Worthing Rural District was a rural district

Rural district

Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...

 in West Sussex

West Sussex

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 from 1933 to 1974. It comprised an area to the north, west and east, but did not include the borough

Borough

A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

 of Worthing

Worthing

Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...

. Its area encompassed the land in southern Sussex between the Rivers Adur

River Adur

The Adur is a river in Sussex, England; it gives its name to the Adur district of West Sussex. The river was formerly navigable for large vessels up as far as Steyning, where there was a large port, but over time the river valley became silted up and the port moved down to the deeper waters nearer...

 and Arun

River Arun

The Arun is a river in the English county of West Sussex. Its source is a series of small streams in the St Leonard's Forest area, to the east of Horsham...

, with the exception of Arundel

Arundel

Arundel is a market town and civil parish in the South Downs of West Sussex in the south of England. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Worthing east southeast, Littlehampton to the south and Bognor Regis to...

, Littlehampton

Littlehampton

Littlehampton is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, on the east bank at the mouth of the River Arun. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton and east of the county town of Chichester....

 and Worthing itself.

The district was created as the successor to parts of East Preston Rural District, Steyning Rural District and Thakeham Rural District.

It consisted of seventeen civil parishes

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

: Angmering

Angmering

Angmering is a large village and civil parish between Littlehampton and Worthing in West Sussex, England. It is located approximately two miles north of the English Channel; Worthing and Littlehampton are about four miles to the east and west respectively.Angmering railway station is miles away...

, Burpham

Burpham

Burpham is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. The village is on an arm of the River Arun slightly less than northeast of Arundel.The civil parish has an area of...

, Clapham

Clapham, West Sussex

Clapham is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. The parish has a population of 317 in an area of . It lies three miles north of Angmering on the A280 road and north of the A27 crossroads...

, Coombes

Coombes

Coombes is a hamlet and civil parish in the Adur District of West Sussex, England. The village is in the Adur Valley northwest of Shoreham-by-Sea....

, East Preston

East Preston, West Sussex

East Preston is a village and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England. It lies roughly half way between Littlehampton and Worthing...

, Ferring

Ferring

Ferring is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is part of the built-up area of Worthing and is located on the A259 road west of the town. The parish has a land area of 430.6 hectares...

, Findon

Findon, West Sussex

Findon is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, four miles north of Worthing. The parish has an area of 16.41 km² and a population of 1848 persons ....

, Houghton

Houghton, West Sussex

Houghton is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the River Arun five kilometres to the north of Arundel...

, Kingston, Lancing

Lancing, West Sussex

Lancing is a town and civil parish in the Adur district of West Sussex, England, on the western edge of the Adur Valley. It lies on the coastal plain between Sompting to the west, Shoreham-by-Sea to the east and the parish of Coombes to the north...

, Lyminster

Lyminster

Lyminster is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the outskirts of the built-up area of Littlehampton, two miles north of the town centre. The civil parish covers an area of and has a population of 351 persons...

, Patching

Patching

Patching is a small village and civil parish that lies amidst the fields and woods of the southern slopes of the South Downs in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It has a history going back to before the Domesday survey of 1087. It is located four miles to the east of Arundel, to the...

, Poling, Rustington

Rustington

Rustington is a seaside resort and civil parish near Littlehampton in West Sussex. Rustington is centrally situated on the West Sussex coast almost midway between the cathedral city of Chichester and Brighton. For local government purposes, it forms part of the Arun district of the administrative...

, Sompting

Sompting

Sompting is a village and civil parish in the Adur District of West Sussex, England, located between Lancing and Worthing, at the foot of the southern slope of the South Downs. Twentieth century development has linked it to Lancing. The civil parish covers an area of 10.35 square kilometres and has...

, South Stoke

South Stoke, West Sussex

South Stoke is a small village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is located two miles to the north of Arundel, and is situated on the west bank of the River Arun on the edge of Arundel Park. It is reached by road from Arundel. A footpath leads to North Stoke on the...

 and Warningcamp

Warningcamp

Warningcamp is a small village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is located to the north-east of Arundel, on the east bank of the River Arun. The civil parish covers an area of and has a population of 161 persons ....

.

The rural district was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

 in 1974. Its territory was split between the Adur district district and the Arun district

Arun

Arun is a local government district in West Sussex, England. It contains the towns of Arundel, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, and takes its name from the River Arun, which runs through the centre of the district.-History:...

, with the parishes of Coombes, Lancing and Sompting going to the former and the others going to the latter.