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Did You Know?

When the Domesday Book was first compiled in 1086, Chichester consisted of just 300 dwellings and a population of 1,500 people. In 2016 the Office for National Statistics estimated that the growing towns District population now stands at around 118,175 people.

In Roman Times, the city was the regional capital and known as Noviomagus Reginorum meaning ‘new fields’.
During Saxon times, the town was conquered by King Aelle who renamed the regional capital Cissa-ceaster, Cissa after his son and ceaster after the Saxon word for a group of Roman buildings.

In Roman Chichester rich people lived in houses with glass windows, mosaic floors, painted murals on their walls and even a form of central heating called a hypocaust. Of course, most people were very poor and had none of these things.

In 1501 Bishop Storey erected Chichester market cross. If you wanted to sell goods at the market you had to pay a toll. There were some poor peasants who only had a few eggs or a few vegetables to sell. The bishop said anyone could sell things at the market and not pay a toll provided they could stand under the cross.

There is a story that when Queen Elizabeth visited Chichester she said: 'it is a little London' and one of the streets in the town has been called that ever since. It isn't true as Little London is shown on 15th century maps.

Chichester Harbour is one of the largest recreational harbours in the UK, home to a fleet of some 10,000 vessels. It encloses extensive areas of sheltered water at high-tide, making it an ideal location for small boat sailing.

Chichester Cathedral is a classic Norman building with its round arch windows and west facing twin towers. The cathedral's history dates back to 681 when Saint Wilfred brought Christianity to Sussex. The stone for the cathedral was initially brought from the Isle of Wight, and then from Normandy in France. A spire was faintly added in the 15th Century but this collapsed after 400 years, only to be replaced by today's spire by the Victorians.

When the Saxon's arrived in the 6th Century they named the town “Cissa's Ceaster”. The town was named after a Saxon called Cissa and ceaster refered to a group of old Roman buildings. This name was then was shortened to “Cisscester” and eventually becoming “Chichester.