Chichester’s Roman walls: A brief history

Here we take a brief look at the history of Chichester’s iconic knapped flint walls, what they were used for, and how they have changed since the third century.
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They first appeared about 1,800 years ago when the Romans built them as a defensive structure to help protect the city, then called Noviomagus Reginorum, from raiders coming from the south.

The seven-metre high walls would have supported between 60 and 70 bastions. Only four remain today. These towering columns would have been topped by huge ballistas — essentially giant crossbows — that would fire metal javelins as far as 500yds with impeccable accuracy.

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Four entrances to the city were based on four compass directions and huge gates were built. Today you can still find hints of these in place names. The Eastgate pub, for example, Westgate Leisure Centre, Northgate and Southgate.

Chichester's historic wallsChichester's historic walls
Chichester's historic walls

Centuries later temporary gates were built for the coronation of George V in 1911. One was just past The Fountain pub in South Street, another just after the Castle Inn (now called The Chichester Inn), by The Eastgate pub, and again at Northgate.

The walls successfully protected Chichester for more than two centuries but the city was eventually abandoned by the Romans by the time the empire fell in 476AD. One ancient document, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, suggests the city was taken over by a Saxon king named Cissa, but there is little evidence to prove this theory.

In the years following the Romans’ desertion, Chichester was left to decay. Two kings centuries apart, Alfred the Great and William the Conqueror, are said to have seen the value in the city and Chichester was championed as a strategic stronghold.

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And, following the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the cathedral was built and Roger De Montgomery had a castle build in Priory Park

What other other parts of Chichester’s history would you like to read about? Get in touch: [email protected]

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