Selsey is a seaside town and civil parish, about eight miles (12 km) south of Chichester, in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England.
Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea. It is bounded to the west by
Bracklesham Bay, to the north by Broad Rife (rife being the local word for stream or creek), to the east by Pagham Harbour and terminates in the
south at Selsey Bill. There are significant rock formations beneath the sea off both of its coasts, named the Owers rocks and Mixon rocks.
Coastal erosion has been an ever present problem for Selsey.
There is only one road (the B2145) in and out of the town which briefly becomes a bridge at a point known as "the ferry", crossing the water inlet at Pagham Harbour. At one time Selsey was inaccessible at flood tide, and a boat was stationed at the ferry to take horses and passengers to and
from Sidlesham.
Placename
According to Bede the name Selsey is derived from the Saxon Seals-ey and can be interpreted as the Isle of Sea Calves (sea calves are better known as seals).
Edward Heron-Allen identified at least twenty different spellings of the place that we now know today as Selsey.
A selection of versions as identified by Heron-Allen are:
Seoles - Old English
Seleisi - Domesday Book 1086
Celesye - Assize Roll 1279
History
The earliest evidence of human habitation, in the Selsey area, goes back to the stone age. Various stone implements have been found which date to the Palaeolithic period. People have been living in the area ever since.
It is believed that, in the Iron Age, the Atrebates (one of the Belgae tribes) built a city at Selsey, similar in status to the pre-Roman urban centre
( oppidum) at Hengistbury Head near Christchurch. So far there is no archaeological evidence to confirm this, although some have speculatedthat the old city that Camden refers to is, indeed the old Belgae settlement and was located at the Mixonrocks, now south of Selsey Bill.
There have been various finds of silver and gold coins in the Selsey areaGold coins from the Atrebates rulers named Commius, Tincommius, Verica, Eppillus, and Cunobelin were found on the beach in 1877, it is thought that these coins would have been minted locally.The ancient British coins would have been superseded by Roman coins and there have been finds of them too. In addition, some Anglo-Saxon gold
fragments were found on the beach between Selsey and Bognor, these were dated as late 6th/ 8th century and what made them particularly interesting is that they had a runic inscription on them, the fragments were handed over to the British Museum.
Selsey was the capital of the South Saxons kingdom, possibly founded by Ælle. Wilfrid arrived circa 680 and converted the kingdom to Christianity, as recorded by the Venerable Bede. Selsey Abbey stood at Selsey (probably where Church Norton is today),and was the cathedral for the Sussex Diocese until the Council of London ordered the removal of the See to Chichester in 1075, during the reign of William the Conqueror.
Entry for Selsey in the Domesday Book
In the Domesday Book Selesie is mentioned under the hundred
of Summerly:
"The Bishop(of Chichester) holds Selesie in domain. In the time of King
Edward it was rated at ten hides, and so it continues. The arable is seven plough lands. There
are two ploughs in the demesne, and fourteen villains with eleven bondsmen have five ploughs.".
The manor of Selsey remained in the Bishop of Chichesters hands until 1561,
when it was taken over by the crown.
In July 1588 the Spanish Armada arrived off the Isle of Wight with the intention of attacking Portsmouth.[28]
The wind changed direction to the south-west. Men from the Manhood Peninsula serving under Drake
conceived a plan to lure the Spanish fleet onto the Owers rocks (off Selsey).
However the Spanish Admiral, recognising the danger decided to head for
Calais.
Title page of book about the murder of the two men, the trial
and execution.
Over the centuries Selsey has derived an income from the sea,
one of the darker enterprises was smuggling. In the eighteenth century Selsey Bill was
very much more isolated than it is today, and the sand spit extended farther out
to sea. There was only the causeway connected to the mainland and that was
covered at high tide. The approach of the local riding officer would have been conspicuous in the extreme. The Rectors of Selsey
reputedly claimed a tithe on all kegs landed there, and stories also tell of a
passageway leading from the Old Rectory (at Church Norton) to the remains of a
Mound,
thought to have been built by the Normans.The course of the tunnel was marked by
a depression on the surface of the ground as late as 1911.
In the 1720s one Selsey man ran a regular ferry service to
France, travelling back and forth every five weeks, and other prominent Selsey
figures made considerable fortunes just from part-time work in the free-trade.
Landings were not confined to Selsey itself: in a single run in 1743 2,000 lbs
of tea were brought inland at West Wittering some six miles (10 km)
away.
Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea. It is bounded to the west by
Bracklesham Bay, to the north by Broad Rife (rife being the local word for stream or creek), to the east by Pagham Harbour and terminates in the
south at Selsey Bill. There are significant rock formations beneath the sea off both of its coasts, named the Owers rocks and Mixon rocks.
Coastal erosion has been an ever present problem for Selsey.
There is only one road (the B2145) in and out of the town which briefly becomes a bridge at a point known as "the ferry", crossing the water inlet at Pagham Harbour. At one time Selsey was inaccessible at flood tide, and a boat was stationed at the ferry to take horses and passengers to and
from Sidlesham.
Placename
According to Bede the name Selsey is derived from the Saxon Seals-ey and can be interpreted as the Isle of Sea Calves (sea calves are better known as seals).
Edward Heron-Allen identified at least twenty different spellings of the place that we now know today as Selsey.
A selection of versions as identified by Heron-Allen are:
Seoles - Old English
Seleisi - Domesday Book 1086
Celesye - Assize Roll 1279
History
The earliest evidence of human habitation, in the Selsey area, goes back to the stone age. Various stone implements have been found which date to the Palaeolithic period. People have been living in the area ever since.
It is believed that, in the Iron Age, the Atrebates (one of the Belgae tribes) built a city at Selsey, similar in status to the pre-Roman urban centre
( oppidum) at Hengistbury Head near Christchurch. So far there is no archaeological evidence to confirm this, although some have speculatedthat the old city that Camden refers to is, indeed the old Belgae settlement and was located at the Mixonrocks, now south of Selsey Bill.
There have been various finds of silver and gold coins in the Selsey areaGold coins from the Atrebates rulers named Commius, Tincommius, Verica, Eppillus, and Cunobelin were found on the beach in 1877, it is thought that these coins would have been minted locally.The ancient British coins would have been superseded by Roman coins and there have been finds of them too. In addition, some Anglo-Saxon gold
fragments were found on the beach between Selsey and Bognor, these were dated as late 6th/ 8th century and what made them particularly interesting is that they had a runic inscription on them, the fragments were handed over to the British Museum.
Selsey was the capital of the South Saxons kingdom, possibly founded by Ælle. Wilfrid arrived circa 680 and converted the kingdom to Christianity, as recorded by the Venerable Bede. Selsey Abbey stood at Selsey (probably where Church Norton is today),and was the cathedral for the Sussex Diocese until the Council of London ordered the removal of the See to Chichester in 1075, during the reign of William the Conqueror.
Entry for Selsey in the Domesday Book
In the Domesday Book Selesie is mentioned under the hundred
of Summerly:
"The Bishop(of Chichester) holds Selesie in domain. In the time of King
Edward it was rated at ten hides, and so it continues. The arable is seven plough lands. There
are two ploughs in the demesne, and fourteen villains with eleven bondsmen have five ploughs.".
The manor of Selsey remained in the Bishop of Chichesters hands until 1561,
when it was taken over by the crown.
In July 1588 the Spanish Armada arrived off the Isle of Wight with the intention of attacking Portsmouth.[28]
The wind changed direction to the south-west. Men from the Manhood Peninsula serving under Drake
conceived a plan to lure the Spanish fleet onto the Owers rocks (off Selsey).
However the Spanish Admiral, recognising the danger decided to head for
Calais.
Title page of book about the murder of the two men, the trial
and execution.
Over the centuries Selsey has derived an income from the sea,
one of the darker enterprises was smuggling. In the eighteenth century Selsey Bill was
very much more isolated than it is today, and the sand spit extended farther out
to sea. There was only the causeway connected to the mainland and that was
covered at high tide. The approach of the local riding officer would have been conspicuous in the extreme. The Rectors of Selsey
reputedly claimed a tithe on all kegs landed there, and stories also tell of a
passageway leading from the Old Rectory (at Church Norton) to the remains of a
Mound,
thought to have been built by the Normans.The course of the tunnel was marked by
a depression on the surface of the ground as late as 1911.
In the 1720s one Selsey man ran a regular ferry service to
France, travelling back and forth every five weeks, and other prominent Selsey
figures made considerable fortunes just from part-time work in the free-trade.
Landings were not confined to Selsey itself: in a single run in 1743 2,000 lbs
of tea were brought inland at West Wittering some six miles (10 km)
away.