Worth in West Sussex

Worth has now almost been swallowed up by the surrounding town of Crawley. It’s famous for Worth Abbey, which is a combination of Roman Catholic monastery and public school. The house itself was built in the 19th century by Robert Whitehead, the industrialist and inventor of the torpedo and converted to its current use later.

Admiral May said “But for Whitehead, the submarine would remain an interesting toy, and little more”. Ironically in the first world war British ships found Whitehead’s torpedos being fired at them. After he died in 1905 his granddaughter and heiress married a German Naval Commander with unforeseen consequences for the course of two future world wars.

Now the arms trade and war is a thing of the past at Worth – the house, which was called Paddockhurst and which had passed into the hands of Lord Cowdray, was snapped up by the catholic abbey at Downside in Somerset.

Worth Church

The Church of St Nicholas in Worth stands out even among the many Saxon and Norman Churches in West Sussex.

That’s partly because it’s one of the older unspoiled Saxon churches in the county.

Worth church is also uncharacteristically large, especially for a church so far inland, where the rule of law was less successful than the coastal parts of Sussex.

The architectural historian Ian Nairn reckoned it was the only bit of Anglo Saxon architecture in West Sussex which would have to be included in a national survey on account of its “grand proportions (and) powerful details”.

Map of the Worth area

• Gatwick Worth Hotel

• Arundel
• Bognor Regis
• Burgess Hill
• Chichester
• Crawley
• East Grinstead
• Haywards Heath
• Horsham
• Littlehampton
• Midhurst
• Petworth
• Shoreham-by-Sea
• Steyning
• Worthing

• West Sussex news, blog and features
• Full details of sports clubs in West Sussex
• West Sussex bed and breakfast guide