History
Seoles [Old English], Seleisi [Domesday Book 1086], Celesye [Assize Roll 1279] or Selsey as it is known today is, according to the Venerable Bede, derived from the Saxon Seals-ey and can be interpreted as the Isle of Sea Calves (sea calves are better known as seals), an island peninsula off the coast of West Sussex. It has been continuously inhabited since the Stone Age with evidence of settlements from the Palaeolithic period.
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 (rife being the local word for stream or creek), 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. Selsey was the capital of the Kingdom of Sussex, possibly founded by Ælle.
Episcopal See
The episcopal see at Selsey was founded by Saint Wilfrid, formerly Bishop of the Northumbrians, for the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Sussex in the late 7th century. He was granted land by Æthelwealh of Sussex to build a cathedral at Selsey. However, shortly afterwards Cædwalla of Wessex conquered the Kingdom of Sussex, but he confirmed the grant to Wilfrid. The bishop’s seat was located at Selsey Abbey.
When Wilfrid arrived in Sussex, there was a small community of five or six Irish monks led by Dicul in Bosham, however it seems that they had made little headway in evangelising the local people. It would not have been unusual to have found Irish monks in Sussex as during this period it was common to follow the doctrine of peregrinatio pro Christo, a self-imposed exile to serve God. Also, the South of England generally was part of the overland route for the Irish travelling to the continent.
At the time of Wilfrid, it would have been a financial expedient to set up a See in an existing monastery rather than build a cathedral church from scratch. This may have been why the cathedra (Bishop’s Chair) was originally set in Selsey rather than Chichester. According to the Domesday Book, at the time of Edward the Confessor the diocese of Selsey had been one of the poorest bishoprics in the country. After the Norman Conquest, however, the new Norman landholders could afford to spend large sums of money on buildings, including churches, so that the cost of translating the See to Chichester would not have been a problem.
Nine years after the Norman conquest, in 1075, the Council of London enacted that episcopal sees should be removed to cities or larger towns. Accordingly, the see at Selsey was removed to Chichester. Some sources claim that Stigand, the last Bishop of Selsey, continued to use the title Bishop of Selsey until 1082, before adopting the new title Bishop of Chichester, indicating that the transfer took several years to complete.
Bishops of the See of Selsey
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? 681 | ? 685 | Saint Wilfrid | 1 | Founder of the see; status as bishop of this see disputed; previously ejected from York; later Bishop of Leicester then of Hexham. |
| c. 685 | c. 706 | See absorbed by Winchester diocese, after Wessex conquered Sussex under Cædwalla. | 2 | |
| ? betw. 706–716 | betw. 716–731 | Eadberht | 3 | Also recorded as Eadbeorht, Eadbertus; previously Abbot of Selsey Abbey; often deemed first bishop of this see; died in office. |
| betw. 716–731 | betw. 716–731 | Eolla | 4 | Died in office. |
| betw. 716–731 | 733 | See vacant | – | |
| 733 | betw. 747–765 | Sigeferth | 5 | Also recorded as Sigelmus, Sigfridus, Sigga, Siggca, Sicgga ; died in office. |
| betw. 747–765 | betw. 772–780 | Aluberht | 6 | Also recorded as Ealabeorht, Alubrithus, Alubertus; died in office. |
| betw. 747–765 | betw. 772–780 | Oswald | 7 | Also recorded as Osweald, Osa; died in office. |
| betw. 772–780 | betw. 781–787 | Gislhere | 8 | Also recorded as Giselherus; died in office. |
| betw. 781–787 | betw. 786–789 | Tota | 9 | Died in office. |
| betw. 787–789 | betw. 805–811 | Wihthun | 10 | Died in office. |
| betw. 805–811 | betw. 816–824 | Æthelwulf | 11 | Also recorded as Ethelulphus; died in office. |
| betw. 816–824 | betw. 839–845 | Cynered | 12 | Also recorded as Coenred, Coenredus; died in office. |
| betw. 839–845 | aft. 860 | Guthheard | 13 | Also recorded as Guthard, Guðheard; left office. |
| aft. 860 | bef. 900 | See possibly vacant | ||
| bef. 900 | c. 909, or betw. 909–925 | Wighelm | 14 | Died in office. |
| c. 909, or betw. 909–925 | 930 or 931 | Beornheah | 15 | Also recorded as Beornegus; died in office; in Heylyn is placed between Ethelulphus and Coenredus.[4] |
| 930 or 931 | betw. 940–943 | Wulfhun | 16 | Omitted in Heylyn;[4] died in office. |
| betw. 940–943 | betw. 953–956 | Ælfred | 17 | Also recorded as Alfredus; died in office. |
| betw. 953–956 | betw. 956–963 | Brihthelm | 18 | Sometimes identified with Beorhthelm of Winchester; either died in office or translated to Winchester. |
| betw. 956–963 | 979 or 980 | Eadhelm | 19 | Died in office. |
| 980 | 988 | Æthelgar | 20 | Translated to Canterbury. |
| betw. 988–990 | betw. 1007–1009 | Ordbriht | 21 | Died in office. |
| betw. 1007–1011 | 1031 or 1032 | Ælfmær | 22 | Died in office. |
| 1032 or 1033 | 1038 | Æthelric (I) | 23 | Died in office. |
| 1039 | 1047 | Grimketel | 24 | Also recorded as Grimcytel (also Grimkell in Scandinavian sources); listed as Bishop of Elmham for 1043 as well; died in office. |
| 1047 | 1057 | Heca | 25 | Died in office. |
| 1058 | 1070 | Æthelric (II) | 26 | Also recorded as Ethelric; deposed and imprisoned by William the Conqueror. |
| 1070 | c.1075 | Stigand | 27 | See moved to Chichester by decree of the Council of London (1075), Stigand was the last Bishop of Selsey and first Bishop of Chichester. |
| 2012 | present | Jerome | 28 | The first titular bishop of the See to be recognised by the State. |
Titular See
After Stigand the title of the See of Selsey fell into abeyance and has been used as a titular title since. The term titular see is used to signify a diocese that no longer functionally exists, often because the diocese once flourished but the territory was conquered by non-believers or no longer functions because of a schism. After a name change, an abandoned name may be ‘restored’ as a titular see, even though a residential successor see exist(ed) e.g. Chichester. Since the Reformation, the Church of England has continued to use the title Chichester for its bishop’s cathedra and diocese covering Sussex, whereas the Roman Catholic Church adopted the new title of Arundel & Brighton for its diocese in the same region.
The 28th bishop and 27th successor after St Wilfrid to the See of Selsey is ✠Jerome Lloyd OSJV. He was consecrated in Canada on the feast of St Pius V 2012 by ✠Boniface Grosvold. ✠Jerome is seventh in a direct line of succession from ✠Gerardus Gul of the See of Utrecht in the Netherlands, which was founded by St Willibrord, a former student and monk of St Wilfrid at Ripon Abbey before his exile to Sussex in around 680 AD. Therefore, the present holder of the episcopal title of the See of Selsey, which was founded by St Wilfrid, is in possession of apostolic succession from the See of Utrecht that St Willibrord, Wilfrid’s disciple, had established in the Netherlands.
The titular See of Selsey has never been used by the Church of England. The Holy See established a titular See of Selsea (Ltn. Saelesiensis) in 1969, though this spelling, etymology and title has no connection with the historical See of Selsey (Ltn. Seleisi) founded in 681AD. The titular title of Selsey is recognised as ✠Jerome’s legal title by His Majesty, King Charles III’s Government of the United Kingdom.
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