S elsey is a small seaside town 7 miles south of Chichester. It was first evangelised by Saint Wilfrid in AD681, the last part of England to be converted to Christianity. It was the seat of the Bishops of Selsey from that time until 1070 when the See became the Diocese of Chichester under the orders of William the Conquerer. The present church is mainly 13th century and was originally situated at the location of St Wilfrid's first monastery and cathedral at Church Norton, some 2 miles from the present centre of population. In 1864-66 the church was dismantled stone by stone and re-erected in its present positon, only the chancel remaining at the old site. This is now styled, St Wilfrid's Chapel. A new Victorian chancel was added to the re-erected mediaeval nave.
The church has a chalice dating from Elizabethan times and also a Saxon font that is arcaded.
T he work begun by St Wilfrid continues in the life of the Church today. The same Gospel is proclaimed, the same sacraments celebrated as we endeavour to pass on to succeeding generations the Faith we have inherited from those who shared with us the long history of the Church in Selsey.
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