The rich history of Chichester on our doorstep

By 27 March 2023HQ
Sculpture outside Sadlers Mill and Warehouse, Chichester, West Sussex

How much do you know about the history of your immediate local area?

We recently researched exactly this for a week-long series of social media posts about historical buildings and artefacts, all within a two minute walk of our studio space in the centre of Chichester. We knew about some of it already, such as the Roman city walls, but were fascinated to discover so much more.

Alongside Chichester’s Roman history, Noviomagus Reginorum being an important marketplace at the time, we unearthed information about livestock markets, corn and cattle feed storage and commerce buildings, a Victorian picture house, the famous (if smelly!) Shippams fish and meat paste factory and more.

Our own studio building, The Barn, has its historical tales too. Formerly a corn store linked to the old Corn Exchange, we have imposing thick wooden beams above our desks which originated from Portsmouth dockyard, and outside the old pulley holds our sign as it sways creakily in the breeze. The courtyard area our studio overlooks, now a deli café, was once a fruit and veg market, opened in 1954 by Percy Thrower!

Find out more about our local history on our Instagram or Facebook channels where we cover five different aspects of Chichester history, all within a stone’s throw of our creative space here in Little London.