Worthing

Worthing
Borough of Worthing
Worthing seafront from Worthing Pier
Worthing Pier
Dome Cinema
Connaught Theatre
Cissbury Ring
North side of Castle Goring
Clockwise, from top: Worthing seafront from Worthing Pier, Dome Cinema, Castle Goring, Cissbury Ring in the South Downs National Park, Connaught Theatre, Worthing Pier
Official logo of Worthing
Etymology: Old English Wyrtingas
Nickname: 
Sunny Worthing
Motto(s): 
"Ex terra copiam e mari salutem"
(Latin for "From the land plenty and from the sea health")
Location within West Sussex
Location within West Sussex
Worthing is located in England
Worthing
Worthing
Location within England
Worthing is located in the United Kingdom
Worthing
Worthing
Location within the United Kingdom
Worthing is located in Europe
Worthing
Worthing
Location within Europe
Coordinates: 50°48′53″N 0°22′17″W / 50.81472°N 0.37139°W / 50.81472; -0.37139
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country England
RegionSouth East England
Historic county Sussex
CountyWest Sussex
BoroughWorthing
FoundedIn Antiquity
Town charter1803; 221 years ago (1803)
Borough status1890; 134 years ago (1890)
Administrative HQWorthing Town Hall
Government
 • TypeBorough
 • BodyWorthing Borough Council
 • LeadershipLeader and cabinet
 • ExecutiveLabour
 • Leader of CouncilCllr Sophie Cox (Lab)
 • Chief ExecutiveCatherine Howe
 • MPsBeccy Cooper (Lab)
Tom Rutland (Lab)
Area
 • Borough32.48 km2 (12.54 sq mi)
 • Rank277th
Elevation
7 m (25 ft)
Highest elevation
184 m (603 ft)
Population
 (2022)
 • Borough112,044 (ranked 216th)
 • Density3,445/km2 (8,920/sq mi)
 • Urban
474,485
DemonymWorthingite
Ethnicity (2021)
 • Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
 • Religion
List
Time zoneGMT
 • Summer (DST)British Summer Time
Postcode
BN11–BN14
Area code01903
ONS code45UH
Highest pointCissbury Ring (184m)
Grid referenceSU775075
Websiteadur-worthing.gov.uk

Worthing (/ˈwɜːrðɪŋ/ WUR-dhing) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, 11 miles (18 km) west of Brighton, and 18 miles (29 km) east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094[2] and an area of 12.5 square miles (32.4 km2), the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hove built-up area, the 15th most populous urban area in the United Kingdom. Northern parts of the borough, including the Worthing Downland Estate, form part of the South Downs National Park. In 2019, the Art Deco Worthing Pier was dubbed the best in Britain.[3]

Dating from around 4000 BC, the flint mines at Cissbury and nearby Church Hill, Blackpatch and Harrow Hill are amongst the earliest Neolithic monuments in Britain.[4] The Iron Age hill fort of Cissbury Ring is one of Britain's largest. The recorded history of Worthing began with the Domesday Book. Worthing is historically part of Sussex, mostly in the rape of Bramber; Goring, which forms part of the rape of Arundel, was incorporated in 1929. Worthing was a small mackerel fishing hamlet for many centuries 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.[5]

Modern Worthing has a large service industry, particularly in financial services. It has three theatres and one of Britain's oldest cinemas, the Dome.[6] Writers Oscar Wilde and Harold Pinter lived and worked in the town.

  1. ^ a b UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Worthing Local Authority (E07000229)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  2. ^ "How the population changed in Worthing, Census 2021 - ONS". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Art Deco Worthing Pier dubbed best in Britain". BBC News. 10 April 2019. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  4. ^ Holgate, Robin; Baczkowski, Jon (January 2017). "Breaking Chalk: the archaeological investigation of early neolithic flint mines at Long Down and Harrow Hill, West Sussex, 1984-86".
  5. ^ "Worthing, West Sussex". Eventium. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  6. ^ "History of The Worthing Dome". www.worthingdome.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2017.