Pagham
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Map of West Sussex
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
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Pagham books (13 available)
Pagham memories
Read and share memories of Pagham and West Sussex inspired by Frith photos
More Memories!
Prompted by Marcus's comments: Derek Bell had his garage behind Church Farm, together with John Watson, who in turn was helped by a chap from Midhurst called George Brown. Other garages there belonged to Ross and Derek Barrow.
The Quinnell brothers were Richard, Brian and Graham. Other people from Lion Road were Mr Smith the builder, Mr Green.....(something) who looked after the football and cricket pitches. The local bobby was PC Barry Pescott, together with Sgt Boar (daughter Jackie) and they lived in the Nyetimber Lane police houses, opposite what was The Knife and Fork restaurant, where Keith Clarke worked at one time. The Watsons and the Coakers lived at the end of Lion Rd. ...read more here
Contributed by Sue Priday
PAGHAM LAGOON SLUICE?
I'm not a Pagham local but have visited the place many times over the last 20 or so years. I've always been intrigued by that old concrete structure at the southeast tip of Pagham Lagoon but have been unable to find a definitive answer as to its age or purpose.
The most likely suggestion I've received is that it was a sluice built around 1876 when Pagham Harbour was reclaimed and sealed off from the sea (although as we all know, this reclamation only lasted until December 1910 when the sea broke in again).
My understanding is that the Lagoon was originally the entry channel between the sea and the rest of Pagham Harbour, with the seaward ...read more here
Contributed by Dave Blackthorn
Pagham
I remember the 'Clarks' mentioned by Sue, the sons' names were Robert and Keith. Keith being the oldest. I don't recall the bell though. I lived in Lion Road, Nyetimber, from about '58 till about '78 ish, my parents still live there, they were heavily involved in the early days of the Pagham Pram Race along with Dickie Lewis [landlord of the Lamb], Derek Bell, Frank Fox who lived in Millstone Cottage next to Pagham church] and many others. Back in those days Derek Bell used the old garage next to church farm in his early days. I remember the old mill, Nyetimber burning down, the tithe barn club on the Aldwick Bay estate and the security people who manned the ...read more here
Contributed by marcus hume
Pagham Beach
I lived at No 92 Harbour Road, Pagham Beach from 1955 to 1967 when I moved to Nyetimber. Our bathroom was the railway carriage and the only access was by carefully dropping the window using the leather strap with holes and opening the door from the outside. My childhood friend from those days, Elizabeth Paula-Beale, visited recently from Australia and we thought we would make a joint effort to add names and memories to this wonderfully nostalgic page. We remember: Mr and Mrs Colquhoun (daughter Jean-m- Elwin) who had the PO and newsagents on the old parade, then John Tricket the butcher (died in approx 1969), (his wife Alisa then married Major Birch and lived in Pagham Road), ...read more here
Contributed by Sue Priday
East Front Road in the sixties
My Grandparents, George and Ella Ashford, had retired to Pagham in 1958. They lived at number 12 East Front Road. Their bungalow was very comfortable with a great view out over the channel. The original railway carriage houses were still all intact, and Pagham Beach had a quiet secluded charm, with a mixed population of holidaymakers and retirees.
There was a boatman, Eric, who ran the "Pagham Queen' on pleasure cruises. There was also an older fisherman on the beach, I believe his name was Ted. My Grandad took me for my first pint at the Kings Beach Hotel. He also took me to the harbour to fish with an Otter Board in the fast incoming tides.
The ...read more here
Contributed by John Ashford
Pagham Fisherman
I was born in 1972 and lived with my Parents and younger Brother on Pagham Beach where my Father Chris Dodd was the local Pagham Fisherman...he is still fishing with his mate Don and my father is now 62 years in 2006. Lots of the train carriages which my parents still live in, although they have added a pitched roof to it, have now been demolished and brick built buildings have replaced the traditional carriages. I now live myself with my husband and children in Pagham Road - Pagham Beach will always hold many special memories for all of my family and we hope that it will be continued to be respected and not too built upon.
Contributed by emma thomas
Peter Tayman ~ In Loving Memory...and also a haunted house.
My parents bought an old railway carriage bungalow at 66, East Front Rd, on Pagham Beach in the early 1990's. The place was a total dump, so they burned it down on the beach! This was allowed by Council back then, if below the tide line - what a waste of the antique railway carriages that were hidden inside layers of plywood and plaster boards! We did save some of the old fittings, but they are since lost.
They built an ugly brick L-shaped modern bungalow with too many steps, that was always damp on one side, even though the footings were massively deep & the damp course was fine! I know, because I helped build that house ...read more here
Contributed by Zaryn Hammersley
Head Receptionist ~ Church Farm
I can see the roof of my parents' old house in the background on this pic. I used the be the Head Receptionist at Church Farm Holiday Park, just behind the old Clubhouse from 1983 - 1987. I worked with Joyce Aldridge in the beginning, Alan & Nancy & their daughter Julie, Bill, Cocker, Buster & old Tom the drunken gas man. I was the tall blond girl in the office. I lived on site with my husband in Ballast Hole. Many a night was spent propping up the bar in the club and crawling into work the next morning ready for all the holiday makers stampeding in from Essex and London...those were the days!)
I made some wonderful friends ...read more here
Contributed by Zaryn Hammersley
Extracts From Pagham & West Sussex books
The buildings on the corner of High Street and The Broadway
were named Warwick Mansions. This commemorated the fact that
in 1901, they were erected on the site of old Warwick House, which
had been demolished a few years earlier. The trees and flint wall in the
photograph marked the southern boundary of the Warwick estate.
These were retained as a feature when part of the Brighton Road
was widened on either side and renamed The Broadway. A Worthing
Directory for 1919 records the three visible shops at ground level (on
the left of photograph 68989) as Colin Moore, a perambulator depot
(behind the balustrade), Ivens, Kelletts and Childs, chemists and
F C Whittington, bootmaker. Although the buildings remain virtually
unchanged today, the trees and wall were removed in 1928.
An extract from from"Worthing Town and City Memories".
During the 1920s and 30s, Worthing continued to rapidly expand. By 1937 the
town was being promoted as both a summer and winter resort, and hotels now
occupied much of the sea front and the area behind it.
The Beach Hotel had opened at 4 Marine Parade in 1915, expanding into
the whole parade by 1936, when the original red-brick houses that had, in
part, comprised The Prince Albert Convalescent Home were remodelled in
cement Deco-style.
Many of the Victorian boarding houses had been converted into hotels,
and most of the modern hotels illustrated date from this period, albeit trading
under different names.
Although Worthing initially benefited from an increase in the number of
holidaymakers after the Second World War, the town continued to lack any large
hotels. By the early 1970s, Worthing, like most English seaside resorts, was having
to compete with package holidays abroad. Many of the town’s hotels tried to fill
their rooms by becoming conference venues.
An extract from from"Worthing Town and City Memories".
The Corporation’s policy of providing a sufficient number of public parks and recreation grounds for both residents and visitors was actively
pursued during this period of expansion. In excess of fifteen additional areas for outdoor recreation were provided and by 1938 there were seven
separate recreation grounds (amounting to fifty acres) and ten public parks recorded in the borough. Several of these combine formal gardens
and walks with sports facilities.
During the 1930s two additional bowling greens were laid out at separate locations within the borough, one at Marine Gardens in 1930
(see W147157) and one at Church House Grounds in 1937. Marine Gardens, a small park located in West Parade between Grand Avenue and
Wallace Avenue, was laid out on two and a half acres of land in 1930 and contains ornamental gardens (see W147146), a pavilion, one putting
green and one bowling green. Over the years it has maintained its popularity and is still well attended.
An extract from from"Worthing Town and City Memories".
Recreational Facilities
also with those who wish to experience invigorating walks by
the sea during the sometimes less inviting off-season weather.
The playground, which can be seen just beyond the raised
promenade on the left, was constructed in Beach House grounds
and opened in 1951 as Peter Pan’s Playground. The entrance is
just below the white notice-board by the mock fort. Among the
original items of play equipment were the fort, a helter-skelter,
slides and swings. Unsurprisingly, this playground was a great
attraction for children.
An extract from from"Worthing Town and City Memories".
The question of taste was fundamental to Victorian church
building. Classic was denounced as vulgar and pagan. The only true
style for Christian architecture was pure Gothic, preferably that of
the 13th and 14th centuries. St George’s, built in flint and stone to a
design by George Trufitt, displays an original use of the Gothic style.
At first there was only an apsidal chancel and nave and a singular
bell turret. A new vestry and two new porches were added in 1875.
By 1884, a transept had also been added.
Between 1873 and 1879 a new Church was built to serve the
parish of Heene. Funded by subscriptions as part of West Worthing
New Town, the new modern spacious 19th century church of St
Botolph’s was built near the site of an earlier chapel which had, by
the 17th century, fallen into disrepair. By 1778 most of the fabric
had been removed, and only a fragment remains, just beyond the
eastern end of the new church.
St Andrew’s, Clifton Road, was the last parish church to be built
in pre-war Worthing. It was possibly also the most controversial, for
it marked the beginning of Anglo-Catholicism in the town. One
of the underlying factors in the Gothic revival within the Church
of England had been the movement towards greater decency and
ritual in church services. This began in the 1820s and 1830s
among a small group of Oxford dons, and was initially a purely
theological aspiration aimed at restoring a greater awareness of the
historical church and its hierarchical ministry. By the 1860s there
were Anglican churches in both London and the fashionable seaside
resorts, where the use of lighted candles, ornate vestments and
incense had been revived.
An extract from from"Worthing Town and City Memories".