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Chichester Cathedral
Chichester is only five miles from the sea and is said to be the only cathedral that can be viewed from it. We approached it having parked a mile away on foot so cannot testify to the accuracy of this. Verger Nick greeted us and showed us to where the lunchtime service was.
The dogs and us attended Holy Communion where the celebrant Rev Reji informed us that he was also a guide to the cathedral. There is no entrance fee but a keen sense of donation request at the front door and many guided tours happening.
St Wilfred, of Ripon fame, originally built a cathedral to the south of Chichester but William the Conqueror decided that it should be in a larger Centre of population so moved it North in 1100. There are still two stone carvings, under glass, of Christ arriving at Bethany being greeted by Mary and Martha and the rising of Lazarus. I cannot see or read anything about this miracle without thinking of visiting Bethany and the school at Jeel Al Amaal where our students started out.
Much of Chichester Cathedral survived Henry VIII due to Bishop Robert’s pragmatism at the time. Unfortunately, the spire fell down in the Victorian period and yes you are correct it was Gilbert Scott that put it back up!
St Richard is the Patron Saint of Chichester and famous for two miracles. The first that he could reattach a broken bough to a tree and the second that on dropping the chalice at communion no drop was spilt. As this is my recurring nightmare when assisting I now know who to pray to!
Rev. Reji Raj-Singh showed us the amazing Anglo German tapestry which represents St Richard’s life in front of his original shrine. It was woven by women in Bavaria and in Chichester. There is another tapestry representing the Holy Trinity designed in the UK but made in France, in 1966, just as dazzling.
There is a stone screen dating from the fifteenth century, by the Earl of Arundel, taken down in Victorian times, just before the old spire collapsed, this saving it and re-erected in the 1960s. It is dedicated to Arundel and the former Bishop Bell.
Chichester does have a diverse collection of art including a window designed by Chagall of King David, an Elisabeth Frink, “Christ” and a mural by Hans Feibusch of the Baptism of Christ. I was surprised to see Chagall here in a Cathedral, but the Jewish origins of Christianity are often overlooked, the subject here is King David and there is a Menorah easily seen too.
Hans Feibusch was a refugee from Nazi Germany and has contributed to many churches and we had seen his Christus sculpture at Ely.
My philistine instincts enjoyed the Huskisson Memorial portraying the man as a Greek noble. At Liverpool we noted his huge mausoleum and any lifetime achievements as an MP have faded as he is remembered as the first person to be killed by a train.
Gustav Holst’s ashes are buried in the North Transept under a simple memorial stone.
We visited the shop, got our passports stamped, and bought some cards. We had lunch in the Cathedral café outside, in the sun, and then walked back to the car along Chichester's Roman Walls. Friendly guides and staff, free entry, dogs allowed, good food and unisex toilets before you ask!
