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Bramber Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortress founded in the late eleventh century by William de Braose, a Norman lord who played a significant role in the conquest and settlement of Sussex. The castle consists of a substantial mound surrounded by ditches and banks, with the remains of a stone keep and defensive walls that date from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries when the site was substantially developed. By the fourteenth century, Bramber had declined in military importance and was eventually abandoned, though its earthworks and fragmentary stone structures remain clearly visible and form one of the more recognizable castle sites in Sussex. The site occupies a strategically important position overlooking the River Adur and the surrounding lowlands, reflecting its significance as an instrument of Norman baronial power in the post-Conquest landscape.
Bramber Castle is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1012174. View the official record →
Bramber Castle is a motte-and-bailey fortress founded in the late eleventh century by William de Braose, a Norman lord who played a significant role in the conquest and settlement of Sussex. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1012174.
Bramber Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1012174.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Regular aggregate field system with prehistoric and Romano-British farmsteads and a Bronze Age bowl barrow on Park Brow (3.7 km), Cross dyke on Steep Down, 700m north east of Beggars Bush (3.7 km), Shrunken medieval settlement at Old Erringham (3.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Bramber Castle's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Bramber Castle stands on Grey Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Cenomanian. The rock here is chalk.