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:
Random articles of interest
Russilon Barracks
The Chichester SMR holds information for 48 sites, whilst the National Monuments Record Centre holds details of a further 16 sites within the study area. An additional four sites were located through analysis of historic mapping and during the course of the walkover survey and one from aerial photographs. Full site descriptions and locations can be seen in Appendix B. Within the report, the bracketed numbers after site descriptions relate to those allocated to individual sites in Appendix B and on Figure 2.
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.', '
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.
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
Summersdale is an attractive area in the north of Chichester. Spacious and leafy, the character of the area is now under threat with many houses on large plots at risk of demolition and re-development. It is an historic suburb with high quality architecture in street scenes that are worthy of enlightened protection.
A singular happening lay behind the prosaic news on saturday that the chuichester and District League football fixture, Summersadale VS Boxgrove, had o be postponed owing to the ground on this hill suburb of Chichester being unfit.
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.
