West Thorney 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 in

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 located nine kilometres (5.4 miles) west of

south of the A27 road. West Thorney is a village and

on Thorney Island, the southern part of a peninsula of land between two arms of

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 ...

, separated from the mainland by a channel called the Great Deep. Just to the south is the smaller Pilsey Island, a haven for birds. The island was a World War II airfield

RAF Thorney Island Royal Air Force Thorney Island or more simply RAF Thorney Island is a former Royal Air Force station located on Thorney Island, West Sussex, England, west of Chichester and east of Portsmouth, Hampshire. Station history The airfield was bu ...

which remained in use until 1976. Since 1982 the base has been used by the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. Only the church and coastal footpath are open to the public. It is necessary to give one's name and address by intercom to be allowed through remotely controlled gates. The parish has a land area of 1223 hectares (3021 acres). In the 2001 census 1079 people lived in 217 households, of whom 679 were economically active. At the 2011 Census the population was 1,183.

The parish church

The Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors. The original building dates from around 1100 A.D. probably on the orders of Bishop Warlewast.

History

The Manor of Thorney belonged to the chapelry of Bosham at the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

and was held by the Bishops of Exeter. In 1086 A.D. the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

recorded that 'Mauger holds of the land of this church 12 hides as one manor; it is called Tornei and pays geld for 8 hides'. It was sold by the Bishop of Exeter in 1548 to Thomas Fisher, who the following year sold it to Henry Bickley.

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.

Pilsey Island

Pilsey Island is a small island in

, just off the south eastern tip of Thorney Island. The island is an RSPB nature reserve and a designated Local Nature Reserve.

References

{{authority control Chichester District Local Nature Reserves in West Sussex Populated coastal places in West Sussex Villages in West Sussex