Southbourne is a village and

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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

district of

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

, England. 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, England, near the border of West Sussex and located at by the south coast of England. It lies at the north end of an arm of Chichester Harbour, a large and shallow inlet fr ...

, 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.

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 that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

on the West Coastway Line between

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and Brighton. Southbourne has a separate Infant School and Junior School and is home to Bourne Community College, which takes secondary pupils from around the area. 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, Eastbourne, Hastings, Rye and Folke ...

, 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, 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 park ...

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 Outstandin ...

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

, American businessman and grandfather of author Agatha Christie. There is no record of her visit, but her step grandmother (Margaret West) owned Fraryhurst until her own death, in 1909.

Governance

An electoral ward 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 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, Prinsted and part of Nutbourne

References

External links

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