Bognor Regis comes together to honour town founder
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Sir Hotham is often credited as the founder of modern Bognor Regis. Locals say he turned a coastal fishing village into one of the foremost holiday destinations of the eighteenth century, and town dignitaries have conducted an annual service at his gravestone, in St Mary Magdalene Church, for the last forty years.
This year, on January 18, town mayor John Barrett, Arun District Council chair Samantha-Jayne Staniforth and the chairman of the local history society Greg Burt were joined by students from South Bersted Primary school to lay foliage from Hotham Park at the grave.
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Hide AdMr Burt said the yearly ceremony helps residents celebrate our town’s heritage and culture. "Some people say it’s a waste of time, but we live in a rapidly-changing world, so it's quite nice - in all our lives – to have things that we can rely on to take place. It gives us a sense of purpose and stability, so that's why it’s quite important, we decided, to keep traditions like these going. It doesn’t cost a fortune, it just takes a bit of a time.
"Some people might say if you don't know where you've been, how do you know where you're going?”
Born in 1722 in York, Richard Hotham started his working life as a hatter in London before becoming involved with the East India Trading Company. After rising through the ranks and taking charge of several ships, Hotham - who was knighted in 1769, at just 46 – used his growing funds to break into property development.
He wouldn’t find his way to the coast until some time later, when he decided the sea air did him good and bought a farmhouse on the coast. After developing the farmhouse into a comfortable villa that would come to be known locally as Bognor Lodge, he set about developing the surrounding land into a luxury resort, hoping to cash-in on the popularity of the seaside with England’s aristocratic class. Although he died before his dream was fully realised, the work he started laid the foundation for Bognor Regis as we know it today.