- Bosham
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Coordinates: 50°49′44″N 0°51′34″W / 50.82894°N 0.85949°W
Bosham 
Bosham seen across Chichester Harbour
Bosham
Bosham shown within West SussexArea 13.75 km2 (5.31 sq mi) [1] Population 2,847 [1] 2001 Census - Density 207 /km2 (540 /sq mi) OS grid reference SU804038 - London 57 miles (92 km) NE Parish Bosham District Chichester Shire county West Sussex Region South East Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town CHICHESTER Postcode district PO18 Dialling code 01243 Police Sussex Fire West Sussex Ambulance South East Coast EU Parliament South East England UK Parliament Chichester Website Parish Council List of places: UK • England • West Sussex Bosham (
/ˈbɒzəm/) is a small coastal village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England, about 3 miles (4.8 km)) west of Chichester on an inlet of Chichester Harbour.The parish has an area of 3,400 acres (1,400 ha). In the 2001 census 2,847 people lived in 1,313 households, of whom 1.358 were economically active.
Bosham is colloquially divided into two halves: Old Bosham and New Bosham. New Bosham constitutes the more developed northern half of the village, situated around the A259 road and the railway line. The village is served by Bosham railway station. It is sometimes referred to by its increasingly obsolete original name, Broadbridge. Old Bosham includes the remaining geographical protrusion to the south. This includes the site of the original village around Bosham Harbour, as well as the tracts of farmland and private property of Bosham Hoe. At high tide the sea comes right into the old village, flooding the lower road and several car parking spaces.
Forming a part of Chichester Harbour, Bosham is renowned for its sailing with Bosham Sailing Club being formed in 1907.
Contents
History
Roman
The site has been inhabited since Roman times, and is close to the famous villa at Fishbourne. The Romans were responsible for the village's Mill Stream as there was no fresh water, and built a basilica there.
Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods
Bede mentions Bosham in his book The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, speaking of St Wilfred's visit here in 681 when he encountered a Celtic monk, Dicul, and five disciples in a small monastery.
The Saxon and early Norman church tower (of the four storeys the upper one is Norman)
In 850, the original village church was built on the site of the Roman basilica, and in the tenth century was replaced with Holy Trinity Church, situated beside Bosham Quay, that still serves as the local place of worship. There is a tradition that a daughter of Canute the Great drowned in a near-by brook and was buried here, although there seems to be little evidence for this. The tradition was originally linked to a fourteenth- or fifteenth-century effigy.[2] In 1865 a coffin containing a child's skeleton was discovered and this was thought to be Canute's daughter.[3][4]
Canute had a palace in the village, probably where the Manor House now stands or possibly at the harbour's edge. Legend has it that Bosham was the site at which he commanded the waves to "go back", so as to demonstrate to his overly deferential courtiers the limits of a King's powers. The village is one of only five places that appear on the map attached to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of around this time.
- Harold Godwinson
Bosham is mentioned by name in the Bayeux Tapestry, referring to the 1064 meeting of Harold and Edward the Confessor on the way to meet William of Normandy to discuss who would succeed Edward to the throne:
- "Ubi Harold Dux Anglorum et sui milites equitant ad Bosham"
- (Where Harold, Earl of the English, and his army ride to Bosham)
Harold's strong association with Bosham and the recent discovery of a Saxon grave in the church has led some historians to speculate that King Harold was buried here following his death at the Battle of Hastings, rather than Waltham Abbey as is often reported. A request to exhume a grave in Bosham church was refused by the Diocese of Chichester in December 2004, the Chancellor ruling that the chances of establishing the identity of the body as that of Harold II were too slim to justify disturbing a burial place.[5][6]
- Domesday Book
The Domesday Book (1086) lists Bosham as one of the wealthiest manors in England. It included the nearby village of Chidham.
Landmarks
Chichester Harbour, a Site of Special Scientific Interest is partly within the parish. This is a wetland of international importance, a Special Protection Area for wild birds and a Special Area of Conservation. The harbour is of particular importance for wintering wildfowl and waders of which five species reach numbers which are internationally important.[7]
Bosham F.C.
Bosham Football Club was founded in 1901. They were one of the founding members of the Sussex County League Division Three in 1983. Bosham have won the Division Three title on three occasions - and finished runner-up once - earning promotion to Division Two, but each spell has eventually resulted in relegation back to Division Three, where they remain as of the 2011-12 season [8]. Also known as 'The Robins', the team play their home fixtures at Bosham's local recreation ground on Walton Lane. The club has a youth team, Bosham Cygnets, composed of local youngsters.
Bosham Cygnets
Bosham Cygnets is a youth football team who currently compete at both Under 15 and Under 18 level - where the club has two sides - in the Arun & Chichester Youth League. The club play their fixtures on a Sunday. Over the years, the Cygnets have been renowned for encouraging young footballing talent and acted as a feeder for regional Centre of Excellences at local professional Football League clubs, including Portsmouth, Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion.
References
- ^ a b "2001 Census: West Sussex – Population by Parish". West Sussex County Council. http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/communityandliving/census2001/pop_parish_summary.pdf. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
- ^ Discussed in 'Bosham', A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 4: The Rape of Chichester (1953)
- ^ Account of discovery in The Gentleman's Magazine, 1865 (page 435 onwards).
- ^ Poem about the death of Canute's daughter.
- ^ In re Holy Trinity, Bosham [2004] Fam 124 - decision of the Chichester Consistory Court regarding opening King Harold's supposed grave.
- ^ King's grave mystery may be unearthed
- ^ (PDF) SSSI Citation — Chichester Harbour. Natural England. http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003245.pdf. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
- ^ Angry Bosham Reel After Being Told 'You Can't Go Up', Midhurst & Petworth Observer, May 2010
External links
- Bosham village
- Chichester Harbour Online
- Bosham Football Club on the Sussex County Football Directory
Categories:- Villages in West Sussex
- Chichester (district)
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