Worthing is the largest town in West Sussex, England. It has a population of 100,000 and is situated between the coast and the South Downs. It is often considered a retirement town, and has the third busiest crematorium in Europe.
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 Elztal region (Germany).
History of Worthing
- There is evidence of habitation in the area since the Stone Age, when it appears to have been one of the most important flint mining centers in the country. Artifacts 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.
- 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.
Literary connections
- P. B. 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 (the town is mentioned in the play).
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