Chichester - Chichester Cathedral

Chichester was a Roman and Anglo-Saxon settlement and a major market town from those times through Norman and medieval times.

In the 9th century Alfred the Great set about building a system of fortified towns or forts in response to the Viking threat. This included old Roman settlements where the walls could be rebuilt and strengthened. Chichester was one of these and was rebuilt probably between 878–879.

Following the Norman conquest, the cathedral that had been founded in 681 at Selsey was moved to Chichester. When the Domesday Book was compiled, Cicestre comprised 300 dwellings which held a population of 1,500 people. After the Battle of Hastings the township of Chichester was handed to Roger de Mongomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, for courageous efforts in the battle. Shortly after 1066 Chichester Castle was built by Roger de Mongomerie to consolidate Norman power. In around 1143 the title Earl of Arundel was created and became the dominant local landowner. In 1216, Chichester Castle was captured by the French, but regained the following year.

After the bishop's see was moved here from Selsey to Chichester in 1075, Chichester Cathedral was built on the foundations of a Roman basilica. Bishop Ralph de Luffa consecrated the cathedral to the Holy Trinity in 1108. In 1187, a fire destroyed the eastern part of the cathedral and the wooden roof truss, which was replaced by a stone vault. The construction of a new retro choir and the addition of numerous side chapels in the 13th century made the church one of the most extensive in England.
In 1262 Pope Urban IV canonised Bishop Richard of Chichester, who had died only nine years earlier. His tomb was an important pilgrimage sites in England until it was destroyed in 1538 by order of Henry VIII.

In the 14th century, the cathedral was given New Model Armee crossing tower and a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In the 15th century, the addition of cloisters, which enclosed the southern transept, changed the external appearance of the cathedral.

The destructive fury and vandalism during the Reformation caused considerable damage to the cathedral. Carvings and sculptures were damaged and the medieval stained glass windows were completely destroyed.

The church suffered further damage when Cromwell´s New Model Army occupied the city in 1642. Over the next two centuries, the cathedral was neglected and fell into disrepair.
It was not until the 1840s that restoration work began. However, these suffered a setback when the crossing tower collapsed in 1861. It was rebuilt in 1866 and was given its current high spire.

Two Romanesque sandstone reliefs can be seen in the south aisle of the choir: "The Raising of Lazarus" and "Christ on his arrival in Bethany".

Dating the reliefs was ended in a long cotroversal. Professor George Zarnecki of the Courtauld Institute made a detailed analysis and concluded they were made in the second quarter of the 12th century. Most scholars now agree with him that the Reliefs are Anglo-Saxon in origin, though others see them at least a century older.

Christ arriving in Bethany