28 
There is a large estuary of an irregular shape extending more than a 
mile in length towards Sidlesham Mill*, and a mile broad in some 
places, called ‘Pagham Harbour.’ It is stated to have been formed 
by a sudden irruption of the sea in the beginning of the fourteenth 
century, when 1700 acres of land were devastated. This inunda- 
tion formerly extended more towards Selsey, but of late years the 
sea has been gaining on the land to the east. Only small vessels can 
enter the harbour, as it is much blocked up with loose beach. 
Archbishop Thomas a Becket sometimes resided here with a large 
retinue, and his interfering with a manor within this lordship gave 
rise to his dissension with Henry the Second, which terminated in his 
assassination. The church is dedicated to St. Thomas 4 Becket, and 
is well worth visiting, having been repaired in excellent taste. The 
remains of the archiepiscopal palace are still visible in a field a short 
distance south-east of the church. 
The Post-Pliocene formation covers the shore to a great extent 
opposite the harbour; but the Eocene period may be remarked 
towards the east not far from the Blockade station, making its ap- 
pearance about twenty yards from the shore in true London clay ; it 
contains no fossils, but is perforated by immense numbers of the 
recent Pholades. From this spot, which is three miles from Bognor, the 
* The parish of Sidlesham joins Selsey on the north. The beauty of the following epitaph, 
in the church-yard, to Joan wife of Cornelius Carnaby, who died January 19th, 1775, aged 29 
years, must plead my excuse for inserting it :— 
When Sorrow weeps o’er Virtue’s sacred dust, 
Our tears become us, and our grief is just : 
Such were the tears he shed, who grateful pays 
This last sad tribute of his love and praise ; 
Who mourns the best of wives and friends combined, 
Where female softness met a manly mind ;— 
Mourns, but not murmurs; sighs, but not despairs ; 
Feels as a man, but as a Christian bears. 
