"The enemy attempted Bramber Bridge, but our brave Carleton and Evernden with his Dragoons and our horse welcomed them with drakes and muskets, sending some eight or nine men to hell, I feare, and one trooper to Arundell prisoner, and one of Captain Evernden's Dragoons to heaven." It was the scene of a narrow escape for Charles II in his flight to Brighton. The poor remnants of the Castle are now an excuse for picnickers who are not always reverent, in point of tidiness, towards what was once a palace of the Saxon Kings. [Illustration: UPPER BEEDING.] Bramber village is most picturesque and attractive; its size renders it difficult to believe that within living memory it returned two members to Parliament. Some amusing stories are told of the exciting elections in olden days, when as much as £1,000 were offered and refused for a single vote. This "borough" once returned Wilberforce the Abolitionist, of whom it is told that on passing through and being acquainted with the name of the village exclaimed "Bramber? why that's the place I'm member for." [Illustration: BRAMBER.] The church lies close under the south wall of the castle; only the nave and tower remain of the original cruciform building. Although the arches are Norman and show the original frescoes, a claim was made by Dr. Green, Rector in 1805, that "in rebuilding the church at his own expense about twenty years before, he had no assistance except that the Duke of Rutland and Lord Calthorpe, joint proprietors of the borough, each gave £25, Magdalen College £50 and Mr. Lidbetter, an opulent local farmer, £20; but the Duke of Norfolk, Lord of the Manor, nothing!" This "rebuilding" refers to the re-erection of the tower arches, the space between being converted into a chancel. New windows in Norman style were inserted in 1871 to bring the east end into harmony with the nave. [Illustration: ST. MARY'S, BRAMBER.] St. Mary's is the first house to be seen on approaching the village from the east. It is a beautiful specimen of a timber-built Sussex house; notice the open iron-work door with its queer old bell-pull. Every visitor should inspect the quaint museum of taxidermy in the village street; here guinea-pigs may be seen playing cricket, rats playing dominoes and rabbits at school; the lifelike and humorous attitudes of the little animals reflect much credit on the artist.