People – WESTGATE CHICHESTER

Memories of a former resident 1946-60

We are very grateful to Tony Keating for his contribution to the site. There are several references to him which can be found if you type Keating into the search box. He has kindly provided additional information to his contribution which is published below and you should cross-refer this with the earlier entries

Notes and Memories of Westgate from 1946 – 1960

Material collected from an interview with Tony Keating (NOTE – Names and details may not be totally accurate due to distant memory!)

History of 40 Westgate

Formerly number No 34 (1900-1950 numbering)

Known in recent memory as Deering’s sweet shop, this property was a shop well before censuses began in 1841. At that point it was a bakery, already being run by one George Hackett, aged 35, and who describes himself as a baker, a recognised trade of trained artisans. He was still there in the 1851 census: Hackett, George (55) now titled Master baker; and in 1861: Hackett, George (66) Master baker. Still working at age 66.

History of the Holt family of Westgate

John Ogburn Holt, who at some point lived at nos. 7&9 Westgate, acquired a number of properties on Westgate, which he let.

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 as a tanner.

History of 39-59 Westgate

Known informally as the Tannery Cottages, nos. 39–59 Westgate form a neat row of 10 workman’s cottages.

Originally occupied by tannery workers, these were bought – probably after 1871 – by the Henty family and used for their brewery employees. No information has yet been found of their construction date.

The other branch of the Shippam Family

In our article on nos. 27-39 Westgate, much space was given to the Shippam sausage and grocery business which occupied this site in the 19th century. This was not however the branch of the Shippam family of Shippam Pastes renown. That business was founded by a different member of the family but, confusingly with the same name. This article completes the story of the Shippam family but is not of direct relevance to the history of Westgate.

History of 23-25 Westgate

Along with no 25, no 23 is one of a pair of workman’s cottages

Roy Morgan writes:

“The house is recorded as far back as 1379 and is also mentioned in 1570. The pair of cottages are recorded in land tax records from 1780 and are shown on Gardner’s map of 1797”.

No. 23 specifically occurs twice elsewhere in the story of this street:

History of 21 Westgate

The history of this property has been constructed by Dr Brownfield from the property’s voluminous Schedule of Deeds, by kind permission of the current owners.

For the uninitiated (like me), “Messuage” was a term that referred to a dwelling house along with its adjacent buildings and the land used in connection. A word from late 14c. Anglo-French, it is thought to be a clerical error for “mesnage” (compare modern Fr ménage which means “household”)

History of 19 Westgate

The first half of this article is written by Richard Brownfield, with certain sections copied from ‘The Building of Georgian Chichester’, by local historian Alan Green and with his kind permission.

This Farmhouse was “damaged in the siege of Chichester 1642.”

History of 17 Westgate

Certain sections in this entry are copied with permission from The Building of Georgian Chichester by local historian Alan Green.

The Westgate house no. 17 “was added to number 15 in about 1787 – on a more modest scale.”