About Worthing

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The coastal town of Worthing (50.8°N, 0.3°W) faces France across the English Channel and lies on the seaward slope of the South Downs, a line of chalk hills running across the SE corner of England. It has a population of almost 100,000 and is the largest town in the county of West Sussex. Originally, only a tiny hamlet from Saxon times, recognition arrived at the end of the 18th century when a Princess Amelia, a younger sister of the Prince Regent, visited the place on the recommendation of Court Physicians. The `sea air' was thought to be beneficial to her recovery but any thoughts of a quiet convalescence disappeared when `Prinny' made visits to her from nearby Brighton. The prince's followers decided that what was good for their prince was good for them also and the village's reputation as a health resort grew rapidly. The population at the time was probably less than 800 souls yet by 1851, just 5 decades on, the population had risen to 5370 (1851 Census). The hamlet that had, by then, grown into a village, suddenly became a town in 1804 and later, when a borough in 1890, absorbed all the surrounding villages which has once been larger and more prosperous than Worthing - or `Ordinges' - from Saxon times.

Worthing's other reputation as a fishing village from medieval times has been proved to be false. Archaeological `digs' over the past 150 years have proved time and time again that fishing was only a small occupation in the area and that agriculture was always the mainstay from the 6th century. This included sheep farming and crop growing but, much later, when fame arrived, tomato growing along with grapes, figs and cucumbers became the town's main source of income and the produce became world famous. Decline set in during the 1950's – it probably never fully recovered from the war years – and the huge greenhouse complexes around the town fell into disuse, subsequently becoming large housing developments. Ironically, after all this time, fishing still continues but on a much reduced scale. The town's link with the sea was greatest when a lifeboat was stationed there for just over 100 years.

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