Southbourne is a village created in 1876 with the consecration of St. Johns church. The

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

which covers a larger area is in the

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

district of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, England created in 1968. It lies to the east of the Hampshire County Border at

Emsworth Emsworth is a town in the Borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England near the border with West Sussex. It lies at the north end of an arm of Chichester Harbour, a large and shallow inlet from the English Channe ...

, the west of Chidham (recently the boundary has been changed) and south-east of Westbourne. Southbourne parish comprises Lumley, Hermitage, Thornham, Prinsted and part of Nutbourne. Not to be confused with Southbourne in Dorset.

Statistics

The parish has a land area of 1068.36 hectares (2639 acres). In the 2011 census 6261 people lived in 2595 households of whom 2762 were economically active. The Parish are undertaking a Neighbourhood Plan and are having to accommodate 350 dwellings within its boundary between 2014 and 2029.

Geography

Southbourne has a small

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the

West Coastway Line The West Coastway line is a railway line in England linking the conurbations of Brighton/Hove/Littlehampton and Southampton/Portsmouth. It has short southward branches to Littlehampton and Bognor Regis, which offer direct services to and from ...

between

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. Southbourne has a separate Infant School and Junior School and is home to Bourne Community College, which takes secondary pupils from around the area and Thorney Island Primary School. Bourne Leisure centre and a Library both serve surrounding villages and settlements. Our Age Concern and Southbourne Bowls and Social Club are both in New Road. The

A259 road The A259 is a road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent, and is the longest Zone 2 A road in Great Britain. The main part of the road connects Brighton, Peacehaven, Eastbourne, Hastings, ...

, formerly designated A27 and the main coast route until the construction of a new dual carriageway, runs through the village. The village encompasses various residential areas and an

industrial estate An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

populated mainly with metal work outlets. There are various local shops along the Main Road and Stein Road. The area South of the Main Road with access to

Chichester Harbour Chichester Harbour is a large natural harbour in West Sussex and Hampshire. It is situated to the south-west of the city of Chichester and to the north of the Solent. The harbour and surrounding land has been designated as an Area of Outstand ...

is known as Prinsted. It has a conservation area with a number of thatched roof properties. There are two public houses the Sussex Brewery to the west of the village and the Travellers Joy in the centre. Both are on the Main Road, A259, which is the old road linking Chichester with Portchester, both of which were Roman settlements.

History

Previously part of Westbourne the first mention of Southbourne is Southbourne Council School in 1876, which had previously been Prinsted Board School. At one time this small area of Sussex had 4 flour mills. Slipper and Lumley in the west and Nutbourne in the east were all tidal mills. Gosden Green was a windmill. An American Aerodrome was built in WW1, but never used. This is now the site of Bourne Community College. St John's Church was consecrated in May 1876 and has a western stained glass window dedicated to Nathaniel Frary Miller, American businessman and grandfather of author

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

. There is no record of her visit, but her step grandmother (Margaret West) owned Fraryhurst until her own death, in 1909.

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

in the same name exists. The ward includes West Thorney with at the 2011 census a total population of 7,448.

Landmarks

, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

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.

Villages

Other villages in the parish include: Slipper, Lumley, Hermitage, Thornham, Prinsted and part of Nutbourne. Thorney Island is in the Parish but administered by the MOD. St.Nicholas Church, Thorney comes under the St. Johns, Southbourne and Chichester Diocese. It is a Saxon church with a small cemetery.

References

External links

Southbourne Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in West Sussex Civil parishes in West Sussex Chichester District