Our
history goes back into the mists of time and although it is known
that Selsey was the centre of civilisation prior to the Roman invasion
of AD 43, little is known
of that period apart from the artefacts (coins and pottery) which have
been found. In 477 Ella and his three sons, together with about
150 warriors, landed here and began the creation of the kingdom
of the South Saxons.
In 680/81 Bishop Wilfrid, having been banished from his See in Northumbria,
was granted sanctuary and found himself in one of the last heathen
lands in England. These important steps in the history of Sussex never detracted from the independent character of the Selsey people, this independence being reinforced by the fact that it is surrounded by water and was accessible only by boat or wade way until 1809 when a causeway was built, joining us with the rest of Britain.
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There
are many things that we could cite to justify the subtle distinction
we claim. In 1886 the Independent Journal included the following: ‘If
there is a country place within a four or five hours ride of London
where the inhabitants retain the simple manners of their forefathers,
that place must certainly be Selsey. A small fishing village about
20 miles east of Portsmouth where the inhabitants leave the street
doors unlocked and wide open at all hours of the day, the only safeguard
to their property being the honesty of their neighbours, which appears
to answer very well at Selsey, but which would I am afraid prove
a somewhat delusive protection in the great metropolis. Undisturbed
by any other questions which agitate distant towns, the Fishermen
quietly follow their calling, careless of who occupies Downing Street,
and only wishing for fair weather and plenty of fish.’
Times have changed in many ways since those Utopian days but, despite
the three fold expansion in recent times, that sense of independence
and community still remains. These are the intangible things about
Selsey but we must quote Lord Chief Justice Campbell who said of
Selsey “this is perhaps the finest climate
in England having the mildness of the western and the dryness of
the eastern coast”. Perhaps it is a combination of these things
that attract so many to move to and visit this unique and historic
area.
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