ChichesterMyths

By local historian Andrew Berriman

Falsehood or truth? I call them Chi myths. There are rather too many of them. It is sometimes hard to work out which facts about the city’s history are correct, and which are falsehoods. Maybe I should be more charitable, and call them mistakes or unintentional errors, rather than deliberate lies. Of course they aren’t that. No doubt those who say or write them believe they are true. And so these myths get lazily passed on, by word of mouth, or written in books. With constant repetition and reassertion these Chi myths become accepted as fact, the gospel truth, even though they are not. Whenever I come across a sentence in a local history book that begins with “It is believed that” or “It is thought that” or “The story goes that”, my heart sinks and my hackles rise in expectation of yet another myth about to make a regrettable appearance, and in need of being challenged. Myth of Earl Roger de Montgomery Let me give you a prime example. After the Normans, led by Duke William, had defeated the Saxon king, Harold, at the Battle of Hastings on 14th October 1066, large amounts of land in Sussex were granted by William the Conqueror, now King of England, to Earl Roger de Montgomery. He who built the wooden castle in Chichester in about 1070, and the larger stone castle in Arundel, which became his main stronghold, and which still stands to this day. In book after book about Chichester it is stated, often in the first paragraph of the first chapter, that King William gave this land to Earl Roger in recognition of his great military prowess on the battlefield that day at Hastings, where he supposedly commanded a division of French mercenaries with much expertise. However, the stark and simple fact is that Earl Roger did no such thing, because he wasn’t even there. In fact he’d been left behind in Normandy. Duke William had great trust in Roger, so instructed him to assist the Duke’s wife, Matilda, in governing Normandy during her husband’s absence. Earl Roger did not actually step foot in England, or Sussex, until November 1067, long after the battle had been done and dusted. A classic Chi myth. Myth of the French prisoners-of-war The oft-repeated tale that hordes of French prisoners-of-war during the Napoleonic Wars constructed local buildings such as the Barracks on the Broyle in 1803, and that long flint wall which still surrounds Goodwood Home Farm estate. Again, this is not true. These prisoners were kept under close guard, far from Chichester, either in Portchester Castle or old hulks in Portsmouth Harbour. They were never allowed out, unsurprising as they were enemy prisoners, nor did they build the stables and riding school at Itchenor for the 3rd Duke of Richmond in 1787, as stated in a book about Birdham, for the simple reason that Britain wasn’t at war with France until at least five years later! In Search of Chichester To challenge myths such as these I decided to write ‘In Search of Chichester’. In the book, which is illustrated in full colour, I’ve attempted to provide 50 answers to 50 questions about the city. Examples include: Should Bishop Wilfrid really be called a Saint? Why is the Vicars’ Close no longer a Close? Why isn’t Priory Park called Friary Park? Why is the city’s Coat of Arms in North Street incorrect? Why isn’t county cricket played in Chichester? Why is the Market House wrongly called the Butter Market? Plus many more. It’s available from Kim’s Bookshops (in Chichester and Arundel), the Novium Museum in Chichester or from me (andrew.berriman@gmail.com / 01243 528845). It will make a good Christmas present for friends and family. It has 192 pages, 204 illustrations and costs £15.