Chichester

Explore the history and community of Chichester.

Images

Images of Chichester can be found on our West Sussex Past Pictures website.

Go to 'Advanced Search: Catalogue' and search for 'Chichester' in 'Any Text'.

Further images of Chichester are also available on the W est Sussex Record Office Online Photo Database.

Newspapers

The current edition of the Chichester Observer is available to view at Chichester, Selsey, Southbourne and Witterings libraries. Paper copies are kept for one month in all libraries except Chichester, where they are kept for one year. The current edition of the West Sussex Gazette is also available at Chichester Library. A browsable collection of newspaper cuttings on local topics is kept at Chichester Library.

Back issues of the Chichester Observer 1961-2016 (incomplete) are available on microfilm at Chichester Library.

Search the library catalogue for more details.

Back issues of the Chichester Observer 2017 and 1914-1925 and 1939-1945 are available to view on the public computers in all West Sussex Libraries, as searchable digital copies.

Further coverage of Chichester can be found on the Chichester Observer and Chichester Post websites.

The West Sussex Gazette and The Argus are available to library members from home via Press Reader.

The Times Digital Archive includes some coverage of events in Chichester and West Sussex from 1785-2014 and is available to all library members from home. The British Newspaper Archive has digitised copies of the Chichester Observer 1887-1949 (incomplete). You can access the British Newspaper Archive for free through the public computers in any West Sussex Library.

For any enquiries about newspapers, please use our Ask a Librarian form.

Maps

A current map of Chichester can be found on the Ordnance Survey website.

Historic maps of Chichester are also available on the National Library of Scotland Maps Database.

Directories

Some Kellys Sussex Directories can be found on Ancestry - available free in all West Sussex Libraries. Some directories are available as digitised copies on the public computers in all libraries - see our Digitised Directories Helpsheet. You can search the library catalogue to see which directories are available on microfiche. For any queries, please use our Ask a Librarian form.

House History

If you are researching the history of your house, the National Archives House Research Guide is a good place to start.

West Sussex Record Office also have many sources to help with your investigations.

Online Resources

Victoria County History - Chichester

Founded in 1899 and originally dedicated to Queen Victoria, the Victoria County History (VCH) is an encyclopaedic record of England's places and people from earliest times to the present day.

Chichester Conservation Area Character Appraisal

Digital Archive of Chichester Festival Theatre

Flashback Chichester

Local History Facebook group

History of Barnham and Eastergate, (Barnham Parish Council)

Short History of Oving Parish e book by the Oving History Group

Tangmere Village History Project

West Itchenor Historic Image Gallery

Familysearch

Free database including billions of indexed records from around the world including UK parish registers and census. You will need to sign up for a free account. Records for Chichester include:

Chichester Cemetery Burial Register 1859-1901
Parish registers - All Saints (1563-1901), St Andrew’s (1563-1902), St Bartholomew’s (1571-1971), St Martin’s (1560-1903), St Olave’s (1569-1902), St Paul’s (1845-1902), St Peter the Great (1558-1901) and St Peter the Less (1680-1905)
Probate records 1484-1900
Register of electors for Sussex 1832-1903