The Great Storm Hits Pagham

16 October 1987

The Great Storm of October 1987 caused significant damage across the south coast, and Pagham was not spared. Hurricane-force winds battered the village, bringing down trees, damaging roofs and reshaping the shingle beach. Coastal flooding affected low-lying properties near the harbour and the seafront. The storm altered the harbour shoreline, moving shingle and reconfiguring the channels. The exposed position of Pagham, jutting out on the Manhood Peninsula with the sea on two sides, made the village particularly vulnerable. The clean-up took weeks, and some of the older trees lost in the storm have never been replaced.