Chichester Cathedral’s spire was a great Sussex landmark for 700 years. Then one day in 1861 it suddenly collapsed
On a February day in 1861 – 157 years ago – the vicar of South Bersted, near Bognor, was just about to start his lunch when a message came that Robert, his gardener, urgently wished to see him. The man, a sturdy Sussex labourer, was shown into the study.
“What’s wrong Robert?” asked the vicar, seeing he was extremely agitated about something.
“Head bad, sir. Fit coming on,” was the reply. “Perhaps you could give me a note for the doctor. Can’t see objects.”
“You found your way into this room right enough.”
“Yes,” Robert replied. “But I can’t fix things at a distance.”
“What things did you look at?” “Well, ‘fore I had started
work, I looked about and saw everything I should. Like the spire...”
“Of Chichester Cathedral?” “Yes sir. Then I did some
digging for a while, then looked up again and the spire were gone.”
“Gone?”
“It’s the truth sir. I couldn’t see it where it should be. And I shut my eyes and opened them again quick and I rubbed them and no ways could I catch the spire; and I knew then I was took bad.”
When the vicar went to check for himself he couldn’t see the spire either – but there was nothing wrong with either’s eyesight. What had happened was that while Robert was bent digging, the great spire of Chichester Cathedral had collapsed.
This story is from the December 2018 edition of Sussex Life.
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This story is from the December 2018 edition of Sussex Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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