hansford menswear shop front
hansford menswear chichester

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

In the 1970s the passageway was open and was once used by burglars who used the route to break-in to the shop and make off with a number of sheepskin coats.

Matthew said: "I think [the burglary] was before I was here, in the 70s, but the tunnel has been breeze-blocked up now. It is probably as much hearsay as anything else but as far as I know it was built to link the cathedral to the shop.

"The shop used to house the vicars and people who worked at the cathedral but I haven''t been down there because it is breeze-blocked up.
"All I have been told is that originally the priests, or whoever, used to go underground but I''m not sure if there is just one tunnel or several."

Amateur investigators are also looking into the reported tunnels which are different the river Lavant culverts.

If you have any information about possible tunnels under the city, get in touch:

hansford brreze block

 

 

https://www.chichester.co.uk/news/people/mystery-of-chichesters-secret-tunnels-continues-as-womans-tale-leaves-investigators-intrigued-3166563

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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.', '

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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

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It was under the Crypt and right next to the cathedral

inside buttery

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.

Read more: It was under the Crypt and right next to the cathedral

whyke lodge

 

 

 

27 East street

MB
My mum worked 27 east street and when it flooded in the 90s they found a big cellar and you could look down into an area which was like a tunnel

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