Arundel Castle Seen Over the Village Rooftops

Arundel Castle Seen Over the Village Rooftops

Tradition has it that the town was named after the giant Bevis's horse "Hirondelle" (the swallow). A swallow is still depicted on the town's coat of arms." Little is known about Arundel before the Conquest. There is "evidence of Roman occupation and the town is mentioned in 901 in the will of Alfred the Great. It is known Alfred fortified the area against sea raiders, the town had Saxon royal connections up until the reign of Harold II." There are references of a castle and the port at Arundel in the Doomsday Book.

Arundel is the second largest castle in England. Arundel Castle has been the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk for over 500 years. "The Duke of Norfolk is England's Premier Duke, the title having been conferred on Sir John Howard in 1483 by his friend King Richard III. The Dukedom also carries with it the hereditary office of Earl Marshal of England" (since 1672).

The Montgomerys are a Lowland clan of Anglo-Norman origin." The son of Rodger de Montgomery "The Great", Rodger de Montgomery (b.1030), was joint Regent of Normandy when William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066. He contributed 60 of his ships to William to aid the invasion. Rodger de Montgomery was not only the cousin of the new King, they were also best of friends since childhood. "Rodger was given the Earldoms of Sherwsbury and Arundel, the "rape" of Chichester (which made him the Lord of 84 manors). After the conquest King William divided Sussex into six "rapes" (the origin of rape maybe derived from "hrapa" Icelandic measure, or rapiner Norman meaning to plunder), Chichester, Arundel, Bramber, Lewis, Pevensey, and Hastings.

Earl Rodger de Montgomery founded the first castle at Arundel on Christmas day 1067. He returned with William from Normandy in 1067 and he was summoned to attend Chismas (sic) at Gloucester with the king where he was awarded his honours as one of William's most trusted men.

In 1083 he founded the Abby at Shrewsbury, "which he is reputed to have entered 3 days before his death." (This is the man whose ghost is said to haunt the castle's keep) Rodger de Montgomery died in 1094 and was succeeded by his son, Robert, known as Robert de Belleme.

Of the ...sieges that occurred in the castle's history, two were caused by direct rebellion of the castle's owners against the monarchy.

Robert de Belleme was a hardened and cruel man, who had made many enemies. Extremely knowledgable in military architecture, he strengthen Arundel's fortifications. He sided with the Duke of Normandy against King Henry I in 1102. While Robert was away, the castle was besieged for three months before surrendering. Belleme was banished for life; his lands and possessions confiscated, they now belonged to the Crown.

Robert had started building the stone keep. Henry I continued the work, and it was probably completed by Henry II whose keep at Windsor Castle is very similar to Arundel's.

It can be said that, apart from the occasional reversion to the Crown, Arundel Castle has descended directly from 1138 to the present day, carried by female heiresses from the d'Albinis to the Fitzalans in the 13th century and then from the Fitzalans to the Howards in the 16th century and it has been the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk and their ancestors for over 850 years.