About Selsey

Location and Setting

Selsey sits at the southern tip of the Manhood Peninsula, a flat, low-lying stretch of land that extends south from Chichester into the English Channel. The town is almost entirely surrounded by water, with the open sea to the south, Pagham Harbour to the east and the Medmerry coastal plain to the west. The B2145 is the only road into Selsey, running south from Chichester through Sidlesham and the flat fields of the peninsula. This single road gives the town an end-of-the-line character, a place you have to mean to visit rather than pass through. Selsey Bill, the rocky headland at the very tip, is the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula and one of the most exposed spots on the Sussex coast. Chichester, the nearest city, is eight miles to the north. The South Downs rise on the horizon beyond the cathedral spire.

Character and Identity

Selsey has a character quite distinct from the rest of the Chichester district. It is a working town rather than a picture-postcard village, with a fishing fleet that still lands crab and lobster from the beach, an RNLI lifeboat station at the end of a long walkway into the sea, and a community that has a quiet independence born of relative isolation. The High Street has the practical, unfussy feel of a town that serves its own residents first and tourists second. There are no boutiques or galleries competing for attention, but there are butchers, bakers, hardware shops, a post office and the kind of everyday services that sustain a real community. The town's identity is shaped by the sea, by fishing, by the lifeboat and by the knowledge that Selsey was once an island, its name derived from the Old English for seal island.

A Saxon Cathedral and a Proud Heritage

Selsey's historical importance far exceeds what its modest size might suggest. In 681 AD, Saint Wilfrid established the seat of the South Saxon bishops here, and for nearly four centuries Selsey was the centre of the diocese. The cathedral stood at what is now Church Norton, on the north side of Pagham Harbour, and the bishops governed from Selsey until the Norman reorganisation moved the see to Chichester in 1075. The remains of the original chapel at Church Norton, now the chancel of a ruined church, stand in a quiet churchyard overlooking the harbour. This is one of the most historically significant sites in Sussex, though it wears its importance lightly. Medieval Selsey was a fishing settlement, and fishing has been the town's primary livelihood for a thousand years.

Selsey Today

Modern Selsey is a residential town with a strong seasonal dimension. The population swells during the summer months, when the holiday parks along the coast fill with visitors and the beaches attract families. Bunn Leisure, the large holiday park to the west of the town, is one of the biggest employers in the area. The fishing fleet continues to operate from the beach at East Beach, landing crab and lobster that is sold locally and to restaurants across the region. The RNLI lifeboat station, reached by a long elevated walkway from the shore, is a prominent feature of Selsey Bill and a source of considerable local pride. The Medmerry managed realignment scheme, opened in 2013, created a new coastal habitat to the west of the town, protecting homes from flooding while providing a wetland reserve managed by the RSPB.

Living in Selsey

Selsey appeals to people who value community, coast and a pace of life that is noticeably slower than the commuter belt further north. Property prices are lower than in Chichester or the surrounding villages, making the town attractive to retirees, families and those willing to accept the trade-off of limited transport links in exchange for affordable coastal living. The single-road access via the B2145 means that commuting by car to Chichester can be slow during peak hours, and there is no railway station. Bus services provide the main public transport link. But for those who live and work locally, or who are retired and enjoy the coast, Selsey offers a strong community, clean beaches, fresh seafood on the doorstep and a quality of life that the larger towns along the coast cannot easily match.