Bramber Castle

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Bramber Castle ruin on an engraving from the 17th century

Bramber Castle is a probably dating from the year 1070 motte near the village of Bramber in West Sussex, England.

History

After the Norman conquest of England in 1066 William de Braose built around the year 1070 on a natural hill near the village of Bramber Bramber Castle, the motte and a Norman church, which has been preserved until today and is still used for worship. It is assumed that the location of the castle building near the River Adur and the nearby coast line was chosen for strategic reasons.

After the completion of Bramber Castle remained with a brief exception to 1324 in the possession of the de Braose family. About the further history of no accurate records exist. Arrested was merely that the castle affiliated church was badly damaged in the English Civil War in 1642.

Ruin

Today, only a few are remnants of the former castle. The most striking part of the ruin is around ten meters high residual of the former gatehouse which is still preserved in full and contains a single window opening and the recesses of the former beams. Behind the gatehouse to find more remains of the castle. Thus, it is believed that one can near the former gatehouse visit the foundations of the living areas and the guardhouse. As previously large amounts were transported to other stones for construction purposes in the area, these remains are, however, very difficult to identify.

To the north of the gatehouse, relatively centrally on the hill, the former, about ten feet high mound is located (see Motte ) of Bramber Castle. Only a few meters away remnants of the city walls can be viewed. These have been preserved in some places at a height of about three meters.

Current usage

Despite the great destruction of the castle, the terrain is now an attraction for the local population. The spacious lawns and the population of the moth with large trees cause many families spend their leisure time here.