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Chichester's largest green space.
Nnorthgate car Park used to be green as 12 acre Sloe Fair field.
James Bennett Freeland 1782 - 1852 Singleton wealthy lawyer acquired the land.
First map 1768. Conduit Lane → College Lane Alms houses first buildings. Built by William Cawley 1625. He became MP for Chichester.
Dell Hole.
1812 map shows still open fields. Title deeds difficult to interpret.
Had a Roman Lead pipe as a water Conduit. Later dug up to be sold for scrap.
Penny Acre fields named above Alms Houses.
Area bought up to be used as a private park and so was walled in. Mr Freeland aimed to live on site in 1839.
Oaklands House on College Lane owned by his son who was also an MP He lived at 22 West Street, because his mother would not settle in Oaklands House.
There used to be a pub half way up the Broyle Road side. Sloe Fair continued to be available by charter.
Park auctioned in 1861 but did not sell. Park was used for grazing.
1912 Oaklands house acquired by Colonel Arthur Henty. He turned it into an opulent house with lovely gardens.
On death a grand sale of the contents took place 1862. 1938 Park bought for £13,000 plus fees by the corporation as a space for public amenities before second World War.
The Park then used as a static water tank in case of incendiary bombs in 1943. Sized at 270,000 gallons to be used as a swimming pool later.
1955 the swimming pool plan was dropped.
1926 founded the Rugby Club. They filled in the gravel put and turned it into a car park. Corporation granted leases to other clubs for archery and football.
Wall decayed in 1952 and replaced by hedges so it could not be locked.
20th October Sloe Fair turned the field into deep mud after the inevitable rain.
1961 Sloe Fair field turned into Northgate Car Park with tar macadam.
Hexagonal CFT build by Evershed Martin 1961. Opened a year later with Lawrence Olivier as director.
Bishop Otter training college took over Oaklands House as a hall of residence in 1971. Now used as music academy.
1974 local government reorganised and they zcquured Oaklznds Park. They fashioned the gyratory system through 3 acres of Park. Dell Hole was a soak-away for the springs but 'filled in' in 1974.
1989 Minerva theater built.
2912 saw a temporary 3rd theatre built, followed by a temporary theatre in he Park as the CFT had a refurbishment.
Sloe Fair still ran in Covid-19. To keep the charter going.
Freeland preserved it from housing which was built instead in Whyke and Parklands.