Chichester Miscellany

Few English cities are as satisfying as Chichester...it seems to me to possess nearly all the qualities an English city should have. -Arthur Oswald, Chichester City Guide, 1953 Did you know?? ? The original Roman city wall was over two metres thick with a steep ditch around it. Today, the Walls Walk offers visitors intriguing views across the city in a stroll that takes under an hour . ? Chichester Festival Theatre, which first opened its doors to the public in 1962, has Britain's first modern ?thrust' stage; combining elements of ancient and Elizabethan theatre, it enables the entire audience to have a good view of the action, and to feel like participants in the drama. Chichester has been an important settlement since Roman times, when it was known as Noviomagus Reginorum, which means ?new field'. Surviving since AD 43, it remained a strong trading city , dominated by its central market cross. Captured by the Anglo-Saxon Alle at the end of the fifth century, the city's name was changed in honour of his son, Cissa. Surviving battles and captures, from Roman through to Norman times, Chichester has gone from strength to strength, developing gradually into the lively , modern city we know today. AUTHOR: Phil Hewitt is group arts editor for Sussex Group Newspapers.