Worthing Museum

05/10/2026

Our much-loved Mouse Trail has had an update!

New clues and locations await intrepid children (and adults of course)

Pick up a Mouse Trail for just £1 at our front desk from this Wednesday!

03/10/2026

We still have a few spaces left on our Stone Age Weekender this month.

You'll join our museum archaeologist, James Sainsbury and experimental archaeologist Dr James Dilley for a weekend devoted to fabulous flint.

You'll Knapp your own Stone Age tools, get close up with some highlights from our archaeology collection and enjoy a curator-led walk exploring one of our unique local flint mines.

All materials, tea, and coffee are provided, but you will need to bring your lunch.

Dates and times
Sat 17 October, 10.30am - 4pm
Sun 18 October, 10.30am - 2.30pm

Click the link in the bio to book.

02/10/2026

New exhibition by Cathy Lomax now open in our Main Gallery!

Reflexion: enchantment, self-identity and film

Drawing on iconic figures from Hollywood, including Joan Crawford, Kim Novak and Jennifer Jones, Lomax examines the relationship between film star and spectator, and how identity and self-image can be shaped by assimilating the star’s makeup, hairstyles and clothes.

Highlights include work inspired by Crawford’s influential Letty Lynton dress and a central installation of printed mirrors that merge the viewer’s reflection with that of a film star.

Reflexion also features contributions by Alex Michon and Tamar Jeffers McDonald, alongside a programme of talks and films.

On the 12th November Cathy Lomax will be giving a gallery talk exploring the themes of her work - https://wtm.uk/events/gallery-talk-reflexion/ followed by a screening of the Hitchcock classic 'Vertigo' at the Connaught Cinema - https://wtm.uk/events/vertigo/

30/09/2026

What a fantastic workshop we had this morning with Dr Ellen Swift and Dr Kelly Clark-Neish, exploring Late Roman Hoards!

Attendees had the opportunity to handle some of the special artefacts from the Patching Hoard and to find out how to identify both late Roman siliquae (silver coins) and fragments of hack-silver. We looked at hoards from elsewhere in Britain, including the 'Wem hoard' (seen below) which has remarkable similarities in it's composition of hack-silver to Patching.

A fascinating study session which will directly influence our new narrative text for the Patching Hoard case in the coming months.

This event was supported by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of the 'Britain's last Roman Hoards: wealth, power and culture in the fifth century' project.

29/09/2026

We had a wonderful walk around Kithurst Hill this morning, covering lost Roman farmsteads, Bronze Age burial mounds and Neolithic flint tools. This was the last walk of the season so thank you to everyone who joined us!

Look out for the 2027 Archaeology Walk Programme early next year - we have plans to run a slightly different programme, with brand new locations and with walks categorised by length, including a special one-off Big Walk of 12+ miles (this will of course include a pub stop, or two!)

Photo by Robin Bennett

08/09/2026

We had a cracking walk up Highdown this morning, discussing our discoveries on last year's Big Dig and showing our intrepid attendees where we plan to excavate next summer - shame about the weather but everyone was well prepared!

08/09/2026

Autumn Lectures with our Curator of Archaeology James Sainsbury are back and start this month in the Richmond Room at the Assembly Hall.

Find out about the history of Chanctonbury Ring and Highdown Hill; what happened in Sussex once William the Conqueror had defeated King Harold in Hastings; attend our new lecture on the archaeology of Arun Valley; or find out about Worthing through the lens of photography from 1860-1914.

For more info and to book visit: https://tinyurl.com/wr536a67

04/09/2026

From Our Collections: Gentleman's Coat (unpicked), c.1760

Pieces from a fashionable gentleman's coat in maroon, uncut velvet. Originally woven with an intricate pattern in silver thread - if you look closely you can see this silver thread has been removed. We don't know for certain but we believe this may have been as a result of 'drizzling' - a popular pastime in the early 19th century whereby people removed valuable gold and silver threads from older unfashionable garments.

Here you can see the detail of an ornamental pocket flap - there would have originally been breeches and waistcoat to match the coat. It is unknown why the garment was unpicked but it is a remarkable 250 year old survival and tells us a lot about the cut of 18th century men's wear.

29/08/2026

*Special Event: Free Roman Coin Hoard Workshop*

Wednesday 30th September, 10:30-13:30

Join Professor Ellen Swift & Dr Kelly Clarke-Neish for a *FREE* interactive workshop to discover the hidden stories of 'Britain's Last Roman Hoards'

Through a mix of presentation and activities, including an opportunity to handle the famous Patching Hoard, you'll uncover what these hoards reveal about everyday life, shifting economies and identities in post-Roman Britain.

This event is supported by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of the 'Britain's last Roman Hoards: wealth, power and culture in the fifth century' project.

Please book your free ticket through the link below - spaces are limited!

Some they hid in the earth…and some they carried away’.This entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells the story of what happened to precious metal treasure

27/08/2026

Have you seen our new Local Finders case?

We have a new display case in our Archaeology Gallery dedicated to celebrating Local Finders. Every six months we will be changing the case to new local members of the public who have found archaeology in the Worthing or wider Sussex areas. This can be through metal detecting, field walking or just by chance! The only stipulation is that the finds are recorded through the British Museum's The Portable Antiquities Scheme. This is easy to do as we have the local Sussex Finds Liaison Officer visit us here in Worthing every three months to record new finds made by the public.

Our Local Finders case begins with Kevin Paine, an enthusiastic metal detectorist who has spent many years surveying sites on the Downs. His favourite find to date is a 9th century silver decorated strap-end, a decorative piece of high status (see below) It presents with the 'Trewhiddle' style (so named after the village in Cornwall where this style was first discovered in 1774) Kevin has helped reveal three hitherto unknown sites in the local area, and continues to help local archaeologists in their research.

Do you have a collection of finds made through metal detecting or field walking? If so there is now an opportunity to display your finds in the museum for our visitors to enjoy!