Arundel

Geography

Arundel civil parish occupies an area somewhat larger than its built-up clusters, with the old town towards the north and the new to the south, separated by a main road. Arundel town is a major bridging point over the River Arun as it was the lowest road bridge until the opening of the Littlehampton swing bridge in 1908. Arundel Castle was built by the Normans to protect that vulnerable fairly wooded plain to the north of the valley through the South Downs. The town later grew up on the slope below the castle to the south. The river was previously called the Tarrant and was renamed after the town by antiquarians in a back-formation. Arundel includes meadows to the south but is clustered north of the A27 road, which narrowly avoids the town centre by a short and congested single carriageway bypass. Plans for a more extensive, high-quality dual carriageway bypass were debated intensely between 1980 and 2010 and a junction was built for it at Crossbush. In 2018 Highways England published their preferred route for the new bypass. During 2018–19 there was a further period of consultation when views on a more detailed design for the dual carriageway were sought. Arundel railway station is on the Arun Valley Line. The Monarch's Way long-distance footpath passes through the town and crosses the river here, while just under north and northwest of the town the route of the South Downs Way runs. The town itself lies outside the boundaries of the South Downs National Park.