When Chichester - A Contemporary View was published in 1994, the next millennium was a faint glimmer on the far horizon. Now it's here. In those six years, Boxgrove Man has been discovered, motor sport has returned to Goodwood, and unpredictable weather has played its part in the lives of local people. We have seen much change in and around Chichester. Some of the older, established shops and businesses have closed and been replaced by names familiar in most down centres; traffic density has increased, and Chichester continues to grow in importance as a centre for tourism, arts and culture.
But above and beyond these significant but superficial changes, Chichester and its environs retain an essential character and enduring life for all - for those who work or live here, and for the thousands of visitors each year.
Chichester - A Millennium View portrays the Chichester district from the point of view of visitor and inhabitant alike. More than merely a record of its beautiful scenery and its rich heritage of buildings, we hope to convey some of the special qualities which make Chichester a very special city where history is the foundation for everyday life. Put simply, it makes a difference to the working day to look out on the cathedral spire. It makes a difference to live, work or shop amongst 2,000 years of history.
We all live in an age of rapid change. However, what you will find in Chichester - A Millennium View - and its 500 specially commissioned colour photographs - is a sense of the enduring quality of life which has sustained the people of Chichester for many centuries. It will sustain us into the future.
All but a few of the photographs in Chichester - A Millennium View have been taken since the publication of Chichester - A Contemporary View. In these 500 or so new photographs, Chichester - A Millennium View portrays a fresh perspective of familiar sites, as well as a record of events in the closing years of the old millennium.
