Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea.

It is bounded to the west by Bracklesham Bay, to the north by Broad Rife, [a] to the east by Pagham Harbour and terminates in the south at Selsey Bill.

The B2145 is the only road in and out of the town crossing a bridge over the water inlet at Pagham Harbour at a point known as "the ferry".

At one time Selsey was inaccessible at flood tide, and a boat was stationed at the ferry to take horses and passengers to and from Sidlesham.

[b] There are suggestions that the name "Selsey" originally meant "Holy Island" because of its connection with Saint Wilfrid.

[8] A selection of versions as identified by Heron-Allen are: The earliest evidence of human habitation in the Selsey area goes back to the Stone Age.

the Atrebates possessed three large urban centres (known as oppida) that served as the tribal mints and possibly the king's court.

[15][16][17] The 17th century antiquarian William Camden, and others have posited that the Atrebates settlement was located at the Mixon[c] rocks, now south of Selsey Bill.

[22] 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.

[23] 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.

[24][25] The Anglo Saxon Chronicle records the legendary foundation of Sussex by Ælle and his sons when they landed near Selsey.

[26] 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.

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 Chichesters hands until 1561, when it was taken over by the crown.

Men from the Manhood Peninsula serving under Francis Drake conceived a plan to lure the Spanish fleet onto the Owers rocks (off Selsey).

[36] In the eighteenth century Selsey Bill was very much more isolated than it is today, and the sand spit extended farther out to sea.

[36] 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.

[39][40] The legal export of wool trade had been established for centuries with Chichester being granted staple port status.

[41][42] 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.

Various nicknames such as the "Selsey Snail" were attributed to the tram and comic postcards were issued reflecting its poor service.

[50] The woman appointed as second in command, Sophie Friedlaender describes in her memoir how she first arrived at the camp: On a crisp January morning in the New Year, I headed to Paddington station, where I soon recognised the other helpers.

[53] Also, during World War II, large areas of the village were closed to the public, particularly as off shore at East Beach, there was secret(at the time) work on the Mulberry harbours.

It was decommissioned as an ALG shortly after D-Day, it then became a satellite of RAF Tangmere for a while and finally a reserve airfield for the remainder of the war.

The Environment Agency says that "it will improve the standard of flood protection for over 300 homes, the water treatment works and the main road into Selsey.

[70][h] The owner/headmaster from the early 1950s until the school's closure in 1969 was William Percy Higgs (died Bristol 1986), a former Cambridge University organ scholar and music master at Eton.

[74][75] Medmerry Mill is a grade II listed tower windmill restored in the 1960s and currently in use as a gift shop.

[78]When the removed church was re-consecrated in April 1866, due to an oversight it was not consecrated properly to carry out marriages.

[99] To mitigate flood risk, Chichester District Council has adopted the "Pagham to East Head Coastal Defence Strategy (2009)".

This strategy describes a "Hold the line" policy for Selsey that will keep the coastline in the same place by maintaining sea defences.

It is possible to see a variety of bird species including Dark-bellied Brent Geese, Wigeon, Black-headed Gulls, Common, Sandwich and Little Terns.

[105] The Selsey Venture Club operate a voluntary minibus transport for elderly/ infirm residents to encourage them to take part in local community activities.