Celia Fiennes reflecting on her visit to Chichester

1696 (The Journeys of Celia Fiennes, edited by C. Morris in 1949, pgs. 40-41)

Thence I entered into Sussex and soe Chichester which is 12 miles; this is but a little Citty encompass'd with a wall, with 4 gates which casts the two streetes directly a cross each other and so lookes through from gate to gate, one Street does; the other it seems did so formerly, but in new building of some of their houses they have encroach'd into the Streete and so hinders the through visto, in midst of these 2 or 4 Streetes divided by the Market place is a very faire Cross of Stone like a Church or greate arch, its pretty large and pirramydy form with severall Carvings.

The Cathedrall is pretty lofty, the painting on the roofe in the Quire and Isles looks very fresh tho' 300 yeares old; there is an Isle on the roofe the phancy of 6 faces joyned and 6 eyes and yet each face has two eyes and in another place the faces turned outward and so the 6 faces are 12 eyes; the Quire is food, there is a fixed pulpit in the body of the Church; there is also and entire Church in the Cathedrall by it self which is the Parish Church, there are all 6 parishes and so many Churches besides the Cathedrall; over the alter is painter glass chequer'd blew white and red so deepe the coullour is struck into the glass as makes it darkish; in one of the Isles is a square place on each side the wall is filled with the Kings pictures from the Conquest to their present Majestyes, there is also one Picture pretty large of a Saxon King in his Robes and an Abbott with his brethren petitioning to build this Cathedrall which before belonged to the Isle of Ely where was the Bishop's See; there is also one large Picture of another Bishop petitioning King Harry the 8th to finish and paint the Church; on the other side the wall is filled up with the severall Abbots and Bishops since the Conquest that have been of Chichester - in their advancement they are brought from Briston to Chichester, and next advance is to Ely and so on to greater revenues; the tower is 260 off steps, from whence you may see the whole town, there are 3 or 4 good new houses (one is the Dean's Mr. Edds a very good man) from thence I saw the Isle of Wight, Spitthead; the sea comes within a mile of the citty, remarkable for Lobsters and Crabs Chichester is; there is an Engine or Mill about a mile off the town draws up salt water at one side from the sea and fresh water from a little rivulet which descends from a hill, and so supply's the town; halfe way off the tower you go round the quire and looke down into it; there are severall effigies of marble and allabaster of the Bishops of the place and one of the Earle of Arrundell and his Lady.