Bramber Castle
We have investigated at Bramber Castle a few times since 2004 and have found to have had a lot of activity.
We will be visiting Bramber Castle again in the summer.
Information on Bramber Castle
Bramber castle whose name is taken from the Saxon 'Brymmburh' meaing fortified place, was built shortly after the Conquest by William de Braose to guard the then sizable port on the river Adur. Little remains of the castle except one wall of the keep about 75 feet high (24 m) and portions of the perimeter wall in the NE of the site. The mound on which it is built looks like a gigantic motte but is natural and there is a pre-conquest motte within the walls, which dates back to saxon times. From the site it can be seen what a very fine defensive position the castle occupied. During the Civil War the castle was attacked and destroyed by Parliamentary forces, who used the nearby church as a gun emplacement.
The church was originally built in 1075 as a chapel for the castle and housed a small Benedictine college. Part of the original nave remains, but much damage was done in the seventeenth century and the Victorian restoration is not good. The present chancel is housed in the original tower and transepts.