1850 (circa) and before

The West Street houses

A row of houses was built on part of the land now occupied by the lime trees c 1205; further buildings had filled the space between this row and the Bell Tower by the 16^th century. The city council voted to demolish the buildings here in 1825, and the work was finally completed between 1848 and 1852. No date is given here for the planting of the lime trees.

Roy Morgan, Chichester: A Documentary History (Chichester 1992), pp 75-76

First mention of "our" trees?

The newspaper extract below indicates that some of the demolition was under way by 1828. It gives a clue that the cathedral limes may be even older than previously thought: late Georgian rather than Victorian; part of the original design for the churchyard/cathedral setting made possible through the demolition of buildings to open up the cathedral to the street.

‘The improvements in West Street, Chichester, by the removal of the building on the south side, though not wholly completed, are now assuming a gratifying appearance, so far as the ground is cleared. The rows of lime trees in the Cathedral yard are rooted up… Sanguine hopes are entertained that the beautiful view thus afforded of the north side of the Cathedral will be an inducement to complete this highly approved design".

Hampshire Chronicle, 12 May 1828, p 4

Excitingly, John Constable's July 1834 watercolour painting of Chichester Cathedral appears to show the transformation in progress: trees border the churchyard and yet-to-be-demolished buildings front the road at the western end, east of the Bell Tower. The painting is now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it can be requested to view.

1870 (circa)

16 lime trees

The cathedral spire collapsed in 1861. The understanding of the age of the trees mentioned in the 1996 book report on fellings in 1951 (see below) suggests the lime trees were planted sometime around the spire being rebuilt and the building re-opening for worship (1866), although we are now leaning towards the earlier 1928 date. They are not referenced on the cathedral's own abbreviated timeline.

The Victorian context was waning rural woodland management and increasing industrialisation. The well-to-do were fascinated by imported trees and creating landscapes which showed off their wealth, learning and aesthetic taste whilst poorer people, increasingly concentrated in cities, experienced high mortality rates caused by poor living conditions. Chichester illustrates this at a smaller scale. Its population was 8,075 in 1866 but it was struggling with poor public health and sanitation. A London newspaper described Chichester as ‘pre-eminent for its beastliness’. At this time, landowners with civic leanings felt trees would make our towns and cities more attractive, bringing the accoutrements of the wealthy landowning classes into the public realm, offering welcome shade and improving public health and mood. They were also thought to purify the air, for it was not widely understood until the 1880s that cholera was a water-borne disease.

Ref.s:

Mark, Johnston, Street trees in Britain, a history

Ken Newbury, River Lavant: Chichester's River from Source to Mouth

It seems remarkable to realise that these trees were considered an asset even before Chichester invested in mains drainage; the sewer system was only completed in 1897.

1904

In a report to the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral, Lawrence Whalley, then-Communar of the Cathedral wrote:

‘…In dealing with the row of lime trees along West Street, if it is thought desirable to thin out these trees, it would be necessary to either cut down or pollard Nos. 1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13 and 15, beginning at Mr. Barrett’s corner, but I do not think that the trees need thinning out for their own sakes, and I am strongly of the opinion that it would be a great pity to touch them at all, and, moreover, that the inhabitants of Chichester would very much resent the removal of any of them, as an injury to one of the most beautiful features of the surroundings of the Cathedral.

Bognor Regis Observer, 27 January 1904, p 6

Posted in July 1920, this postcard view is likely older. It gives us a good understanding of how the lime trees originally bordered the churchyard, which was edged by railings. The public pavement ran outside, alongside the highway. It may also give clues to the ground level differences notable today.

1920

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Chichester, from the north-east, 1920

The aerial photograph below of Chichester Cathedral, taken from the north-east in 1920, clearly shows the line of sixteen large trees along the West Street frontage of the Cathedral, from the building at the West Street/South Street junction to the Bell Tower.

This image is taken from the Britain from Above archive, subject to its Terms and Conditions for Use. There are many more aerial photographs to explore in this digitised collection, which spans from 1919 to 2006. Click through to this image on the archive here. The website also provides the opportunity to share and record your memories and knowledge about the places shown in the images.

1935

Letter to the Editor from ‘ A Chichester Resident’:

‘A horrible rumour is abroad that the row of lime trees along the edge of the Cathedral yard is to be cut down in order to enlarge the car park in West Street… their loss would destroy a distinct feature of the north side of Chichester Cathedral, which especially in the spring is a lovely sight and one to be remembered…’

Chichester Observer, 20 November 1935, p 10

1936

Letter to the Editor from M.A. Roberts, Elm Grove House, Chichester:

‘…And now there is talk of losing our beautiful Avenue of lime trees in West Street, in order to make parking room for a few more cars: when will those in authority come to a true realisation of values?...’

Chichester Observer, 18 March 1936, p 8

At a meeting of West Sussex County Council, Cllr F.R. Cripps of Worthing suggested that ‘Chichester was fouling its own nest’ with the proposal to cut down the lime trees on the West Street side of the Cathedral to make way for more car parking: ‘I have been a motorist for 30 years… but I have never sunk so low as to despoil Cathedrals or their grounds’, he said. Cripps said that WSCC should have nothing to do with this proposal from Chichester City Council, though a WSCC committee did not oppose it.

Hampshire Telegraph, 5 June 1936, p 11

In December  1951, 7 of the original 16 were trees felled, but 9 were saved thanks to public protest:                       “Axes were taken to the 80-year-old Cathedral lime trees in December 1951 and here is the first to be sent sprawling across the green. In the conservation Nineties it seems sacrilegious, but the Cathedral and City authorities wanted to fell trees in order to provide an open space enhancing views of the Cathedral.

"Controversy raged and a protest petition, organised by Parklands music teacher Miss Yvonne Godfrey was signed by 11,000 people countrywide. Happily, a compromise was reached and nine of the 16 trees were spared after consultations with the architect J.L. Denman.”

Edward Brown, Chichester in the 1950's, p 7