Arundel

This article is about the town in England. For other uses, see Arundel (disambiguation).

Arundel
Town overlooked by castle
Arundel  Arundel shown within West Sussex
Area	12.13 km2 (4.68 sq mi)
Population	3,475 (Civil Parish.2011)
– density	286/km2 (740/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TQ018070
– London	49 miles (79 km) NNE
Civil parish	Arundel
District	Arun
Shire county	West Sussex
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ARUNDEL
Postcode district	BN18
Dialling code	01903
Police	Sussex
Fire	West Sussex
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Arundel and South Downs
List of places UK England West Sussex

Arundel (/ˈærəndəl/ or local /ˈɑːndəl/) is a market town and civil parish in a steep vale of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. It lies 49 miles (79 km) SSW of London, 18 miles (29 km) WNW of the English Channel town of Brighton, and 10 miles (16 km) east of the county town of Chichester. Larger nearby towns include Worthing, Littlehampton and Bognor Regis. The much-conserved town with large green buffers has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Although smaller in population than most other parishes, Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much larger Chichester in its number of listed buildings in West Sussex. The River Arun runs through the eastern side of the town.

Arundel was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Reform Act 1835. From 1836-1889 the town had its own Borough police force with a strength of three. In 1974 it became part of the Arun district, and now is a civil parish with a town council.

Etymology

The meaning of the name 'Arundel' has contesting theories. One is that the upper reaches of the Arun, away from the sea, was once known as the Arnus, from the Brythonic word Arno, meaning run or go. So Arundel would mean Arno-dell or the dell of the flowing river. Another theory is that due to the preponderance of hoarhound on the slopes of the Arun near the town, Arundel would mean hoarhound-dell. A third explanation is that the town takes its name from the old Norman French word for swallow, aronde (in modern standard French hirondelle), a bird which is on the town's crest. The name was spelled Arundell until 1733, when the final l was dropped. A new theory (Theo Vennemann) relates the 'Arun' part to Basque aran 'valley' (substratic reduplication or tautology), like the placename Arendal in Norway and Sweden. However, it seems rather more likely that the Scandinavian placenames derive from Old Norse arnardalr 'eagle dell' or arindalr 'dwelling dell'. Similarly, the name of Arundel could just as well derive from Old English earndæl or ærndæl, meaning 'eagle dell' and 'dwelling dell' respectively.

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches north to Houghton with a total population as taken at the 2011 census of 4,298.

Geography

The River Arun at Arundel.

Arundel civil parish occupies an area somewhat larger than its built-up clusters, with the old town towards the north and the new to the south, separated by a main road.

Arundel town is a major bridging point over the River Arun as it was the lowest road bridge until the opening of the Littlehampton swing bridge in 1908. Arundel Castle was built by the Normans to protect that vulnerable fairly wooded plain to the north of the valley through the South Downs. The town later grew up on the slope below the castle to the south. The river was previously called the Tarrant and was renamed after the town by antiquarians in a back-formation.

Arundel includes meadows to the south but is clustered north of the A27 road, which narrowly avoids the town centre by a short and congested single carriageway bypass. Plans for a more extensive, HQDC bypass were debated intensely between 1980 and 2010 and built a junction for it at Crossbush. Arundel railway station is on the Arun Valley Line. The Monarch's Way long-distance footpath passes through the town and crosses the river here, while just under five miles north and north-west of the town the route of the South Downs Way runs.

Since 1 April 2011 the town has been within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park.

Society

Arundel is home to Arundel Castle, seat of the Duke of Norfolk; and to Arundel Cathedral, seat of the (Catholic) Bishop of Arundel and Brighton.

On 6 July 2004, Arundel was granted Fairtrade Town status.

People born in Arundel are known locally as Mullets, due to the presence of mullet in the River Arun.

Arundel is home to one of the oldest Scout Groups in the world. 1st Arundel (Earl of Arundel's Own) Scout Group was formed in 1908 only a few weeks after Scouting began. Based in an HQ in Green Lane Close, it has active sections of Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts and Scouts.

Sport and leisure

Arundel has a non-League football club Arundel F.C. who play at Mill Road.

The town also has its own cricket ground at the castle, often cited as being one of the country's most picturesque. It hosts Sussex County Cricket Club for a number of games each season and is also the venue for the traditional season curtain-raiser between Lavinia Duchess of Norfolk's XI and the champion county. Every summer it hosts the touring county.

Notable people

• Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel, part of the court of Queen Elizabeth I and a martyr for the Catholic faith. He was taken to the Tower of London with his dog in 1585 and died in 1595. His bones can be found in an altar at Arundel Cathedral.
• George Constable, local brewer and amateur artist, whose work is now in the Tate. He was a friend of John Constable.
• Successive Dukes of Norfolk and Earls Marshal of England
• Derek Davis, potter and painter
• Judy Geeson, actress
• Cara Horgan, actress
• Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon was born in nearby Littlehampton and lived at Arundel as a child. She is buried with her father and former town mayor Edward Howard Howard-Gibbon at Saint Nicholas Churchyard in Arundel
• C.E.M. Joad, Philosopher and broadcaster, wrote many books at South Stoke Farm near Arundel
• George MacDonald, pastor of Trinity Congregational Church, 1850
• Francis Meynell, publisher
• John Cowper Powys, the novelist, moved to nearby Burpham in 1902. His son was born in the village and lived there with his mother whilst John Cowper Powys lectured in America.

See also

• Amberley Working Museum
• Arundel Museum
• Earls of Arundel
• Fitzalan Chapel
• List of places of worship in Arun
• Portsmouth and Arundel Canal
• South Marsh Mill, Arundel
• An Arundel Tomb, a poem by Philip Larkin

External links

• Town Council
• Arundel in the Domesday Book