George Chandler

George Chandler (1779?–1859) was an Anglican priest.

Education

Chandler was educated at Winchester College, New College, Oxford, and the Inner Temple. New College, Oxford awarded him his B.C.L. (Bachelor of Civil Law) in 1804 and D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Law) in 1824. Some of the more time-consuming work, he did for the SPCK, was the editing of their school books.

Because of his duties at All Souls, Chandler was only in Chichester for 90 days a year. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1833.

In partnership with William Otter (the Bishop of Chichester), a Theological College was created in Chichester in 1839, with Charles Marriott as the first principal.

Building and restoration work

Chichester Cathedral was in a poor state of repair when Chandler was appointed Dean. There had been a lot of damage to the cathedral during the Reformation, at the instigation of the Vicar General, Thomas Cromwell. The records and muniments were damaged during the civil war after the siege of Chichester, with the cathedral library itself nearly being sold off in London. The destruction of the contents of the cathedral had been compounded by years of neglect. Chandler took on the task of restoring the cathedral and work started during the 1840s. Joseph Butler was appointed architect and surveyor in 1841.

In the north transept of Chichester Cathedral, there was the parish church (or sub deanery) of St Peter the Great; its presence was possibly due to the cathedral being moved in 1075 from the Saxon see in Selsey to the site of the original St Peter's church in Chichester, hence the sharing of the property. In 1841 the partition was removed and plans for a separate parish church were supported by Chandler. Chandler provided funds for the pews in the new church out of his own pocket. The church could seat hundred people, making it the largest parish church in Chichester. However faced with a diminishing congregation and the possibility of expensive repair bills it was put up for sale in 1979. It now serves as a restaurant and bar.