Blue plaque unveiled for former Chichester Mayor

Last year the Chichester Society applied to the City Council for a blue plaque to commemorate the life and work of Sir Robert George Raper.

The plaque has now been erected on the Langley House Surgery, 27 West Street.

Richard Childs from the Chichester Society said that Sir Robert George Raper, was born in Chichester.

He was baptised in the Cathedral Close on 26 May 1827 and was educated at the Prebendal

School.

He trained as a solicitor and upon the death of his father, (also Robert), he took over the running of the solicitor’s firm of Raper, Freeland and Tyacke.

He was ten times Mayor of Chichester, Secretary to the Bishop of Chichester and solicitor to the Duke of Richmond.

In 1861 as Mayor, he helped raise funds for the repair of the collapsed spire of the Cathedral.

On 8 March 1886 he was knighted for his services as Mayor of Chichester.

For 60 years he lived on West Street.

On his return from being knighted at Windsor Castle, the pupils of the Prebendal School assembled at the railway station and gave him a warm greeting, while the Honorary Guild of Bellringers, of which Sir

Robert was the founder and President, rang out a peal from the cathedral’s bell tower.

Sir Robert is one of only two Mayors of Chichester to have been knighted for their services in this office, the other being Sharp Archibald Garland (Mayor 1912-19) who was knighted in 1918.

Sir Robert died heirless on 12 July 1901 and was buried with his wife in North Mundham.