The first view of Arundel as it is approached from the Worthing road or
from the railway station is almost unique in England. Bridgnorth, the
northern Richmond, Rye, all cities set on a hill, come to the mind for
comparison, but none have the "foreign" look of Arundel; this is to a
large extent helped by the towering church of St. Philip Neri; the
apsidal end and the great height of the building in proportion to its
length, appear more in keeping with northern France than southern
England. The town, when one comes to close quarters with it, has a
feudal air, and indeed this is as much a matter of fact as of fancy.
Arundel is a survival, and depends for its existence on the magnificent
home of the Howards which dominates domestically and ecclesiastically
the town at its feet. The castle has the same relation to the pass of
the Arun that Bramber and Lewes have to the Adur and Ouse, but the fact
that it is still the ancestral home of an ancient and historic family
gives it a far greater interest than either of the others possesses.
The castle is mentioned in Domesday Book, and prior to this in the will
of Alfred the Great. The earldom was given by the Conqueror to Roger of
Montgomery; in addition to the castle and its immediate neighbourhood
it comprised wide and rich possessions in the surrounding country. By
their treason to the Crown the Montgomerys soon forfeited the estates
and the Earldom passed through the hands of Queen Adeliza, and her son
de Albrin, and then to the Fitz-Alans, who held it for over three
hundred years. The daughter of the last Earl married the fourth Duke of
Norfolk and this family have held it ever since. They have made it
their principal home and have built in recent years the magnificent
temple of the older faith which dwarfs and overshadows the parish
church. This itself has felt the might of the great family who, as we
shall presently see, imposed their will on the representatives of the
Establishment.