History of the Mayoralty and the Borough

The Town Hall and Mayoralty

The Town Hall was opened on 22 May 1933 by the then Prince George and replaced the old Town Hall in South Street.  In March 1930 the Council had invited competitive designs for a new building.  The winner, chosen from 48 entries was Charles Cowles-Voysey, a London architect.

Work commenced on 1 October 1931 and was completed on 31 March 1933 exactly on schedule. As a condition of Government grant being given towards the cost of the works, 90% of the workforce was taken from the unemployed.

Opening of the Town Hall

The official opening of the building was a lavish affair, with guards of honour, military processions, dances and fireworks.

The cost of the Town Hall building was £398,117 with £11,771 spent on furniture. This represented a saving of £1,322 on the original estimate.

The insurance value today of the Town Hall and its contents is in excess of £25m.

The Council Chamber

Is where the Full Council - all 37 members - sits to receive reports and recommendations from the Cabinet and Committees.

The Mayor chairs the meeting. He/she has a casting vote in the event of an equality of votes.

The present make-up of the Council is 25 Conservatives and 12 Liberal Democrats.

Carpet in Council Chamber

The carpet in the central well of the Council Chamber is the original from when the building was opened.

It is understood that the architect, Charles Cowles-Voysey, had hoped for a plaque to be erected outside the building to acknowledge his work.  For reasons unknown the Councillors at the time did not agree and by way of compromise, his name is spelt out randomly in the carpet.

The Mayor

Is elected by his/her fellow Councillors each May, following the local elections.

The Mayor serves for the Municipal Year which runs from May to May.

He/she is non-political during the year of office.

The Mayor takes precedence over everyone in the Borough except members of the Royal Family or their representatives.

The title of Mayor applies to males or females.

If the Mayor is male he will have a Mayoress. If the Mayor is female she will have a Mayor's Consort.

Names on the Wall

The names of all the past Mayors of Worthing are engraved on the walls outside the Council Chamber and Committee Suite.

Worthing is entitled to have a Mayor because it has borough status which was originally conferred by Queen Victoria in 1890.

When local government was re-organised in 1974, the present Queen re-conferred that status.

Neighbouring authorities Adur and Arun are District Councils with a Chairman.

View our page.

Borough Arms

When Borough status was first granted in 1890, Mr T R Hyde was asked to produce a design for the Borough Arms and his design was adopted by the Council.

Steps were not taken to obtain an official grant of the Arms from the College of Arms until 1918 (after prompting by the College) and the Borough Arms and crest were formally granted by Letters Patent dated 30 October 1919.

The Latin Motto depicted on the Crest translates as, "from the land fullness and from the sea health"

The figure on the crest is technically Hygieia. In Greek mythology, Hygieia was a daughter of Asclepius. She was the Goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation. She was often depicted as a young woman feeding a large snake that was wrapped around her body. Her name is the source of the word "hygiene".

The coat of arms of Worthing includes three fishes, a Horn of Plenty overflowing with corn and fruit on a cloth of gold, and the figure of Hygieia, the Goddess of Health holding a snake. They represent the health given from the seas, the fullness and riches gained from the earth and the power of healing.

The original reason for founding the town was as a health resort for Princess Amelia, the daughter of King George III, to take the sea air to recover her health following illness.It was probably adopted on the crest as a homage to her therefore (so it is Amelia in spirit) as well as promoting the town's aspirations to be viewed as a health resort.

Before that, Worthing was just a fishing village, but after her visit the place became fashionable and was used as a health resort by prominent people.

Mayor's Robe

The scarlet Mayor's robe is edged with Russian sable and is worn on special civic occasions.  White gloves, lace cuffs and a lace jabot (ruffle) are worn with the robe.

View the Mayor's Robe on the Virtual Tour

The Mayor's Chain

Is made of 24 carat gold and weighs 32ozs. It was bought in 1891 - funded by public subscription.

The current insurance value is £135,000.

The coats of arms on the chain are those of the de Warennes, the Dukes of Norfolk, Viscount Hampden, Earl de la Warr, Thomas A'Becket and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Chain is the symbol of authority to carry out Mayoral duties and is only worn on certain occasions.

View the Mayor's Chain on the Virtual Tour

The Badge

On other occasions the Mayor wears the badge of office - this is made of 9 carat gold and enamel (valued at £10,000) and is elaborately designed with scrolls, crossed mace and shields, rosettes and the figure of a lady thought to be Princess Amelia.

View the The Badge on the Virtual Tour

The Mace

The silver gilt mace (insured for £135,000) is the symbol of the Queen's authority to carry out business at Council meetings and the Macebearer carries the mace, with the heavy end up in front of the Mayor. If the monarch comes to Worthing the mace is carried with the heavy end downwards symbolising the authority is with the monarch.  The mace was funded by public subscription in 1891.

The mace was originally a weapon of war, made of wood and then iron and steel with spikes fitted onto the ball.   In the 12th Century it became a form of protection for the Monarch from assassins. In Tudor times the mace became the ornamental symbol we know today.  It weighs 10 kg. or 22 lbs.

View the The Mace on the Virtual Tour

Mayor's Parlour

The Mayor's room or office is known as the Parlour (from the French "parler" to speak.)   The Mayor will receive visitors in the Parlour on many social occasions.

Take a Virtual Tour of the Mayor's Parlour Online

Map of Worthing

in the parlour was painted in 1933 by McDonald Gill – brother of Eric Gill – the famous illustrator. Depicts Worthing in 1933.  At that time there was no development in Findon Valley or West Durrington and very little in Goring.  There were however many glasshouses producing figs, tomatoes, grapes, cucumbers, mushrooms and chrysanthemums.

View the Map of Worthing in the Virtual Tour

Mayoress

THE Mayoress will attend two or three events in her own right, usually a Church Service or an Afternoon Tea, bringing civic greetings from the Borough.   The Consort does not attend any engagements on his own.

Chauffeur

The Mayor is driven to official engagements and supported by the chauffeur/macebearer.

Engagements

Mayors carry out, on average 600 engagements a year, excluding attendance at Committee meetings.   Most of those engagements are of a "social" nature, for example attending dinners, lunches, charity fairs, opening events, visiting centenarians, schools, churches, presenting prizes and awards, bowls tournaments, Worthing Festival, club AGMs, charity events, promoting economic development in town, business breakfasts, thank you parties etc. Christmas Day is spent visiting 15-20 hospitals and homes in the town.

Honorary Aldermen

Are former Mayors who have retired from the Council. They do not participate in Council business but are invited to attend civic events.

You can view them online.

Chaplain

Each year the Mayor chooses a Chaplain from a church of his or her choice.   The Chaplain attends all Council meetings, starting the proceedings with prayers.  The Chaplain also holds a Civic Service in his/her Church to which Chief Officers, all members of the Council, Honorary Aldermen, County Councillors, Chairman of Sussex Western Bench and MPs are invited.   

The Chaplain will also conduct the Remembrance Day Service in November.

Overview of Events

• The first meeting of the new Borough Council was held on 10 November 1890 when Alfred Cortis was elected as the town's first Mayor.
• The fledgling administration was faced with a disastrous beginning - an outbreak of typhoid in the summer of 1893 caused largely as a result of insanitary conditions) caused the death of almost 200 people - roughly one person in every seventy of the population at that time.
  
  The Council was forced to take drastic action and in 1895 there was a dramatic improvement in the town's drainage system.
• During the Second World War the Town Hall was the centre of the town's war effort - distributing nearly 60,000 gas masks, 168,000 sandbags, removing major artefacts from the Library and Museum to places of safety.
• The then Town Clerk was billeting Officer for some 12,000 evacuees from London.
• One of the town's first casualties of the War was a corporation horse called Colonel. He was hit in the ear by a piece of shrapnel but returned to work after treatment.
• The earliest records of Worthing date back to 1803 when a special Act of Parliament was passed, "for the Government of the Town of Worthing and for establishing an effective police force."
  
  A governing body of 72 commissioners was set up as the local authority.
  
  At that date the area of the town was only 784 acres.
• In 1852 the Town Commissioners were superseded by a Local Board consisting of 15 members.
• In 1865 West Worthing was a separate town, with an independent local authority. It was not until 1890 that the old town and West Worthing were amalgamated and incorporated by Royal Charter as the Borough of Worthing.
• In 1902 the borough boundaries were extended by the inclusion of a large part of the parishes of Broadwater and West Tarring.
• In 1929 the borough was extended again, taking in the whole of the parishes of Durrington and Goring by Sea.
• In 1933 the parishes of Findon and Sompting were added.
  

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