Bramber Castle

Bramber Castle stands in the village of Bramber, West Sussex, on a low hill overlooking the River Adur. The ruins belong to a Norman motte-and-bailey castle built soon after 1070 by William de Braose. It once controlled the Adur estuary and served as the caput of the Rape of Bramber, a large feudal barony. The Braose family held the castle for more than two centuries until the male line ended in 1326. After passing to the Mowbrays, it fell into disuse by the mid-16th century and was recorded as ‘the late castle’. The National Trust acquired the site and its twelve acres in 1945. Excavations in 1966–67 and 1987 showed most of the stonework dates from between 1073 and 1130. The gatehouse tower remains almost intact, with clear window openings and joist holes. A later addition raised the tower by three metres when threats grew during King John’s reign. Foundations of living quarters and a guardhouse lie beyond the gatehouse, while an earthen motte rises about ten metres to the north. A short stretch of curtain wall still stands up to three metres high in places. St Nicholas’s Church, built for the castle’s household, survives beside the entrance and remains in use. The dressed pillars of the original entrance can still be seen, though most walls now show only rough stone infill. The motte offers views across the Adur valley, and the quiet churchyard adds to the scene. Two wartime pillboxes were once on the site but have since been removed. The remains tell of a place that once shaped the region’s history.