Amberley Castle

Amberley Castle, on the south side of Church Street, is a Grade I listed building dating mainly from the 14th century, with later alterations in the 16th century and 1927. It incorporates remains of an earlier stone manor house of the Bishops of Chichester, with parts dating from 1140, 1200, and 1330, visible in the south-east corner. In 1377, Bishop William Rede (1368-1385) obtained a licence to crenellate and erected the present building between that date and at least 1382.

The building forms a parallelogram with ashlar walls standing 42 feet high. On the north and west sides, these walls rest upon sandrock between 10 and 20 feet high. At the angles of the parallelogram were square towers that do not project; only those in the north-west and south-east corners survive, the latter dating largely from before Bishop Rede's rebuilding. The north wall contains a small rectangular projection used for garderobes, and to its east stands a large rectangular projection that served as the kitchen. The centre of the south wall features two semi-circular towers 58 feet high flanking the gateway, both with castellated parapets. The gateway itself comprises a four-centred carriage arch with chamfered jambs and a portcullis groove, flanked by buttresses on the inner side. Above the gateway is a room with a castellated parapet.

Outside the south gate and walls runs a dry moat, which never had a drawbridge. The south walls contain no windows except loop windows in the towers flanking the gate. The north wall features cross-shaped loop windows, two pointed windows of two trefoil-headed lights each, doorways, fireplaces, and in some places remains of the crenellation with a parapet walk behind it. To the south of the projecting kitchen are remains of William Rede's Great Hall with four pointed archways. The north-west corner contains the remains of an angle tower of three storeys.

The occupied portions have been much adapted over the centuries, notably by Bishop Sherburn in the 16th century and at various dates since, including the present century. These sections are partly of stone and partly of timber-framing with some surface plastered. The building has a tiled roof and casement windows. To the east of the gateway is a range of two storeys with three windows and two gables, which is a cottage, and beyond this a modern portion on what may be the site of the Chapel. The exterior of the main portion of the house, which projects to the north-west from the south-east corner, was modernised in 1927, with this date appearing on the rainwater head.

The interior of the room known as the Queen's Room contains paintings of Cassandra and Tomyris and other figures dating from Bishop Sherburn's time, which have been attributed to Lambert Bernardi or Theodore Bernardi of Amsterdam, who came to England in 1519 and is also said to have executed two large paintings for Chichester Cathedral. The main staircase dates from the mid-17th century.

Bishop William Sherburn (1508-1536) was the last Bishop of Chichester to occupy the building; he carried out numerous alterations and adaptations. After his time, the Castle was let to tenants. In 1643 it was dismantled by General Waller due to the Royalist sympathies of the then tenant. The uninhabited portions are scheduled as an Ancient Monument.