Searching for the history of Worthing's nursery industry

Nothing remains of this once thriving industry as the many nurseries gradually moved out to make way for housing, a process which began in the 1930s.

And yet, in its heyday, there were acres of glass in the town and hundreds of jobs depended on the Worthing growers.

The history of this industry has been badly neglected, and there is urgent need to collect photographs and memories before they are lost forever.

The scarcity of photos is quite astonishing: some exist for the Frampton and Linfield nurseries, and Fuller's Vineries in Lancing, but there are very few in local archives of the dozens of other firms which flourished from the boom years of the 1880s '“ many of these businesses were quite substantial, with names such as Apted, Baker, Barnwell, Beer, Bushby, Dutton, Feest, Greenyer, Hollis, Magness, Page, Piper, Purser, Russell, Sams, Scott, Sparkes and many others.

I would be delighted to hear from anyone who has photos or memories they would like to share.

My aim would be to scan any photos to ensure their vital preservation in the appropriate local repository (with permission, of course).

Eventually, I may even write a book on the subject, which is long overdue, and I feel certain would be of interest to a great many people.

Please check your attics and drawers now for those long-lost photographs.

Malcolm Linfield

[email protected]

Daytime phone: 07887 542367