The Fate of Bramber Castle
By the sixteenth century, Bramber Castle was ruinous, and had suffered badly from subsidence. Stone had been removed for road and house building, leading to the mighty Norman fortification all but disappearing. In 1645, there were reports of a skirmish happening in the village nearby, between Roundheads and Cavaliers. The church suffered badly as a result of Roundhead forces setting up cannons in the transepts, where they were afforded a better vantage point to fire on the Castle, which Cavalier troops were defending.
In the years after, what little remained of Bramber Castle began to crumble away into obscurity.
A rough outline of the castle still exists today, even if all that remains of the ruin is a few piles of stone. A few segments of the castle have endured, such as the guardhouse and stone foundations, and the gatehouse seems to be the most intact. The chapel built by the first Lord of Bramber still remains, although William isn’t about to collect his burial fees anymore, and the ruins of the castle were briefly fortified throughout World War II, however the pillboxes were removed after the war.