Modern Fishbourne

From Georgian village to twentieth-century suburb

Fishbourne's modern history is the story of a small agricultural village gradually drawn into the orbit of Chichester and transformed by the railway, the motor car, and suburban development.

The railway arrived in 1846, when the Coastway line was extended through Fishbourne on its way between Brighton and Portsmouth. The station brought the village within commuting distance of Chichester and the larger coastal towns, though it remained primarily agricultural for another century.

The twentieth century brought the most significant changes. The A259, carrying increasing volumes of motor traffic along the coast, transformed the village's relationship with the through route. Post-war housing development, particularly from the 1950s onwards, expanded the village northward, creating the residential areas of New Fishbourne and more than doubling the population.

The discovery of the Roman Palace in 1960 was a watershed moment. The excavation and subsequent opening of the palace museum brought national and international attention to a village that had previously been known only locally. The palace became Fishbourne's defining feature and its main tourist attraction, drawing tens of thousands of visitors annually.

The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have seen continued pressure for housing growth, debates about traffic and infrastructure, and the ongoing tension between development and conservation that characterises many attractive villages in the south of England. Fishbourne today is a commuter village with a Roman palace, a harbour setting, and the challenges and advantages that come with living close to a growing cathedral city.