In the early years the Theatre leased the Unicorn Inn on the junction of Eastgate Square in Chichester (currently The Giggling Squid restaurant), to be used as a wardrobe and property store. It was known as Minerva Studios, and housed the costumiers and other skilled professionals working behind the scenes on productions.

Jean Skaptason, then a young fashion design student at Worthing Art College, remembers volunteering to work on costumes for The Chances (1962), The Broken Heart (1962), Othello (1964) and The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1965). Listen to her memories on our oral history recording below, along with silent colour film footage of Minerva Studios in 1963.

The costume department for Chichester Festival Theatre 1960's. Footage by Roger Gibbons