The construction of a motte and bailey castle beside the River Adur in West Sussex was started around 1070 shortly after the Norman invasion. Bramber Castle remained in aristocratic hands for several centuries before it was recorded as a 'late castle' used for grazing in the 1550s. During the Civil War, the Castle was a Parliamentarian base, resulting in a skirmish nearby in 1643, when Royalist forces tried to secure possession of a bride over the Adur.

Following the conflict Wenceslaus Hollar visited and etched the remains of Bramber Castle, his print showing the ruins of the original structure, with only its tower still standing. The intersections of walls also stand, but new buildings are already shown to be being erected just to the right of the castle. It is views from across rolling fields that surround the village of Bramber.