The History of Bosham |
A
small attractive village on one of the small inlets of
Chichester harbour, Bosham (pronounced 'Bozzum') has
played an important part in the history of this
country over the centuries.
Inhabited by the Romans, Bosham was the sixth
most important town in Sussex in the 8th
Century, recorded as one of the wealthiest manors in
England in the Domesday Book Bosham was only one of
five places that appear on the map attached to the
12th century "Saxon Chronicle".
The
Romans left a great deal of evidence of their
occupation of the area of Bosham, particularly around
the Quay and church and, as there is no natural water
course to this area, it can be assumed that it was the
Romans who constructed the brook (the Mill Stream),
which was to give the villagers a fresh water supply
for nearly 2000 years.
It was here that the Romans built a basilica,
on the foundations of which was built, in 850 AD, the
original church – just a rectangular building with
an apse at the eastern end.
Bede, a Northumbrian monk, in his book “The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation” wrote of how St Wilfred came to Bosham in 681 AD and found a Celtic monk, Dicul, with five disciples endeavouring to convert the locals to Christianity with little or no success. One of the many possible sites of Dicul’s monastery could have been the crypt of the church, although it is more likely to have been further inland. |
Bosham
was one of the places where legend has it that the
Danish King Canute sat on a chair surrounded by his
courtiers and commanded the waves to go back – they
did not, an exercise which showed that even the great
Canute was mortal; he got
his feet wet! .
In the half dozen other places where he is
alleged to have enacted the same scene, it is more
likely that
dykes were built to hold back the waters.
It is thought that Canute had a home in
Bosham – his eight year old daughter was
drowned in the brook and is buried in Bosham Church in
a Saxon coffin at the foot of the chancel steps.
Alongside
the little girl’s coffin is another Saxon stone
coffin.
Recent research suggests that it might be
Harold II, 2nd Earl Godwin, who was killed
at the battle of Hastings.
Harold II (for Canute’s illegitimate son, Harold I had reigned for three years after his father’s death) was the son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex, Lord of the Manor of Bosham, who had effectively ruled the country for his son-in-law, Edward the Confessor, who lived a monk like existence and was childless. Harold II then became the 2nd Earl Godwin, Earl of Wessex and Lord of the Manor of Bosham.
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It was from Bosham that Harold II set forth in 1064 to parley with William of Normandy as to who should have the throne of England on the death of Edward the Confessor, Harold’s brother-in-law. In the Bayeux Tapestry, an historical embroidery which is now housed in Bayeux in Normandy, Harold is shown having a feast in the manor house followed by a blessing service in the church, before setting out in his long boat for Normandy |
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(there is a replica of the Bosham section of this embroidery on the wall of Bosham church). |
Harold
kept his fleet in Bosham and the vessels were almost
certainly built here too – shipbuilding had long
been an important local industry until comparatively
recently.
During
the Great Plague of 1665, when thousands died,
particularly in London, a man arrived in Chichester, a
Roman city some three miles east of Bosham,
to stay at one of the hostelries and in the
morning was found dead of the plague.
In order that the dread disease should not
spread, the Mayor of the City ordered that all the
gates should be locked and no one should be allowed to
enter or leave the city.
The citizens did however, place notices at the
gates asking those outside to leave food for the
inhabitants. The
men of Bosham answered this call, bringing fish and
other foodstuffs to the gates, where the inhabitants
left money in buckets of water, the only form of
disinfectant that was known then.
The plague did not spread and in gratitude
Bosham traders thereafter were allowed to sell their
goods in Chichester free of hawkers’ licenses.
Up
to the early part of this century, Bosham was still a
place where life was supported by the sea. Angela
Bromley-Martin's book, Bygone Bosham (Phillimore,
1978), has photographs of fishing boats, shipbuilding
yards, oyster beds and the Quay lined with schooners
and barges. At
one time Bosham was second only to Whitstable in the
oyster industry. Until the trains came through Bosham
in 1846, the trade was purely local but after that it
was possible to get the oysters to London in one day.
The trade ended when limpets wiped out stocks soon
after the First World War, but it is now being
revitalised.
Bosham
is a wonderful place to visit, especially for those
with a sense of history. Many recognisable signs of
the seafaring days are still to be seen in the
village. The Quay and the tiny High Street are lined
with cottages that were once the homes of fishermen
– in the early 1900s at a rent of two and six pence
per week (the equivalent of 25p pw).
An old building known as the Raptackle, now
leased by Bosham Sailing Club, was used to house the
gear for rope making, while the old mill, which
probably dates back long before the Conquest, is now
the Bosham Sailing Club Clubhouse.
If
it were not for its history, the village would
doubtless have by now decked itself with accoutrements
to woo revenue-generating tourists with a surfeit of
restaurants, cafes, flatlets, a promenade and boat
trips. However the village has retained its charm and
history. We therefore welcome you, the visitor, but
ask that you help us to keep it the way it is.
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Historical Books on Bosham: These can be purchased in Bosham Walk 1. Bygone Bosham by Angela Bromley Martin2. Chichester Harbour:Past & Present by Angela Bromley Martin |
