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, Oxford. He was a member of the Tractarian Society. The first donation for the college, of £50, was from W. E. Gladstone.
This article concerns Nos 7 and 9 Westgate, which was a whole house previously known as no.4 and then no. 11 Westgate from 1950 – 1987.
The numbering of the houses in Westgate started in about 1900 and it has been a confusing experience for anyone trying to identify which property is which. In the 1901 census, this house is confirmed as 4 Westgate, a numbering which continued until the 1939-45 war. After the war, the whole street was renumbered, with odd numbers to the south side, and the house became no.11 Westgate. It was then divided into two in 1988 and renumbered at the same time as the rest of “The Georgian Priory” development, to become numbers 7 and 9.
In 1936 the lease owned by the Church Commissioners for the buildings at the top of Westgate – which included the Coach House and stable yard as well as what is now no. 5 – were let to the Chichester Theological College. This whole block, renamed Marriot House, was used for accommodation with eighteen students and 2 members of staff. There were 20 bedrooms, 4 WCs and 4 bathrooms. The main building for the College was No. 52 Westgate.
For those of you interested in learning about individual properties on Westgate, we are posting details of the buildings at the conservation end of the Westgate which can be found from various sources. In these articles you can find a list of the properties protected by Historic England listing, details of the renumbering of the street as some records still record the old number, and research on the shape of the street by a resident.
A chance encounter with Alan Thurlow, retired organist of Chichester Cathedral, has enabled us to do some more research into the pipe organ which may still be seen inside St Bartholomew’s church (once we can get access!).
Details of the St Bartholomew’s organ can be found under Survey E00701 on the National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR), which is operated by the British Institute of Organ Studies. The data is highly technical but contains items of interest to residents’ interested in the history of Westgate.
Image courtesy of Chichester Web. This article forms the third in a series on the archaeology of Westgate and is adapted with their permission from an archaeological desk-based assessment prepared by SLR Consulting Ltd on behalf of Chichester College in 2013. The numbers on the map refer to objects mentioned in the text below that have been found and registered in the Historic Environment Record (HER) for Chichester District.
This post forms part of an occasional series of contributions from guest authors. This building history by Dr Richard Brownfield was first published in the Chichester Society Newsletter and is here reproduced by permission.
Continue reading History of 1-9 Westgate: The Georgian Priory
