Due to their fairly recent date, finding information about the properties in the 1930s development of Westgate, and the former industrial sites in the side streets, has proved a challenge. Except for the few that were built in earlier times. The censuses stop at 1921 and we have not trawled the electoral rolls for privacy… Continue reading The West End: who lived in your house?
Month: November 2025
The Theological College
Following extensive research by Dr Brownfield, here is a full description of the history of the Theological College, mostly taken from documents at the WSCC Record Office The Story The College was founded by William Otter in July 1838, the first such Diocesan College in England. The first Principal was Charles Marriott, of Oriel College,… Continue reading The Theological College
The Westgate Brewery (updated)
The following entry is made up of a number of articles about the Brewery assembled from different sources by Richard Brownfield. [Square bracketed numbers and symbols] refer to the footnotes at the end of this post. From time to time, we bring in a guest writer to add to the content of our website. We… Continue reading The Westgate Brewery (updated)
The road we call Westgate (updated)
This is a comprehensive rewrite and expansion of my original 2017 post, recently undertaken by Dr Richard Brownfield. It pulls together a lot of different sources and is as full a historic description of the street as can be achieved. A major piece of research and a fascinating read. Westgate is the road that left… Continue reading The road we call Westgate (updated)
The Chichester Walls and Gates
The Roman army, after landing at Fishbourne in AD 43, set up a camp on the site which is now modern Chichester and fortified it with a wooden wall. The town was laid out on a grid with the main streets North and South Street, East and West Street, which crossed in the centre of… Continue reading The Chichester Walls and Gates
The Lavant River
In Sussex dialect a ‘Lavant´ is a winterbourne, which means it only flows during the winter. In C15th documents in the West Sussex Records Office it is also spelt as ‘Louente’ and ‘Lavent’. Most rivers start from a ‘spring’ and gather water from tributaries as they flow downhill.
Westgate Archaeology
This section is edited from articles published by Colin Hicks on the original Westgate Residents Association Website, which were adapted with their permission from an archaeological desk-based assessment prepared by SLR Consulting Ltd on behalf of Chichester College in 2013. Richard Brownfield has very usefully brought these all together, updated and developed them to create a… Continue reading Westgate Archaeology
The Westgate Fields
To the south of Westgate were fields and meadows, until the construction of Chichester College in the 1960s. Much of the land belonged to the Dean, and in the 12th century, when he desired to open “a way from his garden to his land and orchards between the wall and the river Lavant”, he had… Continue reading The Westgate Fields
The Parklands Estate
The Parklands Estate lies to the north of Westgate, bordering the back gardens of the houses on that side. It was built on farmland that had belonged to the church; indeed, the land sold in 1878 for the St Bartholomew’s vicarage, which became number 74, was owned by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.
History of The Tannery (61-65 Westgate)
Residents The Undershill family, who turned out to be tanners, are first recorded in the parish in 1526, when they acquire the share of a lease of 20 acres of land with a house. John Undershill is the earliest documented reference to tanning in St. Bartholomew’s when, in 1549, he witnesses the will of John Parker… Continue reading History of The Tannery (61-65 Westgate)