Blue Plaque for James Denton

On the 25th June 2026 a few of the Friends of Denton Gardens volunteers were delighted to attend the event unveiling of a Blue Plaque in honour of James Gurney Denton who contributed so much to the town including Denton Gardens itself. The event also celebrated 100 years of the Pavillion Theatre.

Andy and JP

FoDG volunteers, JP (Treasurer), Hilary, Jane, Andy (Chairman) and Nadine (Volunteer Rep.).

Our heartfelt thanks to The Worthing Society, Worthing Theatres and Museum and Hemiko for staging the event.

James Gurney Denton served as a civic leader and prominent philanthropist in Worthing for several decades, and his generosity continues to benefit the town today. He was born in September 1857 and baptised at Harlington in Bedfordshire. The exact date of his arrival in Sussex is unknown, but records show that in 1884 he married Florence Smith in Lewes — he was 26 at the time, and she was a year his senior. A grocer by trade, he grew his business to encompass shops on South Street in Worthing and High Street in Arundel. By 1891, James and Florence were living at their South Street premises, though they later relocated to Selden Lodge on Selden Road as the fruits of his commercial success afforded them considerable wealth.

Denton first became Mayor in 1908, serving a two-year term, though it is reasonable to assume he had been actively involved in the governance of the town long before this, and would have been a well-recognised figure in Worthing. In 1922 he was made a Freeman of the Borough — a reflection of the high esteem in which he was held — and was elected Mayor once more that same year for a further two-year term. In total, he held office across four municipal years, which is why he is frequently referred to as the “four times Mayor of Worthing”, an achievement we have chosen to honour on the Blue Plaque.

Also in 1922, Denton purchased the land now known as Denton Gardens from the Beach House Estate and presented it as a gift to Worthing Corporation, the predecessor to Worthing Borough Council. The gardens were opened to the public in 1924. Among the land gifted was the site of Worthing Rowing Club, and Denton made it a condition of the gift that the Club would always retain a permanent home there. He also acquired a plot of land on Stoke Abbot Road, which he donated to the town along with £40,000 to fund the construction of the Worthing Assembly Hall. Opened in 1934 and home to the largest Wurlitzer organ in Europe, the Hall is one of four venues comprising the Worthing Theatres and Museum Trust, offering a varied programme of music, comedy and theatre to audiences of up to 1,100 in its main auditorium.

Florence Denton passed away in 1932. The couple had no children, and upon James Gurney Denton’s death in 1937 at the age of 80, he left a substantial legacy to Worthing Corporation. These funds were used to construct the Denton Lounge, built alongside the Pavilion Theatre and drawing crowds of hundreds when it opened in 1959. It was subsequently renamed The Pavilion Atrium.

These enduring contributions speak to a man driven not merely by civic duty, but by a deep commitment to the cultural enrichment of Worthing — creating public spaces for leisure, entertainment and community life that have stood the test of time. Through both his public service and his philanthropy, Denton played a defining role in shaping the civic and cultural character of Worthing for generations to come.