Bognor Regis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bognor Regis |
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 Bognor Regis' seafront as viewed from the pier in 2007 |
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 Bognor Regis
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| Area | 4.41 km2 (1.70 sq mi) |
| Population | 25,011 (Parish, 2021) 68,435 (Built up area, 2021) |
| Demonym | Bognorian |
| OS grid reference | SZ934989 |
| • London | 55 miles (89 km) NNE |
| Civil parish |
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| District |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BOGNOR REGIS |
| Postcode district | PO21, PO22 |
| Dialling code | 01243 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | West Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament |
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| Website | Bognor Regis Town Council |
Bognor Regis is a fun town and seaside resort located on the south coast of England. It's in West Sussex, about 56 miles (90 km) southwest of London. Other towns nearby include Brighton, Chichester, and Portsmouth. The villages of Felpham and Aldwick are now part of Bognor Regis. In 2011, the population of the Bognor Regis area, including Felpham and Aldwick, was about 63,855 people.
A seaside resort was first created here in the late 1700s by Sir Richard Hotham. At that time, it was just a simple coastline of sand and gravel. The resort grew slowly at first. But it became much more popular after the railway arrived in 1864. In 1929, King George V stayed in the area for three months to get better after being ill. Later that year, the town's name was changed to "Bognor Regis" with the King's permission. "Regis" means "of the King" in Latin.
Butlin's has been in Bognor Regis since the early 1930s. It started with an amusement park and a zoo. A full holiday camp opened in 1960. Today, it offers modern hotel rooms and facilities.
Contents
What Does the Name Bognor Mean?
Bognor is one of the oldest recorded Anglo-Saxon place names in Sussex. In a document from the year AD 680, it was called Bucgan ora. This means "Bucge's shore" or "landing place." Bucge was an Anglo-Saxon name.
A Look Back at Bognor's Past
Bognor Regis was originally just called "Bognor." It was a small village where people fished and sometimes smuggled goods. It had a small port on the Aldingbourne Rife river. In the 1700s, Sir Richard Hotham decided to turn it into a resort. He even tried to rename it Hothamton, but that name didn't stick. Some people think that Hotham and his new resort are shown in Jane Austen's unfinished book, Sanditon.
On the beach between Bognor Regis and Aldwick, you can find the remains of a large floating pontoon. This was part of the Mulberry floating harbours. These special harbours were used by the Allies to invade France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. This particular pontoon broke free in a storm and washed up on the beach.
There is a memorial on the beach to honor the brave people who worked on the Mulberry Harbour project. It was placed there in June 1999. The memorial explains that many of these large structures were hidden near Pagham beach and Selsey. They were sunk to hide them from the enemy. The memorial calls the Mulberry Harbour project "a great feat of British and allied engineering skills." Many parts of these harbours can still be seen in Arromanches, France.
Butlin's History in Bognor
Billy Butlin first came to Bognor Regis with his "Recreation Shelter." This was a popular place for fun, with one-armed-bandits and dodgem cars. On July 5, 1933, he opened the Butlin Zoo on the seafront. It had many animals, like bears, hyenas, leopards, and kangaroos.
Just three years later, Billy Butlin opened his first holiday center in Skegness. In 1958, the Bognor Regis town council agreed with Butlin to build a holiday camp on a 39-acre site. This is where Butlin's still stands today. The camp first opened to the public on July 2, 1960.
Where is Bognor Regis?
The town has several areas and buildings that show its long history. Good examples are the Royal Norfolk Hotel and Hotham Park. These are important local landmarks.
The main Anglican church in town is called St. Wilfrid's. The local Roman Catholic church is Our Lady of Sorrows Church.
Bognor's Weather
Bognor Regis has a mild climate, like most of the United Kingdom. But it's often sunnier because it's right by the coast. In fact, Bognor Regis is known as the sunniest town in Britain! It gets over 1,900 hours of sunshine each year on average. Being by the sea also stops extreme temperatures. Since 1960, temperatures in Bognor have never dropped below -9.4°C (15°F) or risen above 31.5°C (88.7°F). Rain in Bognor usually falls more in winter and less in summer.
| Climate data for Bognor Regis (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1901–2023) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.4 (57.9) |
16.4 (61.5) |
18.9 (66.0) |
24.8 (76.6) |
27.2 (81.0) |
31.5 (88.7) |
31.1 (88.0) |
32.2 (90.0) |
27.7 (81.9) |
25.0 (77.0) |
18.4 (65.1) |
16.1 (61.0) |
32.2 (90.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.4 (47.1) |
8.6 (47.5) |
10.8 (51.4) |
13.5 (56.3) |
16.6 (61.9) |
19.2 (66.6) |
21.3 (70.3) |
21.4 (70.5) |
19.3 (66.7) |
15.7 (60.3) |
11.8 (53.2) |
9.1 (48.4) |
14.6 (58.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.9 (42.6) |
5.9 (42.6) |
7.6 (45.7) |
9.9 (49.8) |
12.9 (55.2) |
15.6 (60.1) |
17.7 (63.9) |
17.8 (64.0) |
15.7 (60.3) |
12.6 (54.7) |
9.0 (48.2) |
6.5 (43.7) |
11.4 (52.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.4 (38.1) |
3.2 (37.8) |
4.4 (39.9) |
6.3 (43.3) |
9.1 (48.4) |
12.0 (53.6) |
14.1 (57.4) |
14.1 (57.4) |
12.0 (53.6) |
9.5 (49.1) |
6.2 (43.2) |
3.9 (39.0) |
8.2 (46.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −11.1 (12.0) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
−6.2 (20.8) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
3.3 (37.9) |
6.0 (42.8) |
5.6 (42.1) |
1.1 (34.0) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−8.8 (16.2) |
−10.4 (13.3) |
−11.1 (12.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 82.5 (3.25) |
54.7 (2.15) |
45.8 (1.80) |
45.4 (1.79) |
42.8 (1.69) |
48.6 (1.91) |
43.7 (1.72) |
53.6 (2.11) |
57.1 (2.25) |
84.5 (3.33) |
87.5 (3.44) |
87.7 (3.45) |
733.9 (28.89) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 12.7 | 9.5 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 11.4 | 13.0 | 12.4 | 113.6 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 74.7 | 92.8 | 137.2 | 197.8 | 235.0 | 237.9 | 253.7 | 232.7 | 176.6 | 129.9 | 85.4 | 65.1 | 1,918.8 |
| Source 1: Met Office | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Starlings Roost Weather | |||||||||||||
Fun Things to Do in Bognor Regis
Billy Butlin opened one of his Butlin's Holiday Camps in Bognor in 1960. This camp was later known as Southcoast World until 1998. Now, it's called Butlin's Bognor Regis Resort. In 1999, Butlin's built a huge indoor leisure park. It has a unique roof design, similar to the Millennium Dome in London.
In 2005, a new £10 million hotel called "The Shoreline" opened at the resort. A second hotel, "The Ocean," opened in 2009. A third hotel, "Wave," opened in 2012. The resort has also been updated with new landscaping and improvements.
In 2017, Bognor Regis Town Council hired a town crier to help promote tourism. Jane Smith, the town crier, can often be seen giving announcements in her purple and gold uniform.
Culture and Community Life
The International Bognor Birdman is a yearly competition held on Bognor Regis Pier. People build human-powered "flying" machines and launch themselves off the end of the pier. A prize is given to the person who glides the furthest. This event is usually not taken too seriously. It's a chance for people to create wild machines and wear funny costumes. It's seen as a fun example of British humor and draws a large crowd. The Birdman event started in nearby Selsey in 1971. It moved to Bognor in 1978 because it had become too big for its original spot. Famous people like Richard Branson have even taken part!
In 2008, the Birdman Event had to move to Worthing. This was because 60 feet (18 meters) of the pier had been damaged by a storm. This made it unsafe for contestants to land in the shallower water. But the shortened pier was fixed and judged safe for the event in 2010, and it returned to Bognor.
Bognor Rox is a free music and arts festival held every summer. In 2015, it celebrated its 25th anniversary. The festival attracts over 30,000 visitors and features many types of music. It has seven performance areas over two days. The town also has the Bognor Regis Concert Band. They perform at different local places and events, including the yearly "Proms in the Park" at Hotham Park.
The Picturedrome Cinema on London Road has been showing movies for over 100 years. It has been greatly improved. The Bognor Regis Town Council bought the building to make sure it would stay open for the future.
The Alexandra Theatre has 357 seats. It shows many different types of entertainment, from comedy to plays and pantomimes. It was built in 1979 where the old Theatre Royal used to be. A group of volunteers runs it today. They show performances by local groups, tribute bands, and concerts.
Some movies have been partly filmed in Bognor Regis. These include The Punch and Judy Man (1963), starring Tony Hancock, and Wish You Were Here (1987). The BBC series Don't Forget the Driver (2019), starring Toby Jones, was also filmed and set in Bognor.
Local News and Media
Local news and TV shows for Bognor Regis are provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian. You can listen to local radio stations like BBC Radio Sussex, Heart South, Greatest Hits Radio West Sussex, and Passion Radio. The town's local newspaper is the Bognor Regis Observer.
Schools and Learning
Bognor Regis has two secondary schools: The Regis School and Felpham Community College. There are also several primary schools in Bognor Regis and Felpham.
The town is also home to a university campus of the University of Chichester.
Sports in Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis Town F.C. is the local football club. They play in the Isthmian Premier Division and their home games are at Nyewood Lane.
Middleton & Bognor Hockey Club plays their home matches at Littlehampton Academy.
There are two cricket clubs in the area: Bognor Regis Cricket Club and Pagham Cricket Club.
Getting Around Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis railway station is on a branch line that connects to the main West Coastway Line at Barnham. Trains run every half-hour to London and other towns on the south coast. Some services are direct. Southern operates these trains using Class 377s.
- Main Roads
- A29: This road goes north towards Dorking. South of Dorking, it connects to the A24 which leads to London. The A29 crosses the main east-west road, the A27, at Fontwell. It also crosses the A272 at Billingshurst.
- A259: This is a coastal road that runs along the south coast. It stretches from Havant in Hampshire to Folkestone in Kent.
Twin Towns
Bognor Regis is twinned with three towns in other countries:
- Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France
- Weil am Rhein, Germany
- Trebbin, Germany
Famous People from Bognor Regis
- Sir Richard Hotham (1722–1799): He was a property developer and politician. He helped make Bognor Regis a popular seaside resort.
- David Purley (1945–1985): A Formula One racing driver who was born in Bognor Regis.
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882): A famous painter and poet. He was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He worked in a studio in Belmont Street from 1875 to 1876.
- Eric Coates (1886–1957): A composer known for marches and rhapsodies. Some of his famous works include The Knightsbridge March and The Dam Busters March.
- James Joyce (1882–1941): A famous novelist who wrote Ulysses. He worked on his book Finnegans Wake while staying in Bognor in 1923.
- Mary Wheatland (1835–1924): A swimming instructor and lifesaver. She saved over 30 people from drowning off the town's beaches.
- William Blake (1757–1827): A well-known artist, mystic, and poet. He lived in Felpham for three years.
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