Bramber Castle is a late 11th century earthwork motte and bailey fortress, founded by William de Braose. Built on a chalk plateau above the River Adur, Bramber was the defensive and administrative centre for the Rape and was almost continuously occupied by the de Braose family until the mid 15th century. Away from the river, a deep outer ditch, with a counterscarp bank gives defence and unusually its chapel stands in a small ditched southern enclosure, on the outside of this ditch. A large central motte encased by a wide ditch, divides the bailey into two and the only entrance to the south, was originally guarded by a stone two storey gatehouse. In the 12th century, the encasing palisade on the plateau was replaced by a stone curtain wall, the gatehouse was blocked and heightened into a four storey keep, with a new gateway to the west. The motte was abandoned and its ditch backfilled, to make a keep and courtyard castle, with alterations and rebuilding being carried out in the 14th century. Some of the castle buildings were used until the 15th century but during the 16th century the castle became untenable, when the south wall of the keep subsidenced into the outer ditch. 4 miles to the east is Castle Ring Edburton and 9 miles to the north is Knepp Castle.