A Walk from London to Worthing

Commissioned for Navigating History curated by Alice Angus & Deborah Smith

4 October – 27 November 2004

A Walk from London to Worthing crosses the lending, reference and local studies collections of Worthing Library. This walk takes us on a journey through information rather than of geography, crossing the library’s lending, reference and local studies libraries. Its a treasure hunt in search of the facts and fictions, stories and narratives about London, Worthing, and the many connections between them. The movement between floors, shelves and books has been described by a hand-drawn line, superimposed onto a map of the Dewey Decimal System that is used to classify the books in the library.

The walk tells a tale which you can enjoy by following the trail of orange and yellow markers that have been inserted into the Library’s shelves and books. These markers are a reference to one of the stories to be found along the route of the work, describing the trail of oranges and lemons found on the beach at Worthing after a ship shed its cargo in a storm.

The walk takes you from London’s formerly neglected, now coveted, housing estates towards the promise of sanctuary on the South coast in towns such as Worthing which are once more popular with both young and old seeking respite from London. The enduring metaphor of tidal erosion – the battle between sea and shoreline – is explored alongside issues of immigration and identity.

A Walk from London to Worthing hand-bound book is available in the Local Studies Collection in Worthing Library.