Worthing
From Free net encyclopedia
| Borough of Worthing | |
|---|---|
| Image:WestSussexWorthing.png Shown within West Sussex | |
| Geography | |
| Status: | Borough |
| Region: | South East England |
| Admin. County: | West Sussex |
| Area: - Total | Ranked 335th 32.48 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Worthing |
| ONS code: | 45UH |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2004 est.) - Density | Ranked 227th 98,000 3,017 / km² |
| Ethnicity: Aged 75 and over: | 97.2% White 13.5% |
| Politics | |
| Worthing Borough Council http://www.worthing.gov.uk/ | |
| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Conservative |
| MPs: | Peter Bottomley, Tim Loughton |
Template:GBmap Worthing is the largest town and a local government district in West Sussex, England.
Contents |
Town
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.
In more modern times it has been home to The Worthing Workshop (a late 1960s meeting place for musicians, actors and poets whose famous sons 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); Deadline (Featuring Jamie Hewlett's Tank Girl); and more recently the Revolutionary Arts Groop [sic].
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).
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.
History of Worthing
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Landmarks, buildings & places of interest
- Worthing Pier. Opened April 1862.
- The Dome. Built in 1909 and converted into a cinema which opened in 1922.
- High Salvington windmill.
- Cissbury Ring an ancient hill fort located on the South Downs.
Transport
Rail
Worthing is served by five railway stations on the West Coastway Line:
Road
Worthing is served by the following main roads:
Literary and artistic connections
- 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 available from vobes.com features a mix of entertainment, comedy and news. The show has recently reached its one year birthday.
- Birthplace of actress Paddy Croft.
- Birthplace (in 1959) of actress/comedienne Tracey Ullman
- Nicollette Sheridan, American television actress, was born in the town in 1963.
- 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.
- Jamie Hewlett, co-creator and artist of Gorillaz and Tank Girl.
- Blues-rock band Steamhammer formed in the town, 1967.
- The Rock Group The Ordinary Boys are originally from Worthing
See also
- Worthing Past, Author: Sally White, ISBN 1-86077-146-7. Published by Phillimore & Co Ltd.
External links
- Worthing Borough Council
- Worthing Youth Council
- Worthing's local radio station, Splash FM
- Worthing's local podcaster, Richard Vobes
- Worthing Herald newspaper
- Worthing Dome History
- Worthing What's On Guide
