ARUNDEL CASTLE.
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.
