It is not certain why doline lines have formed along the Chalk – Reading Formation boundary. A possible reason is that the movement of groundwater passing southwards from the chalk has been impeded by clay at the base of the Reading Formation. This bed of clay possibly forms a slight scarp buried beneath the overlying superficial deposits (Cordiner 2019, Fig. 1), which allows groundwater to infiltrate the underlying chalk along pre-existing fractures. Over time downward movement of groundwater has been concentrated at specific sites where chalk fractures have been preferentially enlarged. With enlargement of the fractures in the underlying chalk, superficial deposits have been washed down into them, leaving a crater in the land surface.
It is known that smugglers in the 18th century used these caves to hide brandy, a barrel of this spirit being discovered when building the foundations for the Chichester-Midhurst line, near where it crossed Brandy Hole Lane. It is known that gravel was formerly dug in this area; the pond in East Broyle Wood Nature Reserve being located in an old quarry. These workings may even go back to Roman times, as indicated on the 1898 O.S. map, as the nearby ‘Intrenchment‘ bank would have been a ready source of flint gravel. It is possible that the Chichester Brandy Holes and caves started out as sink holes, which were later further excavated for flint gravel, and later further excavated by smugglers.
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
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.
A number of those readers remembered a story about tunnels underneath Hansford Menswear, also in South Street, so we spoke the shop''s owner to find out more. Matthew Hansford described a blocked-off passage in cellar of the shop, which he believes may have led to the cathedral
An Archaeological Evaluation at Roussillon Barracks
An Archaeological Evaluation atRoussillon Barracks Chichester, West Sussex
Planning Reference No: CC/10/03490/FUL Phases 1a & 1b Project No: 4861 Site Code: RBC 11ASE Report No: 2011128 OASIS id: archaeol6-102472 By Diccon HartWith contributions by Sarah Porteus Illustrations by Fiona GriffinJune 2011
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Maureen Williams, 82, of Westgate, recalled a school trip into the rumoured tunnels under Chichester when she was at Chichester High School for Girls.
She estimates she was in her early teens at the time and said she chose to share her memories after reading about the search for evidence in this newspaper.', '
Borehole drilling is a technique that allows you to access underground water sources by creating a deep and narrow hole in the ground. In this blog post, we will explain what borehole drilling is, how it works, and what are its benefits and challenges.
There is rumoured to be a tunnel from the white horse to the buttery and then from the buttery to the cathedral.
Regarding a tunnel from the crypt to the cathedral. Apparently Keats while upstairs being "entertained" watched the monks lock the gate to the cathedral. Now did he have xray specs on ??? That''s the pic of the guy gesturing towards the shelves is where the door way used to be
DD I worked at 65 East Street when it was ''Hammick''s Bookshop'' (now Specsavers). We had a trapdoor in the middle of the floor that led down to a tunnel-shaped cellar that seemed to extend through the front of the shop and under the pavement outside. I didn''t see any evidence of it ever having joined another tunnel and imagine that perhaps there was once an opening in the pavement for deliveries.
