Selsey, United Kingdom

There is evidence of possible Roman activity in Selsey. The archaeologist Barry Cunliffe wrote that in the middle of the first century, the area provided a good base for the transfer of sea-borne goods and the storing and distributing of supplies to support their conquest of south west Britain. When this objective had been achieved the Romans moved their base to Chichester. The Mixon would have been part of the mainland, at the time of the Roman occupation and it is evident that they used its stone for building material.

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.

The Anglo Saxon Chronicle records the legendary foundation of Sussex by Ælle and his sons when they landed near Selsey.

Stephen of Ripon and the Venerable Bede say that Wilfrid arrived in Selsey [about 680] and converted the Kingdom of the South Saxons to Christianity. Selsey Abbey stood at Selsey (probably where Church Norton is today), and was the cathedra 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. In all there had been twenty-two Bishops of Selsey over a period of 370 years.

In the Domesday Book Selesie is mentioned under the hundred of Somerley:

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 Chichester's 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. The wind changed direction to the south-west. Men from the Manhood Peninsula serving under Francis 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.

In 1647, a fatality was recorded following a cricket match at Selsey when a fielder called Henry Brand was hit on the head by the batsman Thomas Latter, who was trying to hit the ball a second time. The incident repeated one at Horsted Keynes in 1624.

Over the centuries Selsey has derived an income from the sea, not all of it strictly legal. 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. One of the enterprises was smuggling with many local people being involved in the lucrative trade. 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.

The legal export of wool trade had been established for centuries with Chichester being granted staple port status. However, the Selsey area was notorious for the illegal export of wool, in a custom known as owling. During 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.

In 1749 fourteen smugglers, members of the notorious Hawkhurst Gang, were accused of the murder of William Galley, a custom-house officer, and Daniel Chater, a shoemaker. A contemporary book written under the pseudonym "A. Gentleman" provides a narrative on the offence, capture, trial and execution of the smugglers involved. Seven were tried and condemned to death at Chichester assizes; one died in gaol before sentence could be carried out and the other six were hanged at the Broyle north of Chichester. Subsequently, the bodies of two of the smugglers, John Cobby and John Hammond, were hung in gibbets at Selsey Bill so that they could be seen at great distance from east and west.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Selsey opened its first school. In 1818 premises were granted to the Rector and churchwardens of Selsey which were "on trust to permit the premises to be used for a schoolhouse or free school, for the gratuitous education of such poor children belonging to the Parish of Selsey as the said trustees or successors may think proper."The school was eventually taken over by the local authority in 1937.