ARUNDEL, a parish and borough and market-town, having exclusive jurisdiction,
locally in the hundred and rape of Arundel, county of SUSSEX, 10 miles (E.
by N.) from Chichester, and 55 (S. by W.) from London, containing 2511 inhabitants.
This place, which derives its name from its situation in a dale watered
by the river Arun, is first noticed in the will of Alfred,
who bequeathed the castle and few adjacent residences
to his nephew Athelm. The castle, rebuilt by Roger
de Montgomery, at the time of the Conquest, was, in
the reign of Henry I., besieged and taken from his son,
Robert de Belesme, who had rebelled against his sovereign.
In 1397, a conspiracy to dethrone Richard II.,
and to murder the lords of his council, was organised
here by the Earl of Arundel, the Archbishop of Canterbury,
the Duke of Gloucester, and others, but was
discovered before it could be carried into execution,
During the parliamentary war, the possession of the
castle was considered an important object by the contending
parties, and it consequently sustained freqxient
assaults: in one of these sieges, the learned Chillingworth,
who had joined the royal army, was taken
prisoner, and confined in the episcopal palace at Chichester,
where he died. In consequence of the dilapidation
which it thus sustained, it lay for some time neglected,
and some parts mouldered into ruin; but it was restored
by the late Duke of Norfolk, and is now one of
the most splendid baronial mansions in the kingdom.
It confers on its possessor the title of earl without crea*
tion, a feudal right, which was adjudged by parliament,
in the llth of Henry VI., to an ancestor of the present
Duke of Norfolk, and is the only place, with the exception
of the castle of Abergavenny, in Monmouthshire,
which enjoys this distinction. The town, which is pleasantly
situated on rising ground, is divided into two
parts by the river Arun, here navigable for vessels of
three hundred tons' burden, over which is a neat stone
bridge of three arches. It is much frequented as a
bathing-place, being within a distance of four miles
from the sea, from which ships drawing sixteen feet
water can enter the port. The houses are in general
well built, and many of them are modern and of handA
some appearance; the streets are well paved, and the
inhabitants plentifully supplied with excellent water.
The theatre, which is opened occasionally, is a neat
building: the environs afford pleasant promenades, and
the higher grounds in the vicinity extensive prospects.
The trade is principally in timber, coal, and corn; and
the port also affords a facility of intercourse between
London and the Mediterranean, enabling the fruit ships
from the latter to perform two voyages in the season.
A canal, connecting the Aruu with the Thames, affords
a medium of conveyance to every part of the kingdom.
The market is on Tuesday, chiefly for corn, the returns
of the sale of which are considerable, and on every alternate
Tuesday is a large cattle market. The fairs are
held May 14th, September 25th, and December 17th,
chiefly for cattle and pedlary; but since the cattle
markets were established they have been but little
attended.
Arundel, which is a borough by prescription, was incorporated
by charter of Elizabeth: the government is
vested in a mayor, steward, and twelve burgesses, assisted
by other officers. The mayor exercises exclusive
magisterial jurisdiction within the borough, and presides
at a court for the recovery of debts under 40s.,
held every three weeks: petty sessions are also held
here. A town hall, on an elegant plan, is about to be
erected by the Duke of Norfolk. The borough has continued
to return two members to parliament since the
time of Edward I.: the right of election is vested in the
inhabitants paying scot and lot, in number four hundred:
the mayor is the returning officer. The living is a discharged
vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of
Cbichester, rated in the king's books at £5. 0. 10., and
in the patronage of the Duke of Norfolk. The church,
dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and formerly collegiate,
is a very ancient and spacious cruciform structure,
chiefly in the later style of English architecture, with a
low tower, rising from the centre. In the north aisle
of the chancel, which is in a very dilapidated state, are
some ancient monuments: there are also a stone pulpit
and some screen-work very finely executed. . Inconsiderable
remains of an hospital, dedicated to the Holy
Trinity, and of a convent of Black friars, founded in the
reign of Edward II., are discernible. On the Causeway
hill is a chalybeate spring.