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Arundel

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ARUNDEL is the capital of a rape and hundred, in the diocese and archdeaconry of Chichester, and deanery of Arundel, and is a borough, market town, and an incorporation under a local act for poor law purposes, and polling town for the Western division of the county, situated on the navigable river Arun, 5 miles north from the port of Littlehampton, and near the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway: it is 55 and a quarter miles from London by Epsom and Dorking; and 71 by railway, and a quarter of a mile from the Arundel station. The town is very ancient and there is evidence of the existence of a military post here in the early British period; but the earliest mention of it occurs in the will of King Alfred, to whom is attributed the erection of the original castle, of which the keep is the only remnant: he bequeathed it and the neighbouring lordships to his son Athelm: at the Conquest it was given to Roger de Montgomery, who was created, by the Conqueror Earl of Arundel and Shrewsbury, and it has been the residence of the Earls of Arundel for the last 800 years, as it is that of the present Earl, his Grace the Duke of Norfolk, E.M. Arundel returns one member to Parliament and is governed by a municipal corporation, consisting of a mayor, alderman, and town councillors. There are fairs held on the 14th of May, 25th of September, and 17th of December, for pedlery; and cattle and corn markets on every alternate Monday, which are much frequented from their contiguity to Brighton, Worthing, and Brighton. For the relief of the poor, the parish officers in committee meet every Thursday at the Workhouse, Arundel being one of the few remaining single parishes under Gilbert's Act. Arundel is the seat of the petty sessions of magistrates of the division, which are held every alternate Thursday. The sitting of the county court are held seven times a year: the following parishes are within the county court district:- Amberley, Arundel, Angmering, Binstead, Burpham, Climping, Ford, Houghton, Littlehampton, Leominster, Madehurst, North Stoke, Poling, Rackham, Rustington, Slindon, South Stoke, Tortington, Walberton, Warningcamp, Wiggenholt, and Yapton. By the Arun and its canals it has communication with Littlehampton, Petworth, Midhurst, Basingstoke, and the rivers Wey and Thames. The church of St. Nicholas, with the college and its chapel, which occupies the usual site of a chancel, was built in 1380, and has a fine stone pulpit. The Fitzalan chapel contains the tombs of the illustrious princes of the houses of Fitzalan and Howard, particularly the tombs of Eleanor, Countess of Arundel, 1418; John, Earl of Arundel, 1431; William, Earl of Arundel, 1488; Thomas, Earl of Arundel, and his Countess, 1534; Henry, Earl of Arundel, 1579; Thomas, Earl of Arundel, 1415: many of the Dukes and Duchesses of Norfolk, and Earls of Arundel, are buried in two vaults under the Ladye chapel. The register dates from 1560. The living is a vicarage, yearly value £222, with residence, in the gift of the trustees of the Duke of Norfolk, and held by the Rev. George Augustus Frederick Hart, M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge, who is also chaplain to the Queen, and surrogate. There are chapels for Roman Catholics, Independents, and Primitive Methodists. Arundel Castle is the chief palace of his Grace the Duke of Norfolk Earl Marshal, Earl of Arundel and Surrey. Arundel is the only earldom yet remaining, which is held by tenure. The castle was much improved by Charles, Duke of Norfolk, who died in 1815, and is a magnificent residence: it is quadrangular, in the Gothic style, and situated on an eminence, having numerous apartments richly adorned, an elegant staircase, and a fine library: in the Barons' Hall is a fine painted window of the signing of Magna Charta by Backler: Arundel Park is most extensive and delightful: it comprises 1,245 acres, and contains many hundreds of deer: it is much frequented by visitors. The ancient keep and new dairy, which are objects of great attraction, are open to the public on Mondays and Fridays only. A Protestant school was erected in 1814, since enlarged and liberally endowed by his Grace Henry Charles, the late Duke of Norfolk, in 1848, for the children of the town and neighbourhood. The Norfolk hotel is the principal inn, whence omnibuses and flys run to meet the up and down trains at the station every hour during the day. The parish, which is co-extensive with the borough, contains 1,968 acres; the population in 1861 was 2,498, assessed to the income-tax at £11,645. [Kelly's Post Office Directory of Essex, Herts, Middlesex, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, 1867.]

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