The clock beer house was a later addition to the Clock Brewery on the corner of what is now Chapel Road (was North Street) and Lennox Road.

Most of us will have more recent memories of this plot of land as being where Bunces, the hardware store, once stood, itself now a block of flats.

The clock name was given because it had a clock on the front, apparently the first in Worthing, a tradition Bunces' carried on until its demise.

Henfrey Smail in his 1946 book, 'The Worthing Map Story' mentions the Clock Brewery but reveals very little, we however have discovered a story worth telling.

It was acquired in 1851 by the Allen Brothers and burnt to the ground in 1854. The town fire pump failed to work in extinguishing the blaze as it was found to be clogged up with grain.

We're not saying it was on purpose, but it gave the Allens an opportunity to rebuild, something they took advantage of, and in part, secretly.

Alfred and Dennet were popular maltsters in Worthing, they paid a generous price for barley, and the staff were well rewarded for their work.

Despite high outgoings, they seemed to make an excellent profit year on year and became wealthy, but there was a secret behind their success, one that select members of staff were aware of. This was later to become their downfall when one member of staff attempted to blackmail them.

The Allens chose not to yield to his demands and called his bluff. It would turn out the now ex-employee had tipped off the authorities that all was not as it seemed with the business, but didn't give any details.

A surprise inspection at 4 am on 31 March 1857 by customers inspectors initial revealed nothing, in spite of searching for five hours. As hope was being lost, a discovery was made, soft mortar in some brickwork.

What was discovered was a cast iron framework in which bricks were set, a simple but ingenious device that allowed a section of wall to be removed and replaced with the minimum of noise and effort.

Once back in place, only the outline needed to be covered up using fresh but weak mortar, toned to blend in with the rest.

What was discovered behind was a short passageway down to an underground vault full of barrels of malt, the contents being exactly the same as those upstairs. It would appear that for every barrel they sold, they sold another tax-free.

There had been a high tax levied on malt to fund the cost of the Crimea war against the Russians, making the Allen's venture very profitable, and popular with his regular customers, who of course asked no questions.

On the other side of the vault, another fake wall was discovered leading up to the second malthouse above ground. This would enable work on one side to be carried out without the other side knowing, hence only a select few were ever involved. The vault itself spanned the width of the courtyard between both malthouses.

This might explain the sudden fire in the original building, a year after the war in Crimea started. Again, we're not saying it was started as an excuse to build a secret vault, but it does fit so well.

The Allen brothers faced a hefty fine and back duty as the case would go to court on the 16th of June. Until then, they were free to carry on trading their legitimate goods.

The police were suspicious of the brothers, fearing they would try to leave the country, detectives kept an eye on them.

The police were suspicious of the brothers, fearing they would try to leave the country, detectives kept an eye on them.

It would turn out their suspicions were well-founded. The day before the court case, both brothers boarded a steamer for France. The detectives followed but the brothers cunningly doubled back and caught another steamer to London, leaving their police tails heading for Paris.

When the Allens reached London, they boarded an express train to Liverpool to eventually set sail for America and sanctuary. The legal case proceeded, and a fine was set at £370,000, later reduced to £110,000.

After a lengthy period of time, the Solicitor General reduced the fine to £10,000 with the idea that something was better than nothing. The Allens paid and returned home.