Worthing
Encyclopedia
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex
, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton
conurbation
. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs
, 10 miles (16 km) west of Brighton
, and 18 miles (29 km) east of the county town of Chichester
. The borough covers an area of 12.5 square miles (32.37 km²) and has an estimated population of 103,200.
The area around Worthing has been populated for at least 6,000 years and contains Britain's greatest concentration of Stone Age
flint mines, which are some of the earliest mines in Europe. Lying within the borough, the Iron Age
hill fort
of Cissbury Ring
is one of Britain's largest. Worthing means "(place of) Worth/Worō's people", from the Old English personal name Worth/Worō (the name means "valiant one, one who is noble"), and -ingas "people of" (reduced to -ing in the modern name). For many centuries Worthing was a small mackerel
fishing hamlet until in the late 18th century it developed into an elegant Georgian
seaside resort and attracted the well-known and wealthy of the day. In the 19th and 20th centuries the area was one of Britain's chief market gardening
centres.
Modern Worthing has a large service industry, particularly in financial services. It has three theatres and one of Britain's oldest cinemas. Writers Oscar Wilde
and Harold Pinter
lived and worked in the town.
period of the Stone Age
, the South Downs around Worthing was one of Britain's chief flint mining areas, with four of the UK's 14 known flint mines lying within 7 miles (11 km) of the centre of Worthing. An excavation at Little High Street dates the earliest remains from Worthing town centre to the Bronze Age
. There is also an important Bronze Age hill fort on the western fringes of the modern borough at Highdown Hill
. During the Iron Age
, one of Britain's largest hill forts was built at Cissbury Ring. The area was part of the civitas of the Regni
during the Romano-British
period. Several of the borough's roads date from this era and lie in a grid layout known as 'centuriation'. A Romano-British farmstead once stood in the centre of the town, at a site close to the town hall. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the area became part of the kingdom of Sussex
. The place names of the area, including the name Worthing itself, date from this period.
Worthing remained an agricultural and fishing hamlet for centuries until the arrival of wealthy visitors in the 1750s. Princess Amelia
stayed in the town in 1798 and the fashionable and wealthy continued to stay in Worthing, which became a town in 1803. The town expanded and elegant developments such as Park Crescent
and Liverpool Terrace were begun. The area was a stronghold of smugglers in the 19th century and was the site of rioting by the Skeleton Army
in the 1880s. Oscar Wilde
holidayed in the town in 1893 and 1894, writing the Importance of Being Earnest during his second visit. The town was home to several literary figures in the 20th century, including Nobel prize
-winner Harold Pinter
. During the Second World War, Worthing was home to several allied military divisions in preparation for the D-Day
landings.
Worthing became the world's 229th Transition Town in October 2009. Transition Town Worthing, the project exploring the town's transition to life after oil, was established by local residents as a way of planning the town's Energy Descent Action Plan.
personal name Worth, Weorð or Worō (meaning "valiant one, one who is noble
"), and -ingas (meaning "people of", and reduced to -ing in the modern name). The name was first recorded as Weoroingas in Old English; then as Ordinges in the Domesday Book
of 1086, Wuroininege in 1183, Wurdingg in 1218, Wording or Wurthing in 1240, Worthinges in 1288 and Wyrthyng in 1397. Worthen was used as late as 1720. The modern name was first documented in 1297.
Older local people sometimes claim that the name of Worthing is derived from a natural annual phenomenon. Seaweed beds off nearby Bognor Regis
are ripped up by summer storms and prevailing Atlantic currents deposit it on the beach. A rich source of nitrates, it makes good fertiliser. The decaying weed was sought by farmers from the surrounding area. Thus the town would have become known as Wort (weed) -inge (people).
Worthing was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1890, when the towns absorbed the neighbouring civil parish of Heene
. Subsequent enlargements took place in 1902, 1929 and 1933 before being reincorporated as a borough in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972
. Since its inception as a borough, the authority has granted freedom of the town to some 18 individuals.
The borough's coat of arms
includes three silver mackerel, a Horn of Plenty
overflowing with corn and fruit on a cloth of gold, and the figure of a woman, considered likely to be Hygieia
, the Ancient Greek goddess of health, holding a snake. The images represent the health given from the seas, the fullness and riches gained from the earth and the power of healing.
Worthing's motto
is the Latin Ex terra copiam e mari salutem, which translates as 'From the land plenty and from the sea health'.
The borough is divided into 13 wards, with eleven returning three councillors and two returning two councillors to form a total council of 37 members. The borough is unparished.
As of the 2011 local elections
, the authority is Conservative
-controlled, with seats allocated as follows:
Worthing remains part of the two-tier structure of local government, with some services being provided by West Sussex County Council
. The town currently returns 9 councillors to the county council from 9 single member electoral divisions.
The town has two Members of Parliament (MPs): Tim Loughton
(Conservative) for East Worthing and Shoreham, who is Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families; and Peter Bottomley (Conservative) for Worthing West. At the 2010 general election, both seats were safe Conservative seats and have been held by the incumbents since the seats' creation in 1997.
From 1945 to 1997 Worthing returned one MP. Since 1945 Worthing has always returned Conservative MPs. Until 1945 Worthing formed part of the Horsham and Worthing
parliamentary constituency.
Worthing is included in the South East England constituency
for elections to the European Parliament
.
Worthing is situated on the West Sussex coast in South East England
, 49 miles (79 km) south of London and 10 miles (16 km) west of Brighton and Hove. It forms part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton
conurbation along with neighbouring towns and villages in the county such as Littlehampton
, Findon
, Sompting
, Lancing
, Shoreham-by-Sea
and Southwick
. The area is the United Kingdom's twelfth largest conurbation, with a population of over 460,000. The borough of Worthing is bordered by the West Sussex local authority districts of Arun
in the north and west, and Adur in the east. The town is dominated by the Downs to the north: Cissbury Ring, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
, rises to 184 metres (603.7 ft) in the north of the borough. A further high point is at West Hill (139m) north-west of High Salvington
Lying on the south coast of England, Worthing is situated on a mix of two beds of sedimentary rock. The large part of the town, including the town centre is built upon chalk
(part of the Southern England Chalk Formation
), with a bed of London clay
found in a band heading west from Lancing through Broadwater and Durrington. There are no major rivers within the borough, however the culverted Teville Stream
begins as a spring in what is now allotments in Tarring, runs along Tarring Road and Teville Road north of the town centre, passing to the east through Homefield Park and Davison High School
before meeting the sea at Brooklands where the Broadwater Brook meets the sea. To the west and also in parts culverted, Ferring Rife rises in Durrington near Littlehampton Road, passing through Maybridge, then west of Ferring
into the sea.
Being located in the South Coast Plain at the foot of the South Downs, some of the undeveloped land in the north of the borough is proposed to form part of the South Downs National Park
. The west of the borough contains some ancient woodland at Titnore Wood
. The development along the coastal strip is interrupted by strategic gaps at the borough boundaries in the east and west, each gap falling largely outside the borough boundaries. The southwest of the borough contains part of the Goring Gap, a protected area of fields and woodland between Goring and Ferring. To the east of Worthing lies the Sompting Gap, a protected area that lies between Worthing and Sompting. This area was formerly an inlet of the sea and it is here that the Broadwater Brook (also known as Sompting Brook) flows into Brooklands Park and on into the sea. Some of the reedbeds in the Sompting Gap at Lower Cokeham have been designated a Site of Nature Conservation Importance.
The borough of Worthing contains no nature reserves: the nearest is Widewater Lagoon in Lancing
.
, are home to rare fish such as blennies and the lesser spotted dogfish. The site has been declared a Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) (a site of county importance) by West Sussex County Council.
climate: its Koppen climate classification is Cfb. Its mean annual temperature of 9.6 °C is similar to that experienced along the Sussex coast, and slightly warmer than nearby areas such as the Sussex Weald.
According to the Office of National Statistics, Worthing's population increased to an estimated 100,200 in 2008. Worthing is the most densely populated local authority area in East and West Sussex, with a population density in 2001 of 30.04 people per hectare. Worthing underwent dramatic population growth both in the early 19th century as the hamlet had newly become a town and again in the 1880s. The town experienced further growth in the 1930s, and again when new estates were built, using prisoner of war
labour, to the west of the town from 1948. The main driver of population growth in Worthing during the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century has been in-migration into Worthing; in particular Worthing is the most popular destination for people moving from the nearby city of Brighton and Hove, with significant numbers also moving to the borough from London.
According to the UK Government
's 2001 census
, Worthing is overwhelmingly populated by people of a white British ethnic background at 97.2% – significantly higher than the national average of 90.9%. Other ethnic groups in the district, in order of population size, are multiracial
at 0.9%, Asian at 0.9% and black at 0.3% (the national averages are 1.3%, 4.6% and 2.1%, respectively). Worthing is the most ethnically diverse local authority area, (from a low overall base population) within the coastal districts of West Sussex (i.e. Chichester, Arun, Worthing and Adur) with a black and ethnic minority population equating to 4.6% of the total population.
Worthing has a younger population than the other three districts of coastal West Sussex, albeit older than the South East average. In 2006, 26.7% of the population were between 25 and 44 years old, which is a higher proportion compared to the other districts in the coastal West Sussex area. Over the last 20 years, Worthing has seen the sharpest decline in its population aged 65 years or more with its proportion of the total population falling by 8.1% (7,000 in real terms), at a time when this age group has actually grown across the South East region and elsewhere. In contrast there have been comparatively significant increases in older families (4.5%) and family makers (4.3%) within the borough. In 2010 the estimated median age of the population of Worthing was 42.8 years, 3.2 years older than the average for the UK of 39.6 years.
According to the 2001 United Kingdom Census
, 97,568 people lived in the borough of Worthing. Of these, 72.14% identified themselves as Christian, 0.75% were Muslim, 0.34% were Buddhist
, 0.26% were Jewish, 0.22% were Hindu
, 0.11% were Sikh, 0.46% followed another religion, 16.99% claimed no religious affiliation and 8.73% did not state their religion. The proportion of Christians was slightly higher than the 71.74% in England as a whole; Buddhism and other religions were also practised more widely in Worthing than nationally. Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and Sikhism had significantly fewer followers than average: in 2001, 3.1% of people in England were Muslim, 1.1% were Hindu, 0.7% were Sikh and 0.5% were Jewish. The proportion of people with no religious affiliation was much higher than the national figure of 14.59%.
tradition. There are also 16 former church buildings which are either disused or in secular use.
Worthing's first Anglican
church, St Paul's
, was built in 1812; previously, worshippers had to travel to the ancient parish church of Broadwater
. John Rebecca
's classical-style
building became structurally unsound and closed in 1995. The austere design was well regarded at first, but architectural writers have since criticised it. Its importance derives from its status as "the spiritual and social centre around which the town developed". Residential growth in the 19th century growth led to several other Anglican churches opening in the town centre: Christ Church
was started in 1840 and survived a closure threat in 2006; Arthur Blomfield
's St Andrew's Church
brought the controversial "High Church
" form of worship to the town in the 1880s—its "Worthing Madonna" icon
was particularly notorious; and Holy Trinity church opened at the same time but with less dispute. Other Anglican churches were built in the 20th century to serve new residential areas such as High Salvington
and Maybridge; and the ancient villages which were absorbed into Worthing Borough between 1890 and 1929 each had their own church: Broadwater's
had Saxon
origins, St Mary's
at Goring-by-Sea was Norman
(although it was rebuilt in 1837), St Andrew's
at West Tarring was 13th century, and St Botolph
's at Heene and St Symphorian's
at Durrington were rebuilt from medieval ruins. All of the borough's churches are in the Rural Deanery
of Worthing and the Diocese of Chichester
.
The first Roman Catholic church in Worthing opened in 1864; the centrally located St Mary of the Angels Church
has since been joined by others at East Worthing, Goring-by-Sea and High Salvington. All are in Worthing Deanery in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. Protestant Nonconformism
has a long history in Worthing: the town's first place of worship was an Independent chapel. Methodists
, Baptists, the United Reformed Church
and Evangelical Christian
groups each have several churches in the borough, and other denominations represented include Christadelphians
, Christian Scientists
, Jehovah's Witnesses
, Mormons and Plymouth Brethren
. The Salvation Army
have been established for more than a century, but their arrival in Worthing prompted large-scale riots involving a group called the Skeleton Army
. These continued intermittently for several years in the 1880s.
Worthing's Churches Together organisation
, currently chaired by Nigel O'Dwyer, encourages ecumenical work and links between the town's churches. Church leaders meet regularly to pray for the town and to organise events together through PrayerNet. A townwide youth service, CrossRoads, brings together young people from all denominations. New Song Cafe performs a similar function for the town's church musicians. Other Christian organisations include Worthing Churches Homeless Projects and Street Pastors
.
In October 2009, a Mission Festival Weekend was held to celebrate the range of mission agencies based in Worthing; the centrepiece was a parade from Worthing Pier
to St Paul's Church.
. There are some 23 primarys, 6 secondarys and two colleges of further education
. Broadly speaking, the town has a system of First-Middle-High progression, and so the 23 primary schools are made up of a combination of first, middle and combined schools.
Worthing's economy is dominated by the service industry, particularly financial services. Major employers include GlaxoSmithKline
, HM Revenue & Customs
, Aviva
(formerly Norwich Union
), MGM Advantage and Southern Water
. In June 2008, Norwich Union announced that all 660 employees at its office in Broadwater would be made redundant by 2010. In October 2009, GlaxoSmithKline confirmed that 250 employees in Worthing would lose their jobs at the factory, which makes the anti-biotics co-amoxiclav (Augmentin)
and amoxicillin (Amoxin)
and hundreds of other products. As of 2009, there were approximately 43,000 jobs in the borough.
Although Worthing was voted the most profitable town in Britain for three consecutive years at the end of the 1990s, the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2009 found that Worthing residents' mean pre-tax pay is only £452 per week, compared to £487 for West Sussex and £535 for South East England as a whole.
In 2008, Worthing was in the top 10 urban areas in England for jobs in each of three key sectors,thought to have a significant impact on economic performance: creative, high-tech industries and knowledge-intensive business services.
in the summer of 2010. Redevelopment is also planned for the Grafton Street car park area; and the town's major undercover shopping centre, the Guildbourne Centre, may also be rebuilt entirely and extended to Union Place, covering the site of the town's former police station
. Work planned for the seafront includes the installation of an artwork named Suncloud, gardens and public space. The former Eardley Hotel, overlooking Splash Point, is being demolished and rebuilt in a similar style as luxury flats. Swiss
electronics firm LEMO
are building a new headquarters in North Street; the building, nicknamed "The Peanut", is due to open in 2010. In early 2008, the town's further education
college, Northbrook College
, announced proposals to invest £70 million to consolidate its operations on to one campus in Broadwater. Worthing College
, the town's sixth form college
, has also had plans approved for a £42 million redevelopment of its campus near Durrington railway station
. In 2009, both schemes were threatened by delays in receiving money from the Learning and Skills Council
.
In the longer term, the area around Worthing's museum, art gallery
, library and town hall—collectively described as the "Worthing Cultural and Civic Hub"—is to be revamped to provide extra facilities and new housing. In 2009, Worthing Borough Council applied for a £5 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
to redevelop and enlarge the museum. A new £24 million municipal swimming pool is being designed by Stirling Prize
-winning architects Wilkinson Eyre
for the town centre—possibly next to the existing pool at the Aquarena, which would be redeveloped. It has also been proposed that Montague Place is pedestrianised to improve the link between the town centre and the seafront. Due for completion in October 2010, the Splash Point area of the seafront is undergoing a £500,000 make-over which will see its Speakers Corner reinstated.
Completed regeneration projects include the reopening of the Dome Cinema in 2007 after major investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund
, and a £5.5 million mixed-use development
on the site of a former hotel near Teville Gate.
A turnpike
was opened in 1803 to connect Worthing with London, and similar toll roads were built later in the 19th century to connect nearby villages. Stagecoach
traffic grew rapidly until 1845, when the opening of a railway line
from Brighton brought about an immediate decline. The former turnpike is now the A24, a primary route which runs northwards to London via Horsham
. Two east–west routes run through the borough: the A27
trunk road
runs to Brighton
, Chichester
and Portsmouth
, and the A259
follows a coastal route between Hampshire
and Kent
.
Most local and long-distance buses are operated by Stagecoach in the South Downs, a division of Stagecoach Group plc
which has its origins in Southdown Motor Services
—founded in 1915 with one route to Pulborough
. Stagecoach in the South Downs operates several routes around the town and to Midhurst
, Brighton and Portsmouth. The most frequent service, between Lancing
and Durrington
, was branded PULSE in 2006. Worthing-based Compass Bus
have routes to Angmering
, Chichester, Henfield
and Lancing; and other companies serve Horsham
, Crawley
, Brighton and intermediate destinations. National Express
coaches run between London's Victoria Coach Station
and Marine Parade.
The borough has five railway stations: East Worthing
, Worthing
, West Worthing
, Durrington-on-Sea
and Goring-by-Sea
. All are on the West Coastway Line
and are managed and operated by the Southern
train operating company
. Worthing opened on 24 November 1845 as a temporary terminus of the line from Brighton, which was extended to Chichester the following year and electrified in the 1930s. Regular services run to destinations such as London, Gatwick Airport
, Brighton, Littlehampton
and Portsmouth.
Shoreham Airport
is about 5 miles (8 km) east of Worthing. The nearest international airport
is London Gatwick
, about 28 miles (45.1 km) to the northeast.
policing in Worthing is provided by the Worthing district of the West Downs division of Sussex Police
. The district is divided into three neighbourhood policing teams—Town, East and West—for operational purposes. The police station is in Chatsworth Road. The West Downs division's headquarters is at Centenary House in Durrington. Worthing's fire station has been in Broadwater since 1962. The borough had been in charge of fire protection since 1891, after several decades in which volunteers provided the service. A fire station was built on Worthing High Street in 1908; it was demolished after the move to Broadwater. The Worthing and Adur District Team, part of the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, employs 60 full-time and 18 retained firefighter
s.
Worthing Hospital
is administered by the Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust
. The 500-bed facility on Lyndhurst Road was founded in 1881 as an 18-bed infirmary. It replaced older hospitals on Ann Street and Chapel Road. Other medical care facilities include two mental health units (Greenacres and Meadowfield Hospital) and a 38-bed private hospital in the Grade II-listed Goring Hall.
Gas was manufactured in Worthing for nearly 100 years until 1931, but Scotia Gas Networks
now supply the town through their Southern Gas Networks division. Electricity generation took place locally between 1901 and 1961; EDF Energy
now supply the town. Southern Water
, who have been based in Durrington since 1989, have controlled Worthing's water supply, drainage and sewerage since 1974. The town's first waterworks was built in 1852. Drainage and sewage disposal was poorly developed in the 19th century, but a fatal typhoid outbreak in 1893 prompted investment in sewage works and better pipes.
There are 213 listed buildings in the borough of Worthing. Three of these—Castle Goring
, St Mary's Church at Broadwater and the Archbishop's Palace at West Tarring—are classified at Grade I, which is used for buildings "of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important". Worthing Pier
, Park Crescent
, Beach House
and several churches are also listed.
Since 1896, when Warwick House was demolished, many historic buildings have been lost and others altered. The town's first and most distinguished theatre, the Theatre Royal, and the adjacent Omega Cottage (the home of the theatre's first manager) were lost in 1970 when the Guildbourne Centre was built; Warne's Hotel and the Royal Sea House burnt down; the early bath-houses which were vital to Worthing's success as a fashionable resort were all demolished in the 20th century; Broadwater's ancient rectory
rotted away after it fell out of use in 1924; and several old streets in the town centre had all their buildings demolished for postwar redevelopment.
Pale yellow bricks have been made locally since about 1780, and are commonly encountered as a building material. Flint
is the other predominant structural material: its local abundance has ensured its frequent use. The combination of flint and red brick is characteristic of Worthing. In particular, walls built alongside streets or to mark out boundaries were almost always built of flint with brick dressings, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Boat porches are a unique architectural feature of Worthing. These structures surround the entrance doors of some early 19th-century houses, and take the form of an stucco
ed porch with an ogee
-headed roof which resembles the bottom of a boat. Historians have speculated that the cottages, examples of which are in Albert Place, Warwick Place and elsewhere, may have been built by local fishermen who used their boats as a basis for the design.
, stands near Broadwater Green and is said to be around 300 years old. Until the 19th century, it was believed that on Midsummer's Eve
skeletons would rise from the tree and dance around it until dawn, when they would sink back into the ground. The legend was first recorded by folklorist Charlotte Latham in 1868. Since 2006, when the oak was saved from development, meetings have been held on Midsummers Eve there.
It was once believed that monsters known as knucker
s lived in bottomless ponds called knuckerholes. There were several knuckerholes in Sussex, including one in Worthing by Ham Bridge (on the present Ham Road), close to East Worthing railway station
and Teville Stream
.
According to legend, a tunnel several miles long led from the now-demolished medieval Offington Hall
to the Neolithic flint mines and Iron Age hill fort at Cissbury. It was said to be sealed, and there was treasure at the far end; the owner of the Hall "had offered half the money to anyone who would clear out the subterranean passage and several persons had begun digging, but all had been driven back by large snakes springing at them with open mouths and angry hisses".
wrote The Importance of Being Earnest
while staying in the town in the summer of 1894. Salvington in Worthing was the birthplace of philosopher and scholar John Selden
in 1584. In the 1960s, playwright Harold Pinter
lived wrote The Homecoming
at his home in Ambrose Place. Other literary figures to have lived in the town include WE Henley, WH Hudson
, Stephen Spender
, Dorothy Richardson
, Edward Knoblock
, Beatrice Hastings
, Maureen Duffy
, Vivien Alcock
, John Oxenham
and his daughter Elsie J. Oxenham
. Jane Austen
's unfinished final novel Sanditon
is thought to have been significantly based on experiences from her stay in Worthing in 1805.
The history of film in Worthing dates back to exhibitions on Worthing Pier
in 1896, and two years later William Kennedy Dickson—inventor of the Kinetoscope
, a pioneering motion picture device—visited the town to film daily life. In the early 20th century, several cinemas were established, although most were short-lived. Other former cinemas include the Rivoli (1924–1960), the 2,000-capacity Plaza (1933–1968) and the 1,600-capacity Odeon (1934–1986). The Kursaal was built in 1910 as a combined skating rink and theatre by Swiss impresario Carl Adolf Seebold
. It was renamed The Dome in 1915 in response to anti-German sentiment during World War I
. Seebold opened the 950-capacity Dome Cinema
in place of the skating rink in 1922; it is still open, and is one of Britain's oldest operational cinemas. The Connaught Screen 2 cinema (formerly The Ritz, and before that Connaught Hall) was established in 1995.
Many films and television programmes have been filmed using Worthing as the backdrop including: Pinter's The Birthday Party
(1968), Dance with a Stranger
(1985). and Wish You Were Here
(1987).
Theatre has been performed in Worthing since 1796. Thomas Trotter, the early promoter and manager at the town's temporary venues, was asked to open a permanent theatre in 1807; his Theatre Royal opened on 7 July of that year and operated until 1855. The building survived until 1870. The 1,000-capacity New Theatre Royal in Bath Place, run by Carl Adolf Seebold for several years, lasted from 1897 until 1929. Several other venues have been used for theatrical productions, but as of Worthing has three council-owned theatres: the Art Deco
Connaught Theatre
, the Baroque
Pavilion Theatre and the Modernist, Grade II-listed Assembly Hall, which is mostly used for musical performances (including since 1950 an annual music festival). The Assembly Hall is home to the Worthing Symphony Orchestra
and the Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra.
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery
was built in 1908 as the town's museum and library. Alfred Cortis, the first mayor of Worthing, and the international philanthropist Andrew Carnegie
funded the construction. West Sussex County Council built a new library in 1975 and the museum has had a chequered history ever since, fighting off closure in 2003 with the support of local residents.
In the visual arts, painter Copley Fielding
lived at 5 Park Crescent in the mid-18th century. and more recently Jamie Hewlett
and Alan Martin created cult comic figure Tank Girl
while at college in the town in the 1980s. The town has a famous work by sculptor Elisabeth Frink
. Uniquely in England, Desert Quartet (1990), Frink's penultimate sculpture, was given Grade II* listing in 2007, less than 30 years from its creation. It may be seen on the building opposite Liverpool Gardens.
For three days in 1970 a field on the outskirts of Worthing was the site of the Phun City
music festival, the UK's first large-scale free music festival.
The town contains a considerable number of parks and gardens, many laid out in the Victorian
and Edwardian eras.
In January, the ancient custom of wassailing
takes place in Tarring to bless the apple trees. A flaming torchlit procession takes place down Tarring High Street culminating in hundreds of people gathering around an apple tree to shout, chant and sing to drive away evil spirits. The apple trees are toasted with wassail
, apple cider
and apple cake
, followed by fireworks.
On May Day, a procession and dancing takes place in Worthing town centre, culminating in the crowning of the May Queen
. Also in May, the Three Forts Marathon starts and finishes at the Norwich Union building on the outskirts of Worthing before taking in the ancient hill forts of Cissbury Ring, Devil's Dyke
and Chanctonbury Ring over the rough and steep terrain of the South Downs.
The Worthing Transition Festival 2010, was held between 4 June and 26 June at the Heene Gallery, Heene Road, Worthing. Being the first of its kind in Worthing, the Festival provided a month-long showcase for art inspired by themes such as climate change, sustainable transport, local food, and the end of cheap oil. There was a photographic competition based on 'local food', and visitors to the Heene Gallery were invited to help create a Timeline for Worthing between 2010 and 2030.
The Worthing Festival is held in the last two weeks each July with open-air concerts in the town centre and a fairground along the town's promenade.
Worthing is now the home to the International Birdman competition (formerly hosted in Selsey and Bognor Regis). In 2011 the Worthing International Birdman will be held on the 13 & 14 August.
September 2011 will see the next The End of the Pier International Film Festival
, which is held at various venues across Worthing, including the town's two cinemas. Pier Day takes place on Worthing Pier and the nearby promenade every September.
In October 2010, Worthing hosted the inaugural "Wukulele Festival" – the south coast's international ukulele festival. This three day event presented concerts by international performers, ukulele workshops for all levels, school performances and a festival fringe with free events in and around the town centre.
at first, and supported the Skeleton Army
's anti-Salvation Army riots later that decade. In 1921 its scope was extended to include Littlehampton, and it was renamed accordingly. The Worthing Herald was founded in 1920; it acquired the Gazette in 1963, but continued to publish the newspapers separately until 1981. Since then, a single newspaper has been published weekly under the Herald name, but it is officially known as the Worthing Herald incorporating the Worthing Gazette. It is now owned by Johnston Press
, and has been based at Cannon House in Chatsworth Road since 1991. The Brighton-based daily The Argus
, owned by Newsquest
, also serves Worthing. An anarchic local newsletter called The Porkbolter, focusing on environmental issues, has been published monthly since 1997.
Worthing is served by the BBC South
television studios based in Southampton, and by the ITV
franchise Meridian Broadcasting
, also with studios in Southampton. Television signals come from the Rowridge or Whitehawk Hill
transmitter
s.
Splash FM
is Worthing's local commercial radio station. Launched in 2003 and owned by Media Sound Holdings Ltd, it broadcasts from the Guildbourne Centre on 107.7FM
. Heart Sussex, a Global Radio
-owned commercial station, also covers Worthing. BBC Local Radio
coverage is provided by BBC Sussex
(formerly BBC Southern Counties Radio
).
racing, windsurfing
and kitesurfing
and the town has held a regatta
for rowing
since at least 1859. The South Downs is popular for hiking and mountain-biking, with around 22 trail-heads within the borough. Two of Worthing's three golf clubs, including Worthing Golf Club
are also located on the Downs, which is also the location for the Three Forts Marathon, a 27-mile ultramarathon
from Broadwater to the three Iron Age hill forts of Cissbury Ring, Chanctonbury Ring and Devil's Dyke
.
Formed in 1886 and nicknamed "The Rebels", Worthing F.C.
is the town's main football club. They play in the Isthmian League Division One South, having been relegated from the Premier Division at the end of the 2006/07 season. Worthing United F.C.
who are nicknamed 'the "Mavericks" play in the First Division of the Sussex County League.
Home to Bowls England
, Worthing is, with Johannesburg
, one of only two locations in the world to have hosted the men's World Bowls Championships
twice. The events were held in 1972 and 1992, both at Beach House Park
, which is sometimes known as the spiritual home of bowls, and is also the venue for the annual National Championships each August.
, born in West Tarring
in 1810, horticulturalist James Bateman
, mathematician and inventor Thomas Shaw Brandreth
and artist Copley Fielding
. In the 20th century, many writers settled in the town, from poet Beatrice Hastings
to playwright Harold Pinter
. Actress Nicollette Sheridan who starred in recent American television drama 'Desperate Housewives' was born in Worthing.
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton
Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton
The Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation has a population of 461,181 , making it the 12th largest conurbation in the United Kingdom, after Greater Belfast and ahead of Edinburgh. It is England's 10th largest conurbation. Named the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation by the Office...
conurbation
Conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
, 10 miles (16 km) west of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, and 18 miles (29 km) east of the county town of Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
. The borough covers an area of 12.5 square miles (32.37 km²) and has an estimated population of 103,200.
The area around Worthing has been populated for at least 6,000 years and contains Britain's greatest concentration of Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
flint mines, which are some of the earliest mines in Europe. Lying within the borough, the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
of Cissbury Ring
Cissbury Ring
Cissbury Ring is a hill fort on the South Downs, in the borough of Worthing, and about from its town centre, in the English county of West Sussex.-Hill fort:...
is one of Britain's largest. Worthing means "(place of) Worth/Worō's people", from the Old English personal name Worth/Worō (the name means "valiant one, one who is noble"), and -ingas "people of" (reduced to -ing in the modern name). For many centuries Worthing was a small mackerel
Mackerel
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...
fishing hamlet until in the late 18th century it developed into an elegant Georgian
Georgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
seaside resort and attracted the well-known and wealthy of the day. In the 19th and 20th centuries the area was one of Britain's chief market gardening
Market gardening
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre ...
centres.
Modern Worthing has a large service industry, particularly in financial services. It has three theatres and one of Britain's oldest cinemas. Writers Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
and Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
lived and worked in the town.
History
In the NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period of the Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
, the South Downs around Worthing was one of Britain's chief flint mining areas, with four of the UK's 14 known flint mines lying within 7 miles (11 km) of the centre of Worthing. An excavation at Little High Street dates the earliest remains from Worthing town centre to the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
. There is also an important Bronze Age hill fort on the western fringes of the modern borough at Highdown Hill
Highdown Hill
Highdown Hill is a prominent hill in the South Downs, as its name suggests, reaching a height of . The summit of the hill and its western slopes lie in the parish of Ferring in the Arun district, while its eastern slopes lie in the borough of Worthing. It is a popular spot for picnickers,...
. During the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
, one of Britain's largest hill forts was built at Cissbury Ring. The area was part of the civitas of the Regni
Regnenses
The Regnenses, Regni or Regini were a British Celtic kingdom and later a civitas of Roman Britain. Their capital was Noviomagus Reginorum, known today as Chichester in modern West Sussex....
during the Romano-British
Romano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
period. Several of the borough's roads date from this era and lie in a grid layout known as 'centuriation'. A Romano-British farmstead once stood in the centre of the town, at a site close to the town hall. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the area became part of the kingdom of Sussex
Kingdom of Sussex
The Kingdom of Sussex or Kingdom of the South Saxons was a Saxon colony and later independent kingdom of the Saxons, on the south coast of England. Its boundaries coincided in general with those of the earlier kingdom of the Regnenses and the later county of Sussex. A large part of its territory...
. The place names of the area, including the name Worthing itself, date from this period.
Worthing remained an agricultural and fishing hamlet for centuries until the arrival of wealthy visitors in the 1750s. Princess Amelia
Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom
Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom was a member of the British Royal Family as the youngest daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom and his queen consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.-Early life:...
stayed in the town in 1798 and the fashionable and wealthy continued to stay in Worthing, which became a town in 1803. The town expanded and elegant developments such as Park Crescent
Park Crescent, Worthing
Park Crescent is an example of Georgian architecture in Worthing, England, designed in 1829 by Amon Henry Wilds, son of the architect Amon Wilds and constructed between 1831 and 1833...
and Liverpool Terrace were begun. The area was a stronghold of smugglers in the 19th century and was the site of rioting by the Skeleton Army
Skeleton Army
The Skeleton Army was a diffuse group, particularly in Southern England, that opposed and disrupted the Salvation Army's marches against alcohol in the late 19th century...
in the 1880s. Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
holidayed in the town in 1893 and 1894, writing the Importance of Being Earnest during his second visit. The town was home to several literary figures in the 20th century, including Nobel prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winner Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
. During the Second World War, Worthing was home to several allied military divisions in preparation for the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
landings.
Worthing became the world's 229th Transition Town in October 2009. Transition Town Worthing, the project exploring the town's transition to life after oil, was established by local residents as a way of planning the town's Energy Descent Action Plan.
Etymology
Worthing means "(place of) Worth/Weorð/Worō's people", from the Old EnglishOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
personal name Worth, Weorð or Worō (meaning "valiant one, one who is noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
"), and -ingas (meaning "people of", and reduced to -ing in the modern name). The name was first recorded as Weoroingas in Old English; then as Ordinges in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, Wuroininege in 1183, Wurdingg in 1218, Wording or Wurthing in 1240, Worthinges in 1288 and Wyrthyng in 1397. Worthen was used as late as 1720. The modern name was first documented in 1297.
Older local people sometimes claim that the name of Worthing is derived from a natural annual phenomenon. Seaweed beds off nearby Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, on the south coast of England. It is south-south-west of London, west of Brighton, and south-east of the city of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Littlehampton east-north-east and Selsey to the...
are ripped up by summer storms and prevailing Atlantic currents deposit it on the beach. A rich source of nitrates, it makes good fertiliser. The decaying weed was sought by farmers from the surrounding area. Thus the town would have become known as Wort (weed) -inge (people).
Governance
Heene
Heene is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A259 road 0.6 miles west of the town centre.Heene comes from the word Hīun or Hīwun meaning family or household....
. Subsequent enlargements took place in 1902, 1929 and 1933 before being reincorporated as a borough in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
. Since its inception as a borough, the authority has granted freedom of the town to some 18 individuals.
The borough's coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
includes three silver mackerel, a Horn of Plenty
Cornucopia
The cornucopia or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form...
overflowing with corn and fruit on a cloth of gold, and the figure of a woman, considered likely to be Hygieia
Hygieia
In Greek and Roman mythology, Hygieia , was a daughter of the god of medicine, Asclepius. She was the goddess/personification of health , cleanliness and sanitation. She also played an important part in her father's cult...
, the Ancient Greek goddess of health, holding a snake. The images represent the health given from the seas, the fullness and riches gained from the earth and the power of healing.
Worthing's motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
is the Latin Ex terra copiam e mari salutem, which translates as 'From the land plenty and from the sea health'.
The borough is divided into 13 wards, with eleven returning three councillors and two returning two councillors to form a total council of 37 members. The borough is unparished.
As of the 2011 local elections
Worthing Council election, 2011
The 2011 Worthing Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Worthing Borough Council in West Sussex, England. One third of the council was up for election, with the exception of the two member wards of Durrington and Northbrook...
, the authority is Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
-controlled, with seats allocated as follows:
| Party | Seats | Worthing Borough Council 2008– | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liberal Democrats | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
1 |
Worthing remains part of the two-tier structure of local government, with some services being provided by West Sussex County Council
West Sussex County Council
West Sussex County Council is the authority that governs the non-metropolitan county of West Sussex. The county also contains 7 district and borough councils, and 159 town, parish and neighbourhood councils. The county council has 71 elected councillors...
. The town currently returns 9 councillors to the county council from 9 single member electoral divisions.
The town has two Members of Parliament (MPs): Tim Loughton
Tim Loughton
Timothy Paul Loughton is a British Conservative Party politician, and has been Member of Parliament for East Worthing and Shoreham since the 1997 general election...
(Conservative) for East Worthing and Shoreham, who is Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families; and Peter Bottomley (Conservative) for Worthing West. At the 2010 general election, both seats were safe Conservative seats and have been held by the incumbents since the seats' creation in 1997.
From 1945 to 1997 Worthing returned one MP. Since 1945 Worthing has always returned Conservative MPs. Until 1945 Worthing formed part of the Horsham and Worthing
Horsham and Worthing (UK Parliament constituency)
Horsham and Worthing was a county constituency in West Sussex, centred on the towns of Horsham and Worthing in West Sussex. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.-History:The constituency was...
parliamentary constituency.
Worthing is included in the South East England constituency
South East England (European Parliament constituency)
South East England is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 10 Members of the European Parliament using the D'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...
for elections to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
Geography
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
, 49 miles (79 km) south of London and 10 miles (16 km) west of Brighton and Hove. It forms part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton
Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton
The Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation has a population of 461,181 , making it the 12th largest conurbation in the United Kingdom, after Greater Belfast and ahead of Edinburgh. It is England's 10th largest conurbation. Named the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation by the Office...
conurbation along with neighbouring towns and villages in the county such as Littlehampton
Littlehampton
Littlehampton is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, on the east bank at the mouth of the River Arun. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton and east of the county town of Chichester....
, Findon
Findon, West Sussex
Findon is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, four miles north of Worthing. The parish has an area of 16.41 km² and a population of 1848 persons ....
, Sompting
Sompting
Sompting is a village and civil parish in the Adur District of West Sussex, England, located between Lancing and Worthing, at the foot of the southern slope of the South Downs. Twentieth century development has linked it to Lancing. The civil parish covers an area of 10.35 square kilometres and has...
, Lancing
Lancing, West Sussex
Lancing is a town and civil parish in the Adur district of West Sussex, England, on the western edge of the Adur Valley. It lies on the coastal plain between Sompting to the west, Shoreham-by-Sea to the east and the parish of Coombes to the north...
, Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away...
and Southwick
Southwick, West Sussex
Southwick is a small town and civil parish in the Adur District of West Sussex, England located three miles west of Brighton and a suburb of the East Sussex resort City of Brighton & Hove...
. The area is the United Kingdom's twelfth largest conurbation, with a population of over 460,000. The borough of Worthing is bordered by the West Sussex local authority districts of Arun
Arun
Arun is a local government district in West Sussex, England. It contains the towns of Arundel, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, and takes its name from the River Arun, which runs through the centre of the district.-History:...
in the north and west, and Adur in the east. The town is dominated by the Downs to the north: Cissbury Ring, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
, rises to 184 metres (603.7 ft) in the north of the borough. A further high point is at West Hill (139m) north-west of High Salvington
High Salvington
High Salvington is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies north of the A27 2.9 miles northwest of the town centre....
Lying on the south coast of England, Worthing is situated on a mix of two beds of sedimentary rock. The large part of the town, including the town centre is built upon chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
(part of the Southern England Chalk Formation
Southern England Chalk Formation
The Chalk Formation of Southern England is a system of chalk downland in the south of England. The formation is perhaps best known for Salisbury Plain, the location of Stonehenge, the Isle of Wight and the twin ridgeways of the North Downs and South Downs....
), with a bed of London clay
London Clay
The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for the fossils it contains. The fossils from the Lower Eocene indicate a moderately warm climate, the flora being tropical or subtropical...
found in a band heading west from Lancing through Broadwater and Durrington. There are no major rivers within the borough, however the culverted Teville Stream
Teville Stream
The Teville Stream is a stream which flows through the town of Worthing in West Sussex. Once significantly wider than the current stream, it is now culverted for much of its length.-Watercourse:...
begins as a spring in what is now allotments in Tarring, runs along Tarring Road and Teville Road north of the town centre, passing to the east through Homefield Park and Davison High School
Davison High School, Worthing
Davison High School is a girls' Church of England secondary school serving pupils aged 11 to 16 in Worthing, West Sussex. The school accommodates around 1080 girls across five year groups and was formed as an offshoot of St Andrews High School for Boys in the early 20th century with Mrs...
before meeting the sea at Brooklands where the Broadwater Brook meets the sea. To the west and also in parts culverted, Ferring Rife rises in Durrington near Littlehampton Road, passing through Maybridge, then west of Ferring
Ferring
Ferring is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is part of the built-up area of Worthing and is located on the A259 road west of the town. The parish has a land area of 430.6 hectares...
into the sea.
Being located in the South Coast Plain at the foot of the South Downs, some of the undeveloped land in the north of the borough is proposed to form part of the South Downs National Park
South Downs National Park
The South Downs National Park is England's newest National Park, having become fully operational on 1 April 2011. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex...
. The west of the borough contains some ancient woodland at Titnore Wood
Titnore Wood
Titnore Wood is an area of ancient woodland to the north-west of Worthing in West Sussex. With neighbouring Goring Wood it forms one of the last remaining blocks of ancient woodland on the West Sussex coastal plain....
. The development along the coastal strip is interrupted by strategic gaps at the borough boundaries in the east and west, each gap falling largely outside the borough boundaries. The southwest of the borough contains part of the Goring Gap, a protected area of fields and woodland between Goring and Ferring. To the east of Worthing lies the Sompting Gap, a protected area that lies between Worthing and Sompting. This area was formerly an inlet of the sea and it is here that the Broadwater Brook (also known as Sompting Brook) flows into Brooklands Park and on into the sea. Some of the reedbeds in the Sompting Gap at Lower Cokeham have been designated a Site of Nature Conservation Importance.
The borough of Worthing contains no nature reserves: the nearest is Widewater Lagoon in Lancing
Lancing, West Sussex
Lancing is a town and civil parish in the Adur district of West Sussex, England, on the western edge of the Adur Valley. It lies on the coastal plain between Sompting to the west, Shoreham-by-Sea to the east and the parish of Coombes to the north...
.
Marine environment
Lying some three miles off the coast of Worthing, the Worthing Lumps are a series of underwater chalk cliff faces, up to three metres high. The lumps, described as "one of the best chalk reefs in Europe" by the Marine Conservation SocietyMarine Conservation Society
The Marine Conservation Society a UK charity for the protection of the seas around the United Kingdom, and for the protection of their shores and wildlife.According to their website MCS's Vision is:Their website also states:...
, are home to rare fish such as blennies and the lesser spotted dogfish. The site has been declared a Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) (a site of county importance) by West Sussex County Council.
Climate
Worthing has a temperateTemperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
climate: its Koppen climate classification is Cfb. Its mean annual temperature of 9.6 °C is similar to that experienced along the Sussex coast, and slightly warmer than nearby areas such as the Sussex Weald.
Districts
The borough of Worthing comprises many smaller districts some of which share their names – although not necessarily boundaries – with local electoral wards:- BroadwaterBroadwater, West SussexBroadwater is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. Situated between the South Downs and the English Channel, Broadwater was once a parish in its own right and included Worthing when the latter was a small fishing hamlet. Before its incorporation into the Borough of...
- DurringtonDurrington, West SussexDurrington is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It is situated near the A27 road, northwest of the town centre.Durrington means 'Dēora's farmstead', Dēora presumably being the name of a Saxon settler...
- Findon ValleyFindon ValleyFindon Valley is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A24 road 2.9 miles north of the town centre....
- Goring
- HeeneHeeneHeene is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A259 road 0.6 miles west of the town centre.Heene comes from the word Hīun or Hīwun meaning family or household....
- High SalvingtonHigh SalvingtonHigh Salvington is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies north of the A27 2.9 miles northwest of the town centre....
- OffingtonOffingtonOffington is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A2031 road 1.6 miles northwest of the town centre....
- SalvingtonSalvingtonSalvington is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies south of the A27 road two miles north-west of the town centre....
- (West) TarringTarring, West SussexWest Tarring is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A2031 road northwest of the town centre. It is officially called West Tarring or, less commonly, Tarring Peverell, to differentiate it from Tarring Neville near Lewes, but is usually called just...
Demography
People from Worthing are known as Worthingites.According to the Office of National Statistics, Worthing's population increased to an estimated 100,200 in 2008. Worthing is the most densely populated local authority area in East and West Sussex, with a population density in 2001 of 30.04 people per hectare. Worthing underwent dramatic population growth both in the early 19th century as the hamlet had newly become a town and again in the 1880s. The town experienced further growth in the 1930s, and again when new estates were built, using prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
labour, to the west of the town from 1948. The main driver of population growth in Worthing during the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century has been in-migration into Worthing; in particular Worthing is the most popular destination for people moving from the nearby city of Brighton and Hove, with significant numbers also moving to the borough from London.
| Year | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1939 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,151 | 3,824 | 4,922 | 5,654 | 6,856 | 7,615 | 9,744 | 11,873 | 14,002 | 19,177 | 24,479 | 31,301 | 37,906 | 45,905 | 55,584 | 67,305 | 77,155 | 88,467 | 90,686 | 98,066 | 97,540 |
| Source: A Vision of Britain through Time | |||||||||||||||||||||
According to the UK Government
Politics of the United Kingdom
The politics of the United Kingdom takes place within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is the head of state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government...
's 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, Worthing is overwhelmingly populated by people of a white British ethnic background at 97.2% – significantly higher than the national average of 90.9%. Other ethnic groups in the district, in order of population size, are multiracial
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
at 0.9%, Asian at 0.9% and black at 0.3% (the national averages are 1.3%, 4.6% and 2.1%, respectively). Worthing is the most ethnically diverse local authority area, (from a low overall base population) within the coastal districts of West Sussex (i.e. Chichester, Arun, Worthing and Adur) with a black and ethnic minority population equating to 4.6% of the total population.
Worthing has a younger population than the other three districts of coastal West Sussex, albeit older than the South East average. In 2006, 26.7% of the population were between 25 and 44 years old, which is a higher proportion compared to the other districts in the coastal West Sussex area. Over the last 20 years, Worthing has seen the sharpest decline in its population aged 65 years or more with its proportion of the total population falling by 8.1% (7,000 in real terms), at a time when this age group has actually grown across the South East region and elsewhere. In contrast there have been comparatively significant increases in older families (4.5%) and family makers (4.3%) within the borough. In 2010 the estimated median age of the population of Worthing was 42.8 years, 3.2 years older than the average for the UK of 39.6 years.
According to the 2001 United Kingdom Census
Census in the United Kingdom
Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 and in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1921; simultaneous censuses were taken in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with...
, 97,568 people lived in the borough of Worthing. Of these, 72.14% identified themselves as Christian, 0.75% were Muslim, 0.34% were Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, 0.26% were Jewish, 0.22% were Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, 0.11% were Sikh, 0.46% followed another religion, 16.99% claimed no religious affiliation and 8.73% did not state their religion. The proportion of Christians was slightly higher than the 71.74% in England as a whole; Buddhism and other religions were also practised more widely in Worthing than nationally. Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and Sikhism had significantly fewer followers than average: in 2001, 3.1% of people in England were Muslim, 1.1% were Hindu, 0.7% were Sikh and 0.5% were Jewish. The proportion of people with no religious affiliation was much higher than the national figure of 14.59%.
Religion
The borough of Worthing has about 50 active Christian places of worship. There is also a mosque, which follows the SunniSunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
tradition. There are also 16 former church buildings which are either disused or in secular use.
Worthing's first Anglican
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
church, St Paul's
St Paul's Church, Worthing
St Paul's Church in Worthing, England, was opened in 1812 as the Worthing Chapel of Ease. It was built so that the residents and visitors to the newly created town of Worthing would not need to travel to the parish church of St Mary in Broadwater...
, was built in 1812; previously, worshippers had to travel to the ancient parish church of Broadwater
Broadwater Church
St. Mary's Church, Broadwater, is located in the Diocese of Chichester, in the deanery of Worthing and serves the parish of Broadwater in Worthing in West Sussex. It is one of four churches within this parish alongside Hosanna, Queen Street Fellowship and St. Stephen's Church.-History:1086. The...
. John Rebecca
John Rebecca
John Biagio Rebecca , the son of Italian-born decorative painter Biagio Rebecca , was an architect of many buildings in Sussex and London. He is credited as being the principal architect of Georgian Worthing...
's classical-style
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
building became structurally unsound and closed in 1995. The austere design was well regarded at first, but architectural writers have since criticised it. Its importance derives from its status as "the spiritual and social centre around which the town developed". Residential growth in the 19th century growth led to several other Anglican churches opening in the town centre: Christ Church
Christ Church, Worthing
Christ Church and its burial grounds in Worthing, England, were consecrated in 1843 by the Bishop of Chichester, Ashurst Turner Gilbert, to meet the need for church accommodation for the poor. Built by subscription between 1840 and 1843, the Church was initially regarded as a chapel of ease to St...
was started in 1840 and survived a closure threat in 2006; Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
's St Andrew's Church
St Andrew's Church, Worthing
St Andrew's Church is an Anglican church in Worthing, West Sussex, England. Built between 1885 and 1886 in the Early English Gothic style by Sir Arthur Blomfield, "one of the last great Gothic revivalists", the church was embroiled in controversy as soon as it was founded...
brought the controversial "High Church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
" form of worship to the town in the 1880s—its "Worthing Madonna" icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
was particularly notorious; and Holy Trinity church opened at the same time but with less dispute. Other Anglican churches were built in the 20th century to serve new residential areas such as High Salvington
High Salvington
High Salvington is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies north of the A27 2.9 miles northwest of the town centre....
and Maybridge; and the ancient villages which were absorbed into Worthing Borough between 1890 and 1929 each had their own church: Broadwater's
Broadwater Church
St. Mary's Church, Broadwater, is located in the Diocese of Chichester, in the deanery of Worthing and serves the parish of Broadwater in Worthing in West Sussex. It is one of four churches within this parish alongside Hosanna, Queen Street Fellowship and St. Stephen's Church.-History:1086. The...
had Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
origins, St Mary's
St Mary's Church, Goring-by-Sea
St Mary's Church is an Anglican church in the Goring-by-Sea area of the Borough of Worthing, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex...
at Goring-by-Sea was Norman
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
(although it was rebuilt in 1837), St Andrew's
St Andrew's Church, West Tarring
St Andrew's Church is the Anglican parish church of West Tarring, an ancient village which is now part of the town and borough of Worthing, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex...
at West Tarring was 13th century, and St Botolph
St Botolph's Church, Heene
St Botolph's Church is an Anglican church in the Heene area of the borough of Worthing, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. It had 11th-century origins as a chapelry within the parish of West Tarring, but declined and fell into disuse by the 18th century...
's at Heene and St Symphorian's
St Symphorian's Church, Durrington
St Symphorian's Church is an Anglican church in the Durrington area of the borough of Worthing, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. Originally an 11th-century chapelry in the parish of St Andrew's Church, West Tarring, the church declined and fell into...
at Durrington were rebuilt from medieval ruins. All of the borough's churches are in the Rural Deanery
Deanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
of Worthing and the Diocese of Chichester
Diocese of Chichester
The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681. The cathedral is Chichester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chichester...
.
The first Roman Catholic church in Worthing opened in 1864; the centrally located St Mary of the Angels Church
St Mary of the Angels, Worthing
The Church of St Mary of the Angels, Worthing, is in Worthing, West Sussex, England. It is a Grade II listed building and the earliest of the four Roman Catholic churches in Worthing...
has since been joined by others at East Worthing, Goring-by-Sea and High Salvington. All are in Worthing Deanery in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. Protestant Nonconformism
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
has a long history in Worthing: the town's first place of worship was an Independent chapel. Methodists
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
, Baptists, the United Reformed Church
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
and Evangelical Christian
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
groups each have several churches in the borough, and other denominations represented include Christadelphians
Christadelphians
Christadelphians is a Christian group that developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century...
, Christian Scientists
Church of Christ, Scientist
The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, by Mary Baker Eddy. She was the author of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Christian Science teaches that the "allness" of God denies the reality of sin, sickness, death, and the material world...
, Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, Mormons and Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
. The Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
have been established for more than a century, but their arrival in Worthing prompted large-scale riots involving a group called the Skeleton Army
Skeleton Army
The Skeleton Army was a diffuse group, particularly in Southern England, that opposed and disrupted the Salvation Army's marches against alcohol in the late 19th century...
. These continued intermittently for several years in the 1880s.
Worthing's Churches Together organisation
Churches Together in England
Churches Together in England is an ecumenical organisation and the national instrument for the Christian church in England. It helps the different Churches to work together instead of separately so that they can be more effective and credible...
, currently chaired by Nigel O'Dwyer, encourages ecumenical work and links between the town's churches. Church leaders meet regularly to pray for the town and to organise events together through PrayerNet. A townwide youth service, CrossRoads, brings together young people from all denominations. New Song Cafe performs a similar function for the town's church musicians. Other Christian organisations include Worthing Churches Homeless Projects and Street Pastors
Street pastors
Street Pastors is an interdenominational network of Christian charities operating across the UK and world wide.Street Pastors is an initiative of Ascension Trust...
.
In October 2009, a Mission Festival Weekend was held to celebrate the range of mission agencies based in Worthing; the centrepiece was a parade from Worthing Pier
Worthing Pier
Worthing Pier is a pier in Worthing, West Sussex, England. Designed by Sir Robert Rawlinson, it was opened on 12 April 1862 and remains open. The pier originally was a simple promenade deck 960 ft long and 15 ft wide...
to St Paul's Church.
Education
Schools in the borough are provided by West Sussex County CouncilWest Sussex County Council
West Sussex County Council is the authority that governs the non-metropolitan county of West Sussex. The county also contains 7 district and borough councils, and 159 town, parish and neighbourhood councils. The county council has 71 elected councillors...
. There are some 23 primarys, 6 secondarys and two colleges of further education
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
. Broadly speaking, the town has a system of First-Middle-High progression, and so the 23 primary schools are made up of a combination of first, middle and combined schools.
Economy and regeneration
| Labour Profile | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total employee jobs | 43,800 | |
| Full-time | 28,000 | 63.9% |
| Part-time | 15,800 | 36.1% |
| Manufacturing | 3,300 | 7.5% |
| Construction | 1,100 | 2.4% |
| Services | 38,900 | 88.7% |
| Distribution, hotels & restaurants | 9,600 | 22.0% |
| Transport & communications | 1,400 | 3.3% |
| Finance, IT, other business activities | 9,600 | 22.0% |
| Public admin, education & health | 16,200 | 36.9% |
| Other services | 2,000 | 4.6% |
| Tourism-related | 3,000 | 7.0% |
Worthing's economy is dominated by the service industry, particularly financial services. Major employers include GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline plc is a global pharmaceutical, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
, HM Revenue & Customs
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes and the payment of some forms of state support....
, Aviva
Aviva
Aviva plc is a global insurance company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the sixth-largest insurance company in the world measured by net premium income and has 53 million customers in 28 countries...
(formerly Norwich Union
Norwich Union
Norwich Union was the name given to insurance company Aviva's British arm before June 2009. It was originally established in 1797. It is the biggest life insurance provider in the United Kingdom, and has a strong position in motor insurance...
), MGM Advantage and Southern Water
Southern Water
Southern Water is the utility responsible for wastewater collection and treatment in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent, and for water supply and distribution in the approximately half of this area...
. In June 2008, Norwich Union announced that all 660 employees at its office in Broadwater would be made redundant by 2010. In October 2009, GlaxoSmithKline confirmed that 250 employees in Worthing would lose their jobs at the factory, which makes the anti-biotics co-amoxiclav (Augmentin)
Co-amoxiclav
Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid or co-amoxiclav is a combination antibiotic consisting of amoxicillin trihydrate, a β-lactam antibiotic, and potassium clavulanate, a β-lactamase inhibitor...
and amoxicillin (Amoxin)
Amoxicillin
Amoxicillin , formerly amoxycillin , and abbreviated amox, is a moderate-spectrum, bacteriolytic, β-lactam antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections caused by susceptible microorganisms. It is usually the drug of choice within the class because it is better absorbed, following oral...
and hundreds of other products. As of 2009, there were approximately 43,000 jobs in the borough.
Although Worthing was voted the most profitable town in Britain for three consecutive years at the end of the 1990s, the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2009 found that Worthing residents' mean pre-tax pay is only £452 per week, compared to £487 for West Sussex and £535 for South East England as a whole.
In 2008, Worthing was in the top 10 urban areas in England for jobs in each of three key sectors,thought to have a significant impact on economic performance: creative, high-tech industries and knowledge-intensive business services.
Regeneration
In June 2006, Worthing Borough Council agreed a masterplan for the town's regeneration, focused on improving the town centre and seafront. A new £150 million development is proposed for Teville Gate, between Worthing railway station and the A24 at the northern approach to the town centre. It is expected to include two residential towers, a multiplex cinema, hotel and conference and exhibition centre. The developers are expected to apply for planning permissionPlanning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
in the summer of 2010. Redevelopment is also planned for the Grafton Street car park area; and the town's major undercover shopping centre, the Guildbourne Centre, may also be rebuilt entirely and extended to Union Place, covering the site of the town's former police station
Police station
A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
. Work planned for the seafront includes the installation of an artwork named Suncloud, gardens and public space. The former Eardley Hotel, overlooking Splash Point, is being demolished and rebuilt in a similar style as luxury flats. Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
electronics firm LEMO
LEMO
LEMO is both the name of an electronic and fibre optic connector manufacturer based in Switzerland, and the name commonly used to refer to push-pull connectors made by that company, which are used in medical, industrial, audio/visual, telecommunications, military, scientific research and...
are building a new headquarters in North Street; the building, nicknamed "The Peanut", is due to open in 2010. In early 2008, the town's further education
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
college, Northbrook College
Northbrook College
Northbrook College is a further education and higher education college and principal provider of work-related Further Education in Worthing and nearby Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex....
, announced proposals to invest £70 million to consolidate its operations on to one campus in Broadwater. Worthing College
Worthing College
Worthing College is primarily a large sixth form and yet a relatively small college compared to some other colleges.The College is situated in Goring-by-Sea, in the town of Worthing on the South Coast mainline railway...
, the town's sixth form college
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belize, Hong Kong or Malta where students aged 16 to 18 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In Singapore and India, this is...
, has also had plans approved for a £42 million redevelopment of its campus near Durrington railway station
Durrington-on-Sea railway station
Durrington-on-Sea railway station is in Durrington, a suburb of Worthing in the county of West Sussex. The station is operated by Southern.It is situated extremely close to Worthing College, the headquarters of West Sussex Primary Care NHS Trust and a large HM Revenue and Customs office.The...
. In 2009, both schemes were threatened by delays in receiving money from the Learning and Skills Council
Learning and Skills Council
The Learning and Skills Council was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Children, Schools and Families in England...
.
In the longer term, the area around Worthing's museum, art gallery
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery is in the centre of Worthing near the grade II* listed St Paul's and is the largest museum in West Sussex. It celebrated its centenary in 2008.-Collections & Displays:...
, library and town hall—collectively described as the "Worthing Cultural and Civic Hub"—is to be revamped to provide extra facilities and new housing. In 2009, Worthing Borough Council applied for a £5 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
to redevelop and enlarge the museum. A new £24 million municipal swimming pool is being designed by Stirling Prize
Stirling Prize
The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...
-winning architects Wilkinson Eyre
Wilkinson Eyre
Wilkinson Eyre Architects is an international architecture firm based in London, England. The firm won the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize two years in a row...
for the town centre—possibly next to the existing pool at the Aquarena, which would be redeveloped. It has also been proposed that Montague Place is pedestrianised to improve the link between the town centre and the seafront. Due for completion in October 2010, the Splash Point area of the seafront is undergoing a £500,000 make-over which will see its Speakers Corner reinstated.
Completed regeneration projects include the reopening of the Dome Cinema in 2007 after major investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
, and a £5.5 million mixed-use development
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
on the site of a former hotel near Teville Gate.
Transport
A turnpike
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
was opened in 1803 to connect Worthing with London, and similar toll roads were built later in the 19th century to connect nearby villages. Stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
traffic grew rapidly until 1845, when the opening of a railway line
West Coastway Line
The West Coastway Line is a railway line in England, along the south coast of West Sussex and Hampshire, between Brighton and Southampton, plus the short branches to Littlehampton and Bognor Regis....
from Brighton brought about an immediate decline. The former turnpike is now the A24, a primary route which runs northwards to London via Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
. Two east–west routes run through the borough: the A27
A27 road
The A27 is a major road in England. It runs from its junction with the A36 at Whiteparish in the county of Wiltshire. It closely parallels the south coast, where it passes through West Sussex and terminates at Pevensey in East Sussex.Between Portsmouth and Lewes, it is one of the busiest trunk...
trunk road
Trunk road
A trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road—usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports, and other things.—which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic...
runs to Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
and Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, and the A259
A259 road
The A259 is a busy road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and part of Kent. Part of the road was named "the most dangerous road in South East England" in 2008.-Description:...
follows a coastal route between Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
and Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
Most local and long-distance buses are operated by Stagecoach in the South Downs, a division of Stagecoach Group plc
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
which has its origins in Southdown Motor Services
Southdown Motor Services
Southdown Motor Services Ltd operates bus and coach services in East and West Sussex and parts of Hampshire, in southern England. It was formed in 1915 and had various owners throughout its history, being purchased by the National Bus Company in 1969...
—founded in 1915 with one route to Pulborough
Pulborough
Pulborough is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England, with some 5,000 inhabitants. It is located almost centrally within West Sussex and is south west of London. It is at the junction of the north-south A29 and the east-west roads.The village is near the...
. Stagecoach in the South Downs operates several routes around the town and to Midhurst
Midhurst
Midhurst is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, with a population of 4,889 in 2001. The town is situated on the River Rother and is home to the ruin of the Tudor Cowdray House and the stately Victorian Cowdray Park...
, Brighton and Portsmouth. The most frequent service, between Lancing
Lancing, West Sussex
Lancing is a town and civil parish in the Adur district of West Sussex, England, on the western edge of the Adur Valley. It lies on the coastal plain between Sompting to the west, Shoreham-by-Sea to the east and the parish of Coombes to the north...
and Durrington
Durrington, West Sussex
Durrington is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It is situated near the A27 road, northwest of the town centre.Durrington means 'Dēora's farmstead', Dēora presumably being the name of a Saxon settler...
, was branded PULSE in 2006. Worthing-based Compass Bus
Compass Bus
Compass Bus, or Compass Travel, is an independent bus and coach operator based in Durrington, Worthing, West Sussex. They operate over 50 bus services throughout West Sussex and Surrey, linking many places other bus companies do not serve. They operate commercial and contracted routes, including...
have routes to Angmering
Angmering
Angmering is a large village and civil parish between Littlehampton and Worthing in West Sussex, England. It is located approximately two miles north of the English Channel; Worthing and Littlehampton are about four miles to the east and west respectively.Angmering railway station is miles away...
, Chichester, Henfield
Henfield
Henfield is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, northwest of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester at the road junction of the A281 and A2037. The parish has a land area of . In the 2001 census 5,012...
and Lancing; and other companies serve Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
, Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
, Brighton and intermediate destinations. National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...
coaches run between London's Victoria Coach Station
Victoria Coach Station
Victoria Coach Station is the largest and most significant coach station in London. It serves long distance coach services and is also the departure point for many countryside coach tours originating from London. It should not be confused with the nearby Green Line Coach Station serving Green Line...
and Marine Parade.
The borough has five railway stations: East Worthing
East Worthing railway station
East Worthing railway station is an unstaffed station in Worthing in the county of West Sussex. The station is operated by Southern.The station was opened in 1905 as Ham Bridge Halt, taking the name of the road bridge at the eastern end....
, Worthing
Worthing railway station
Worthing railway station is the main station serving the town of Worthing in West Sussex. The station and the majority of trains serving it are operated by Southern. The other operator is First Great Western. It is one of the main stations on the West Coastway Line; all timetabled trains stop...
, West Worthing
West Worthing railway station
West Worthing railway station is in Worthing in the county of West Sussex, England. The station is operated by Southern. Note that on the West Coastway Line faster trains do not stop here....
, Durrington-on-Sea
Durrington-on-Sea railway station
Durrington-on-Sea railway station is in Durrington, a suburb of Worthing in the county of West Sussex. The station is operated by Southern.It is situated extremely close to Worthing College, the headquarters of West Sussex Primary Care NHS Trust and a large HM Revenue and Customs office.The...
and Goring-by-Sea
Goring-by-Sea railway station
Goring-by-Sea railway station is in Goring by Sea in the county of West Sussex. The station is operated by Southern. It serves the towns of Goring and Ferring. It is also located between two education facilities, thus providing a method of transport for students of Chatsmore High School and...
. All are on the West Coastway Line
West Coastway Line
The West Coastway Line is a railway line in England, along the south coast of West Sussex and Hampshire, between Brighton and Southampton, plus the short branches to Littlehampton and Bognor Regis....
and are managed and operated by the Southern
Southern (train operating company)
Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...
train operating company
Train operating company
The term train operating company is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand...
. Worthing opened on 24 November 1845 as a temporary terminus of the line from Brighton, which was extended to Chichester the following year and electrified in the 1930s. Regular services run to destinations such as London, Gatwick Airport
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
, Brighton, Littlehampton
Littlehampton
Littlehampton is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, on the east bank at the mouth of the River Arun. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton and east of the county town of Chichester....
and Portsmouth.
Shoreham Airport
Shoreham Airport
- Sussex Police Air Operations Unit :The Sussex Police Air Operations Unit is headquartered at Shoreham Airport. The unit has been equipped since February 2000 with a MD Explorer, registered as "G-SUSX". The unit is headed by a Police Inspector, assisted by a Police Sergeant and two Police...
is about 5 miles (8 km) east of Worthing. The nearest international airport
International airport
An international airport is any airport that can accommodate flights from other countries and are typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle these flights to and from other countries...
is London Gatwick
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
, about 28 miles (45.1 km) to the northeast.
Public services
Home OfficeHome Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
policing in Worthing is provided by the Worthing district of the West Downs division of Sussex Police
Sussex Police
Sussex Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing East Sussex, West Sussex and City of Brighton and Hove in southern England. Its head office is in Lewes, Lewes District, East Sussex.-History:...
. The district is divided into three neighbourhood policing teams—Town, East and West—for operational purposes. The police station is in Chatsworth Road. The West Downs division's headquarters is at Centenary House in Durrington. Worthing's fire station has been in Broadwater since 1962. The borough had been in charge of fire protection since 1891, after several decades in which volunteers provided the service. A fire station was built on Worthing High Street in 1908; it was demolished after the move to Broadwater. The Worthing and Adur District Team, part of the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, employs 60 full-time and 18 retained firefighter
Retained firefighter
A retained firefighter, also known as a Firefighter working the Retained Duty System , RDS Firefighter, part-time firefighter or on-call firefighter, in the United Kingdom and Ireland is a professional firefighter who may have full-time employment outside of the fire service but responds to...
s.
Worthing Hospital
Worthing Hospital
Worthing Hospital is a medium-sized District General Hospital located in Worthing, West Sussex, England. It has approximately 500 beds. In 2001 a £1.3m Children’s Centre opened, enabling almost all children’s healthcare needs to be met under one roof...
is administered by the Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust
NHS Trust
A National Health Service trust provides services on behalf of the National Health Service in England and NHS Wales.The trusts are not trusts in the legal sense but are in effect public sector corporations. Each trust is headed by a board consisting of executive and non-executive directors, and is...
. The 500-bed facility on Lyndhurst Road was founded in 1881 as an 18-bed infirmary. It replaced older hospitals on Ann Street and Chapel Road. Other medical care facilities include two mental health units (Greenacres and Meadowfield Hospital) and a 38-bed private hospital in the Grade II-listed Goring Hall.
Gas was manufactured in Worthing for nearly 100 years until 1931, but Scotia Gas Networks
Scotia Gas Networks
Scotia Gas Networks is a holding company of Scotland Gas Networks and Southern Gas Networks based in Horley.- History :The company was formed following National Grid plc's decision to sell four of its local gas distribution zones in order to raise funds for expansion...
now supply the town through their Southern Gas Networks division. Electricity generation took place locally between 1901 and 1961; EDF Energy
EDF Energy
EDF Energy is an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom...
now supply the town. Southern Water
Southern Water
Southern Water is the utility responsible for wastewater collection and treatment in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent, and for water supply and distribution in the approximately half of this area...
, who have been based in Durrington since 1989, have controlled Worthing's water supply, drainage and sewerage since 1974. The town's first waterworks was built in 1852. Drainage and sewage disposal was poorly developed in the 19th century, but a fatal typhoid outbreak in 1893 prompted investment in sewage works and better pipes.
Voluntary and community groups
There are a number of voluntary and community groups active in the town ranging from small volunteer-led groups to large well established charities. There is a Council for Voluntary Service and a Volunteer Centre funded by the local authority to support voluntary action. In 2003-4 registered charities in Worthing indicated a combined income of £56 million in the submitted accounts to the Charity Commission. The Place Survey conducted in all local authority districts by central government in 2009 found that up to 24,000 people in Worthing described themselves as giving volunteer time in the community.Buildings and architecture
Castle Goring
Castle Goring is a grade one listed country house in Worthing, in Sussex, England.The building to some extent defies categorisation, being neither fully a castle, nor is it fully in Goring. The word is often used for English country houses constructed after the castle-building era and not...
, St Mary's Church at Broadwater and the Archbishop's Palace at West Tarring—are classified at Grade I, which is used for buildings "of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important". Worthing Pier
Worthing Pier
Worthing Pier is a pier in Worthing, West Sussex, England. Designed by Sir Robert Rawlinson, it was opened on 12 April 1862 and remains open. The pier originally was a simple promenade deck 960 ft long and 15 ft wide...
, Park Crescent
Park Crescent, Worthing
Park Crescent is an example of Georgian architecture in Worthing, England, designed in 1829 by Amon Henry Wilds, son of the architect Amon Wilds and constructed between 1831 and 1833...
, Beach House
Beach House
Beach House is a dream pop duo formed in 2004 in Baltimore, Maryland, consisting of French-born Victoria Legrand and Baltimore native Alex Scally. Their self-titled debut, Beach House, released in 2006, was critically acclaimed. This was followed by their second release, Devotion, in 2008...
and several churches are also listed.
Since 1896, when Warwick House was demolished, many historic buildings have been lost and others altered. The town's first and most distinguished theatre, the Theatre Royal, and the adjacent Omega Cottage (the home of the theatre's first manager) were lost in 1970 when the Guildbourne Centre was built; Warne's Hotel and the Royal Sea House burnt down; the early bath-houses which were vital to Worthing's success as a fashionable resort were all demolished in the 20th century; Broadwater's ancient rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
rotted away after it fell out of use in 1924; and several old streets in the town centre had all their buildings demolished for postwar redevelopment.
Pale yellow bricks have been made locally since about 1780, and are commonly encountered as a building material. Flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
is the other predominant structural material: its local abundance has ensured its frequent use. The combination of flint and red brick is characteristic of Worthing. In particular, walls built alongside streets or to mark out boundaries were almost always built of flint with brick dressings, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Boat porches are a unique architectural feature of Worthing. These structures surround the entrance doors of some early 19th-century houses, and take the form of an stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed porch with an ogee
Ogee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
-headed roof which resembles the bottom of a boat. Historians have speculated that the cottages, examples of which are in Albert Place, Warwick Place and elsewhere, may have been built by local fishermen who used their boats as a basis for the design.
Folklore
The Midsummer Tree, an oakOak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, stands near Broadwater Green and is said to be around 300 years old. Until the 19th century, it was believed that on Midsummer's Eve
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
skeletons would rise from the tree and dance around it until dawn, when they would sink back into the ground. The legend was first recorded by folklorist Charlotte Latham in 1868. Since 2006, when the oak was saved from development, meetings have been held on Midsummers Eve there.
It was once believed that monsters known as knucker
Knucker
Knucker is a dialect word for a kind of water dragon, living in knuckerholes in Sussex, England. The word comes from the Old English nicor which means "water monster" and is used in the poem Beowulf.-Knuckers in folklore:...
s lived in bottomless ponds called knuckerholes. There were several knuckerholes in Sussex, including one in Worthing by Ham Bridge (on the present Ham Road), close to East Worthing railway station
East Worthing railway station
East Worthing railway station is an unstaffed station in Worthing in the county of West Sussex. The station is operated by Southern.The station was opened in 1905 as Ham Bridge Halt, taking the name of the road bridge at the eastern end....
and Teville Stream
Teville Stream
The Teville Stream is a stream which flows through the town of Worthing in West Sussex. Once significantly wider than the current stream, it is now culverted for much of its length.-Watercourse:...
.
According to legend, a tunnel several miles long led from the now-demolished medieval Offington Hall
Offington
Offington is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A2031 road 1.6 miles northwest of the town centre....
to the Neolithic flint mines and Iron Age hill fort at Cissbury. It was said to be sealed, and there was treasure at the far end; the owner of the Hall "had offered half the money to anyone who would clear out the subterranean passage and several persons had begun digging, but all had been driven back by large snakes springing at them with open mouths and angry hisses".
Arts
In literature, Oscar WildeOscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
wrote The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
while staying in the town in the summer of 1894. Salvington in Worthing was the birthplace of philosopher and scholar John Selden
John Selden
John Selden was an English jurist and a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law...
in 1584. In the 1960s, playwright Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
lived wrote The Homecoming
The Homecoming
The Homecoming is a two-act play written in 1964 by Nobel laureate Harold Pinter and first published in 1965. The original Broadway production won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Play and its 40th-anniversary Broadway production at the Cort Theatre was nominated for a 2008 Tony Award for "Best Revival...
at his home in Ambrose Place. Other literary figures to have lived in the town include WE Henley, WH Hudson
William Henry Hudson
William Henry Hudson was an author, naturalist, and ornithologist.- Life and work :Hudson was born in the Quilmes, a borough of the greater Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, son of settlers of U.S. origin...
, Stephen Spender
Stephen Spender
Sir Stephen Harold Spender CBE was an English poet, novelist and essayist who concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle in his work...
, Dorothy Richardson
Dorothy Richardson
Dorothy Miller Richardson was a British author and journalist.-Biography:Richardson was born in Abingdon in 1873. Her family moved to Worthing, West Sussex in 1880 and then Putney, London in 1883...
, Edward Knoblock
Edward Knoblock
Edward Knoblock was an American-born British playwright and novelist most remembered for the often revived 1911 play, Kismet-Biography:...
, Beatrice Hastings
Beatrice Hastings
Beatrice Hastings was the pen name of Emily Alice Haigh an English writer, poet and literary critic. Much of her work was published in The New Age under a variety of pseudonyms, and she lived with the editor, A. R. Orage, for a time before the outbreak of the First World War...
, Maureen Duffy
Maureen Duffy
Maureen Patricia Duffy is a contemporary British poet, playwright and novelist. She has also published a literary biography of Aphra Behn, and The Erotic World of Faery a book-length study of eroticism in faery fantasy literature.-Life and work:After a tough childhood, Duffy took her degree in...
, Vivien Alcock
Vivien Alcock
Vivien Alcock was an author of children's books. Born in Worthing, West Sussex in England, her family moved to Devizes in Wiltshire when she was aged 10. She then studied at the Oxford School of Art....
, John Oxenham
John Oxenham
William Arthur Dunkerley was a prolific English journalist, novelist and poet. He was born in Manchester, spent a short time after his marriage in America before moving to Ealing, west London, where he served as deacon and teacher at the Ealing Congregational Church from the 1880s, and he...
and his daughter Elsie J. Oxenham
Elsie J. Oxenham
Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley , was an English girls' story writer, who took the name Oxenham as her pseudonym when her first book, Goblin Island, was published in 1907. Her Abbey Series of 38 titles are her best-known and best-loved books...
. Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's unfinished final novel Sanditon
Sanditon
Sanditon , also known as Sand and Sandition is an unfinished novel by the British novelist Jane Austen.-Background:In Sanditon, Austen explored her interest in the verbal construction of a society by means of a town – and a set of families – that is still in the process of being formed...
is thought to have been significantly based on experiences from her stay in Worthing in 1805.
Worthing Pier
Worthing Pier is a pier in Worthing, West Sussex, England. Designed by Sir Robert Rawlinson, it was opened on 12 April 1862 and remains open. The pier originally was a simple promenade deck 960 ft long and 15 ft wide...
in 1896, and two years later William Kennedy Dickson—inventor of the Kinetoscope
Kinetoscope
The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device. Though not a movie projector—it was designed for films to be viewed individually through the window of a cabinet housing its components—the Kinetoscope introduced the basic approach that would become the standard for all cinematic...
, a pioneering motion picture device—visited the town to film daily life. In the early 20th century, several cinemas were established, although most were short-lived. Other former cinemas include the Rivoli (1924–1960), the 2,000-capacity Plaza (1933–1968) and the 1,600-capacity Odeon (1934–1986). The Kursaal was built in 1910 as a combined skating rink and theatre by Swiss impresario Carl Adolf Seebold
Carl Adolf Seebold
Carl Adolf Seebold was a Swiss impressario who commissioned and ran the Dome Cinema in the English coastal town of Worthing in West Sussex....
. It was renamed The Dome in 1915 in response to anti-German sentiment during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Seebold opened the 950-capacity Dome Cinema
Dome Cinema, Worthing
The Dome Cinema, Worthing, West Sussex, England, is a grade II* listed building. It has two cinema screens, a function room and a bar. It has closed for refurbishment several times, most recently between December 2005 and July 2007...
in place of the skating rink in 1922; it is still open, and is one of Britain's oldest operational cinemas. The Connaught Screen 2 cinema (formerly The Ritz, and before that Connaught Hall) was established in 1995.
Many films and television programmes have been filmed using Worthing as the backdrop including: Pinter's The Birthday Party
The Birthday Party (film)
The Birthday Party is a 1968 British drama film directed by William Friedkin, based on an unpublished screenplay by 2005 Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter, which he adapted from his own play The Birthday Party, considered an example of Pinter's "comedy of menace".-Plot:The protagonist is a lodger in his...
(1968), Dance with a Stranger
Dance with a Stranger
Dance with a Stranger is a 1985 British drama film, directed by Mike Newell. Telling the story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain in the fifties, this moving biographical British film won critical acclaim, and brought particular notice to the careers of both Miranda Richardson...
(1985). and Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here (1987 film)
Wish You Were Here is a 1987 British drama/comedy film starring Emily Lloyd and Tom Bell. The film was written and directed by David Leland. The original music score was composed by Stanley Myers.-Plot:...
(1987).
Theatre has been performed in Worthing since 1796. Thomas Trotter, the early promoter and manager at the town's temporary venues, was asked to open a permanent theatre in 1807; his Theatre Royal opened on 7 July of that year and operated until 1855. The building survived until 1870. The 1,000-capacity New Theatre Royal in Bath Place, run by Carl Adolf Seebold for several years, lasted from 1897 until 1929. Several other venues have been used for theatrical productions, but as of Worthing has three council-owned theatres: the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
Connaught Theatre
Connaught Theatre
The Connaught Theatre is a Streamline Moderne-style theatre in the centre of Worthing, in West Sussex, England. Built as the Picturedrome cinema in 1914, the venue was extended in 1935 and became the new home of the Connaught Theatre . The theatre houses touring West End theatre productions,...
, the Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
Pavilion Theatre and the Modernist, Grade II-listed Assembly Hall, which is mostly used for musical performances (including since 1950 an annual music festival). The Assembly Hall is home to the Worthing Symphony Orchestra
Worthing Symphony Orchestra
The Worthing Symphony Orchestra is the professional orchestra for the town of Worthing. It is the only professional orchestra in the English county of West Sussex. Founded in 1926, the orchestra was the first municipal orchestra in Britain....
and the Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra.
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery is in the centre of Worthing near the grade II* listed St Paul's and is the largest museum in West Sussex. It celebrated its centenary in 2008.-Collections & Displays:...
was built in 1908 as the town's museum and library. Alfred Cortis, the first mayor of Worthing, and the international philanthropist Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
funded the construction. West Sussex County Council built a new library in 1975 and the museum has had a chequered history ever since, fighting off closure in 2003 with the support of local residents.
In the visual arts, painter Copley Fielding
Copley Fielding
Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding , commonly called Copley Fielding, was an English painter born in Sowerby, near Halifax and famous for his watercolour landscapes. At an early age Fielding became a pupil of John Varley...
lived at 5 Park Crescent in the mid-18th century. and more recently Jamie Hewlett
Jamie Hewlett
Jamie Christopher Hewlett is an English comic book artist and designer. He is known for being the co-creator of the comic Tank Girl and co-creator of the virtual band Gorillaz.-Biography:...
and Alan Martin created cult comic figure Tank Girl
Tank Girl
Tank Girl is a British comic created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin. Originally drawn by Jamie Hewlett, it has also been drawn by Rufus Dayglo, Ashley Wood, and Mike McMahon.The eponymous character Tank Girl drives a tank, which is also her home...
while at college in the town in the 1980s. The town has a famous work by sculptor Elisabeth Frink
Elisabeth Frink
Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink, DBE, CH, RA was an English sculptor and printmaker...
. Uniquely in England, Desert Quartet (1990), Frink's penultimate sculpture, was given Grade II* listing in 2007, less than 30 years from its creation. It may be seen on the building opposite Liverpool Gardens.
For three days in 1970 a field on the outskirts of Worthing was the site of the Phun City
Phun City
Phun City was a rock festival held at Ecclesden Common near Worthing, England from July 24 to July 26, 1970. Excluding the one-day free concerts in London's Hyde Park, Phun City became the first large-scale free festival in the UK....
music festival, the UK's first large-scale free music festival.
Open spaces
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and Edwardian eras.
- Beach House ParkBeach House Park, WorthingBeach House Park is a formal garden in Worthing, a town and local government district in West Sussex, England. Opened by Worthing Borough Council in 1924, the park has formal lawns and flowerbeds, bowling greens of international standard, and a war memorial commemorating war pigeons...
– named after nearby Beach House, the park is home to one of the world's most well-known venues for the sport of bowlsBowlsBowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
. The park is also home to a possibly unique memorial to homing pigeonHoming pigeonThe homing pigeon is a variety of domestic pigeon derived from the Rock Pigeon selectively bred to find its way home over extremely long distances. The wild rock pigeon has an innate homing ability, meaning that it will generally return to its own nest and its own mate...
s that served in the Second World War. - Beach House Green
- Broadwater Green – Broadwater's 'village green'.
- Brooklands Park
- Denton Gardens
- Goring Green
- Highdown GardensHighdown GardensHighdown Gardens is a garden on the western edge of the town of Worthing, close to the village of Ferring and the National Trust archaeological site Highdown Hill in West Sussex, England. Overlooking the sea from the South Downs the gardens contain a collection of rare plants and trees,...
– a beautiful garden at the foot of the South Downs, deemed to be of national importance. - Homefield Park – formerly known as the 'People's Park' it was once home to Worthing F.C.Worthing F.C.Worthing Football Club are an English association football club based in Worthing, West Sussex, currently playing in the Isthmian League Division One South...
- Liverpool Gardens – overlooking the graceful Georgian Liverpool Terrace, the gardens and terrace are named after Lord Liverpool. Overlooking the park from the east are four bronze heads known as Desert Quartet, sculpted by Dame Elisabeth FrinkElisabeth FrinkDame Elisabeth Jean Frink, DBE, CH, RA was an English sculptor and printmaker...
. - Marine Gardens
- Palatine Park
- Promenade Waterwise Garden
- Steyne Gardens – which includes a sunken garden re-landscaped in 2007 with a fountain of the Ancient GreekAncient GreekAncient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
sea god, TritonTriton (mythology)Triton is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the big sea. He is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Amphitrite, goddess of the sea, whose herald he is...
, by sculptor William BloyeWilliam BloyeWilliam James Bloye was an English sculptor, active in Birmingham either side of World War II.He studied, and later, taught at the Birmingham School of Art , where his pupils included Gordon Herickx, Raymond Mason and Ian Walters...
. - Victoria Park – was donated by the Heene Estate to the poor of Worthing in commemoration of the death of Queen Victoria. (Taken from title deeds to property owned in St. Matthews Road.) The land was previously used for market gardenMarket gardenA market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre ...
ing and once sported a paddling pool which was closed due to foot infections in the children. Victoria Park is very popular for club and casual footballers. - West Park – has a running track and basketball court and lies next to Worthing Leisure Centre.
- Field Place – tennis courts, lawn bowls, putting and conference facilities. Can be found north of Worthing Leisure Centre.
Annual events
Worthing Open Houses is an annual festival of arts and crafts. The 2010 event was the largest so far, 45 venues and over 200 artists on the last two weekends in July.In January, the ancient custom of wassailing
Wassailing
The tradition of Wassailing falls into two distinct categories: The House-Visiting wassail and the Orchard-Visiting wassail. House-Visiting wassail, very much similar to caroling, is the practice of people going door-to-door singing Christmas carols...
takes place in Tarring to bless the apple trees. A flaming torchlit procession takes place down Tarring High Street culminating in hundreds of people gathering around an apple tree to shout, chant and sing to drive away evil spirits. The apple trees are toasted with wassail
Wassail
The word Wassail refers to several related traditions; first and foremost wassailing is an ancient southern English tradition that is performed with the intention of ensuring a good crop of cider apples for the next year's harvest...
, apple cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
and apple cake
Apple cake
Apple cake is a popular dessert produced with the main ingredient of apples. Such a cake is made through the process of slicing this sweet fruit to add fragrance to a plain cake base. Traditional apple cakes go a step further by including various spices such as nutmeg or cinnamon, which give off a...
, followed by fireworks.
On May Day, a procession and dancing takes place in Worthing town centre, culminating in the crowning of the May Queen
May Queen
The May Queen or Queen of May is a term which has two distinct but related meanings, as a mythical figure and as a holiday personification.-Festivals:...
. Also in May, the Three Forts Marathon starts and finishes at the Norwich Union building on the outskirts of Worthing before taking in the ancient hill forts of Cissbury Ring, Devil's Dyke
Devil's Dyke, Sussex
Devil's Dyke is a V-shaped valley on the South Downs Way in southern England, near Brighton and Hove. It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation.Devil's Dyke is on the way to Brighton and is a big hill at the side of the road.-Geological history:...
and Chanctonbury Ring over the rough and steep terrain of the South Downs.
The Worthing Transition Festival 2010, was held between 4 June and 26 June at the Heene Gallery, Heene Road, Worthing. Being the first of its kind in Worthing, the Festival provided a month-long showcase for art inspired by themes such as climate change, sustainable transport, local food, and the end of cheap oil. There was a photographic competition based on 'local food', and visitors to the Heene Gallery were invited to help create a Timeline for Worthing between 2010 and 2030.
The Worthing Festival is held in the last two weeks each July with open-air concerts in the town centre and a fairground along the town's promenade.
Worthing is now the home to the International Birdman competition (formerly hosted in Selsey and Bognor Regis). In 2011 the Worthing International Birdman will be held on the 13 & 14 August.
September 2011 will see the next The End of the Pier International Film Festival
The End of the Pier International Film Festival
The End of the Pier International Film Festival is a not-for profit independent film festival based in West Sussex, England. The festival began in 2002 and showed work by local film makers, but it has since grown to showcase shorts and features from all over the world...
, which is held at various venues across Worthing, including the town's two cinemas. Pier Day takes place on Worthing Pier and the nearby promenade every September.
In October 2010, Worthing hosted the inaugural "Wukulele Festival" – the south coast's international ukulele festival. This three day event presented concerts by international performers, ukulele workshops for all levels, school performances and a festival fringe with free events in and around the town centre.
Media
In the early 19th century, Worthing was served by newspapers with a wider geographical circulation, such as the Brighton Gazette, Brighton Herald, Sussex Daily News, Sussex Weekly Advertiser and West Sussex Gazette. Weekly or monthly publications such as the Worthing Visitors' List and Advertising Sheet (notorious for its condemnation of people who had displeased its owner, Owen Breads), the Worthing Monthly Record & District Chronicle and the Worthing Intelligencer provided some local coverage from the middle of the century onwards; but the town's first regular local newspaper was the Worthing Gazette, introduced in 1883. It favoured the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
at first, and supported the Skeleton Army
Skeleton Army
The Skeleton Army was a diffuse group, particularly in Southern England, that opposed and disrupted the Salvation Army's marches against alcohol in the late 19th century...
's anti-Salvation Army riots later that decade. In 1921 its scope was extended to include Littlehampton, and it was renamed accordingly. The Worthing Herald was founded in 1920; it acquired the Gazette in 1963, but continued to publish the newspapers separately until 1981. Since then, a single newspaper has been published weekly under the Herald name, but it is officially known as the Worthing Herald incorporating the Worthing Gazette. It is now owned by Johnston Press
Johnston Press
Johnston Press plc is a newspaper publishing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. Its flagship titles are The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post; it also operates many other newspapers around the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man. It is the second-largest publisher...
, and has been based at Cannon House in Chatsworth Road since 1991. The Brighton-based daily The Argus
The Argus (Brighton)
The Argus is a local newspaper based in Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, with editions serving the city of Brighton and Hove and the other parts of both East and West Sussex.-History:...
, owned by Newsquest
Newsquest
Newsquest is the third largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the United Kingdom with 300 titles in its portfolio. Newsquest is based in Weybridge, Surrey and employs a total of more than 5,500 people across the UK...
, also serves Worthing. An anarchic local newsletter called The Porkbolter, focusing on environmental issues, has been published monthly since 1997.
Worthing is served by the BBC South
BBC South
BBC South is the BBC English Region serving West Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset, western Berkshire, Oxfordshire, south east Wiltshire and the Isle of Wight.-Television:...
television studios based in Southampton, and by the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
franchise Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
, also with studios in Southampton. Television signals come from the Rowridge or Whitehawk Hill
Whitehawk
Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove.The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was originally developed by the local authority between 1933 and 1937 and...
transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
s.
Splash FM
Splash FM
Splash FM is a United Kingdom radio station, based in Worthing, West Sussex, and operated by Media Sound Holdings Ltd. The station plays a selection of hit songs from the last forty years, and offers regular updates on local news, sport, travel and events...
is Worthing's local commercial radio station. Launched in 2003 and owned by Media Sound Holdings Ltd, it broadcasts from the Guildbourne Centre on 107.7FM
FM broadcast band
The FM broadcast band, used for FM broadcast radio by radio stations, differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa , it spans from 87.5 to 108.0 megahertz , while in America it goes only from 88.0 to 108.0 MHz. The FM broadcast band in Japan uses 76.0 to 90 MHz...
. Heart Sussex, a Global Radio
Global Radio
Global Radio UK Ltd. is a British commercial radio company, the largest in the country following acquisitions of Chrysalis Radio and GCap Media.The company's Chief Executive Officer is Stephen Miron, while the Group Chairman is Charles Allen...
-owned commercial station, also covers Worthing. BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio is the BBC's regional radio service for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of 40 stations. They cover a variety of areas with some serving a city and surrounding areas, for example BBC Radio Manchester; a county, for example BBC Radio Norfolk; an administrative region for...
coverage is provided by BBC Sussex
BBC Sussex
BBC Sussex is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Sussex. It began on 14 February 1968 as BBC Radio Brighton, later becoming BBC Radio Sussex and then part of BBC Southern Counties Radio, before adopting its present name on 30 March 2009...
(formerly BBC Southern Counties Radio
BBC Southern Counties Radio
BBC Southern Counties Radio was the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Surrey and Sussex. The station also covered a large part of North-East Hampshire. It was the first BBC Local Radio station to introduce a controversial all-speech format...
).
Sport
Worthing's location between the sea and the downs makes the area a popular location for outdoor recreation. Its wide open water and five miles of coastline provides for many types of watersport, especially catamaranCatamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
racing, windsurfing
Windsurfing
Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
and kitesurfing
Kitesurfing
Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...
and the town has held a regatta
Regatta
A regatta is a series of boat races. The term typically describes racing events of rowed or sailed water craft, although some powerboat race series are also called regattas...
for rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
since at least 1859. The South Downs is popular for hiking and mountain-biking, with around 22 trail-heads within the borough. Two of Worthing's three golf clubs, including Worthing Golf Club
Worthing Golf Club
Worthing Golf Club is a golf club on the South Downs at Worthing, England.Located close to the Iron Age hillfort of Cissbury Ring in the new South Downs National Park, the club comprises two links golf courses, a driving range and a clubhouse...
are also located on the Downs, which is also the location for the Three Forts Marathon, a 27-mile ultramarathon
Ultramarathon
An ultramarathon is any sporting event involving running longer than the traditional marathon length of .There are two types of ultramarathon events: those that cover a specified distance, and events that take place during specified time...
from Broadwater to the three Iron Age hill forts of Cissbury Ring, Chanctonbury Ring and Devil's Dyke
Devil's Dyke, Sussex
Devil's Dyke is a V-shaped valley on the South Downs Way in southern England, near Brighton and Hove. It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation.Devil's Dyke is on the way to Brighton and is a big hill at the side of the road.-Geological history:...
.
Formed in 1886 and nicknamed "The Rebels", Worthing F.C.
Worthing F.C.
Worthing Football Club are an English association football club based in Worthing, West Sussex, currently playing in the Isthmian League Division One South...
is the town's main football club. They play in the Isthmian League Division One South, having been relegated from the Premier Division at the end of the 2006/07 season. Worthing United F.C.
Worthing United F.C.
Worthing United F.C. is a football club based in Worthing, England that have played in the Sussex County League since their inception in 1988. They gained promotion from Division Three in their second season . In 2004, they gained promotion from Division Two. Between 2004 and 2009, they were...
who are nicknamed 'the "Mavericks" play in the First Division of the Sussex County League.
Home to Bowls England
Bowls England
Bowls England governs the game of flat green outdoor bowls for men and women in England. It was formed on the 1st January 2008 following a merger of the English Bowling Association and the English Women’s Bowling Association....
, Worthing is, with Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, one of only two locations in the world to have hosted the men's World Bowls Championships
World Bowls Events
These are the premier events between national bowls organisations affiliated to -World Championship:First held in Australia in 1966, the World Bowls Championships for men and women are held every 4 years. From 2008 the men's and women's events are held together...
twice. The events were held in 1972 and 1992, both at Beach House Park
Beach House Park, Worthing
Beach House Park is a formal garden in Worthing, a town and local government district in West Sussex, England. Opened by Worthing Borough Council in 1924, the park has formal lawns and flowerbeds, bowling greens of international standard, and a war memorial commemorating war pigeons...
, which is sometimes known as the spiritual home of bowls, and is also the venue for the annual National Championships each August.
| Club | Nickname | Sport | League | Venue | Established |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worthing Cricket Club Worthing Cricket Club Worthing Cricket Club is a cricket club in the coastal town of Worthing in West Sussex, England. Founded in 1855, the club's first XI plays in the Premier League of the Sussex Cricket League which is the accredited ECB Premier League for Sussex and is the highest level for recreational club... |
Cricket Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the... |
Sussex Premier League Sussex Cricket League The Sussex Cricket League is the top level of competition for recreational club cricket in Sussex, England, and since 1999 the Premier Division has been a designated ECB Premier League. The league has nine divisions, four for 1st XI sides, four for 2nd XI sides and one for 3rd XI sides.-1st XI... |
Manor Sports Ground Manor Sports Ground The Manor Sports Ground, is a cricket venue in Worthing, West Sussex, England. It is home to Worthing Cricket Club.-History:One of the earliest recorded cricket matches at the Manor Sports Ground was on 17 July 1902 when Sussex Second XI took on Essex Second XI... |
1855 | |
| Worthing Football Club Worthing F.C. Worthing Football Club are an English association football club based in Worthing, West Sussex, currently playing in the Isthmian League Division One South... |
The Rebels | Football | Isthmian League Division One South | Woodside Road Woodside Road Woodside Road is a football stadium in Worthing, West Sussex, England. First opened in 1892, it is the home of Worthing F.C. and has a capacity of 4,000.-History:... |
1886 |
| Worthing Rugby Football Club Worthing Rugby Football Club Worthing Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team. The first XV, nicknamed the Worthing Raiders currently plays in National Division Two South, the fourth tier of English rugby union competition... |
Raiders | Rugby union Rugby union Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand... |
National League 2 South National League 2 South National League 2 South, known before September 2009 as National Division Three South, is a league at level 4 in the English rugby union system. The league is one of two leagues at this level, with its counterpart covering the north of England... |
Roundstone Lane, Angmering Angmering Angmering is a large village and civil parish between Littlehampton and Worthing in West Sussex, England. It is located approximately two miles north of the English Channel; Worthing and Littlehampton are about four miles to the east and west respectively.Angmering railway station is miles away... |
1920 |
| Worthing United Football Club Worthing United F.C. Worthing United F.C. is a football club based in Worthing, England that have played in the Sussex County League since their inception in 1988. They gained promotion from Division Three in their second season . In 2004, they gained promotion from Division Two. Between 2004 and 2009, they were... |
The Mavericks | Football | Sussex County League Division 2 Sussex County Football League The Sussex County Football League is a football league broadly covering the counties of East Sussex, West Sussex and southeastern Surrey, England.Formed in 1920, the league now has six divisions - three for first teams and three for reserve sides... |
Robert Albon Memorial Ground | 1988 |
| Worthing Thunder Worthing Thunder Worthing Thunder is a basketball team from Worthing, England. Founded in 1999, until recently they competed in the top-tier British Basketball League, having previously having dominated the lower leagues in recent years, winning back-to-back English Basketball League Division One titles in 2006 and... |
Thunder | Basketball | English Basketball League English Basketball League The English Basketball League is a semi-professional and amateur basketball league in England. It forms the second-tier of competition below the professional British Basketball League.... |
Worthing Leisure Centre Worthing Leisure Centre Worthing Leisure Centre is a Leisure Centre located in Worthing, England, near Worthing College and Durrington-on-Sea railway station. The Capacity of the Main Hall is around 1,000 people and can be adapted for a variety of uses including: Badminton , Basketball , Volleyball , Trampolining and a... |
1999 |
Notable people
Notable inhabitants include pioneer Edward HentyEdward Henty
See also Western District Edward Henty ,was a pioneer and first permanent settler in the Port Phillip district , Australia....
, born in West Tarring
Tarring, West Sussex
West Tarring is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A2031 road northwest of the town centre. It is officially called West Tarring or, less commonly, Tarring Peverell, to differentiate it from Tarring Neville near Lewes, but is usually called just...
in 1810, horticulturalist James Bateman
James Bateman
James Bateman was a landowner and accomplished horticulturist. He developed Biddulph Grange after moving there around 1840, from nearby Knypersley Hall...
, mathematician and inventor Thomas Shaw Brandreth
Thomas Shaw Brandreth
Thomas Shaw Brandreth, FRS was an English mathematician, inventor and classicist.-Early life and education:Brandreth was the son of a Cheshire physician, Joseph Brandreth. He studied at Eton and received a BA from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1810 as Second Wrangler, second Smith's Prizeman, and...
and artist Copley Fielding
Copley Fielding
Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding , commonly called Copley Fielding, was an English painter born in Sowerby, near Halifax and famous for his watercolour landscapes. At an early age Fielding became a pupil of John Varley...
. In the 20th century, many writers settled in the town, from poet Beatrice Hastings
Beatrice Hastings
Beatrice Hastings was the pen name of Emily Alice Haigh an English writer, poet and literary critic. Much of her work was published in The New Age under a variety of pseudonyms, and she lived with the editor, A. R. Orage, for a time before the outbreak of the First World War...
to playwright Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
. Actress Nicollette Sheridan who starred in recent American television drama 'Desperate Housewives' was born in Worthing.
Twin towns
ElzachElzachElzach is a town in the district of Emmendingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Elz, 26 km northeast of Freiburg.-Twin towns:Elzach is a town in the district of Emmendingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
, Germany- Gutach im BreisgauGutach im BreisgauGutach is a town in the district of Emmendingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.Gutach includes six villages:* Gutach* Bleibach* Siegelau* Stollen* Kregelbach* Oberspitzenbach-Twin towns:...
, Germany 
Les Sables-d'OlonneLes Sables-d'OlonneLes Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, by the Atlantic Ocean. It is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Vendée department.-Events:...
, France- SimonswaldSimonswaldSimonswald is a town in the district of Emmendingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-Twin towns:...
, Germany - WaldkirchWaldkirchWaldkirch is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is known as "the place of mechanical organs", where fairground organs are manufactured and played on the streets from well-known manufacturers, such as A. Ruth and Sohn, Bruder and Carl Frei .-Sights:* The Catholic Church St...
, Germany