Offington is a neighbourhood of

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

, and a

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

in the borough of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, England. It lies on the A2031 road 1.6 miles (2.5 km) northwest of the town centre. Today, the area is a residential suburb of Worthing. Offington was part of the parish of Broadwater and became part of the borough of Worthing in 1902. It is possibly best known for its large manor house, which survived from medieval times to the 1960s

Etymology

Offington means Offa's farmstead. Offington's name is of

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

origin. The name 'Offa' would have been relatively common in the Saxon era and there is no evidence to suggest that the name is derived from

King Offa Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

of Mercia, although it is possible that Offa took control over the

Kingdom of Sussex The Kingdom of the South Saxons, today referred to as the Kingdom of Sussex (; from , in turn from or , meaning "(land or people of/Kingdom of) the South Saxons"), was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the Heptarchy of Anglo-Saxon Englan ...

in the eighth century. In 1086, the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

the settlement was recorded as ''Ofintune'' in the ancient

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

Steyning Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham District, Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, north of the coastal town of Shoreha ...

in the Rape of Bramber.Open Domesday Online: Offington
/ref>

History

In the mid-eleventh century, Offington was held by

Godwin, Earl of Wessex Godwin of Wessex (; died 15 April 1053) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his successors. Cnut made Godwin the first ...

. Following the successful Norman invasion of 1066, Offington, along with neighbouring settlements continued as part of the rape of Bramber. Offington Manor House was apparently recorded in 1357. By the mid 15th century there was a large complex of buildings including at least one courtyard, a chapel, a guest-house, and a gate-house. Offington was home to Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr and his son Thomas West, 9th Baron De La Warr. The 8th Baron West was also buried in Broadwater's Parish Church. In the 1850s, Thomas Gaisford extended the house further, including a new library and a chapel. The chapel became Worthing's chief place of

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

worship until the building of Worthing first Catholic church, St Mary of the Angels. There is a local legend that a tunnel containing buried treasure led from Offington House to the ancient hill fort of

Cissbury Cissbury Ring is an biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Worthing in West Sussex. It is owned by the National Trust and is designated a Scheduled monument for its Neolithic flint mine and Iron Age hillfort. Cissbury Ring is ...

to the north and was protected by a serpent. Simpson, Jacqueline, "Folklore of Sussex" (2002) Tempus The former outbuilding of Offington Manor, the Old Brewhouse in Hall Close is grade II listed. Said to date from 1150, the present structure is probably mainly 16th-17th century. Also the 18th century former stables of Offington Hall remain and are grade II listed. They were known as Offington Hall Riding School in Hall Avenue but have now been converted into living accommodation and are owned by the Offington Park Club.

References

{{authority control Suburbs of Worthing