Worthing
Worthing is the largest town and a
local government district in
West Sussex,
England.
It has a population of almost 100,000 and is situated between the coast and the
South Downs. While it is often considered a retirement town (its crematorium was once the third busiest in Europe) it has had an active
underground culture for many of years, early examples being the 19th century
Bonfire Boys and
Skeleton Army, although the area was well known for smugglers right back to the 18th century.[
1][
2]
Historically, the inhabitants of Worthing were nicknamed "pork bolters", dating from the town's days as a fishing village with its many superstitious fishermen and their notoriously extreme avoidance of pigs.
In more modern times it has been home to
The Worthing Workshop, a late-1960s meeting place for musicians, actors and poets whose famous patrons include
The Damned's
Brian James,
Leo Sayer,
Billy Idol, Martin Quittenton (who wrote
Rod Stewart's
Maggie May) and Track Record's supremo, Ian Grant. It has also been home to
Jamie Hewlett (
Tank Girl), and more recently the Revolutionary Arts Groop [
sic] and, since 1997, an anarchic local newsletter called The Porkbolter.
It has two
MPs:
Tim Loughton (Conservative) for
East Worthing and Shoreham, and
Peter Bottomley (Conservative) for
Worthing West.
Worthing is twinned with Le Pays des Olonnes (
France) and the Elztal region (
Germany).
* There is evidence of habitation in the area since the
Stone Age, when
Cissbury Ring appears to have been one of the most important flint mining centres in the country. Artefacts including
Bronze Age tools and metal and coins and pottery from the
Iron Age have been found.
* Worthing is first mentioned in the
Domesday Book when it had a population of just 22.
*
Roman coins, tiles and pottery have been discovered in several parts of the town.
* The
Saxons settled nearby
Goring and
Sompting and by the
13th Century the settlement, then known as Wortinge, was populated primarily by farmers and
mackerel fishermen. The hamlet of Worthing was originally part of the larger parish of
Broadwater. Other nearby villages to later become part of Worthing include
Tarring,
Salvington,
Goring,
Heene and
Durrington, as well as small parts of the parishes of
Findon and
Sompting.
* 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
fertilizer. The decaying weed was sought by farmers from the surrounding area. Thus the town became known as Wort (weed) inge (people).
* In the late
18th Century that Worthing began to attract visitors. With a warm climate and calm seas, it benefited from the
Edwardian fashion for sea cures.
* Royal visits from
Princess Amelia in 1798,
Princess Charlotte in 1807 and
Princess Augusta in 1829 did much to make the town popular.
* In 1803 Worthing's population was approximately 2,500 and the hamlet was given town status.
* In 1890 the town received its
Royal Charter and became the
Borough of Worthing.
*
Worthing Pier, opened April 1862.
*The Dome, built in 1909 and converted into the
Dome Cinema which opened in 1922.
*High Salvington windmill.
*
Cissbury Ring, an ancient
hill fort located on the South Downs.
Worthing, home of
Chris Baldwin (a
Legalise Cannabis Alliance activist), was one of the few towns in the UK to experience cannabis cafés for the first time. Chris first opened a café in a back room of his shop, "Bongchuffa". The café was named "The Quantum Leaf". The café was so successful that he opened his second, the other side of Worthing. He named his second creation "Buddies", and simultaneously set up "The Herb Connection" - a source of cannabis for those in urgent medical need. Both cafés were subject to continuous police raids. The first café eventually came to a close when the landlord withdrew the lease for the property - shortly followed by "Buddies" closing due to heavy-handed police, who were intercepting customers on their way out of the property.
Currently, there are no cannabis cafés which operate in the open in Worthing - although there are thought to be numerous 'open residences' for cannabis users.
Rail
Worthing is served by five
railway stations on the
West Coastway Line:
*
East Worthing*
Worthing*
West Worthing*
Durrington*
GoringRoad
Worthing is served by the following main roads:
*
A27 road*
A24 road*
A259 roadIn 1999 Worthing Council sold all its housing stock to
Worthing Homes Ltd.*
Percy Bysshe Shelley's first two works were printed in a Warwick Street building in 1810 and 1811.
*
Oscar Wilde wrote
The Importance of Being Earnest in Worthing in 1884, and used the name as his character Jack's surname.
*
Alma Cogan, 1950s recording artist, lived with her parents above their shop in Warwick Street, then moved to a large house on the corner of Lansdowne Road and Downview Road.
*
Richard Vobes podcasts to the world from his studios in Worthing. His 30 minute daily show features a mix of entertainment, comedy and news.
* Keyboard virtuoso and rockstar
Keith Emerson grew up in Worthing.
* Birthplace of actress
Paddy Croft.
*
Nicollette Sheridan, American television actress, was born in the town in 1963.
*Venue for
Phun City Festival in 1970
*
Harold Pinter wrote the script for the film
The Pumpkin Eater and the play
The Homecoming while living in Ambrose Place in
1963.
*
David Leland's 1987 film
Wish You Were Here was filmed along Worthing's seafront and in and around the town's historic Dome cinema.
* In the 1830s,
Edward William Lane translated
The Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights) from Arabic, whilst living at 4 Union Place in the town.
* Ska band
The Ordinary Boys were formed in the town in 2003 and attended the town's Sixth Form college.
*
Jamie Hewlett, a British comic book artist and designer, attended Northbrook College. He is best known for being the co-creator of the comic strip Tank Girl and co-creator of the band Gorillaz.
* Worthing is home to children's television legend
Dave Benson-PhillipsNicknamed the Rebels,
Worthing F.C. is the town's main football club, playing in the
Isthmian League Premier Division.
Worthing Thunder play basketball in the
English Basketball League.
*
Worthing Borough Council*
Worthing Community*
Worthing Arts
