In 2025, Chichester Cathedral celebrates 950 years since the first foundation stones were laid. It remains one of the county’s proudest and most significant landmarks.
It’s widely thought that Christianity arrived in Sussex with St Wilfrid in 681. Charming but unsubstantiated rumours abound about St Wilfrid teaching the locals how to fish but what is certain is that he founded a monastery near Selsey (at Church Norton) which became the first cathedral of Sussex.
Then the Normans arrived in 1066, and the life and landscape of Sussex changed course. In the years after the Norman conquest, there was prolific building: of castles, churches and in due course, of Chichester Cathedral. In 1075, it was decided that churches or cathedrals in remote locations like Selsey should be moved to more populated areas thereby giving the new King more control over the Church.
Using stone from both the Isle of Wight and Normandy in France, in 1075, construction of the new Cathedral began. It was completed and consecrated in 1108, 33 years later. On any visit to Chichester Cathedral, you cannot help but marvel at the sheer magnitude and magnificence of the architecture.
How must it have felt for those humble souls living in its shadow as it slowly emerged from the landscape? For some, they would have spent the best part of their adult life against a backdrop of a Medieval building site. But of course, they were just the first few of the huge number of lives that have been shaped or touched by the Cathedral in the centuries since.
A constant Sussex landmark and a cultural beacon
There have been many re-builds, alterations and extensions to the Cathedral over the centuries. Most notably, in 1114 and 1187, there were devasting fires which resulted in remodelling work and the building of a stone-vaulted roof. In about 1400, the Cathedral’s spire, cloisters and Bell Tower were added. In the Civil War of the 17th century, the Cathedral was ransacked, resulting in a substantial restoration following the Restoration of the Monarchy. Then in 1861, cracks appeared in the masonry and the Cathedral’s tower and spire collapsed. A five year programme of rebuilding followed.
A place of awe and reflection
A visit to the Cathedral today involves awe, emotion and reflection in equal measure, whatever your faith or lack of it, as each corner and each aisle takes you to another story, another work of art, another incredible feat of engineering, another poignant pause for thought.
The Cathedral remains home to art and sculpture of national and even international importance. The Chapel of St Clement built around 1300 has masonry work that looks like lace. Two carved stones dated to the 12th century in the South Nave Aisle depict Christ arriving in Bethany and the Raising of Lazarus whilst Roman mosaics remind you that people have long walked this way.
Bold and brilliant stained-glass windows colour the air while the footsteps of a thousand pilgrims echo in the 15th century cloisters. There are magnificent memorials (like that in the Chapel of St Michael, also known as The Sailors’ Chapel), and don’t forget to look up, not least in The Baptistry or in The Lady Chapel.
The Cathedral is a living lesson in history, in construction, in music and art, in shining brilliance and in humility. And it quietly binds together the many constituent parts of Sussex.
If you’ve enjoyed this post about Chichester Cathedral, you may also enjoy:
