CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL
WEST SUSSEX ENGLAND
PAUL SCOTT
SATELLITE VIEW
Chichester Cathedral is right near the centre of town. Its orientation is almost exactly east-west, so we can identify our geogaphical directions with the liturgical directions. The Cathedral is cruciform in shape with a central tower and spire, two West towers and a separate Norwest bell tower. The nave has chapels along either side, and there are extensions to the transepts. A long Lady Chapel extends from the East end, and there is an enclosed cloister area around the South transept. We shall initially approach the Cathedral via Canon Lane and St Richard’s Walk. The view above is from Bishop’s Palace Garden.
This is the official Cathedral plan. The colours show the different stages of development. In our tour, we shall enter the cloister at right before walking in a clockwise direction to stand near the bell tower (bottom left). We then walk around the Cathedral in a clockwise direction, and enter by the West door (bottom). We next walk right around the interior of the Cathedral in an anti-clockwise direction, before briefly investigating the Treasury. Our final view is from Bishop’s Palace Garden.
A brief history of the Cathedral is given below. If you wish to begin the tour now, tap / click on START .
You can access intermediate points in the tour by a tap / click on the following links:
Chapel of St John the Baptist 61
Chapel of SS Thomas & Edmund 72
To continue with the tour, start with START!
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HISTORY
[Wikipedia]
Chichester Cathedral was built to replace the cathedral founded in 681 by St Wilfrid for the South Saxons at Selsey. The seat of the bishop was transferred in 1075. It was consecrated in 1108 under bishop Ralph de Luffa. An early addition was the Chapel of Saint Pantaleon off the south transept (now the Canons’ Vestry), probably begun just before an 1187 fire which burnt out the cathedral and destroyed much of the town. That fire necessitated a substantial rebuilding, which included refacing the nave and replacing the destroyed wooden ceiling with the present stone vault, possibly by Walter of Coventry. The cathedral was reconsecrated in 1199.
In the 13th century, the central tower was completed, the Norman apsidal Eastern end rebuilt with a Lady Chapel and a row of chapels added on each side of the nave, forming double aisles such as are found on many French cathedrals. The spire was completed about 1402 and a free-standing bell tower constructed to the North of the West end. In 1262, Richard de la Wyche, who was bishop from 1245 to 1253, was canonised as Saint Richard of Chichester. His shrine made the Cathedral a place of pilgrimage.
The shrine was ordered to be destroyed in 1538 during the first stages of the English Reformation. In 1642 the Cathedral came under siege by Parliamentary troops. The towers at Chichester have had a particularly unfortunate history because of subsidence, which explains the positioning of the 15th century bell tower at some distance from the Cathedral. The Southwest tower of the façade collapsed in 1210 and was rebuilt. The Northwest tower collapsed in 1635 and was not rebuilt until 1901. The masonry spire was built in the 14th century and was repaired in the 17th century by Christopher Wren. It survived a lightning strike in 1721 and stood for 450 years before it telescoped in on itself on 21 February 1861, without loss of life. A fund was set up to raise the £48,000 needed for the rebuilding, and the contributors included Queen Victoria. A replica of the old tower and spire was rebuilt. The construction was raised by about 6 feet (1.8 m), by George Gilbert Scott and was completed in five years. It now rises to a height of 82 metres. The rubble from the original spire was used to construct the former West Ashling Congregational Chapel.
