Looking For King Charles On The Market Cross

A Memory of Chichester.

When I was little and we went shopping in Chichester, I always liked looking for King Charles on the medieval Market Cross in the city centre. One of the niches on the Market Cross holds a bronze bust of King Charles I, who was executed in 1649 during the Civil War. Chichester’s Member of Parliament at that time, William Cawley, was a signatory on the king’s death warrant, and had to flee the country after the dead king’s son was restored to the throne in 1660 as King Charles II, and lived abroad for the rest of his life. Chichester’s city fathers made sure that the new king could be sure of the city’s loyalty in future by having this bronze bust of Charles I put on display on the Market Cross!