The Selsey Tramway Closes

1935

The Hundred of Manhood and Selsey Tramway, which had connected Selsey with Chichester since 1897, closed on 19 January 1935. The tramway had never been profitable, and the rise of the motor bus provided a faster, more reliable alternative. By the early 1930s, the rolling stock was worn out, the track was in poor condition and passenger numbers had dwindled. The final journey was marked with some ceremony and considerable local regret. The track was lifted and the infrastructure dismantled, though the route of the tramway across the flat fields of the Manhood Peninsula can still be identified. The closure left Selsey entirely dependent on the B2145 road for its connection to the outside world, a situation that persists to this day.