Gaslamp gurus ensure you will be amused

EXPERTS on Worthing's Victorian past will give a series of talks at Worthing Library over the coming weeks.

Subjects will include smugglers, prominent families, historic shops and a selection of photos of Worthing in the 19th century.

Mike Coleman, Deputy Leader of West Sussex County Council, responsible for libraries, said: "There is a tremendous amount of interest in Victorian values and lifestyles.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"So many artefacts and items of furniture from this period are still readily available. It is not surprising that people want to know more about the Victorian way of life."

The talks, all between 10am and noon, cost 3 each, or 15 for all six.

They have been organised by Worthing History Forum in conjunction with West Sussex Library Service.

Dates and topics are:

October 31: Scene-setting, sources and scandals (Anthony Brook)

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

November 7: Smugglers, bonfire boys and rough music (Chris Hare)

November 14: Prominent families and colourful characters (Anthony Brook and Rosemary Pearson)

November 21: Problems fore and aft: the Hide survey of 1838 and the typhoid epidemic of 1893 (Ron Kerridge and Mike Standing)

November 28: A nation of shopkeepers: Potter Bailey, Bentalls and Warwick Street (Anthony Brook)

December 5: Images of Victorian Worthing (Martin Hayes)

Worthing Library is in Richmond Road, Worthing, tel. 01903 704809 for information and tickets.