Arundel ( ) is a

market town A market town is a Human settlement, settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular marketplace, market; this distinguished it from a village or ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in the Arun District of the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the ea ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an a ...

, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much larger

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...

in its number of

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

s 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 to 1889 the town had its own Borough police force with a strength of three. In

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

it became part of the Arun district, and is now a civil parish with a town council.

Name

The name comes from the Old English ''Harhunedell'', meaning "valley of horehound", and was first recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

Folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...

, however, connects the name with the Old French word ''arondelle'', meaning "swallow", and swallows appear on the town's arms.

Governance

An electoral ward of the same name exists. This ward stretches north to Houghton with a total population at the 2011 census of 4,298. Arundel Town Council is based at

Arundel Town Hall Arundel Town Hall is a municipal building in Maltravers Street in Arundel, West Sussex, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Arundel Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first town hall in Arundel was located ...

Geography

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 The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. T ...

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 An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

in a

back-formation In etymology, back-formation is the process or result of creating a new word via inflection, typically by removing or substituting actual or supposed affixes from a lexical item, in a way that expands the number of lexemes associated with the ...

. 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 A single carriageway (British English) or Undivided highway (American English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road has a ...

bypass Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart bypas ...

. Plans for a more extensive,

HQDC A High-quality dual carriageway (HQDC) is a road category in Ireland. It is defined as an all-purpose dual carriageway road type built to near motorway standards, but without motorway classification or motorway restrictions. High-quality dual car ...

bypass were debated intensely between 1980 and 2010 and a junction was built for it at Crossbush. In Spring 2018, Highways England published their preferred route for the new bypass. During 2018-19 there is a further period of consultation when views on a more detailed design for the four-mile dual carriageway will be sought.

Arundel railway station Arundel railway station serves the market town of Arundel in West Sussex. The station is on the eastern side of the town, about from the High Street, across the River Arun. It is down the line from via . The station is situated on the A27 ...

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 The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. It is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales. The trail runs for from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Su ...

runs. The town itself lies outside the boundaries of the South Downs National Park.

Society

Arundel is home to Arundel Castle, seat of the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The du ...

; 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 Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...

began. Based in an HQ in Green Lane Close, it has active sections of

Beaver Scouts Beavers is a program associated with some Scouting organizations generally for children aged 6 to 8 who are too young for the Cub program. Beavers programs had their origins in the Northern Ireland organization ''The Little Brothers'', founded in ...

Cub Scouts Cub Scouts, Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with Scouting for young children usually between 7 and 12, depending on the organization to which they belong. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a 'P ...

and Scouts.

Sport and leisure

Arundel has a

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

club Arundel F.C. which plays 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 Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Sussex. Its limited overs team is called the Sussex Sharks. The ...

for a number of games each season.

Notable people

The Church of St Nicholas at Arundel, West Sussex - geograph

Christopher Alexander Christopher Wolfgang John Alexander (4 October 1936 – 17 March 2022) was an Austrian-born British-American architect and design theorist. He was an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His theories about the nature o ...

, architect. * Mary Chater, composer, Music Advisor to the Girl Guides and Justice of the Peace for Arundel from 1945 to 1961. * Nigel Cumberland, author. * Derek Davis, potter and

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

* Judy Geeson, actress. * St Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel, part of the court of Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

and a martyr for the Catholic faith. * Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon, teacher and artist, was born in nearby Littlehampton and lived at Arundel as a child. * C. E. M. Joad, Philosopher and broadcaster, wrote many books at South Stoke Farm near Arundel. *

George MacDonald George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian Congregational minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll. ...

, pastor of Trinity Congregational Church, 1850. *

Liam Treadwell Liam Treadwell (3 January 198623 June 2020) was an English National Hunt jockey, who won over 300 races between 2009 and 2019. He won the 2009 Grand National on Mon Mome at odds of 100/1, and also won the United House Gold Cup, Byrne Group ...

, jockey.

References

External links

Town Council
* {{authority control Market towns in West Sussex Arun District Towns with cathedrals in the United Kingdom Towns in West Sussex