History Of Chichester

In 43 AD the Romans invaded Britain and about 44 AD they built a fort on the site of Chichester. It was by a source of water (the river Lavant) and close to a harbour so supplies could be brought by ship from France. Soon the Roman army moved on. The king of the local Celtic tribe, Cogidnubus, co-operated with the Romans rather than resist them. The Romans left him as a puppet king of Sussex. After the Romans had left the fort Codignubus decided to take it over and make it into a town. The Romans called the town Noviomagus, which means new market place.

The town was on a grid pattern. The main streets formed a cross, which remains today as North, South, East and West Streets. In the centre of the town was the forum, a marketplace lined with shops and public buildings. People in the town used cesspits and obtained their water from wells but in the streets there were drains for rainwater.

In the late 2nd century a ditch was dug around the town and earth ramparts were erected with a wooden palisade on top. Early in the 3rd century stone walls were built. In the 4th century they were strengthened with bastions, semi-circular towers. A ballistae, a form of giant crossbow, could be mounted on one.

About 80 AD an amphitheatre was built beside the town. It would have had tiers of wooden seats for about 800 people. On special occasions gladiators fought to the death but usually the entertainment consisted of cock fighting and bear baiting. (The animal was chained and dogs were trained to attack it). Another pastime was going to the public baths, which stood near Chapel Street. In Roman times going to the baths was not just to get clean but was also a way to socialise, the Roman equivalent of going to the pub. In the town there was also a temple to Neptune and Minerva at the junction of North Street and Lion Street.

In Roman Chichester rich people lived in houses with glass windows, mosaic floors, painted murals on their walls and even a form of central heating called a hypocaust. Of course, most people were very poor and had none of these things.

In the town there were carpenters, blacksmiths, bronze smiths, potters and leatherworkers. There were also people who made combs and boxes from bone. In the 4th century Chichester declined along with the rest of Roman Britain. The last Roman soldiers left Britain in 407 AD.