A Day Trip To Charming Chichester

If you are looking for a really interesting day trip from London, then I can highly recommend the charming cathedral city of Chichester. 

It takes roughly an hour and a half on the train from London Victoria. Read on for what I got up to on a recent visit and below is a map of my route.

Vicar’s Close

I got off the train at Chichester Station and it was a short walk up into the centre. My first port of call was Chichester Cathedral. 

There are a few different routes to choose, but I went through the Grade I listed, 15th century Canon Gate and along the beautiful Vicar’s Close.

Vicar’s Close was established in 1475 for the 28 Vicars’ Choral of the Cathedral. 

Chichester Cathedral

Standing proudly at the centre of the city and surrounded by a pleasant green is Chichester Cathedral. In the year 681, St Wilfred brought Christianity to Sussex and established a Cathedral at Selsey, 10 miles from Chichester.

In 1076, after the Norman Conquest, the See of Chichester was established and the bishopric moved here. 

Construction on a magnificent cathedral began and it was finally consecrated in 1108. In around 1400 the cloisters, spire and free-standing bell tower were constructed.

The bell tower, pictured below, is unique in that it is detached from the rest of the cathedral.

This decision was made as the towers of the Cathedral had already started to subside by 1400.

The architecture is a mixture between the original Norman/Romanesque, as well as later gothic elements. 

If two fallen towers was not enough, on the 21st February 1861 the spire and central tower of the cathedral collapsed.

Thankfully no-one was killed but the spire was rebuilt along the original lines by George Gilbert Scott. It is the third tallest spire in England behind Salisbury and Norwich. 

What To Spot Inside 

St Richard’s Shrine: in 1253 the Bishop of the Cathedral Richard de Wych died and was buried inside the cathedral. His tomb became one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the country, until it was dismantled, during the Reformation, in 1538. 

Since the 19th century depictions of St Richard have returned to the cathedral. Today the backdrop of the altar is a beautiful Anglo-German tapestry, from 1985, by Ursula Benker-Schirmer, depicting some of the miracles of St Richard.

There are also lots of other modern art pieces in the cathedral that are worth a look.

The Cathedral is home to some rare Tudor paintings.

The huge paintings, on wood, were commissioned by Bishop Robert Sherburne in the 1530s and depict the history of the cathedral, Henry VIII confirming the rights of the cathedral and a series of portraits of English monarchs. 

Make sure also to not miss the Chichester reliefs.

They are two carved panels dating from 1125 and depict the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.

They were discovered behind boards above the choir stall in 1829.

By these you will also see an exposed section of Roman mosaic from the 2nd century, discovered in 1966. 

One of the tombs that you can find in the cathedral is called the Arundel Tomb. Dating from 1375, it is thought to depict the Earl of Arundel and his second wife Eleanor of Lancaster.

It was first erected at Lewes Priory (a feature of a previous day trip!) and moved here after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537. It is rare in that it depicts the couple holding hands. 

Bishop’s Palace Garden

I then had a lovely walk around the Bishop’s Palace Gardens. This green oasis dates back to 1147, originally the garden of the Bishop. Since 1974, a large part of it has been open to the public.

From the garden you can also see a section of the old city wall, pictured below.

Chichester was founded by the Romans in the 1st century and the four main streets and circular wall that they laid out still define the shape of the city today, nearly 2000 years later.

The walls were constructed by the Romans in the 3rd century and were then heightened and enhanced over the centuries, with the Roman bits being largely below ground today.

Chichester has some of the best surviving city walls in the country and you can walk around the route of them today. 

Chichester Cross

At the centre of the town is the Chichester Cross. It is thought to date from 1501, built by Bishop Edward Story. He built it to provide a covered market place for poor peasants, who only had a few goods to sell. They would not have to pay tolls to the city, provided they sell from beneath the cross. 

St Olave’s Church

I then headed to Priory Park and walked past the old church of St Olave’s.

It is the oldest occupied building in Chichester and dates back partially to the mid 11th century. Some of the original Saxon church survives but what you can see from the street is a 14th century frontage. It is dedicated to St Olaf, the first Christian king of Norway who died in 1030, and the church is thought to have possibly been founded by Scandinavian merchants. 

Priory Park 

Priory Park, encircled by sections of the city wall, contains two sites of interest.

Firstly the building below dates from 1282 and is all that remains of the Franciscan friary that occupied this corner of the city until it was dissolved by King Henry VIII.

It was most likely the chancel of the friary but from 1541 it started to be used for law courts and as the city hall or guildhall. It ceased to be the guildhall in 1850, went through various uses and today can be hired for events such as weddings.

You will also spot a mound: this is all that remains of the motte and bailey castle that was built here after the Norman conquest.

Chichester Castle was ordered to be destroyed in 1217 by King Henry III after he recaptured it from the French in the First Baron’s War. 

Fishbourne Roman Palace 

There is a museum called the Novium Museum in the centre of town, all about the history of Chichester. As I visited on a Monday however, it was shut and instead I visited the Fishbourne Roman Palace.

It is a half an hour walk or so from central Chichester but it is well worth it. At Fishbourne are the excavated remains of what is thought to be the largest Roman dwelling in Britain.

Between 1961 and today many excavations have taken place, each time new discoveries were made.

It is thought to have been built as the palace of a pro-Roman local chieftain called King Togidubnus. Construction starting in 75AD, but it was expanded significantly over the years, before being destroyed by fire in the 280s. 

You can meander around many of the excavated remains today. The mosaics are particularly mind-blowing. 

The mosaic below depicts Cupid on a Dolphin and dates from the 2nd century. It would have originally been on the floor of the one of main dining rooms in the North wing of the palace.

Rather than walking all the way back to Chichester I, instead, got the train from Fishbourne back to Victoria.

And there we have it. Do let me know in the comments if you have been to Chichester/live there and have any other suggestions in addition to mine above.

Thank you very much for reading, more day trips below!