Worthing Museum and Art Gallery
Reopened in 2026 after refurbishment, this free museum in Worthing shows nationally important dress collections, archaeology, art and local history.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery exists thanks to Alfred Cortis, the first mayor of Worthing. In 1906 he offered, through his solicitors and without giving his name, to pay for a museum and art gallery to be built next to a new Carnegie library on the corner of Chapel Road and Richmond Road. The museum opened in 1908. Marion Frost, the town librarian, and her deputy Ethel Gerard built up the collections and ran the library, museum and gallery together for forty-one years.
The building was extended with the Hargood Room in 1935 to hold naval relics. After local government changes in 1972 the borough council kept responsibility for the museum and appointed its first full-time curator. The collections grew to include archaeology, fine art, toys and dolls, geology, textiles, decorative arts, coins and medals and social history.
The museum holds a nationally significant collection of twentieth-century everyday dress, much of it home-made or bought from shops. It closed in March 2025 for a year of work that included connection to the Worthing Heat Network, new redecoration and redisplayed galleries, and it reopened on 28 March 2026. It is now run by Worthing Theatres and Museum, a charity.
Highlights
- Nationally significant collection of everyday twentieth-century dress
- Archaeology gallery with local finds from West Sussex
- Nursery gallery with toys and dolls
- Social history and decorative arts displays
- Fine art and the biennial OPEN exhibition of local artists
Permanent exhibitions
- Costume Gallery – An expanded display of the museum’s nationally significant collection of twentieth-century everyday and fashionable dress.
- Archaeology Gallery – Local finds from West Sussex from the Palaeolithic through the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods.
- Social History and Nursery galleries – Displays on everyday life in Worthing and a nursery gallery with toys and dolls.
- Founded
- 1908
- Operated by
- Worthing Theatres and Museum (registered charity)
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Entry to the museum is free, and the museum welcomes donations. Some workshops and events are ticketed.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The museum says it is fully wheelchair accessible. Exhibitions, displays and an education room are on the ground floor, and the upstairs displays are reached by a lift. A wheelchair is available to use on request. Registered assistance dogs are welcome.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
- Family tours & workshops
The museum has a nursery gallery with toys and dolls and runs children’s workshops, for example in the school holidays.
Getting there & parking
The museum is in the town centre on Chapel Road. The what3words location is bolt.lovely.chops.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Tours, talks and workshops can be arranged for groups such as arts societies and U3A groups. The Coast Ed education service offers sessions for primary schools in Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex. |
