The Chichester ghost and other stories that inspired large-scale collaborative artworks

The story of haunted pub The Chichester Inn is just one tale of folklore and the history of Sussex to inspire a series of collaborative paintings that will go on show at the end of March.

Figment Arts has been exploring stories from the south east coast, researching the places where they come from and related museum collections.

One such story comes from the Chichester Observer, an investigation into the Roman centurion who is said to haunt The Chichester Inn, formerly The Castle Inn, in West Street.

In July 2021, Nick Webb, pub landlord, spoke to this newspaper about the ghost and shared spooky reports of the Roman centurion said to haunt his pub.

The inn is mere inches away from the city's ancient walls and the site of the West Gate, marked by a sign on the wall by the neighbouring The Old Cottage Indian Restaurant.

The west gate road led to Winchester and Fishbourne Roman Palace, a route that later became the main highway to Portsmouth. The restaurant site was once a gatekeeper's booth for collecting tolls and closing the gates at night.

So, there was a time when a Roman centurion might have been a common sight in the area. But what about now? It is said the ghost of a Roman centurion continues to patrol the city wall for the simple reason he has never been told to stop.

The pub has been approached on numerous occasions by paranormal investigators, who have endeavoured to prove the apparition's existence. The closest they have got is reportedly hearing a bar stool rattle in the early hours of the morning.

In the article used for the Another Sussex exhibition, Nick told the Observer he had not witnessed anything himself but he kept an open mind.

"We have had a few inexplicable electrical issues like equipment turning itself on. We've also had some of those [paranormal investigators] talking about the presence of an orb. Customers said they have seen it, especially when they are drunk.

"The centurion is supposed to be patrolling the old city walls still because no-one ever told him to stop. The pub sits about one metre inside the city walls and right next to what would have been the west gate.

"Potentially, if he's around, he can walk through the bar. I keep an open mind but I have never seen anything. Some people are more perceptive to these sorts of things. My ex-partner was quite interested and into these things and she reckons she was woken up at 4.23am every day by the sounds of latches rattling in a room in the loft."

The story of the centurion and other tales about the county's heritage, including the Midsummer Tree skeletons in Worthing, Cissbury Ring fairies and Knucker Hole dragons of Lyminster and Sompting, inspired the Worthing-based studio's artists.

They have worked with more than 600 members of the public to create huge paintings, each themed on a different folk tale, and thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, formed partnerships with Worthing Museum, Newhaven Museum and Hastings Museum.

David Parker, artistic director, said: "Another Sussex is the culmination of two years of working with people from Worthing to Hastings, exploring local folklore as a theme. This major exhibition will open in Worthing on the re-opening of the museum after a 12-month closure.

"Our exhibition includes some large-scale collaborative pieces alongside individual responses from our studio group. We’ve been researching these stories and the places they come from. Through large-scale collaborative paintings and individual artworks, these tales have been reimagined and reinterpreted, offering fresh, contemporary perspectives on local heritage.

"Artists from Figment Arts Studio and workshop participants have responded to stories about local legends of Sussex folklore, such as the Knucker Dragon of Lyminster, the Midsummer Oak, and the spectral hounds of Sussex.

"This year is the 20th anniversary of the saving of the Midsummer Oak, the Worthing tree where skeletons are said to dance at Midsummer’s Eve. We’ll be telling this story and others as part of our exhibition."

The tree stands on land by the Grove Lodge roundabout on the A27 in Broadwater. There is a strange tale of skeletons rising up from its roots at midnight on Midsummer's Eve.

The oak tree is more than 300 years old and its story has been passed down the generations for centuries. No one knows for sure how old the legend of the dancing midsummer skeletons started but Charlotte Latham, the 'Godmother' of English folklore studies, remembered hearing it as a child in the early 19th century.

Local historian Chris Hare saved the tree during works on the main road in 2006 and since then, there has been annual gathering at the tree at midnight on June 23.

Anglo-Saxons believed roots of trees were connected to the spirit and underworld. Old trees like oak and yew were thought to have special powers. In the south of England, people thought the spirits were around at Midsummer because it was the shortest night and longest day.

Chris has said this old tree is a symbol of Worthing’s past and the strong associations that people once had with the landscape in which they lived. The compromise to keep it was for it to be truncated rather than being felled.

Research by Chris and Jacqueline Simpson, author of The Folklore of Sussex, into the Knucker Hole dragons has also informed artists working on paintings for the Another Sussex exhibition.

Legend has it that Knucker Holes in Sussex are home to wingless water dragons and various tales of them have been told for centuries.

The Knucker Dragon is a creature of Saxon folklore that is said to live in bottomless ponds. These Knucker Holes strangely never dry out, whatever the weather, and are permanently brimming with cold, fresh water.

Knucker Hole comes from the AngloSaxon nicor, ‘water monster’, and it is said the Lyminster one held a dragon. One story tells that local man Jim Pulk / Puttock baked a poisonous pie for the dragon but some of the poison stayed on his hand and he died wiping his mouth after a celebratory pint.

Another version says a wandering knight killed him and was offered the king’s daughter by way of thanks. His tomb can still be seen inside St Mary Magdalene Church at Lyminster, with faint marks supposed to be the hero’s sword laid across the dragon’s ribs. The church also has a stained-glass depiction of the tale.

Fairies and witches also feature. The last home of the fairies in England is said to be Harrow Hill, near Patching. Archaeologists discovered dozens of ox skulls buried here close to the Neolithic flint mines and a golden calf was believed to be buried at nearby Blackpatch Hill.

Fairies can be seen dancing up at Cissbury Ring on Midsummer’s Eve and at Chanctonbury Ring, various stories suggest you can raise Julius Caesar and his armies by counting the trees, or see a druid or a Saxon killed at the Battle of Hastings.

Another Sussex will run at Worthing Museum from Saturday, March 28, to Sunday, June 21. There will be a Midsummer Open Event on Thursday, June 18, from 6pm to 7.30pm with singing, storytelling and celebration.