Chichester A Quick(ish) History
The Nowish
By the beginning of the 20th century the population of Chichester had reached about 9,000. It rose to about 12,000 by the time of the First World War partly because Summersdale was built North of the town. By 1939 the population of Chichester had risen to about 16,000.
In 1909 Chichester gained electric street light. In 1910 Chichester gained its first cinema in West Street.
Chichester High School for Boys opened in 1908. The High School for Girls opened in 1910.
In 1913 the infirmary became The Royal Sussex Hospital. It moved to its present site in 1937.
In 1918 Priory Park, which was still private land, was given to the council for public use.
In the 1920s the first council houses were built in Chichester. By 1939 481 of these had been built.
A new police station was built in Kingsham in 1937. The same year Chichester by-pass opened.
During World War II there were 3 bombing raids on Chichester. Bombs were dropped on Basin Road in 1941, on Chapel Street and St Martins Street in 1943 and on Arndale and Green Roads in 1944. Furthermore in May 1944 after being badly damaged by enemy fire over France an American bomber crashed on the site of the old Roman amphitheatre. (The pilot and crew managed to bail out in time but could do nothing to prevent the plane crashing).
After 1946 the Whyke Estate was built and, in the early 1950s, Parklands estate was built.
In 1957 Chichester was twinned with Chartres.
A new ring road was built in 1958-1966.
In the early 1960s the area called Somerstown was demolished and rebuilt, as many of its houses were substandard. Yet this was controversial, as Somerstown was a self-contained community with its own shops. The rebuilding broke up that community.
In 1962 Chichester peacheries closed and houses were built on the site. Houses were also built North of Bognor Road. By 1971 the population of Chichester had reached 21,000.
Chichester Festival Theatre opened in 1962. In 1963 Chichester Museum opened in an old corn store.
In 1961 a new railway station was built and in 1965 a new bus station. In 1964 a training centre for military police opened on the site of an old army barracks. In 1967 a new library opened. The same year a swimming pool opened outside Eastgate.
Bishop Luffa School opened in 1965. The same year Chichester College of Further Education opened.
In the 1980s shopping arcades were built in Chichester, Northgate Arcade and Alsmhouse Arcade.
Westgate Leisure Centre opened in 1987. In 1989 a new record office opened in Chichester. Chichester livestock market closed in 1990. A new Tourist Information Centre opened in 1993.
Today Chichester is a flourishing town and it is growing steadily.