CHICHESTER, a city, the capital of the county of Sussex. It is a well-built town, consisting of four principal streets, in the form of a cross, which are broad, well paved, and handsome, and to which formerly four gates corresponded. The situation is fine, in a fertile country at the foot of the South Down range of hills, which afford shelter from the north and east winds; and the small river Levant washes it on all sides except the north. The cathedral has nothing remarkable except a beautiful spire three hundred feet in height. The see comprehends the whole county of Sussex except twenty-two parishes, which are peculiars. The haven is about a mile from the city. The fishermen catch excellent lobsters, and especially abundance of prawns. The city is governed by a mayor, recorder, and thirty-eight common-council men, from whom four aldermen are chosen as justices of the peace. The inhabitants amounted in 1811 to 6425, in 1821 to 7362, and in 1831 to 8270.