Selsey as 'Seal Island' in the Saxon Period

c. 500-600 AD

The name Selsey derives from the Old English 'Seolsey', meaning seal island, reflecting the fact that in the early Saxon period Selsey was effectively an island, separated from the mainland by tidal creeks and marshes. The peninsula was only accessible at low tide or by boat, and seals were abundant in the surrounding waters. The island character of Selsey shaped its identity and its isolation. By the time Wilfrid arrived in 681 AD, the tidal channels had begun to silt up, but the peninsula still had a strongly insular character. Over the following centuries, drainage and land reclamation gradually connected Selsey more firmly to the mainland, but the sense of being a place apart has never entirely disappeared.