A-Z of Worthing Places-People-History

Sussex-born author, teacher and historian Kevin Newman lived and taught in Worthing for a decade and runs Worthing’s popular Spooky Tour. As owner and founder of local history organisation All-Inclusive History, Kevin has given a number of talks on Worthing including ‘A–Z of Worthing’ and has taken hundreds of visitors and citizens on Worthing walking tours. This all makes him someone with a unique perspective on the town and someone who has gathered a treasure trove of quirky facts and tales about the place. He is the ideal guide for Amberley’s quirky and fascinating selective literary alphabetical tour of the past of Britain’s most underrated coastal resort. A–Z of Worthing delves into the stories behind the town’s most notable streets, places, parks and buildings, as well as the dark secrets of its inhabitants, lesser-known lanes and its numerous twittens (the Sussex name for alleyways). The book reveals the stories behind of some of the more unusual place names, including why seven streets in the town are named after the crew of a Lancaster bomber. Kevin also explores the history of many of Worthing’s distinctive features, visitors and citizens, exploring tales of the town’s less famous (and infamous) sons and daughters and the places they frequented, from the dance school that handled fascist mail to the former school of the actress Pam St Clements who played TV’s Pat Butcher. The book switches from light-hearted engagement with the quirkier side of Worthing’s history to a more serious exploration of the darker side of the town’s past including its experiences of British fascism and anti-Semitism. Building upon and updating the work of Robert Elleray’s wonderful Millennium Encyclopaedia of Worthing History, A–Z of Worthing provides something for everyone, whether visitor, Worthingite or anyone worldwide with a love of wonderful Worthing.

Kevin Newman is an author of history textbooks who also advises theatre and TV production companies on their historical plays and programmes. As well as being a GCSE History examiner, he gives a number of historical talks and presentations throughout the South of England every year and still manages to squeeze in some history teaching when not running his organisation, All-Inclusive History. A full time history teacher for 15 years, Kevin always tried to bring the past alive through exploring its buildings, and still takes educational and corporate groups, such as Sotheby’s School of Art on architectural tours.