The great questions of Chichester history - putting the record straight

He has been busy since lockdown, publishing In Search of Lavant in 2020, then In Search of Fifty South Downs Villages in 2021. Now he turns his attention to the city.

Andrew has lived in Chichester since 1982, and for almost 30 years was head of sixth form at Chichester High School for Boys. He belongs to the Chichester Local History Society, to whom this book is dedicated. He has previously been its chairman and journal editor, and its secretary since 2010. Andrew said he wanted to write the book so that he could set the record straight about some aspects of Chichester’s past.

“There is so much to tell about Chichester’s history. Unfortunately there are also many Chichester myths and half-truths which need to be challenged and put right. That is why the book is sub-titled Fifty Questions in Search of Fifty Answers. Each article raises an issue upon which the golden light of truth still needs to be shone. It is too easy to accept as fact some incorrect assertion simply because, down the years, it has lazily been repeated in book after book.

“For example, did a huge battle take place in Kingley Vale against the Norsemen in AD894? Did Chichester’s Norman overlord, Roger de Montgomery, actually fight at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, as is often stated? Were many local buildings constructed by French prisoners during the Napoleonic War years? In all three cases, the answer is simply, no. As for whether a Saxon king once lived at Kingsham, or whether Bishop Wilfrid can really be called a Saint, the jury is still out.

“Victorian Chichester has many questions to be answered. Why is Priory Park so called when it really ought to be called Friary Park?

"Why is there an incorrect version of the city Coat of Arms above the Butter Market? Talking of which, why is that building called the Butter Market when it should be the Market House? What did Woolstaplers and Fellmongers do? Why did the Cathedral spire collapse? Why were those magnificent cedars planted in Jubilee Park? Who ruined the architectural unity of the Vicars’ Close?

“In my chapter on the 20th century I discuss how the Summersdale estate was built on the basis of social class. Why are there no longer any windmills in the city? Why did the planners allow so much of Somerstown to be demolished and Tower Street to lose all its character? Why were the incomparable, timeless Westgate Fields built over? Why is the year 1964 regarded as Chichester’s annus horribilis? Since then there has been much resistance to the further destruction of Chichester’s townscape and heritage, but the question still has to be raised about whether Chichester’s past still has a future. Is its glass half-full or half-empty?

“These issues, and many more, are raised in the book which is fully illustrated in colour. It will delight all those with an interest in Chichester’s history and will provide timely assistance for that annual search for suitable Christmas presents to give.”

There will be book launch signings on Tuesday, October 18 at New Park Centre, 11.30am-12.30pm and on Friday, October 21 at the Novium Museum, 11.30am-12.30pm.

It is available from Kim’s Bookshop at 28 South Street, Chichester and 10, High Street, Arundel, or direct from Andrew on [email protected] or 01243 528845. 192 pages, 204 illustrations, £15 (plus £3.50p p&p).