Spitalfield Lane

Street guide, Chichester

Spitalfield Lane is a narrow historic lane in the southeastern part of the city centre, close to the site of the medieval Hospital of St Mary. The name derives from 'spital', a common medieval term for hospital. The lane connects to the area around St Mary's Hospital, which survives as one of the best-preserved medieval almshouses in England. The lane itself is short and largely residential, with a handful of older properties that reflect the tight, irregular street pattern of medieval Chichester. This part of the city escaped the worst of twentieth-century redevelopment and retains much of its historic grain. The lane is quiet and rarely visited by tourists despite its proximity to the cathedral and the Pallants. Pedestrians use it as a cut-through between St Pancras and the city centre. The hospital buildings, which include a remarkable thirteenth-century chapel with carved misericords, are the main point of interest in the immediate area.