Chichester, United Kingdom

In January 2017, archaeologists using underground radar reported the discovery of the relatively untouched ground floor of a Roman townhouse and outbuilding. The exceptional preservation is due to the fact the site, Priory Park, belonged to a monastery and has never been built upon since Roman times.

The legendary foundation of Anglo-Saxon Chichester is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it says that the area was annexed towards the close of the fifth century by Ælle of Sussex and his three sons. The city was supposedly renamed after his son, Cissa. It also says that it was the principal city of the Kingdom of Sussex. However, the foundation story is regarded as a myth by historians as no archaeological evidence has been found to suggest that Chichester was reoccupied until the 9th century.

In the 9th century Alfred the Great set about building a system of fortified towns or forts, known as burhs, 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 and 879. The Burghal Hidage is an Anglo-Saxon document that provides a list of over thirty burhs, mainly in the ancient Kingdom of Wessex, and the taxes (recorded as numbers of hides) assigned for their maintenance. For each five hides the town was expected to provide one fully armed soldier in the king's service, and one man from every hide was to be liable to do garrison duty for the burhs and to help in their initial construction and upkeep. Chichester was one of the larger burhs and was rated at 1500 hides.

The system was supported by a communication network based on hilltop beacons to provide early warning. It has been suggested that one such link ran from Chichester to London.

Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the cathedral that had been founded in 681 at Selsey was moved to Chichester after the Norman Council of London of 1075 decreed that Sees should be centred in cities.

When the Domesday Book of 1086 was compiled, Cicestre in the Hundred of Stockbridge (comprising 102 households across the five areas outside the city) comprised 300 dwellings which held a population of 1,500 people, and had an annual value of 25 pounds. There was a mill named Kings Mill that would have been rented to local slaves and villeins. 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, but it was forfeited in 1104 by the 3rd Earl. Shortly after 1066 Chichester Castle was built by Roger de Mongomerie to consolidate Norman power. In around 1143 the title Earl of Arundel (also known as the Earl of Sussex until that title fell out of use) was created and became the dominant local landowner. In 1216, Chichester Castle, along with Reigate Castle, was captured by the French, but regained the following year, when the castle was ordered to be destroyed by the king. Between 1250 and 1262, the Rape of Chichester was created from the western half of Arundel rape, with the castle as its administrative centre.

In about 1400 Bishop Robert Reed erected a cross in the Market Place.

At Christmas 1642 during the First English Civil War, the city was besieged and St Pancras church was destroyed by gunfire.

A military presence was established in the city in 1795 with the construction of a depot on land where the Hawkhurst Gang had been hanged. It was named the Roussillon Barracks in 1958.

The military presence had mostly ceased by 2014 and the site was being developed for housing. with the former Guardroom known as The Keep playing host to a detachment of the Army Cadet Force.

At the beginning of the 19th-century, Chichester's livestock market was recorded as the second largest in the country.

Chichester was bombed by the Luftwaffe during World War II, but fared relatively well compared to larger English cities. On 11 May 1944, a United States Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator bomber crashed in the city, killing three, injuring 38, and damaging hundreds of local buildings.

A new West Sussex county library was built in Tower Street in 1967, designed by county architect F. R. Steele. This was listed at Grade II in 2015. In December 1993 and January 1994, Chichester was affected by the 1993–94 West Sussex floods.

On 21 November 2017, the Chichester District Council adopted a 'Southern Gateway' plan to redevelop an area from the law courts to the canal basin, including the two railway level crossings.