Our second full day in Eastbourne dawned sunny and warm again and after a lovely breakfast we met up with our fellow travellers for that day's excursion which took us first to
Beachy Head, a chalk headland close to Eastbourne. The cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 metres (531 ft) above sea level. The peak allows views of the south east coast from Dungeness in the east, to Selsey Bill in the west. Its height has also made it one of the most notorious suicide spots in the world.
The name Beachy Head appears as 'Beauchef' in 1274, and was 'Beaucheif'
in 1317, becoming consistently Beachy Head by 1724, and has nothing to
do with beach. Instead it is a corruption of the original French words
meaning "beautiful headland" (
beau chef). We walked up the hill (me not as far as MWM) to take some photos of the views.
MWM discovered this Compass Rose, if you click on the pic and zoom in you should be able to read the inscription.
There is also this World War II memorial. Beachy Head was the major operational route outbound from the UK for the airmen of the RAF Bomber Command.
The next stop was Arundel, famous for it's
medieval castle.
The castle was established by Roger de Montgomery
on Christmas Day 1067. Roger became the first to hold the Earldom of Arundel
by the graces of William the Conqueror
. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War
and then restored in the 18th and 19th centuries.
From the 11th century onward, the castle has served as a hereditary stately home and has been in the family of the Duke of Norfolk
for over 400 years. It is still the principal seat of the Norfolk family and is a Grade I listed building.
We found these interesting ruins as we walked into the town, Blackfriars Dominican Priory.
A nice view of the River Arun.
Time for lunch, so off we went to Chichester.
The area around Chichester is believed to have played a significant part during the Roman Invasion of A.D 43, as confirmed by evidence of military storage structures in the area of the nearby Fishbourne Roman Palace.
The city centre stands on the foundations of the Romano-British city of Noviomagnus Reginorum, capital of the Civitas Reginorum.
The Chichester Cross, according to the inscription upon it,was built by Edward Story, Bishop of Chichester
from 1477 to 1503; but little is known for certain and the style and
ornaments of the building suggest that it may date from the reign of Edward IV (1442 - 1483).
It was built so that the poor people would have somewhere to sell
their wares, and as a meeting point. An earlier wooden cross had been
erected on the same site by Bishop Rede (1369-1385).
After some lunch we made our way to the
Cathedral
Founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of the bishop was moved from Selsey it has fine architecture in both the Norman and Gothic styles, and has been called "the most typical English Cathedral".
Despite this, Chichester has two architectural features that are unique
among England's medieval cathedrals—a free-standing medieval bell tower
(or campanile)
and double aisles. The cathedral contains two rare medieval sculptures, and many modern
art works including tapestries and stained glass.
There are also lists and pictures of all the Bishops of Chichester adorning the walls.
I found the story behind this Gothic "Arundel Tomb" fascinating
It shows the recumbent Richard FitzAlan, Earl of
Arundel (1313–1376), holding hands with his second wife, Eleanor of
Lancaster (1318–1372), who by his will were buried together. The armour and dress suggest a date near 1375. The knight's attitude is typical of the time but the lady's crossed legs, giving the effect of a turn towards her husband are rare. The joined hands were thought to be due to restoration, but recent research has shown the feature to be original. If so this monument must be one of the earliest showing this concession to affection where the husband was a knight rather than a civilian. How romantic is that?
Another interesting feature was this glass topped tabled, which allowed one to take a photograph of the ceiling above,
and this is a photograph looking up at the ceiling.
If you ever find yourself in Chichester do go visit the Cathedral, it has a lot of history and interesting features.
By the time we exited the cathedral we had to make our way back to meet the coach to return to the hotel. We made it back with just enough time for a short rest before getting changed for dinner.
Please join me next time for Eastbourne Part 3, when I will show you Eastbourne itself.
