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| Arundel Castle |
For more photos, look at the links on the right -->
He said:
Today, we had a day off from hiking the South Downs Way, and instead, we took a train to the nearby town of Arundel. The Arundel Castle itself was built by Roger de Montgomery starting in 1067 after the Norman Conquest when he was given a third of Sussex by William the Conqueror. The castle is the home to the Duke of Norfolk, and was located so that it could defend the River Arun from invaders sailing up from the sea. The castle grounds are huge, going from medieval fish ponds below, to gardens and greenhouses up the hill. Photography was only allowed outside the castle, so I copied the postcards that we got in the gift shop to give a sense of the old world wealth housed within.
Some of the garden photos:
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| She pheasant |
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| He pheasant |
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| The Jackdaw |
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| Arundel Castle gardens |
Once we had our lunch in the gardens, we headed to the castle entrance, having to show our expensive tickets on numerous occasions. The interior had many great halls, small rooms, tall towers with spiral stairs. It was a large labyrinth of halls, stairs, rooms, tunnels, and even gardens.
After seeing the full castle tour, we poked about town; in charity shops, delicatessens, and other stores. Then we headed off to a grocery for our evening salad, and then to our train back to Amberley.
She said:
Rest day in Amberley
Last night, we ate in at our excellent B+B, The Old Bakery. So good to have a true, home cooked meal. And, at breakfast this morning, more delicious food - in addition to the normal full breakfast buffet, we enjoyed poached pears and Chelsea buns. Yum.
We walked along the 1 mile village footpath to the rail station and caught the train to Arundel - a 5 minute train ride away. Very civilized. We were keen to spend the day touring the Arundel Castle and Gardens and we were not disappointed.
First up was the Fitzalan Chapel, a wonder of 12th century (what else?) architecture and history. The Duke of Norfolk (yes, way far away from Norfolk but by a quirk of royal decree, The Duke of Norfolk resides here in Sussex) is the same as the Earl of Arundel and the Lord of this castle. The sarcophagi of past Dukes/Earls (and their wives) are many and the effigies are plentiful. The Chapel docent told about one of the most dramatic statues in the Chapel - the 12th Earl of Arundel fought in the Hundred Years War with France and was wounded in one leg. The initial attack didn't kill him, but the resulting infection did and he lost his leg (and his life). His remains were smuggled back to England in a barrel of rum (the only preservative available at the time). Then, lost.
Before he went to war, he had his armored effigy carved and also a death effigy (creepily decrepit and definitely dead looking) installed in the Chapel so that when he prayed he was always reminded that he was vigorous now but mortal and would someday die.
In archeological excavations of the Chapel, a skeleton was found below the effigies, and it was missing a leg. So now, it is believed, that the 12th Earl of Arundel/Duke of Norfolk is buried where he should be - below his armored effigy and his death effigy.
The men's effigy's are portrayed with a small likeness of their horse at their feet and the women are portrayed with the likeness of either their small dogs or a gryphon at their feet - no reason, just the convention of the times.
The Earls of Arundel were always Roman Catholic. When Henry VIII needed his divorce and broke from Rome and the Pope, he really ran over the Catholic monasteries and abbeys and churches and chapels to make clear that his new church, the Anglican Church, was the one true Church of England. However, the Fitzalan Chapel was spared, because the Tudors were related to several of the Howards (the Arundel family) and Henry didn't want to desecrate the burial site of some of his ancestors, no matter how distant. Instead, his troops ran through the Chapel and lopped of the noses and heads of some of the statues just so that everyone was clear that he was the boss.
(Should also be mentioned that Anne Boleyn's mother was a Howard. As we all know, British royalty is wildly incestuous.)
The motto of the Duke of Norfolk is:
Sola Virtus Invicta
Virtue Alone is Unconquered
A highlight of our day today was the Castle gardens - quite elaborate and impeccably well maintained - not a leaf out of place.
In one garden (the Chapel Garden) all the garden structures were carved from wood but looked like stone - very unexpected.
All views to the Castle and the Cathedral (outside the Castle walls) were framed with plants and flowers so that every vantage point of those buildings was a photo postcard waiting to happen.
Another garden on the Castle grounds is planted around inverted tree stumps. I know that sounds odd, but the stumps have about 3-4 feet of the rootball showing, dirt in and around that rootball, with amazing plants growing in and around it all.
Another garden was planted around huge boulders.
Whoever planned these gardens was an innovative genius.
As we entered the Castle proper, the first display showed the uniforms of the Castle footmen. (They looked heavy.) The uniform was passed on with the job, and each wearer penned his name in ink on the inside of the coat - just another kooky British tradition.
The Duke of Norfolk's Archives date from the 12th century and make up one of the largest private written records in England.
Arundel Castle figured largely in WWII. Troops that were evacuated from (disastrous) Dunkirk regrouped at Arundel. And, to prep for WWII, the Downs and the farms around Arundel were requisitioned for tank training and other military maneuvers.
131 very steep and narrow steps led up to The Keep, the oldest part of the Castle. The Keep is cold, bleak and dark. Besides the basic (cold, bleak and dark) living quarters, it also contained the guards room and a Sally Port, a narrow passage that was used to lower a scout down on a rope to reconnoiter during a siege. There is also a room for the Chapel priest, which didn't sound like a very good gig - up every day at the 2 a.m.? The docent on that level did bring me back to that room to point out a Latin inscription that was scratched into the wall. It was pretty amazing that it had been there, supposedly, since the 12th century (of course) though nobody seems to know what it translates to.
In one of the guard rooms, there was a set up of civil war soldiers - musketeers. They had to keep their matches lit for their entire marches - a "slow match" made of twisted hemp rope and soaked in salt petre or urine (gross).
The saying "Lock, Stock and Barrel" supposedly came from the entire process of loading a musket and means "everything", from beginning to end.
During wars, young boys were lowered down on a rope on the outside of the castle walls so that they could slip away and bring messages to and from the other troops in the field.
The Castle also contains an impressive Armory collection and a spectacular private chapel.
Anne Boleyn's mother was a Howard, so there's another connection to Henry VIII.
The most gaudy displays were of the carved wooden tables, chairs, sideboards, mirror/portrait frames, beds, benches, chests and shelves. It seems that it was a measure of your wealth and influence to have to most crazily carved everything. So incredibly over the top.
The Library is an impressive long gallery room lined on both sides with high shelves of ancient books tucked in behind wire doors.
And on, and on, and on, and on.
Great to see, but glad when we were done.
Stopped at the Coop grocer in Arundel and the village shop in Amberley for salad supplies. Ate a healthy and light supper in our own garden view room back at our B+B.
Got ourselves reorganized and ready for our walk again tomorrow. Our Rest Day was terrific but I am anxious to get back out onto the path.
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