Selsey Bill

Selsey Bill is a headland into the English Channel on the south coast of England in the county of West Sussex.The southernmost town in Sussex is Selsey which is at the end of the Selsey (or Manhood) Peninsula and Selsey Bill is situated on the town's southern coastline. It is the easternmost point of Bracklesham Bay and the westernmost point of the Sussex Coast.ToponymyAlthough the place name Selsey has existed since Saxon times, and is derived from the Old English meaning Seal's Island, there is no evidence to suggest that the place name Selsey Bill is particularly old. A 1698 survey of the area included in a report for the Royal Navy, by Dummer and Wiltshaw mentioned Selsey Island but not Selsey Bill.'The place name does not appear to have been used before the early 18th century when it started appearing on maps; for example Philip Overton's 1740 map of Sussex and Richard Budgen's map of 1724. It is possible that the idea was taken from Portland Bill, another headland, on the western side of the Solent.Thomas Pennant described the location of Selsey-bill in his book A Journey between London and the Isle of Wight published in 1801 (note bill in minuscule, reflecting the resemblance of the headland to the shape of a birds beak).