Coast

The raised walkway is known as The Trippet. Local tradition has it that the walkway is made of the stone ballast from ships that docked in the harbour in years gone by. Ballast is used to weigh a ship down when it has very little cargo. In Roman times for example,  Britain exported lead, woollen products and tin. In return, it imported from commodites like wine, olive oil and pottery from the Roman Empire. Thousands of years later, the same quay saw coal imported from Sunderland on locally owned boats.

The Anchor Bleu – the pub slightly further down on the quayside – has a  watertight door on to its terrace and you’ll also see that some village homes have protected their doors and gateways by using raised stones to block the water. So don’t make the mistake of leaving your car on the quayside. And watch the tide times to ensure that you don’t get your feet wet. 

The Trippet

Local tradition links King Canute with Bosham. The Christian Canute was also King of Denmark and Norway and first invaded with his father in 1015, finally becoming the undisputed King of England after a decisive victory over the English in Essex in 1016.

Some historians claim that Canute’s infamous attempt to stop the sea may have been made here ; they speculate that the King in fact tried to stop the sea by building a dyke here at Bosham but that the sea, famously, failed to co-operate.

It’s certainly the case that there have been efforts to hold back the sea and so reclaim land for farming. Further up Bosham Creek, beyond the church that you can see in the distance,  is the remnant of an attempt to do that in the 1800s which, like Canute’s efforts, failed to work successfully.

As you can see, Bosham is a prosperous village and it has been like this for many years. Farmers, fishermen and shipwrights made it wealthy, although you have to look quite hard for evidence of the industries that they created.

But once the village was at the centre of a major oyster industry, with oyster beds along the whole waterfront. In Fishbourne Roman Museum you can see a Roman helmet in with an oyster attached to it which was dredged up from the harbour .

At one time Bosham was second only to Whitstable in the oyster industry ; the trade ended soon after the First World War, seemingly because of a severe frost, but it continues in other parts of the harbour.

Angela Bromley Martin

Pictures from the 1800s in Angela Bromley Martin’s book ‘Bygone Bosham’ show a quayside crammed with schooners and other sailing vessels.

But, as Britain found  more time for leisure, so the local boatyards changed from building working ships to small sailing craft. During the 1950s the boatbuilders Fairey Marine, once of the biggest manufacturers in Europe,  made  some of its smaller craft in the village. 

Burnes Shipyard, which employed over 40 men in its day,  diversified into sailing clothing and sail-making and later produced ‘Vision’ a silver medal winner at the 1956 Melbourn Olympics.

Bosham was also the winter quarters for many larger boats in the days before the arrival of the marinas. Sheds in the harbour were used to store larger yachts during the coolder months.

Read the sign!

During the second world war, part of the harbour was used to construct giant pontoons which were built as part of the Mulberry Harbours which were used to help supply the Allied invasion forces in France. Local historian Angela Bromley Martin says that when they left for France, many bore the names of Bosham girls.

Smuggling was another source of income in Chichester Harbour in years gone by. Smuggling was a major industry in Sussex in the 18th century when there was no income tax and the government’s income depended on indirect taxes.

In 1747 the frightening Hawkhurst gang first laid siege to the Customs House at Poole and then went on to kill a customs officer and a suspected informer. Seven of the gang – who were said to be able to bring out 500 men on one night for a smuggling operation - were brought to trail at Chichester Assizes and then executed.

Now head towards the Church and Bosham High Street, keeping Mariners teashop on your right. Work your way past the Anchor Bleu and the church, then down onto the quay and stand by the black wooden building.