Brandy Hole Lane, East Broyle Copse area in the northwest part of Chichester. A well-developed doline line extends east-west across the area to the north of Brandy Hole Lane, along the underlying Chalk-Reading Beds boundary.
The Environment Agency has made 1m-resolution LIDAR imagery coverage for large areas of England and Wales freely available on the internet under Open Government Licence (www.lidarfinder.com).
The map (Fig. 1) shows the solid and superficial geology together with the rivers and dry valleys of the area between Emsworth and Chichester. The geology is based on BGS mapping with further interpretation by the author using the LIDAR imagery. For instance the chalk outcrop along the Portsdown Anticline in the southern part of the map is readily identified even though it is covered with a mantle of raised beach and brickearth deposits, as it shows a mottled surface on the LIDAR imagery. Dolines have been identified as shallow depressions from 5 to 15m across in the ground surface.
Are you curious about the tunnels in Chichester? If you are, you are not alone. Many people have wondered about the existence and purpose of these underground passages that are said to run under the city. Some claim they have seen them, others have heard stories about them, but what is the truth behind the mystery?
In this blog post, I will try to shed some light on the tunnels in Chichester, based on some web searches and historical sources. I will also share some of the rumours and legends that surround them, and invite you to share your own experiences or opinions in the comments section.
ON THE south side of East Street, close to the Market Cross, lies number 92 which up until fairly recently was The Royal Arms public house (also known as Ye Olde Punch House).
Although the façade dates to the Georgian era, the building is of a timber-framed construction said to date from the 16th century.
Much of the original building survives including highly decorated plaster ceilings displaying the Tudor Rose and fleur-de-lis.
It was once a private town house belonging to the Lumley family of Stansted.
About 50 years ago in the vestry of St. John’s Church In Chichester a flag stone was taken up by some teenagers and a tunnel was revealed. Apparently it runs along under St Johns Street in a south / north direction
Historically, to build a house with a simple cellar you would dig out the ground to a depth of around 6ft, the cellar walls would have been constructed with a lining of stone or brick and with a drain for water within the cellar. The floors would have been built up on crushed stone or sand to provide a level surface and paved, usually with flags. Brick paving became more common in later periods.
summeerdale football ,I have an update on the old newspaper article relating to Summersdale and the tunnel found under a football pitch. I sent an email to the Summersdale Residents Association, and they were extremely helpful with one of the members being able to identify a location for the site of the pitch. Looking at some old maps and combining the documents from Liam Mandville regarding subsidence etc. the area between The Avenue and Highland Road (on the Eastern side), does fit well as to the location. Many of the properties built on this site have substantial gardens so there may still be something to find that could explain what was found by the groundkeeper all those years ago? ,5f6f8e5fb6881-116345275_10157348686446892_326855352233187857_n.jpg,5f6f8e5fb7b45-116168775_10157348685396892_1033817068655264665_n.jpg
AArc141/14/EVAL Roussillon Park, Broyle Road, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 BBL
Sporadic finds represent the early prehistoric period in the vicinity of the Project Site, with the discovery of Palaeolithic axe in a garden on Brandy Hole Lane (c. 600m to the NW) and a Neolithic stone axe, in the vicinity of Spitalfield Lane, over 1km to the SE (Lee 2008: 9).
Bronze Age activity has been recorded c. 500m to the east of the site, in the vicinity of Garyiingwell Hospital, where evidence for settlement was identified along with remains of six cremation burials (Lee 2008: 9).
Archaeological Evaluation at Lower Graylingwell, Chichester
Archaeological and Historical Background 2.1.1 An Archaeological Desk-based Assessment was produced for the site in 2014 (AMEC 2015), and a summary of the key findings are reproduced below. 2.1.2 A small Palaeolithic handaxe was found in an evaluation 150m east of the site. There are no records of Mesolithic finds within 500m of the site. 2.1.3 Early Neolithic pits containing pottery and flintwork were found at Baxendale Avenue some 150m south of the site, and four small pits, one containing later Neolithic pottery, during evaluation a
First, there are no maps in the presentation to hidden tunnels , all information is in the public domain and if we get distracted during our searches that is only natural. I will try and make this as interesting as possible and we will not be getting our boots dirty.
Why have a cellar? Having a cellar was actually quite an expensive and a time consuming affair. Most people didn't. There was no point unless there was something to store or servants to hide.
