ARUNDEL, municipal borough, Sussex, England, 58m. S.S.W. of London by the Southern Railway. Population (1931) 2,489. It lies on a hill slope above the river Arun, which is navigable for small vessels to Littlehampton at the mouth, six miles south. Arundel Castle, rising from the summit of the hill, was admirably placed to guard the passage along the river, through the South Downs on the north. The town takes its name, according to a whimsical etymology, from hirondelle (a swallow) as shown on the corporation seal. The first mention of Arundel (Harundell) comes as early as 877. In the time of Edward the Confessor the town seems to have consisted of the mill and an earthwork prob ably thrown up by Alfred as a defence against the Danes ; but it had increased in importance before the Conquest, and appears in Domesday as a thriving borough and port. It was granted by the Conqueror to Roger de Montgomery, who built the castle on the site of the ancient earthwork. From very early times markets were held within the borough on Thursday and Saturday, and in 1285 Richard Fitzalan, earl of Arundel, obtained a grant of two annual fairs on May 14 and Dec. 17. The town was half destroyed by fire in 1338, but was soon rebuilt. The stronghold was frequently assaulted and greatly damaged in the i 7th cen tury Civil Wars; but it was restored by Charles, Ilth duke of Norfolk (d. 1815), who made it one of the most splendid baro nial mansions in England. The borough formerly returned two members to parliament; it was finally disfranchised in 1868. There are no early charters extant but in 1586 Elizabeth acknowl edged rights claimed to have been exercised from time imme morial. The borough was incorporated in 1688. The church of St. Nicholas, founded about 1375, is Perpendicular. In the north aisle of the chancel there are several ancient monuments of the earls of Arundel. The church is otherwise remarkable for its reredos and iron work. The Roman Catholic church of St. Philip Neri was built by the duke of Norfolk (1873). Some remains of a Maison Diets, a hospital, erected in the time of Richard II., still exist.
Arundel is now a quiet market town. It was formerly a flour ishing seaport, having canal connection (1813) with London. The borough is under a mayor, four aldermen, and 12 coun cillors. Area 2,054 acres. It is in the Chichester division of the parliamentary county of West Sussex.
See also ARUNDEL (EARLDOM OF).