Roman Noviomagus Founded

c. 70 AD

The Roman town of Noviomagus Reginorum was established around 70 AD on the coastal plain of what is now West Sussex. The site was chosen for its flat, well-drained ground and its position on the route between the port at Chichester Harbour and the interior of the province. The town was the civitas capital of the Regni, the local British tribe whose territory covered much of modern Sussex and parts of Hampshire. The street plan was laid out on a standard Roman grid, with two principal roads crossing at right angles to form the four main streets that survive today as North, South, East and West Streets. The name Noviomagus means 'new market' or 'new field', suggesting the town was established as a deliberate foundation rather than growing organically from an existing settlement. A forum, basilica and bath house were built in the centre, providing the administrative and social infrastructure expected of a civitas capital. The relationship between the new Roman town and the nearby palace at Fishbourne is significant. The palace may have served as the residence of a client king, Tiberius Claudius Togidubnus, who governed the area under Roman authority. The town and the palace together suggest a prosperous and well-connected community during the first and second centuries. The Roman origins left Chichester with its fundamental street plan, the line of its walls, and its place name, which derives from the later Saxon name Cissaceastre.