Beach House Park
Lyndhurst Road,
Worthing,
West Sussex,
BN11 2DB
Facilities and attractions
Introduction
Beach House Park is Worthing's premier park and the home of flat green bowling. It was purchased from the Beach House Estate in 1922 and opened to the public in spring 1924.
The park is located between Brighton Road to the South and Lyndhurst Road to the North opposite Worthing Hospital.
The park contains four top quality bowling greens.
In addition to the bowling greens there are ornamental plantings including herbaceous borders, mature and interesting tree species, spring and summer bedding and a line of ornamental Acer cappadocicum leading to the charming and picturesque Old Pavilion in the centre of the park.
Car parking
The site contains ample pay and display car parking at the northern end (Lyndhurst Road) but the surrounding roads lie within the West Sussex County Council car parking zone and parking is restricted to permit holders or short term pay and display parking.
For more information please see parking.
Palm Court café and restaurant
Palm Court is a café/restaurant based in the revamped Old Pavilion at the northern end of Beach House Park. It serves coffees and breakfasts, lunches, evening meals and is licensed to serve alcohol. It has an attractive outdoor seating area facing the bowling greens.
Bowling at Beach House Park
Bowling at Beach House Park takes place between late April and October each year.
Worthing Bowls Club and Homefield Park Bowls club, who are based in the Park, sell season tickets and make their own arrangements for allocating play at the four bowling greens as part of a self-management arrangement between the clubs and the council.
Members of the public who wish to play are welcome to turn up daily and make arrangements direct with the bowling clubs and pay their fee to play bowls. Mats, shoe hire and jacks are available for those who wish to just turn up and play.
Should anybody not be able to play due to there being no bowling club official in attendance, please contact the Parks Group and we will pass on your details to the bowls clubs so they can make arrangements with you direct.
See:
Horticulture at Beach House Park
The park is framed by trees on its east and west boundaries. The ornamental south end of the park is centred on the Pigeon Memorial (see below) with symmetrical stands of London Plane tress planted in 1992 surrounding it. The bedding schemes are also symmetrical throughout.
A large double herbaceous border separates the ornamental area from the bowls green section.
The centre walk between the greens is a mass of colour all year long with its beds up each side with Acer cappadocicum (Cappadocian Maple) avenues through.
The park is punctuated with many free standing cast iron planters with various three dimensional floral features fixed to them.
Many mangers, self watering hanging baskets and roof containers feature during the summer.
Opening times
The park is used as a walk-through to the beach, the nearby Splashpoint swimming pool and the hospital, and is open 365 days per year from 7:30am until dusk.
Tree of Life in Beach House Park, Worthing
Worthing's Tree of Life, a Japanese flowering cherry, was planted a few years ago as a symbolic reference to the millions who died in the Holocaust and other genocides.
Holocaust Memorial Day is held each year on 27th January around the time of the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The purpose of the Tree of Life is to overcome prejudice, discrimination and racism in modern society.
For more information please visit the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website.
See also: Tree of Life in Buckingham Park, Shoreham-by-Sea.
Battle of the Boar's Head memorial
The Battle of the Boar's Head - “The Day Sussex died”.
On 30th June 1916, Richebourg l'Avoué in France was the site of the Battle of the Boar's Head that owes its peculiar name to the network of trenches forming a salient in the shape of a boar's head.
This battle aimed to distract the Germans and to make them believe that the Great Offensive would be launched in Richebourg and not in the Somme. The 11th, 12th and 13th Battalions of the Southdowns Brigade were involved in this battle that lasted only five hours. Even so, 349 British soldiers and 17 officers died and over 1,000 were wounded or taken prisoners. Ever since, the 30th of June has been regarded locally as “The Day Sussex died”.
A memorial to commemorate the honoured soldiers from the town who lost their lives in this infamous First World War battle was erected in the park in 2016 to mark the 100-year centenary anniversary of the battle.
Students from Chatsmore Catholic High School designed and created the memorial and associated artwork, as part of their Legacy 110 project.
Photo: Battle of the Boar's Head memorial stone
Photo: Battle of the Boar's Head memorial stone (close up view)
Photo: Battle of the Boar's Head interpretive panel
You can also view a larger readable copy of the Battle of the Boar's Head interpretive panel below:
Photo: Battle of the Boar's Head wooden memorial plaques
Photos: Courtesy Julian Morgan from Chatsmore Catholic High School
See also:
- More information about the battle and exhibition materials from the centenary event in 2016
- War Memorials in Adur and Worthing
Pigeon memorial
In the centre of the formal gardens, there is a memorial to war pigeons: birds used during World War II to carry messages, explosives and other items, in some cases on secret missions. Described as “splendidly conceived and charming” it is thought to be the only such memorial in Britain.
The 'Warrior Birds' memorial was promoted and commissioned by actress Nancy Price and members of the People's Theatre in London. Local sculptor Leslie Sharp started work on the memorial in 1949, and it was unveiled on 27th July 1951 by the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton.
As originally designed, the memorial consisted of a circular mound planted with shrubs and a rockery with streams and pools of water, two boulders with carved wording, and two stone pigeons. The pigeon sculptures have since been stolen and not replaced, and a fence was added later around the mound. One stone bears the words in memory of warrior birds who gave their lives on active service 1939-45 and for the use and pleasure of living birds; the other reads “a bird of the air shall carry the voice and that which hath wings shall tell the matter”, which is a quote from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament (Ecclesiastes Chapter 10, verse 20).
A metal panel next to the entrance gate in the fence repeats most of the details from the first stone. The stones, which were quarried from the Forest of Dean, were refurbished and repainted in 1999 and Worthing Borough Council continues to maintain the memorial with Community help from the Scouts.
Photo: Warrior bird, war pigeon memorial - Beach House Park, Worthing
See also:
The Worthing Society memorial stone
Following a very generous donation to The Worthing Society, the memorial stone was laid on 20th November 2023 in Beach House Park in tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The dedication was attended by the Mayor of Worthing, Councillor Jon Roser, the then MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, Tim Loughton, together with Lionel Harman, Vice-Chair of the Worthing Branch of the Royal British Legion and Councillor Noel Atkins, Armed Forces Champion.
The engraved stone was laid at the base of the memorial tree, Malus Sylvestus, which was planted in honour of the late Queen in December 2022 following an earlier donation to the Society. The memorial tree is registered for Worthing as part of the late Queen's 'Green Canopy' national initiative.
The memorial is in the south west corner of the park which we hope will provide a tranquil space for the community to reflect and pay their respects.
See:
01903 221067
Need assistance with this service?
Get in touch:
Page last updated: 29 October 2024