Bognor Regis Blue Plaque Trail

At the front of the pier, a plaque commemorates the role of the pier in WW2 when the pier was named HMS St Barbara for gunnery training with anti aircraft guns. During the war part of the pier sub-structure was cut, and a rope bridge built to connect the gun emplacement at the seaward end to the landward end. The rebuilding of this section after the war is thought to have been a cause of weakness in the pier’s structure due to low quality steel available after the war. Storms in 1965, 1999, and 2008 resulted in the loss of major parts of the seaward end of the pier.

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From the pier, head east for a couple of metres and cross the road at the pelican crossing. Continue east and the second road on your left is Lennox Street. It is at this location where Sir Billy Butlin established his Butlin’s Recreation Shelter in 1931, an amusement arcade with dodgems, children’s rides, and the largest display of slot machines on the coast at that time.

Butlin’s moved their amusements and built the holiday camp at the eastern end of the Esplanade in 1960 and had some 30,000 visitors that season.

Head up Lennox street and turn left at the junction with the High Street where you will see a drinking fountain erected in 1866. The fountain celebrates Charles Osborn as ‘the oldest member of the medical profession in Bognor’.

Retrace your steps up The Steyne turning left into West Street taking the second turn on your left, and continue down West Street in the direction of the seafront. On the left you will find the Bognor Regis Museum.

Opposite the museum at high level above a shop is a Blue Plaque for Joseph Witham. Joseph Witham was born at the house, he became a marine artist and from 1874 he became known for his paintings of ships. Some of his work can be seen at the National Maritime Museum.

Next door to Joseph Witham’s plaque is a new Blue Plaque commemorating Frank L’Alouette. He was a War Office sanctioned official photographer during World War 2, recording memories of Bognor Regis and the district during the war. A collection of 391 photos taken by him can be seen on the West Sussex Past Pictures website. The plaque commemorates the location of his photographic shop in the town

Situated at the bottom of West Street is the Royal Norfolk Hotel. Famous guests have included the exiled Emperor Napoleon III in 1872, Queen Alexandra and her sister Empress Maud of Russia.

On the entrance gate to the hotel is a blue plaque to commemorate the time that Tony Hancock spent at the hotel while filming “The Punch & Judy Man” his last film in 1962.

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From the hotel, cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and head west on the promenade. Just in front of Rock Gardens is a new Blue Plaque celebrating the life of Martin Venables, an eminent local geologist. He studied the rocks of Bognor Regis and discovered and named a number of Sussex fossils, Bognoria, Aldwickia, Portnallia and well as a genus Venablesi. 

Return from Rock Gardens to Aldwick Road and turn left where you will find the outstanding White Tower. It was built in 1898 by John Cyril Hawes, a renowned architect and builder of churches in Australia and the Bahamas. He also became a Franciscan monk. The White Tower is one of the most iconic and unusual buildings in Bognor Regis.

The listed building was the most recent to receive Blue Plaque status in 2018. The timing of the plaque was arranged to coincide with a visit to the house by followers of John Hawes from Australia. The White Tower was designed and built as a summer house for Mr Hawes and his two brothers and contains many of the original features. Not only is the size of the four-storey building impressive but also the artistic features such as the animals supporting the hood over the front door add to its amazing character.

Although relatively unknown in the UK, John Hawes is well recognised in Australia where he designed 44 churches and priest houses in Western Australia although not all were built.

From Marine Park Gardens retrace your steps back along Park Road towards Victoria Road. From the promenade if the tide is low looking west you can see the remains of a Mulberry Harbour section from World War 2. On your right as you approach Victoria Road are the beautiful buildings of Marine Parade, characteristic of old Bognor.

Continue up Victoria Road and on your right is a Blue plaque to Victor Lorenzo Whitechurch, author and creator of the railway detective Thorpe Hazell.

On the opposite side of the Clarence Road is a Blue Plaque to James Joyce the author. While holidaying in Bognor in 1923, he wrote part of his novel Finnegans Wake. 

Return to Belmont Street and continue eastwards, turn right at the junction with Albert Road. At the junction with Walton Road is St Joseph’s. The Blue Plaque can be seen at the first floor level and celebrates Henry Guermonprez, a self taught natural historian. He collected and recorded the flora and wildlife of West Sussex. Part of his collection can now be seen at the Portsmouth City Museum

Continue back up Belmont Road to the High Street and turn right. Follow the road to the entrance to Hotham Park Gardens opposite Gloucester Road.  Stroll up the path and opposite the bandstand is Hotham Park House, the home of Sir Richard Hotham. The plaque is dedicated to Sir Richard Hotham who was the founder of modern day Bognor Regis as a seaside resort.  In 1787 he initiated the building of a holiday resort for the gentry, which he named Hothamton.

Continue along the path through the park and exit at gates of the short-term car park. Cross the Upper Bognor Road and enter the Chichester University Bognor Regis Campus at Gate A. On your left is Dome House, the only Grade 1 listed building in Bognor Regis. Dome House was build by Sir Richard Hotham in 1797 and was the centre piece of Hothamton Crescent with Mordington House on the left and St Michael’s House on the right. Dome House was designed to attract royalty to his newly created resort of Hothamton.

Notable visitors included Lady Jersey, Princess Charlotte and the then Prince of Wales (the future King Geoge IV). The Green Plaque celebrates Roy Macklin who was the first Principal of the College that became the Bognor Regis Training College after World War 2.