Rustington
Rustington maps (2 available)
Map of West Sussex
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of West Sussex
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Rustington books (20 available)
Crawley Town Walk Guide
Paperback
Villages of Sussex Pocket Album
Paperback
Hailsham Photographic Memories
Paperback
- 1 photos on Rustington appear in 1 Frith books - View photos of Rustington
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Rustington and West Sussex
Rustington memories
Zachary Merton Maternity Hospital, Rustington.
We moved to Rustington in 1949 as my Mother Dr Mary Higgs was the M.O.H. at Zachary Merton and was the doctor there until her retirement. Zachary Merton was a lovely hospital to have a baby, all the staff were so friendly. The Matron I remember was Miss White, with Sisters Mingay, Cole and Mrs Smith and later Matron Cynthia Grose and Sister Gray to name but a few.
On Christmas Day in the afternoon there was always a tea party to which lots of people came and Father Christmas with presents for everyone. We listened to the King's Christmas message (with great impatience in the case of us children as we were keen to get our presents!) and later ...read more here
Contributed by Jo Berryman
People in this photo...
My mother has a copy of this photo on her wall. She remembers a photographer asking to take the photo and then sent them a copy that was printed as a postcard (She still has the original card which I enlarged and printed for her many years ago). I am told that the 2 ladies pushing the prams are my grandmother (Peggy Prebble) and her twin sister (Elsie Cheshire). The girl in the middle is my mother, Patricia Margaret and the girl in the pram is her sister Joyce.
Contributed by Dave Turnbull
West Sussex memories
Zachary Merton Maternity Hospital, Rustington.
We moved to Rustington in 1949 as my Mother Dr Mary Higgs was the M.O.H. at Zachary Merton and was the doctor there until her retirement. Zachary Merton was a lovely hospital to have a baby, all the staff were so friendly. The Matron I remember was Miss White, with Sisters Mingay, Cole and Mrs Smith and later Matron Cynthia Grose and Sister Gray to name but a few.
On Christmas Day in the afternoon there was always a tea party to which lots of people came and Father Christmas with presents for everyone. We listened to the King's Christmas message (with great impatience in the case of us children as we were keen to get our presents!) and later ...read more here
A memory of Rustington contributed by Jo Berryman
People in this photo...
My mother has a copy of this photo on her wall. She remembers a photographer asking to take the photo and then sent them a copy that was printed as a postcard (She still has the original card which I enlarged and printed for her many years ago). I am told that the 2 ladies pushing the prams are my grandmother (Peggy Prebble) and her twin sister (Elsie Cheshire). The girl in the middle is my mother, Patricia Margaret and the girl in the pram is her sister Joyce.
A memory of Rustington contributed by Dave Turnbull
Extracts From Rustington & West Sussex books
All along the coastal belt, but rarely extending more than a few miles inland, rounded beach flints or cobbles were used for walls and every type of building. At Rustington, the 11th-century church and the cottages in The Street, Sea Lane and Station Road are all built of these flint boulders.
An extract from from"Sussex Revisited Photographic Memories".
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".






