A HISTORY OF SUSSEX men, suddenly charged upon them shouting ' Follow, follow !' as if there were a troop behind them, and so startled the dragoons that they fled in disorder/ Harting Place seems to have been garrisoned at this time, and the king's soldiers pushed as far east as Petworth, but until 6 December nothing much was done. On 6 December Sir Edward Ford and Sir Edward Bishop secured the town of Arundel and laid siege to the castle. The parliamentary officers made hasty efforts to raise troops at Horsham and elsewhere, while Captain Temple saw to the strengthening of the defences at Bramber and Shoreham. By 9 December some 500 or 600 horse and foot had been brought together under Colonel Morley and marched towards Houghton Bridge, but the night being dark and the where- abouts of the enemy uncertain the foot were sent into quarters at Parham, while the horse remained on the Downs, scouting.^ Morley's force probably withdrew next day, as the castle had been surrendered by Captain Capcot on 9 December.^ Lord Hopton also captured Cow- dray House, and endeavoured to push on to Lewes, but was beaten back by Colonel Morley. It was during this expedition that Captain James Temple ' defended the fort of Bramber against a bold and daring enemy, to the wonder of all the country.' * Another skirmish took place at Bramber about the same time, when the Royalists ' atempted Bramber bridge, but our brave Carleton and Evernden with his Dragoones, and our Coll. horse welcomed them with drakes and musketts, sending some 8 or 9 men to hell (I feare), and one trooper to Arundell Castle prisoner, and one of Captain Evernden's Dragoones to heaven ; all this while the enemy held the castle, and a party seised Wiston House, within a mile of Bramber Bridge.' ^ The Royalists appear also to have occupied Horsham, with the connivance of Thomas Middleton, the m.ember for that borough and one of the Sussex Committee of Defence." Waller was not the man to sit idle all this while, and on 10 De- cember started from Farnham, the next day driving the Royalists out of Cowdray House and occupying it himself The Cavaliers at Wiston also ' left the house and fled for theire lives, and in theire march at Findon left 3 carts loaden with plunder, the which (Morley's men) fetched home and refreshed (their) weary souldiers.' ® On 1 3 December the siege of Arundel castle began ; the town was speedily captured and Waller's army, augmented by the regiments of Colonel Morley and Sir William Springett, now numbered 10,000 men, so that by the end of the month there was little doubt of the issue. The besieging troops made good use of the parish church of St. Nicholas, mounting artillery on its tower and firing thence into the castle, but the danger to the defenders lay principally in shortage of provisions and ammunition, which soon began to tell upon them. Lord Hopton made one desperate eff^ort to raise the siege, advancing through North Marden to West Dean on 29 De- » Suss. Arch. Coll. xxviii. 102-4. 2 Ibid. v. 57-8. ^ Ibid, xxviii. 100. « Ibid. V. 154. 6 Ibid. ix. 52. 8 Portland MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com.), i. 183. ' Suss. Arch. Coll. xxviii. 106. » Ibid. ix. 52. 524
