics of the ancient and venerable structure yet endure. It was the oratory of the garrison, and is “mentioned in Domesday Book as enjoying an annual rent of twelve pence, payable by one of the burgesses of Arundel.” From a window of an early date is obtained a view of the castle immediately beneath; but the prospect of the adjacent country is very beautiful, not only of the fertile land and bountiful river, but of the far-off sea; and hours may be pleasantly and profitably spent on this mount that time has hallowed. In bidding the pleasant theme farewell, we cannot do better than quote the old rhyme:—

“Since William rose, and Harold fell,
There have been counts of Arundel;
And earls old Arundel shall have,
While rivers flow and forests wave.”

It is scarcely necessary to add that the grounds and park are worthy of the castle; they are especially beautiful, varied in hill and dale—the free river at their base—full of magnificently grown trees, and comprise eleven hundred acres, well stocked with deer.

In the park, which was originally the hunting forest of the old Earls of Arundel, will be noticed Hiorn’s Tower—a triangular, turreted building, of about 50 feet in height, and designed as a prospect tower by the architect whose name it bears. Near to it is Pugh-Dean, where, it is said, Bevis, the Great Castellan of Arundel, and his famous horse, “Hirondelle,” are buried. A mound, covered with a clump of Scotch fir-trees, is pointed out as his burial-place. Near this place, too, is the site of the old chapel and hermitage of St. James.

The old bridge over the river Arun was situated a short distance below the present structure. It is first mentioned in the charter which Queen Adeliza granted to the monks of the Priory de Calceto, in which lands for their support, and an allowance of timber for repairs of the bridge, were granted. It was entirely rebuilt in 1724, principally of stone taken from the ruins of the adjoining hospital. In 1831 it was widened and improved.

The Church of the Holy Trinity. All that remains of this once famous establishment is a square building “enclosing a square yard, partly occupied by cloisters, and partly devoted to other purposes of a monastic establishment.” In it are some splendid monuments to members of the noble families who have owned the place. One of the principal is that of Thomas, Earl of Arundel, and his countess, Beatrix, daughter of John, King of Portugal; and another striking feature is a canopied tomb near the altar.

The Church possesses many highly interesting features, and forms a pleasing object in the landscape, from whichever side it is seen. It is cruciform, and consists of a nave with side aisles, a chancel, and transept; and in the centre rises a low tower, surmounted by a diminutive spire.

The original ecclesiastical foundation was that of the alien priory, or cell, dedicated to St. Nicholas, established by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Arundel, soon after the Conquest, and subjected to the Benedictine Abbey of Seez, or de Sagio, in Normandy. It consisted only of a prior and three or four monks, who continued to conduct the establishment for nearly three centuries, until the third year of the reign of Richard II., when Richard Fitzalan obtained a licence to extinguish the priory and to found a chantry for the maintenance of a master and twelve secular canons with their officers. Upon this change, it was styled “the Church of the Holy Trinity.” At the suppression, it was endowed with a yearly revenue of £263 14s. 9d.

Being intended as the mausoleum of his family, the founder supplied ample means to enrich it with examples of monumental splendour. The tomb of his son, Thomas Fitzalan, and his wife, Beatrix, daughter of John, King of Portugal, was the earliest of those placed in the church. It is of alabaster, finely sculptured, and was formerly painted and gilt. It contains the effigies of the earl and his lady; at the feet of the earl is a horse, the cognizance of the Fitzalans; and at those of his lady are two lap-dogs. Around, in niches, are small standing figures of ecclesiastics, or pleureurs, with open books, as performing funeral obsequies; and above them as many escutcheons. Other stately tombs are erected to the memory of John Fitzalan and his wife, and Thomas Arundel and his wife, “one of the eyres of Richard Woodevyle, Earl Rivers, sister to Elizabeth, Queen of England, sometime wife to King Edward IV.”

The chapel which contains these monuments is still in a dilapidated state, as was the whole church—“ruinated” during the temporary possession of the Iconoclasts of the Commonwealth—until Henry Charles, Duke of Norfolk, restored it, and put upon it a roof, which it had long been without.

Visitors to Arundel will note near the bridge some ancient ruins. According to the historian, Tierney, they are the remains of the Maison Dieu, that owed its origin to the same munificence as the collegiate chapel and church. It formed a quadrangle, which was occupied by the chapel, refectory, and its offices, and the various chambers. There was a cloister round the court-yard. Quoting the statutes, “the establishment,” says Mr. Tierney, “was to consist of twenty poor men, either unmarried or widowers, who, from age, sickness or infirmity, were unable to provide for their own sustenance. They were to be selected from among the most deserving of the surrounding neighbourhood, giving the preference only to the servants or tenants of the founder and his heirs; they were to be men of moral lives and edifying conversation, and were required, as a qualification for their admission, to know the ‘Pater Noster,’ the ‘Ave-Maria,’ and the ‘Credo,’ in Latin.”

These buildings were dismantled at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, and no doubt suffered much at the time of the siege and sack of Arundel, during the Civil War, by the Parliamentarians under the command of Sir William Waller; in 1724 a large quantity of the materials was used in the building of the bridge, that portion only being rescued which is now seen, and which has been preserved by the Duke of Norfolk because of the interest attached to the once sacred structure.

Arundel, with its many attractions, is barely two hours distant from London, and within half an hour of populous Brighton; yet visits of strangers to the old town and venerable castle are comparatively few.