My name is Helen. This is my first time writing for the department's staff blog and I'd like to share some of my recent photos with you.

I learnt from the castle's curator Penny that there were a number of castles like this one along the south coast of England. Their main purpose was to defend England against invasion from the continent. However many of these castles have been destroyed or fell into disrepair and are now in ruins.

As you can see from the picture, Arundel Castle is still standing tall and glorious. It is a solidly built castle, typical Norman castle style built in stone. It has tall towers which allowed soldiers to spot potential enemies in the distance. The windows facing outwards are small and narrow, so it's not easy to shoot into the castle.

During its long history which was quite bloody at times, the castle sustained serious damage and had to be restored several times. The castle we see today completed its restoration in 1900, at that time it was one of the first English country houses to be fitted with electric lights, service lifts and central heating.

The castle grounds are very well maintained. I especially liked the flowers and trees there.

I also tried my hand at taking photos with the macro function on my camera and luckily they came out pretty well. I was very pleased with the results and I hope you like them too.

We had a wonderful time in the grounds of the castle and also the small town Arundel. When it was time to head back to London, we all felt that there was more to see. So I am sure we will be back to Arundel in the very near future to explore this area.

I hope you will have a chance to see the castle one day and enjoy its glorious, imposing architecture and treasures inside.

Have a lovely weekend.

Helen