Upperton, West Sussex

Worthing Town and City 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.

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.

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.