Recently known as the Vintner's Arms, but to many it will always be remembered as the Thieves Kitchen. There was a transitional period where it became The Vintner's Parrot. This may have been a nod to its original title of the Vintners Arms. We’re not sure where the parrot fitted in.

The building that graces numbers 10 and 12 Warwick Street today dates back to 1808 (with a rebuild in the 1830s) and is made of two different properties. The right-hand side began life as Roberts Wine Merchants (pictured), and the left as Worthing & Sussex Bank, later Henty’s Bank and finally as a ladies fashion shop. Although the bank had the greater frontage, Roberts extended much further back.

An early picture of Roberts & Son showing Mr John Roberts centre, Mr Paine, a well-known and respected man of Worthing, on the left, and Mr Burchell on the right. The horse's name isn't known!

A newspaper of the time reports Mr Roberts as "One of the kindest hearted and most successful of men. He would generously help fellow traders without security when he thought they deserved a leg up. His example was so high and his judgment so good that he was never let down."

John Roberts lived at Tudor Lodge, demolished to make room for the town hall. (Which was situated where the steps led up to the present Guildbourne Centre at the time)

Viewed from the other direction, we can see the difference between the two buildings. We note that at this time the store 'Ryland' was a ladies' fashion shop.

Roberts specialised in wine and spirits but realised a fuller potential by opening a bar out the back, this was accessed via the corner door where Warwick Road joined Marine Place. The Shop entrance was solely in Warwick Street.

We don't know at what date or which owner/landlord purchased the adjoining building, but it was eventually knocked through, creating the building we know today. The name 'Thieves Kitchen' was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the local traders who used to meet up there and discuss business and possibly collude pricing?.

With special thanks to the Jefferies family, it became clear that it was indeed an addition, but an early one. We can see the legend 'The Vintners Arms' above the double door.

The smaller, more distant door was the entrance to the flat and the rooms upstairs. The double door was for deliveries and dispatches, and the nearest door was the receipt office. We have to remember that Roberts handled large quantities of wine, often in barrels for bottling later.

The castle like structure is still there today, but people have little cause to walk down there.

The shop front in all its original glory. We know in recent memory that the company livery was racing green with gold lettering and there is no reason to suppose that it had been any different at the time of this picture.

A magnificent internal view of the shop showing a very wide selection of wines and spirits.

Hanging from the ceiling are copper measuring jugs. The linoleum floor depicted the Roberts & Sons Trademark. All this was in the days when chairs were provided and you got personal service.

In 1962, the Thieves Kitchen opened a new 'Chop House' by converting an old storeroom. Mr Lynn, one of the directors, said, "We have always wanted to provide better catering facilities at the Thieves' kitchen, but until we moved into our new headquarters at Lynn House, we didn't have the room."

Asked why the chop house he replied, "The premises are old, and 'chop house' is an old name. We feel that 'Steak Houses' have been rather overdone recently. Just as the old chop house had their pew seats, so have we. We have chosen them with a high back design." The entrance was in Marine Parade.

The stone flooring was carpeted over and electrically heated with iron grills to hide two radiators. Each table has its own wrought iron lighting bracket on the wall beside it, with two electric 'candle' lamps and a wrought iron pendant fitting hang from the ceiling.

Food wasn't a new thing for the Thieves Kitchen but this was the first time it had been taken seriously.

The two pictures below, taken in approximately 2015 on a private tour shows two disused rooms which we think was part of the chop house. Only a ground floor would have had a stone floor as mentioned above.
 

Something else you'll no longer see, The Minstrel Bar. This sign may have greeted many a visitor in the 70s and 80s but the door it rests above is no longer in public use.

Having had a tour behind the scenes we can say that its is a maze of narrow corridors which have no doubt changed direction over time.

A small removable  panel in one wall was pointed out to us, known as the 'Drop Hole' going down to the cellars below, exact use unknown.

In an item published in the Worthing Gazette in October 1979 entitled: Boss pulls the first pint, we read:

Mr Peter Ladd (centre) director and general manager of Albion Taverns, pulls the first pint at the reopening of the Thieves Kitchen Public House in Warwick Street last Tuesday.

About 150 people from different organisations in the town attended the reopening night party. Pictured on the left with Mr Ladd are landlord Dennis Portage and his wife Val.

There has always been a little confusion with the Thieves Kitchen and the building on its eastern side. Originally a bank, it would appear that Roberts, then owners of the Thieves, bought it and used it as an off-licence before leasing it to what was to become Kay Darlington, ladies' fashion shop.

In 1984, the lease came up for renewal, but the pub, now owned by the Gateway Host Group, wanted it back and to develop it into a café/bar. It went to court. Mr Ladd said their pub plans included a restaurant, a games room, a barbecue area, a complete refurbishment, and the attached Bedford Hall would become a market area.

Following on from the above, in 1986.

Having won ownership of the neighbouring building, they extended the frontage, opened a café/bar, which was decorated in a 1940s Raj style. At night, this would change into a disco nightclub for over-21s. A sports bar was opened with the entrance in Bedford Road.

The ground floor was opened up into two large bars and designed for a sophisticated clientele, for the over-20s bracket. A Dickensian restaurant is also planned. Pictured is Manager Rory Walters and his wife, Stella. The market didn't materialise. It later became a function room.

Looking up from the cellars, you can see the double doors in the distance that open up to the Marine Place entrance, used for deliveries. The wooden ramp is used for rolling barrels down. A Wooden square set in the floor (not shown) acted as a cushion to stop them.

Below, two images deep inside, one section used and the other not. The space beneath the building is large, but we have to bear in mind it was two separate buildings once, and one of those was a bank, which naturally would have had an underground vault, although on our visit nothing was obvious.

Time Line

A little bit more

1863 - Roberts
1968 - Jasper Murray*
1970 - Austin Burnet
1977 - Roberts sold to Gateway Hosts
1979 - 1982 Dennis and Valerie Portage
1984 - Took control of the neighbouring fashion shop
1986 - Rory and Stella Walters
1988 - 1990 Bob Crossley

*A former Japanese prisoner of war who worked on the infamous Burma railway.

1966: The Thieves Kitchen pub banned women under the age of 25 after complaints about their unruly behaviour.