interior contains one of the finest collections of books, pictures, statues, and busts in the kingdom. Several of the rooms are hung with tapestry. Here is preserved the sword used by Hotspur at the Battle of Shrewsbury. The park wall is about twelve miles in circumference. The enclosure is beautifully undulated and graced with trees of the noblest growth. In front of the mansion is a sheet of water of considerable extent. Eleven miles from Chichester is the town of Arundel, situated on the southern declivity of the South Downs, at the base of which runs the river Arun. It is 56 miles distant from London, and 21 from Brighton. The town was incorporated by charter of Elizabeth, and has returned members to Parliament since the reign of Edward I. The Reform Bill took away one of its representatives. Arundel is a place of great antiquity, and is mentioned in the will of Alfred the Great. At the Conquest, the earldom of Arundel was conferred upon Roger Montgomery, who made it his place of residence. From the Montgomerys it passed into the possession of the family of Albini; from them to the Fitzalans; and from them, by marriage, to the Howard family, its present possessors. The principal object of attraction is the splendid baronial castle, the residence of the Duke of Norfolk. It is of very remote antiquity, and must have existed in the Saxon times, as Castrum Harundel is assessed in Doomsday Book. It is a quadrangular Gothic building, enclosing about five acres and a-half of ground, the walls being from five to twelve feet in thickness, and the ground plan very nearly resembling that of Windsor Castle, with a circular keep in the middle, raised on a mount 110 feet in height from the fosse below on the outside. It proudly overlooks the whole castle, and is a conspicuous object from the surrounding country. It is in perfect preservation, but is almost entirely overgrown with ivy. The castle has undergone various sieges, during the last of which, in 1643-4, it suffered so severely from the Parliamentary troops under Sir William Waller, that it ceased to be the residence of its noble possessors till the time of Charles, eleventh duke, by whom it was restored to its ancient magnificence. Its internal arrangements and decorations are eminently calculated to exhibit the talent and taste of that nobleman. Among the many specimens of the arts with which it is adorned, are several curious paintings of the Howard family; a large window of painted glass in the dining-room; and the Baron's Hall, ornamented with a painted window of the signing of Magna Charta. Arundel Castle enjoys the peculiar privilege of conferring the dignity of earl on the possessor without any patent or creatior from the Crown; a privilege not enjoyed by any other place in the kingdom. The Church of St Nicholas, a handsome Gothic edifice, contains some splendid monuments of the Earls of Arundel A noble town-hall has lately been erected by the Duke of Norfolk. The river Arun is famous for the rich and delicate mullet which it produces. It is connected with Portsmouth by means of the Porstmouth and Arundel Canal. Arundel is a bonding port. The trade is principally in timber, coal, and corn. The population in 1851 was 2748. It returns one M. P. 78 NEW SHOREHAM-STEYNING. South-east from Arundel, on the coast, is the watering-place of Worthing, which, from an obscure village, has within the space of a few years risen to great popularity as a sea-bathing place. It is 10 miles west of Brighton, 20 east of Chichester, and 57 south of London. It possesses the advantage of a fine, firm, level sand, affording the utmost facility for bathing, even in the most tempestuous weather; and opportunities for exercise, either on horse or foot, for several miles. The climate is so mild, that myrtles and fig-trees grow in it to great perfection. The scenery in the neighbourhood is remarkably picturesque. The town contains a chapel-of-ease and four dissenting chapels. The houses, though not large, are commodious; and it is well supplied with libraries, baths, and other accommodations for visitors. Population in 1841, 4702, and in 1851, 5370. A few miles to the east of Worthing is the borough of New Shoreham, at the mouth of the Adur. It has the best harbour on this part of the coast, and carries on an extensive foreign and coasting trade. A noble suspensionbridge was built over the Adur in 1833, at the expense of the Duke of Norfolk, which has considerably shortened the distance between Worthing and Brighton. The church is an ancient and interesting building, supposed to have been erected in the twelfth century: it was repaired and beautified in 1822. The proportions and decorations of its interior are particularly elegant and graceful. The borough returned two members to Parliament from 230 Edward I. till 1770, when an act passed extending the right of election to all persons possessing freehold property to the annual value of L.2 within the rape of Bramber, except what is included in the borough of Horsham. New Shoreham is six miles distant from Brighton, with which town it is connected by the South Coast Railway. The population, in 1851, of the Parl. borough was 30,553. About six miles to the north of New Shoreham is Steyning, at the foot of a hill near the Adur. It was a borough by prescription, and returned two members to Parliament from the 26th Edward I., but is now disfranchised. The town has been recently much improved, both in buildings and in general appearance. The church is very ancient, and is considered a fine specimen of Norman architecture. In 1841 the population was 1495. In its immediate vicinity is the insignificant borough of Bramber, now also disfranchised. Here are some remains of a castle which seems to have once been a place of great strength and size. About ten miles from Steyning is the town of Brighton. |