Arundel Castle

If you haven’t gathered by now, I like castles!  Their development, history & architecture fascinate me.  So, here’s a special one.  In fact, it’s one of the reasons for this part of the trip as we weren’t able to tour it two years ago when in the area, so had to come back.  The original Keep was built after the Norman conquest but has been ‘extensively’ added on to over the years, first by the Earls of Arundel and later by the Dukes of Norfolk after the titles were joined by marriage.  They’re two of the longer held heredity titles and have played an important part in British politics with the current Duke being a close friend of the Queen.  Needless to say, they’ve acquired wealth and possessions over the years.  The family lives in a private wing of the castle full time and for special events the areas open to the public can be closed down to accommodate guests so everything is always in ‘move in’ condition.  As Anne mentioned in her post, the castle is pristine and reminded me of Windsor Castle both in terms of scale and quality.  The collections would do a major museum proud, with Dutch & Italian Masters as well as a Fabergé silver Madonna and child!  The pics are just a sampling, but will give you an idea of the castle’s scope.  My next post will be another castle, somewhat smaller in scale, but no less interesting.