These photographs show the only surviving remains of a late 13th Century Franciscan friary that once dominated Priory Park.

Timeline of the guildhall:

1269 – 1282 A Franciscan Friary is constructed in Priory Park. Believed to have been the chancel of the friary, it contained the high alter and would only have been used by the resident Greyfriars who remained in Priory Park for more than two centuries until the dissolution of monasteries in the 16th Century.

1538 The friary was closed under the reign of King Henry VIII. With the exception of the chancel, all buildings belonging to the friary were demolished. The site was given to the Mayor of Chichester.

1541 The City Corporation buys the chancel from the Mayor of Chichester. The building is used as law courts and the Town Hall, or Guildhall. During this time some famous trials were held here including the trial of the Hawkhurst gang of smugglers in 1749 and the trial of the poet & artist William Blake in 1804.

1850 The building stops being used as a Guildhall and is used by the Sussex Rifle Volunteers as an Armoury and Drill Hall.

1947 The Guildhall becomes Chichester’s first museum site and is used to display historic artefacts for the people of Chichester.

2007 – 2009 The Guildhall undergoes a major repairs programme and becomes a hire venue for community events.

2015 The Guildhall is granted a license to host civil ceremonies and becomes a wedding venue for the first time in its history.

After breakfast we went to the Cathedral to see if we could purchase a guide book because the shop did not open until later in the morning. When we got there the information desk was in the process of being set up ready for the day. Mr C didn’t want to linger so we took the short walk to the Guildhall in order to take some photographs.

By the time we had finished the Cathedral shop was open. We couldn’t see any guide books on display so we asked the assistant if there was one. He said there wasn’t a specific guidebook but we could purchase several books on different aspects of the Cathedral or we could have some collated, photocopied fact sheets on various Cathedral features; I opted for the latter.

Next we visited the Roman Remains of Fishbourne Palace which were simply excellent. There was a small museum, a large collection of floor mosaics as well as formal and plant gardens.

Before we left, we thought it would be fun to lunch on the Roman Platter which included chunky olive bread, hummus, olives, feta cheese and salad. Amply sufficed we made our way to West Dean Gardens, which were especially delightful in the sunny weather.

After wandering round the gardens we stopped for a drink and I had a piece of cake. As we were about to leave Mr C realised that he had lost his spectacles. He checked with both places we had visited but unfortunately they had not been handed in at either place.

We dined in Brasserie Blanc for the second time and found that the restaurant had a particularly lively and enjoyable atmosphere that evening. Earlier in the day Mr C bought a magnifying glass as a temporary measure to do the job of his lost spectacles. Whilst we were in the restaurant it fell out of his pocket onto to the hard flooring, causing the glass to crack but, luckily not to break.

We returned to the Park pub which was even more lively than it had been the night before. We wished we had found this pub earlier in the week.