Beacon House photos

Beacon House was situated to east of the end of Oval Lane, near the Bill. It was so called because it was situated near the site of the original Selsey Beacon.

Beacon House was run as a popular boarding house boasting uninterrupted sea views and tennis courts and from the late 1880s to, at least, the end of the First World War, its proprietor was Alfred Woodland. After Alfred’s death Beacon House was run by his wife Sophia Woodland, while also running a shop in the High Street selling ‘High-class Stationery, Fancy Goods, Books, etc’, and the Post Office!

The land in front of the house was gradually eroded by the sea, and the property abandoned. The contents of the house were auctioned in Chichester in 1925 and much of the house was dismantled for building material before the sea claimed it.

It was finally demolished in the late 1920s by Ralph Selsby.