Sir Richard Hotham Dies

1799

Sir Richard Hotham died in 1799, having spent the last decade of his life and a substantial portion of his fortune attempting to establish Bognor as a fashionable seaside resort. His death left the development incomplete and its future uncertain. The grand scheme for Hothamton had produced several notable buildings, including the Dome House and terraces of lodging houses, but the resort had not achieved the critical mass of visitors or investment needed to sustain itself as a rival to Brighton. Hotham was buried at South Bersted church, close to the town he had tried to create. His legacy was the physical fabric of a small resort that subsequent generations would build upon at their own pace. The name Hothamton fell out of use within years, replaced by the original Bognor, but Hotham Park preserves his name in the town he created. His contribution to Bognor is recognised locally, though the scale of his ambition was always larger than the results achieved during his lifetime. After his death, the resort continued to attract some visitors, particularly those who valued quiet and mild weather over the fashionable bustle of Brighton, but development slowed and Bognor settled into the role of a modest, second-tier seaside town rather than the fashionable destination Hotham had envisaged.