Pagham offers two distinct highlights for a stay: the wildlife of Pagham Harbour and the area’s historic landmarks. Common terns, Sandwich terns and little terns breed on Tern Island in Pagham Harbour, giving the nature theme a seasonal focus. Other highlights include St Thomas à Becket Church, the remains of an archbishop’s palace and reminders of the history of Mulberry Harbour. For planning purposes, it is helpful to keep the two themes separate: nature and trails on the one hand, medieval and military history sites on the other.
Nature and trails at Pagham Harbour
The Pagham Harbour Discovery Trail is a waymarked circular route of 1¾ miles, starting at the visitor centre. The North Wall Trail runs 1,000 metres in one direction from the Salthouse. The two trails therefore differ in their route format: one is a circular route, while the other is a one-way distance. The King Charles III England Coast Path leads towards Pagham Harbour and runs mostly along the sea wall in the area around the mouth of the harbour. Before setting off, check the local conditions on the Discovery Trail and the signage on the North Wall Trail.
Medieval traces in Pagham
St Thomas à Becket in Pagham is a Grade I listed church. Its flint construction has stone quoins and a plain tiled roof. Quoins are the stones at the corners of a building. There is evidence of a Saxon church at the site; this includes foundation stones discovered in 1976. Beckett’s Barn and the adjoining earthworks are the remains of an archbishop’s palace, 140 metres southeast of the church. The palace remains are relatively well preserved and feature significant medieval masonry. The medieval great hall of Pagham Rectory is incorporated into the later stable building, which probably dates from the 13th century. The parish church is normally open daily from 9 am to 5 pm; check the church website for the latest information.
Reminders of Operation Overlord
A granite memorial stone in the paved area in front of the Yacht Club commemorates Pagham’s contribution to Operation Overlord and the Mulberry Harbour project. A Mulberry Harbour caisson, originally stored offshore before D-Day, weighs 6,000 tonnes and is still visible about two-thirds of a mile offshore at low tide. The memorial stone and the caisson are two different reference points for the same story: one on land and one offshore. If you want to see the caisson, it is worth checking the tides. A granite memorial stone in the paved area in front of the Yacht Club commemorates Pagham’s contribution to Operation Overlord and the Mulberry Harbour project. A Mulberry Harbour caisson, originally stored offshore before D-Day, weighs 6,000 tonnes and is still visible about two-thirds of a mile offshore at low tide. The memorial stone and the caisson are two different reference points for the same story: one on land and one offshore. If you want to see the caisson, it is worth checking the tides. By 5 June, about 50 Mulberry Harbour structures had been assembled between Pagham Beach and Selsey.
Discover more destinations: Birdham, Haywards Heath, Bognor Regis, Worthing, East Grinstead, Hurstpierpoint, Chichester, Billingshurst
For the broader travel guide: West Sussex.
