The following is a timeline of the history of the borough of Worthing, West Sussex, England.
13th century 1218 - By 1218 the manor of Ordinges had become known as Wurddingg.Stenton. The Place-names of Sussex. p.194. - Ordinges, Mordinges 1086, Wurddingg 1218, Wording(e) 1240, Worthing(e) 1244. c.1245 - St Richard of Chichester, Sussex's patron saint, lives in Tarring at the house of Simon, parish priest of Tarring 1291 - Worthing's medieval chapel is mentioned for the first time
14th century 1300 - Worthing harbour first recorded 1324 - Worthing harbour is recorded as being a member of Shoreham Port
15th century 1410 - Worthing's medieval chapel is recorded as being used for mass
16th century 1539 - Worthing becomes the property of Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu 1575 - Worthing chapel is recorded as being in private ownership 1584 - John Selden, jurist, legal antiquary and oriental scholar was born in Salvington
17th century 1643 - St Symphorian's Church, Durrington is partly destroyed by Parliamentarian parishioners 1644 - The Spanish warship the Santiago (St James), is beached at Heene. 1682 - William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania sails across the Atlantic for the first time. His ship, the Welcome lands at Worthing to pick up at least 16 people from Sussex as it sails from the Kent port of Deal to New Castle, Delaware 1684 - William Penn lands in Worthing on his way from the Province of Pennsylvania to his home in Warminghurst
18th century 1750 - High Salvington Windmill is built 1759 - John Luther builds a large lodging house at the south end of High Street 1773 - There is said to be a 'great fishery' at Worthing 1789 - George Greville, 4th Earl of Warwick buys Luther's house, renaming it Warwick House 1797 - Castle Goring is built 1798 - Princess Amelia visits Worthing
19th century 1801 - Population: 2,151 1802 A new toll road is constructed from Worthing to West Grinstead. Teville Gate tollgate is built where the new road crosses the Teville Stream Thomas Trotter opens a barn theatre in High Street 1803 Worthing is given town status and Timothy Shelley chairs the first meeting of the Worthing Town Commissioners at the Nelson Inn on South Street Worthing's population approximately 2,500 1805 - Jane Austen visits Worthing 1807 Princess Charlotte visits Worthing New Theatre (later Theatre Royal) opens on Ann Street 1810 - Charles and William Phillips publish Percy Bysshe Shelley's first published volume of poetry, Original Poetry by Victor and Cazire 1811 - Charles and William Phillips publish Percy Bysshe Shelley's The Necessity of Atheism 1812 - St Paul's chapel of ease opens 1814 Thomas Young makes "a number of original and insightful innovations" in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone Queen Caroline visits Worthing on her way to Brunswick 1815 - Two infants' schools open 1817 - Jane Austen begins work on Sanditon, the unfinished novel based significantly on her time in Worthing 1820 - Beach House is built 1823 The Teville Gate tollgate is removed following protests A large oyster bed is discovered 3–4 miles south-south-west of Worthing and is fished by Worthing and Brighton fishermen 1829 - Princess Augusta visits Worthing 1830 - Protesters in Broadwater demand a tithe reduction and a crowd of 200 people gather in Worthing town centre in Swing protests 1832 - Excise officers open fire on Worthing's last smuggling gang, shooting William Cowerson dead 1833 - Park Crescent is completed to designs by Amon Henry Wilds 1834 - Christ Church is opened 1835 - Worthing's first Town Hall opens 1838 - The Worthing Institution or Mechanics Institution is founded on Marine Parade to provide cheap information about literature, science and art 1845 - Railway is extended from Shoreham to Worthing 1849 - First recorded Worthing Regatta 1850 - 11 local fishermen drown as they set out to save the crew of the Lalla Rookh 1855 - Worthing Cricket Club is formed 1856 - Worthing Intelligencer newspaper first published 1861 Queen Marie Amelie of France stays in Worthing when in exile from France The Sussex Coast Mercury (later the Worthing Mercury) newspaper is first published 1862 Worthing Pier opens C.A. Elliott uses glass from the Great Exhibition of 1851 for glass-houses to grow grapes for sale 1863 - Worthing Express newspaper, a local version of the Sussex Express is first published 1864 - St Mary of the Angels, Worthing opens as Worthing's first post-reformation Catholic church 1867 - Augustus Lane-Fox excavates part of Cissbury Ring 1881 - Worthing Hospital is opened as Worthing Infirmary 1884 - Skeleton Army riots 1886 The church of St Andrew the Apostle with the 'Worthing madonna' opens to some controversy Worthing F.C. is formed 1890 Worthing receives a royal charter and becomes a borough Alfred Cortis is elected as Worthing's first mayor The Worthing School of Art and Science is founded 1892 - A permanent soup kitchen and distribution centre for coal, soup and bread is established in Grafton Road 1893 - An outbreak of typhoid fever causes 200 fatalities 1894 - Oscar Wilde stays at Worthing and writes The Importance of Being Earnest 1896 - The first moving picture show in Worthing is shown at Worthing Pier 1898 - William Kennedy Dickson makes a film of a water polo game involving Worthing Swimming Club, one of the earliest films of a sports team 1899 - Worthing is described as "a town of hot houses" with so many hot houses established for market gardening
20th century 1902 - The borough of Worthing is extended to include parts of Broadwater and West Tarring 1908 Worthing Museum and Art Gallery opens King Edward VII stays at Beach House for the first time Worthing's first fire station is built on High Street 1909 - Sir Frederick Stern purchases a site on Highdown Hill that becomes Highdown Gardens 1910 - Ellen Chapman is elected to Worthing Council, one of the first female councillors in the UK 1911 - Carl Adolf Seebold opens the Dome Cinema as the Kursaal 1914 - The Connaught Theatre opens, initially as the Picturedrome cinema 1920 - Worthing Herald newspaper first published 1924 - The first Worthing Tramocars service runs along the town's seafront 1926 - The Worthing Symphony Orchestra is founded 1929 The borough of Worthing is extended to include Goring-by-Sea and Durrington Vaughan Cornish and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister urging the case for national parks including on the South Downs between the rivers Arun and Adur 1930 - Charles Bentinck Budd is elected to the town council 1931 - Population: 45,905 1933 The borough of Worthing is extended to include the west of Sompting and the south of Findon Worthing Rural District is created as the local authority for places surrounding Worthing Worthing Corporation begins the purchase of 1000 acres of open downland as part of the Worthing Downland Estate Worthing's New Town Hall opens 1934 - The Battle of South Street takes place between Fascists and anti-fascists 1936 Emperor Haile Selassie and his family spend six weeks in Worthing following Italy's invasion of Abyssinia Brighton, Hove and Worthing Municipal Airport (now Brighton City Airport) is officially opened 1939 - Population: 55,584 1942 - Canadian soldiers based in Worthing take part in the Dieppe Raid 1944 - The British Army's 4th Armoured Brigade set up headquarters in the Eardley Hotel 1945 - Sir Otho Prior-Palmer becomes Worthing's first Member of Parliament 1948 - Post-war housing planned by Charles Cowles-Voysey is built using Prisoner of War labour 1951 - Population: 67,305 1960 - Beecham factory (now GSK plc) opens in Broadwater 1961 - Population: 77,155 1964 Sir Terence Higgins becomes the second person to represent Worthing as its Member of Parliament Harold Pinter writes The Homecoming at his home in Ambrose Place 1966 Worthing's Old Town Hall is demolished Sussex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is designated 1969 Worthing hosts the opening stage of cycling's Milk Race (now the Tour of Britain) Hill Barn Golf Club hosts the Penfold Tournament, part of the European Tour, for the first time 1970 - Phun City music festival is held in fields outside of Worthing 1971 - Population: 88,467 1972 - Worthing hosts its first World Bowls Championship 1974 Worthing Council is reformatted as Worthing Borough Council Worthing College formed as Worthing Sixth Form College 1976 - Worthing Borough Council is led by the Conservative Party for the first time 1981 Population: 90,686 The West Worthing Tennis Club (relocated from West Worthing to Titnore Lane) hosts the 1981 ATP Challenger Series tennis tournament 1987 - Gary Bevans begins work creating a replica of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome at English Martyrs' Catholic Church, Goring-by-Sea 1988 - Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett create the character Tank Girl while at college in Worthing 1990 - Sterns Nightclub opens 1991 - Population: 98,066 1992 - Turning Tides homeless charity formed (initially as Worthing Churches Homeless Projects) 1993 - Worthing Bears win the British Basketball League 1994 Worthing Borough Council is led by the Liberal Democrats for the first time Premises on Ivy Arch Road are purchased and developed into Worthing's first mosque, the Masjid Assalam 1997 - Two new constituencies are created - East Worthing and Shoreham (won by Tim Loughton) and Worthing West (won by Sir Peter Bottomley) 1999 Control of Worthing Borough Council returns to the Conservative Party Worthing Thunder Basketball Club is formed, initially as the Worthing Rebels
21st century 2001 - Population: 97,540 2002 - Control of Worthing Borough Council returns to the Liberal Democrats 2004 - Control of Worthing Borough Council returns to the Conservative Party 2008 - First Worthing International Birdman event is held 2010 The South Downs National Park is formed, to include parts of Worthing The Sussex International Piano Competition is founded in Worthing 2011 - Population: 104,640 2013 Kingmere Marine Conservation Zone is created off of the coast of Worthing Splashpoint Leisure Centre opens 2014 - Worthing becomes a founding partner of the Greater Brighton City Region 2018 The first Worthing Pride event takes place Rampion Wind Farm becomes operational off the coast of Worthing 2019 Bayside Vista becomes Worthing's tallest building at Worthing Borough Council declares a climate emergency, which aims to see the council carbon-neutral by 2030. 2022 - Worthing Borough Council is led by the Labour Party for the first time
See also History of Worthing Timeline of Sussex history Other towns in the historic county of Sussex: Timeline of Brighton Timeline of Horsham
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