. Sussex archaeological collections relating to the history and antiquities of the county. later, in 1831, the gateway andall the building up to the corner of the court in thesouth-west were destroyed. It is difficult to see whatmen thought was being gained or how money was madeby this ruthless barbarism. Thus a feature of Chichesterthat might well have challenged comparison even withthe beautiful Vicars Close at Wells was recklesslysacrificed, and though the wavy tiled roofs and creeperedwalls of what remains are most attractive in themselves,the Close has lost three-quarters of its beauty, a
. Sussex archaeological collections relating to the history and antiquities of the county. later, in 1831, the gateway andall the building up to the corner of the court in thesouth-west were destroyed. It is difficult to see whatmen thought was being gained or how money was madeby this ruthless barbarism. Thus a feature of Chichesterthat might well have challenged comparison even withthe beautiful Vicars Close at Wells was recklesslysacrificed, and though the wavy tiled roofs and creeperedwalls of what remains are most attractive in themselves,the Close has lost three-quarters of its beauty, and byfar the greater part of its charm. Restoration to itsoriginal character is very much to be desired; no greaterimprovement to the Close generally could be conceived. The Principal of the Vicars was elected on the feastof SS. Cosmas and Damian, two obscure saints of Rome,to whose honour are dedicated the ancient Temple ofRomulus and also one of our oldest Sussex Churches—that of Keymer. The Vicars statutes refer tocc nocturnas collationes (quas Bevers vulgariter vocant). Plate ? SCALE VO 10 SO 40 I 1 L —I 1 NOTE TO THE PLAN. To facilitate reference the place where the spectator is standing in each illustrationis indicated by the number of the picture and an arrow showing the direction on the plan. The area of thops and dwelling houses is indicated by light shading, but theirinternal divisions, being of no archaeological interest, are omitted. In some cases it willbe noticed that the irregular divisions between the South Street shops indicate the positionof the old east wall of the chambers on that side ; a few pieces of this wall still exist. The plan of the Vicars Hall, on the upper floor, it on twice as large a scale as thegeneral plan. 108 THE VICARS* CLOSE, CHICHESTER. or three are still in use, several may still be seen incupboards, but in the vast majority of cases sash windowshave been inserted. This transformation was largelycarried out in the eighteenth cen
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Keywords: ., bookauthorsussexarchaeologicals, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910
