5 minute read
Worthing Heritage Festival 2025
FRIENDS OF WORTHING AND BROADWATER CEMETERY
Cemetery tour Nature Matters - 11:00am Saturday, June 7 - Broadwater & Worthing Cemetery, South Farm Road, BN14 7TW
A walk through the cemetery, finding out about the lives of naturalists Richard Jefferies and William Hudson and horticulturalist James Bateman, will be punctuated with stops to appreciate the natural environment. We will be looking, for example, at the wildflowers or insects “in residence” on the day.
The tour lasts for about 75 minutes and is free of charge. No need to book in advance.
Visitors should meet by the chapels 1015 minutes before and refreshments will be available for a small donation.
FRIENDS OF HEENE CEMETERY
Saturday, June 14, 1:30pm-4:00pm in Heene Cemetery, Manor Road, Worthing, BN11 4RY
Join us at Heene Cemetery, on the corner of Manor Road and St Michael’s Road, for a variety of tours to be held on Saturday,
June 14 from 1:30pm to 4:00pm. Guided tours include - “Stories from the Stones”; “Stories in the Street” and “Why Heene Cemetery is also a Wildlife Site”. Free entry. Donations towards our work, gratefully received.
[SUSSEX FAMILY HISTORY GROUP (WORTHING)
Thursday, June 19, 7:30pm, Field Place - Jeremy Prescott
Sacrifice & Remembrance – The story behind the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Jeremy Prescott served for 26 years as an Army Officer seeing operational service in Dhofar, Oman and 4 tours in Northern Ireland. After retiring from the Army he was appointed as CEO of a charity covering Leics and Rutland which supported rural communities.
WEST SUSSEX GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Saturday, June 12, “Pebbles on the Beach” Worthing Pier, led by members of the West Sussex Geological Society. Meet 11:00am. Donations. Low tide 1:40pm.
An introduction to the pebbles and geology of Worthing, ideal for children and those new to the subject
SUSSEX FAMILY HISTORY GROUP (WORTHING)
June 26, 7:00pm for a 7:30pm start, Chichester Room, The Manor House, Field Place - Malcolm Linfield
Worthing and the Glasshouse Industry. Early evidence of market gardening in Worthing can be seen on Phillip’s map of 1814, and it was in these gardens that the first greenhouses appeared in the 1830s. From these modest beginnings, a major pioneering industry developed, which employed hundreds of people, and greenhouses appeared all over the town.
The Worthing GIasshouse Industry was very important to the local economy for over 70 years, yet most people in Worthing today have no idea it ever existed. My talk outlines the story of this fascinating industry, how and why it all started, the challenges faced by the growers over the years and how and why it declined. Many people have ancestors who worked in the industry, so this should be a subject of interest to both family and local historians. Over the years, I have been very fortunate to interview some of the descendants of the pioneer growers, and I am indebted to them all for sharing their precious memories and wonderful photos, which form a substantial part of my talk.
Free to members, suggested donation of £5 on the door.
WORTHING SOCIETY TALKPIONEERS OF WORTHING
Thursday, June 26 at 7:00pm, Worthing Library Lecture Theatre, Richmond Road Cost £5 per person
For bookings and payment details please contact Georgina Colwell, our Social Secretary on: georgina@musicair.co.uk
WORTHING 1825: LIFE IN WORTHING TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO
Illustrated talk with Chris Hare, Saturday, June 28, 2:30pm-4:00pm, cost £8.50 per person.Sidney Walter Centre, BN11 1DS
What would life have been like in Worthing two hundred years ago? It was only 19 years earlier that Worthing had legally been recognised as a town, having only been an obscure hamlet since Saxon times.
Yet the forward march of this growing seaside resort was hampered by a volatile population, notorious for their love of riot.
WORTHING SOCIETY BLUE PLAQUE HERITAGE TRAIL WALK
Approx. 1 hour 30 minutes in the town centre. Thursday, July 3 Meet at 2:30pm outside the Pier Pavilion. Cost £5 per person. This Walk in in memory of our late Vice-Chair and Conservationist: Edward “Ted” Kennard who led the Campaign to saved the “Desert Quartet” statues. For bookings and payment details please contact Georgina Colwell our Social Secretary on: georgina@musicair.co.uk
WORTHING 1925: LIFE IN WORTHING 100 YEARS AGO
Illustrated talk with Chris Hare, Saturday, July 5, 2:30pm-4:00pm, cost £8.50 per person. Sidney Walter Centre, BN11 1DS
In 1925, the Great War had only ended nine years earlier, and its dark shadow still hung over people’s lives, which can be seen in the debates and controversies over war memorials and whether the council should buy goods and services from German firms. But this was also the era of the “Roaring Twenties”, even in Worthing! The Great Depression was still four years away and the population of the town was expanding rapidly, soon to engulf the neighbouring villages of West Tarring, Durrington, and Goring. Worthing’s market gardens were flourishing and both city commuters and the retired moved to the town in their droves.
Book at www.tickettailor.com/events/ historypeople
