The current St Batholomew’s church in Mount Lane off Westgate is not the first church to have appeared on this site. The suburbs extra muros of St Pancras to the east and of St Sepulchre to the west date back to Roman times, both housing 3rd century cemeteries within their parishes, with the main one… Continue reading Hidden Westgate Histories: St Sepulchre Round Church
Tag: History
Hidden Westgate Histories: The Westgate Cannon (updated)
As many residents will know, Westgate, along with St Pancras, was part of the Parliamentary encampment during the brief siege of Chichester by Colonel William Waller at Christmastide in December 1642, the first year of the Civil War. Christmas 2022 will mark the 380th anniversary of this event. A Divided City In those revolutionary times,… Continue reading Hidden Westgate Histories: The Westgate Cannon (updated)
Westfield House
Article originally researched and compiled by Paula Chatfield of Parklands RA for her excellent Easter Trail series and published here by permission. Westfield House is one of our older local buildings, built in the 1700s and extended in the early 1800s. The first Ordnance Survey map (1813) shows it clearly – extract below. Its postal… Continue reading Westfield House
The Westgate Brewery part 2
This article appears as a complement to the one published earlier this year From Brewing to Business Services The Westgate Brewery (now home to Mercers, a pensions firm) was founded in 1751 probably by John Dearling and from 1793, taken on by William and Edward Humphrey. The brewery’s association with the Henty family seems to date… Continue reading The Westgate Brewery part 2
Westgate’s K6 Telephone Box
Did you know that the red telephone box on the corner of Parklands Road and Westgate is protected, and listed grade II? It was listed in July 1995 by Historic England, sixty years after it had been erected. To look at the state of it, you wouldn’t know it would you? The citation reads: CHICHESTER WESTGATE (north side),… Continue reading Westgate’s K6 Telephone Box
The Chichester and Midhurst Railway: Level Crossing
Article adapted from one originally researched and compiled by Paula Chatfield of Parklands RA for her excellent Easter Trail series and re-published here by permission. Before the railway arrived (see 1813 map below), the Westgate/Fishbourne Road was the main road (for foot and horse traffic) between Chichester and Portsmouth. In 1846/7 a level crossing opened… Continue reading The Chichester and Midhurst Railway: Level Crossing
The Suburb of St Bartholomew’s: the C19th population
This text is the last in our series about the Suburb of St Bartholomew, through which Westgate runs. It consists of edited data selected from the 19th century censuses for the historic suburb of St Bartholomew (1801 to 1891) The 19th century population of the St Bartholomew’s Civil Parish was the same in 1891 as it was in… Continue reading The Suburb of St Bartholomew’s: the C19th population
Old Maps of Westgate and Chichester 2
Historic Pictures of Westgate and surrounds
Bulletin No 2 March 2016
Dear Resident, A spring Newsletter, which will go out to all residents, is being prepared thanks to Brian Bird. Our monthly bulletins only go out to those who have given their e-mail address to the secretary and so you will get more and earlier information than the rest of the residents. Printed copies are always… Continue reading Bulletin No 2 March 2016