The following properties to the south side of Westgate were demolished in 1963 to make way for the Avenue de Chartres and the Chichester inner ring road.
For information concerning the lost buildings to the north side of Westgate, please click here.
Continue reading Hidden Westgate Histories 10: Demolished properties SouthsideThis large Georgian property was to become part of The Westgate Brewery.
The Humphreys
In 1780, William Humphrey (Snr) bought land in Scuttery Fields to build some malthouses. The brewery itself was installed on the adjoining site, where today’s no. 52 had stood as a dwelling house since about 1750: the date inscribed on the building is 1751.
Continue reading History of 52 Westgate43CE The Roman Second Legion land at Fishbourne and set up camp on the site which will become the palace of Togidubnus, vassal king of the Regni. Later they march inland under the command of Vespasian, probably along the track which was to become Westgate. They set up a winter camp on the flat plain just before the first undulations of the South Downs. They fortify the camp with a ditch, and an earth and wooden wall.
Continue reading Westgate TimelineThis article first appeared on 30 July 2016 as part of an occasional series of historical items that relate to Westgate and have been somehow Hidden from History. We are grateful to Westgate resident Rachel Moriarty for a host of new material which has resulted in this much expanded version (May 2017). Recently the church has been sold to a private owner who has respected the graves but removed the crosses and the trees (2024).
Continue reading Hidden Westgate Histories 3: Five Good Sisters (updated)
House numbering first appeared in the census of 1901. Before this. the identification of plots on Westgate was by reference to the neighbours on each side, which became obviously inexact as they frequently changed.
We are grateful to resident John Davies for the following article on the heritage part of our streetscape (the Conservation Area), using earlier research done by the late Dr Latchman which had been passed on to him.
The”shape” of Westgate from the old gate through to Parklands Road
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 the former St Bartholomew’s church.
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.
Continue reading The Organ of St Bartholomew’s ChurchOriginally posted on 12 March 2016, updated on 13 June 2016 and February 2025. With thanks to Brian Hopkins, our tree warden. All tree photos are by the author unless otherwise stated.
From time to time we bring in a guest writer to add to the content of our website. We are grateful to local historian Alan H. J. Green for his permission to reprint this article which originally appeared, entitled “The Westgate Brewery”, in the Sussex Industrial Archaeology Society Newsletter 137 of January 2008. And also to Paula Chatfield of Parklands RA who drew this article to our attention in the first place. If you would be interested in contributing something relevant to Westgate and its surrounding streets then do please contact us.
