Worthing

Name	Worthing
Official name	Borough of Worthing
Native name
Nickname	Sunny Worthing
Settlement type	Town & Borough
Total type	Borough
Motto	"Ex terra copiam e mari salutem"(Latin for "From the land plenty and from the sea health")
Blank emblem type	Coat of Arms of the Borough Council
Dot mapsize	250px
Dot map caption	Worthing shown within West Sussex
Dot x	135
Dot y	130
Pushpin map
Pushpin label position
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	United Kingdom
Subdivision type	Constituent area
Subdivision name1	England
Subdivision type2	Region
Subdivision name2	South East England
Subdivision type3	County
Subdivision name3	West Sussex
Subdivision type4	Borough
Subdivision name4	Worthing
Parts style
Parts
P2
Government footnotes	Leadership Mayor & CabinetExecutive
Government type	Borough
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Ann Barlow (C)
Leader title1	Leader of Council
Leader name1	Paul Yallop (C)
Leader title2	MPs
Leader name2	Peter Bottomley (C) Tim Loughton (C)
Established title	Founded
Established date	In antiquity
Established title2	Town charter
Established date2	1803
Established title3	Borough status
Established date3	1890
Unit pref
Area footnotes	Ranked
Area total km2	32.48
Area land km2
Elevation footnotes
Elevation m	7
Elevation ft	25
Elevation max m	184
Elevation max ft	603
Population as of	July 2008 est.
Population total	100,200 (Ranked 224th)
Population density km2
Population urban	183,000 (sub-urban Worthing)
Population blank1 title	Ethnicity
Population blank1	94.8% White2.1% S.Asian1.3% Mixed Race0.9% Black0.9% Chinese and other
Timezone	GMT
Timezone dst	British Summer Time
Coor pinpoint
Coordinates region
Coordinates type
Coordinates display	inline,title
Coordinates format	dms
Coordinates footnotes
Postal code type	Postcode
Postal code	BN11, BN12, BN13, BN14, BN99
Area code	01903
Blank name	ONS code
Blank info	45UH
Blank1 name	Highest Point
Blank1 info	Cissbury Ring (184m)
Blank2 name	Grid Reference
Blank2 info	SU775075
Website	www.worthing.gov.uk

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, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester. The borough covers an area of and has an estimated population of 102,100.

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.

History

In the Neolithic 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.

Etymology

Worthing means "(place of) Worth/Weorð/Worō's people", from the Old English 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).

Governance

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.

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'.

As of the 2008 local elections, the authority is Conservative-controlled, with seats allocated as follows:

{| style="margin:auto;" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" border="1" |+Party political make-up of Worthing Borough Council ! style="background:#ccc" |    ! style="background:#ccc" | Party ! style="background:#ccc" | Seats ! style="background:#ccc" colspan="37" | Worthing Borough Council 2008– |- | style="background:#339" |   | Conservative | style="text-align: right" | 25 | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   | style="background:#339" |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |- | style="background:#f90" |   | Liberal Democrats | style="text-align: right" | 11 | style="background:#f90" |   | style="background:#f90" |   | style="background:#f90" |   | style="background:#f90" |   | style="background:#f90" |   | style="background:#f90" |   | style="background:#f90" |   | style="background:#f90" |   | style="background:#f90" |   | style="background:#f90" |   | style="background:#f90" |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |- | style="background:#200" |   | Independent | style="text-align: right" | 1 | style="background:#200" |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |}

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.

Geography

Worthing is situated on the West Sussex coast in South East England, south of London and 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 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.

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 Society, 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 temperate climate: its 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:

Broadwater

Durrington

Findon Valley

Goring

Heene

High Salvington

Offington

Salvington

(West) Tarring

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 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. 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.

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%.

Religion

, stuccoed building whose façade is dominated by four tapering columns supporting a pediment. The side wall is yellow brick. Partly hidden behind the columns are two red round-headed doors. Above the pediment is a partly hidden cupola. A modern extension is partly visible to the right.|St Paul's Church was Worthing's first Anglican church.]] is the parish church of West Tarring.]]

The borough of Worthing has about 50 active Christian places of worship. There is also a mosque, which follows the Sunni 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 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.

Education

Schools in the borough are provided by West Sussex County Council. 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.

Economy and regeneration

is the headquarters of MGM Advantage.]] 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. As of 2009, there were approximately 43,000 jobs in the borough.

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 permission 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.

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. 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 east of Worthing. The nearest international airport is London Gatwick, about to the northeast. 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 firefighters.

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. 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; 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.

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.

Heritage and culture

Buildings and architecture

was built by John Rebecca in the 1820s.]] 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; 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 stuccoed 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. The legend was first recorded by folklorist Charlotte Latham in 1868.

It was once believed that monsters known as knuckers 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".

Arts

In literature, Oscar Wilde 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. Other literary figures to have lived in the town include WE Henley, Dorothy Richardson, Edward Knoblock, Beatrice Hastings, Maureen Duffy, Vivien Alcock, John Oxenham

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 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).

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. but as of Worthing has three council-owned theatres: the Art Deco Connaught Theatre, the Baroque Pavilion Theatre The Assembly Hall is home to the Worthing Symphony Orchestra and the Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra. 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. 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.

Open spaces

The town contains a considerable number of parks and gardens, many laid out in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Beach House Park – named after nearby Beach House, the park is home to one of the world's most well-known venues for the sport of bowls. The park is also home to a possibly unique memorial to homing pigeons that served in the Second World War.

Beach House Green

Broadwater Green – Broadwater's 'village green'.

Brooklands Park

Denton Gardens

Goring Green

Highdown Gardens – 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.

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 Frink.

Marine Gardens

Palatine Park

Promenade Waterwise Garden

Steyne Gardens – which includes a sunken garden re-landscaped in 2007 with a fountain of the Ancient Greek sea god, Triton, by sculptor William Bloye.

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 gardening 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 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.

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. In 1921 its scope was extended to include Littlehampton, and it was renamed accordingly. 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 transmitters.

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).

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 catamaran 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.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" |+ |- ! scope="col" | Club ! scope="col" | Nickname ! scope="col" | Sport ! scope="col" | League ! scope="col" | Venue ! scope="col" | Established |- | Worthing Cricket Club | | Cricket | Sussex Cricket League Division 2 | Manor Sports Ground | 1855 |- | Worthing Football Club | The Rebels | Football | Isthmian League Division One South | Woodside Road | 1886 |- | Worthing Rugby Football Club | Raiders | Rugby union | National League 2 South | Roundstone Lane, Angmering | 1920 |- | Worthing United Football Club | The Mavericks | Football | Sussex County League Division 2 | Robert Albon Memorial Ground | 1988 |- | Worthing Thunder | Thunder | Basketball | British Basketball League | Worthing Leisure Centre | 1999 |}

Notable people

Notable inhabitants include pioneer Edward Henty, 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. Actor Nicollette Sheridan who has become successful in recent American television drama was born in Worthing.

Twin towns

: Elzach, Germany : Gutach im Breisgau, Germany : Les Sables-d'Olonne, France : Simonswald, Germany : Waldkirch, Germany

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Worthing Borough Council

Category:Local government in West Sussex Category:Towns in West Sussex Category:Populated coastal places in West Sussex Category:Non-metropolitan districts of West Sussex Category:Local government districts of South East England