Castles to visit in West Sussex

Have you ever driven along the A24 towards Horsham, just south of Buck Barn crossroads, glanced out the window and seen a single tower on a grassy mound and wondered what this ruin used to be? You need wonder no more! This was where, in the 12th Century, Knepp Castle was built by one of the most powerful supporters of William the Conqueror – William de Braose. He was given the land as a ‘thank you’ by the new King of England.

This fortified castle, surrounded by deep ditches which are still visible today, overlooks the River Adur which many centuries ago was much larger and navigable than it is today. Surrounded by a huge deer park, the castle was used as a hunting lodge and during the 13th century, King John stayed there many times to hunt deer. He hunted with a pack of deer hounds when wild boar roamed freely over the land.

There were many fine oak trees growing in the park and the trunks were used for timber with the acorns providing food for the animals living in the woods. The royal family obviously enjoyed staying there as in later years Henry III, Edward II and Richard II were all guests of the de Braose family.

The castle passed by marriage to the Dukes of Norfolk and then onto a catholic family of ironmasters who lived there for two centuries. Eventually it was destroyed by Parliamentary troops to prevent it being used by the Royalist supporters during the Civil War. In the late 1700’s, the rubble from the demolished castle was used to build the Horsham to Steyning road, A24.

Moving on to more recent times, Knepp was used for agriculture by the Burrell family but the clay soil and use of chemicals in the past, made it very difficult to grow crops and make the farm profitable so in 2002 Charlie Burrell set out his ideas to establish a whole new way of using this land. Charlie launched his vision for rewilding Knepp by making plans to establish ‘A Biodiverse Wilderness Area in the Low Weald of Sussex’ and the rest as they say, is history.

When you visit Knepp now you can see for yourself how the land there is shaping the future of nature conservation. The changes in land management at Knepp has meant that wildlife, including many endangered species, have been given the chance to settle and breed.

Nightingales, turtle doves, storks, ravens, red kites, all 5 UK resident species of owl and many more birds have all made their home there. The magnificent Purple Emperor butterflies, 17 species of bats and an enormous number of insect species are now found living and breeding successfully at Knepp, mainly because of the way land has been rewilded.

The rewinding of Knepp has also introduced many mammals and if you follow one of their walking trails or go on a Knepp Wildland safari you may see their herds of deer, ponies, cattle and pigs. Click on Knepp – Rewilding Pioneers to find out more.

If you do visit Knepp, don’t forget to walk by the old castle ruin and remember this has stood there for centuries and is still watching over the land, while Knepp is truly ‘working with nature to build a sustainable future’. That old Castle ruin sits well within the landscape, quietly overseeing the wonderful changes unfolding all around it.

There is nowhere quite like Knepp so do visit this unique castle ruin and the surrounding 3500 acres. You will have a great day out.