Bishop's Palace Garden is the garden of the Bishop of Chichester. Since circa 1974, a large part of the garden has been in the care of Chichester District Council for public use and enjoyment. Its layout reflects centuries of change and cultivation, and its current use the popularity of a beautiful, well-maintained garden with lots of different spots just to rest and to be.

Opening times vary - there's a "clock" on the gardener's shed at the Cannon Lane entrance giving the current day's times. Think 8am until a bit before dusk, but do check if timing is important.

At the time of writing (7th July 2023), Chichester District Council's website is woefully silent about the Garden, although there is a Points of Interest pdf by the Friends of Bishop's Palace Garden. Chichester Cathedral's website has some lovely photographs and probably linked to CDC's website when it had more there.

The route of our Chichester City Centre Tree Trail runs through the Gardens, with some trees featured. However all trees now have numbered tree tags and there's a printed list on the gardeners' shed at the entrance from Cannon Lane. Thanks to a local enthusiast, the list is now online with accompanying photographs for each entry and you can explore it here. From that endeavour, we have produced a pdf format intended for those who would like to walk round the Garden with a printed copy, or to open on a smartphone complete with links. The file includes work in progress on additional columns giving a page reference for a respected tree identification book and an indication of the history of each tree type in Britain.

Another enthusiast with a passion for Bishop's Palace Garden has researched the history of the garden and its trees. Brian Hopkins spent 25 years volunteering as a  Chichester Tree Warden before retiring in 2022. We are grateful to be able to share a potted history of the Garden, and an article he wrote on the Garden's trees for Sussex Gardens Trust (Autumn 2023) here.

Bishop's Palace Garden owes much to the efforts of volunteers. To help with general gardening on a regular basis in the public gardens (Friends of Bishop's Palace Garden), please contact parks@chichester.gov.uk . A private area for fruit and vegetable gardening is supported by volunteers with Transition Chichester as part of its Grow Chichester Project (link includes contact details).