Chichester Local History Society
A generation which ignores history has no past and no future
The study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community
Using a combination of historical mapping, photos from visits to beaches, newspaper articles, artefacts from archaeological excavations and quotations from contemporary documents, John Mills’ talk on 12 February looked along the West Sussex coast at the sites of villages and hamlets, or parts of them, washed away by the sea in the Middle Ages and…
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In Richard Childs talk on 8 January he proposed that our current concept of an MP being elected for a constituency and in some way representing and supporting that constituency is a relatively recent one. For centuries being elected as an MP for Chichester was simply a means to an end and to a seat…
Would you like to read an engaging, informative well-written account of Sussex and Chichester? If so, I strongly recommend The Rising Down (2024), by Professor Alexandra Harris – possibly the most significant contribution to the history of Sussex in the past decade, even this century. The geographical span of the book, centred on the Arun…
It is with regret we have to announce the death on 22 April, at age 91, of Ken Green, one of – or more precisely the – founder of our Society. Ken was a proud Cicestrian, being born in this fair city in April 1932 and receiving the classic education for a Chichester boy –…
By Bob Wiggins During Richard Child’s excellent talk on 15 April about the intertwined histories of the Freeland, Raper & Tyacke families, there were occasional references to the state of sanitation in our City. This made me recall the meeting of ‘The Drainage Party’ which took place in the Unicorn Inn on September 11, 1889…
by Bob Wiggins The Bull Inn located at 4-5 Market Road was a Free house that closed in 2015. In mid-2023 work started on gutting the interior. The latest photo of the repainted exterior was taken in March 2024 when it displayed a ‘To Let’ notice -‘All classes and uses considered’. Snapshots of past Publicans…
by Alan H J Green I have made another interesting find on eBay, this time a sepia postcard which was described by the vendor as being of 18 North Street Chichester, a tobacconist’s shop. I did not recognise the building, but a quick check of my 1933 Kelly’s confirmed that it was what it claimed to…
by Alan H J Green Every week I make a trawl of eBay to see whether any items of Chichester interest might be lurking that could prove to be worthy additions to the ‘Grumpium’ collections. Recently I found – and won – the sales particulars for the first stage of the East Broyle Estate. The…
Chichester re-commemorates the 1953 Coronation Alan H J Green Last year I was asked by the Novium to research the celebration of the 1953 Coronation in Chichester and write a piece for their monthly page in the Chichester Observer. This I duly did, but ended up with more material than could be accommodated in the…
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In 1759 there was some concern in Chichester about a potential epidemic. The new Board of Guardians for the poor had been established. It had first met on Monday 2nd July 1753 to agree its structure and allocate responsibilities. This followed an Act of Parliament that had incorporated the nine parishes of the city into…