how much of it was ready for use? The sanctuary and presbytery, or
choir, with its necessary structural appendages, no doubt first
appeared. It may be that no more than this was ready when the
dedication took place. But it is not possible to say with any
authority what actually was finished. Nevertheless, the character of
the building itself explains the course in which the structure was
developed. After the first fire, in 1114, the work steadily continued,
and it is possible that before that mishap occurred, certain other
parts had been begun, if not finished. The remains of the original
nave still present distinct evidence to show that it was, with the
aisles, built in two sections; and these, although they appear at
first to be alike, prove upon closer examination that the four bays
towards the west are of a later date than those other four eastward.
Now it is not essential that we should know exactly how much of the
building was finished by a certain year, or what stage towards
completion had been reached at any particular time; it is sufficient
at present that we should be able to indicate the general trend of the
operations,--and this would suggest the conclusion that, having
prepared so much as was necessary about the chancel, the builders went
on busily, after the dedication, to deal with the transept and the
nave. Then followed those four early bays of the nave which are
nearest to the east.

It is quite safe to assume upon various grounds that the work had been
carried on successfully up to this stage early in the twelfth century;
but neither the documentary evidence available, nor the condition of
the fabric, enables us to venture more than this surmise concerning
its condition at that time.

Between 1114 and the time of the second and serious fire in 1187, the
remainder of the whole scheme planned a hundred years before was
apparently finished.

The first fire had excited some public interest in the great
enterprise at Chichester, and from this an impetus was derived which
helped towards its execution, after the small damage caused by the
fire had been quickly repaired, for by about the year 1150 the four
western bays of the nave, with its aisles, must have been complete. It
should be understood that the fire in 1114 did not lead to any change
in the character of the church such as was occasioned by that other
fire which shall be considered presently; but the work had quietly
continued, so that the aisle