A TIMELINE OF BOGNOR
By Tim Lambert
1784, 1785, 1786 Richard Hotham stays at Bognor and decides to create a seaside resort there
1791 Bognor has its first season
1799 Hotham dies but he has built 30 houses as well as other buildings in Bognor
1804 Daniel Wonham builds a crescent of houses at Rock Gardens
1818 Bedford Street is built
1822 A body of men is formed to pave the streets of Bognor
1826 Claremont Hotel is built. A Methodist Chapel opens in Chapel Street.
1829 Norfolk Hotel is built
1830 John Street is built
1831 Bognor has a population of 1,300
1852 A gasworks opens
1864 The railway reaches Bognor
1865 The pier opens
1867 A police station is built in Bognor
1870 A concrete sea wall is built
1872 Bognor gains a newspaper
1873 Bognor is made a separate parish from Bersted
1874 Horse drawn buses start running
1892 Bognor gains a golf course
1894 Bognor is made an urban district council
1901 Bognor has a population of 5,067
1901 Bognor has a population of 5,067
1909 Bognor gains its first cinema
1913 Bognor gains an electricity supply
1919 The War Memorial Hospital opens
1938 Bognor has a population of over 18,000
1929 George V stays at Bognor. He later gives the town permission to add Regis to its name
World War II In Bognor 38 people are killed by bombing
1948 Bognor College opens.
1960 Butlins Holiday Camp opens
1964 A new public library opens
1974 Felpham Comprehensive opens
1978 Arun Leisure Centre opens
1979 Middleton Health Centre opens
2001 The population of Bognor is 55,000