Arundel Castle - Mill Road, Arundel, UK - Satellite Imagery Oddities on Waymarking.com

The Historic England website has a lengthy article about Arundel Castle that tells us:

Reasons for Designation

Motte castles are medieval fortifications introduced into Britain by the Normans. They comprised a large conical mound of earth or rubble, the motte, surmounted by a palisade and a stone or timber tower. In a majority of examples an embanked enclosure containing additional buildings, the bailey, adjoined the motte. Motte castles and motte-and-bai1ey castles acted as garrison forts during offensive military operations, as strongholds, and, in many cases, as aristocratic residences and as centres of local or royal administration. Built in towns, villages and open countryside, motte castles generally occupied strategic positions dominating their immediate locality and, as a result, are the most visually impressive monuments of the early post-Conquest period surviving in the modern landscape. Over 600 motte castles and motte-and-bailey castles are recorded nationally, with examples known from most regions. Some 100-150 examples do not have baileys and are classified as motte castles. As one of a restricted range of recognised early post-Conquest monuments, they are particularly important for the study of Norman Britain and the development of the feudal system. Although many were occupied for only a short period of time, motte castles continued to be built and occupied from the 11th to the 13th centuries, after which they were superseded by other types of castle.

Arundel Castle survives well despite the slighting and rebuilding of some of the castle buildings after the Civil War. It is of an unusual twin bailey plan, illustrating the wide range of possible forms of this class of monument. The castle is well documented historically and the long history of its use and adaptation is well illustrated by a wide range of surviving features such as the Norman gatehouse and keep, the curtain wall, outer bailey and Civil War defences. These features also considerably enhance the castle's significance because they provide important information on a number of key stages in the history of defensive fortification.

History

The monument includes a motte and bailey castle at its centre, the outer bailey area to the north-east, the square earthwork known as the bowling green and the fishponds on the eastern side of the castle grounds. The buildings around the quadrangle are not included in the scheduling, having been extensively altered in the 19th and early 20th century and currently listed Grade I. The ground beneath them, however, is included. All other modern structures such as the building at St Mary's Gate, the pavilion and the surfaces of all roads and paths are similarly excluded, the ground beneath is however included. The reservoir to the north is excluded from the scheduling. The first castle comprised a central mound, or motte, some 75m across at its base and 20m high, and two courtyards, or baileys, one on each side of the motte. The shell keep on top of the motte, which measures 20m by 18m across and has walls 9m high, is a 12th century replacement of the first timber keep erected by Roger de Montgomery before 1070. To the north-east of the original castle is a nearly-square outer bailey some 350m across, originally with strong earthworks on all sides except the NE where steep slopes provided sufficient defence. On the northern side the bank and ditch together measure 35m across. The lower levels of a stone gatehouse survive at the gap in this northern earthwork. A slighter bank and infilled ditch extends westwards between Park Gates and the London Road for additional defence. This and the 35m square 'bowling green' are likely to have been used to strengthen the castle during the Civil War. The three fishponds to the E, up to 63m long and 15m wide, provided fish for the table during the early use of the castle.

The Arundel Castle website tells us:

There are nearly 1,000 years of history at this great castle, situated in magnificent grounds overlooking the River Arun in West Sussex and built at the end of the 11th century by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Arundel. The oldest feature is the motte, an artificial mound, over 100 feet high from the dry moat, and constructed in 1068: followed by the gatehouse in 1070. Under his will, King Henry I (1068-1135) settled the Castle and lands in dower on his second wife, Adeliza of Louvain. Three years after his death she married William d'Albini II, who built the stone shell keep on the motte. King Henry II (1133-89), who built much of the oldest part of the stone Castle, in 1155 confirmed William d'Albini II as Earl of Arundel, with the Honour and Castle of Arundel.

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. From the 15th to the 17th centuries the Howards were at the forefront of English history, from the Wars of the Roses, through the Tudor period to the Civil War. Among the famous members of the Howard family are the 2nd Duke of Norfolk (1443-1524), the victor of Flodden, Lord Howard of Effingham, who with Sir Francis Drake repelled the Armada in 1588, the Earl of Surrey, the Tudor poet and courtier, and the 3rd Duke of Norfolk (1473-1554), uncle of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom became wives of King Henry VIII (1491-1547).

These were politically dangerous times: the 'Poet' Earl was executed in 1547; his father, the 3rd Duke of Norfolk only escaped the death penalty because King Henry VIII died the night before the execution was due and the 4th Duke (1536-72) was beheaded for plotting to marry Mary Queen of Scots. There have been two cardinals and a saint in the Howard family; St Philip Howard, 13th Earl of Arundel (1557-95) died in the Tower of London for his faith. By contrast, his son, the 'Collector' 14th Earl (1585-1646), as his nickname suggests, was responsible for many of the treasures which can be seen today. The results of all this history are concentrated at the Castle, which houses a fascinating collection of fine furniture dating from the 16th century, tapestries, clocks, and portraits by Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Mytens, Lawrence, Reynolds, Canaletto and others. Personal possessions of Mary, Queen of Scots and a selection of historical, religious and heraldic items from the Duke of Norfolk's collection are also on display.

During the Civil War (1642-45), the Castle was badly damaged when it was twice besieged, first by Royalists who took control, then by Cromwell's Parliamentarian force led by William Waller. Nothing was done to rectify the damage until about 1718 when Thomas, the 8th Duke of Norfolk (1683-1732) carried out some repairs. Charles Howard, the 11th Duke (1746-1815), known to posterity as the 'Drunken Duke' and friend of the Prince Regent subsequently carried out further restoration.

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) came from Osborne House with her husband, Prince Albert, for three days in 1846, for which the bedroom and library furniture were specially commissioned and made by a leading London furniture designer. Her portrait by William Fowler was also specially commissioned by the 13th Duke in 1843.

The building we see now owes much to Henry,15th Duke of Norfolk (1847-1917) and the restoration project was completed in 1900. It was one of the first English country houses to be fitted with electric light, integral fire fighting equipment, service lifts and central heating. The gravity fed domestic water supply also supplied the town. Electricity cost over £36,000 to install, but the splendidly carved chimneypiece in the Drawing Room only cost £150!