Walnit Tree Inn Vat

Vinnetrow Road, Chichester.

Blaster F. J. Blogg.

Walnut Tree Inn Vat

The Walnut Tree pub is in the village of Runcton, a few miles south of Chichester. It dates back to the early 19th century and was originally on the banks of the Chichester to Ford section of the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal, where it was used by the navvies who built the canal.

The 18th century rise of the Industrial Revolution saw the development of a system of canals throughout the country enabling heavy, bulky loads to be transported with ease. The canals became even more important during the Napoleonic Wars because inland routes were much safer than the exposed waters of the English Channel. A route linking London with Portsmouth was of vital importance, and the link from Arundel to Chichester was the final section to be built. The canal had a short working life and was defunct by the mid 1800s, with only a depression at one end of the garden to show it ever passed by the pub.