Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient
Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the
English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is
divided for local government into West Sussex and East
Sussex and the City of Brighton and Hove. The city of Brighton & Hove was
created a unitary authority in 1997; and was granted City status in 2000. Until then Chichester had
been Sussex's only city.
The divisions of West Sussex and East Sussex were originally established in 1189, and had obtained separate administrations
(Quarter Sessions) by the 16th century. This situation was recognised by the
County of Sussex Act 1865. Under the Local Government
Act 1888 the two divisions became two administrative counties
(along with three county boroughs: Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings). [1]
The appellation Sussex remained in use as a ceremonial county until
1974, when the Lord-Lieutenant of Sussex was replaced with one each for East and West
Sussex. The whole of Sussex has had a single police force since 1968.
Sussex still retains a strong local identity and the county's unofficial anthem is Sussex by the Sea. The county's motto, "We wun't be druv", reflects the strong-willed nature of
its people in past centuries. Sussex's device shows six martlets. Sussex's county flower is the round-headed rampion, also known as the Pride of Sussex. Sussex are proud to have currently the best
county cricket side in the country, Sussex
County Cricket Club. June 16, the feast day of the county's patron saint St Richard, has been declared Sussex Day by West Sussex County Council.[2]
Geography
Relief
The physical geography of Sussex relies heavily on its lying on the southern part of the Wealden
anticline. The major features of that are the high lands which cross the county in a west to east direction: the Weald
itself, and the South Downs. The former consists of clays and sands; the latter chalk.
Between those two ridges, mainly in West Sussex, lies the ‘’Vale of Sussex’’; at the eastern end of the county is the valley of
the River Rother, which flows into what was a long sea inlet to reach the sea at
Rye Bay.
The Weald
The Weald runs in an easterly direction from St Leonard’s Forest, south-west of
Crawley; and continues to Ashdown Forest. Its eastern
extremity is in two sections, divided by the River Rother valley. The northern
arm reaches the sea at Folkestone (in Kent); the southern at Fairlight Down east of
Hastings,
Within the Weald lies Sussex's highest point, the pine-clad Black Down, close to the Surrey border at 917 ft (280 m). Another high point is in the part called
Forest Ridges: a height of about 800 ft (240 m) is reached at Beacon Hill in the neighbourhood of Crowborough.
The High Weald, as the main area is known, gets its name from ’’wilderness’’ or forest, and it retains the highest proportion
of ancient woodlands in the country. Around 1660 the total area under forest was estimated to exceed 200,000 acres (800 km²), and
supplied the furnaces of the ironworks which formed an important industry in the county until
the 17th century, and which survived even until the early years of the 19th century.
South Downs
The South Downs start from a point near Petersfield in Hampshire . On entering Sussex, their summit is about 10 miles (16 km) from the sea. They run east for some 50
miles (80 km), gradually approaching the coast, and terminating in the bold promontory of Beachy
Head near Eastbourne. Their average height is about 500 ft (150 m),
though Ditchling Beacon is 813 ft (248 m) (the third highest summit) and many other
summits exceed 700 ft (210 m).
Dry valleys are a feature of the Downs. One in particular, known as Devil's Dyke, north-west of Brighton, is a popular tourist and outdoor sports venue.
Vale of Sussex
The Vale of Sussex is the lower undulating land which came into being when the softer clays between the Weald and the Downs
were worn away. Crossing the Vale are most of the rivers in Sussex: those rising on the slopes of the Weald and cutting through
the Downs to reach the sea (see Drainage).
The coastal plain
This is a fertile narrow belt from Chichester to Brighton. Once noted for market gardening, it is now heavily built-up into a
sprawling coastal conurbation. The beaches along the coast vary from sandy to shingle: that factor, together with the mild
climate of the coast, sheltered by the hills from north and east winds, have resulted in the growth of numerous resort towns, of
which the most popular are (east to west) Hastings, Bexhill, Eastbourne, Seaford, Brighton, Shoreham-by-Sea,
Worthing, Littlehampton and Bognor.
See also: Sussex coast.
Marshland
There are several areas of low-lying marshland along the coast; from west to east these are:
- in the west of the county, south of Chichester, lying between Chichester Harbour and
Pagham Harbour;
- beyond Beachy Head, the ‘’Pevensey Levels’’;
- beyond Hastings, the ‘’Pett Levels’’;
- beyond Rye, the ‘’Walland Marsh’’ part of Romney
Marsh.
All were originally bays; natural coastal deposition and man-made protective walls have given rise to alluvial deposition.
Drainage
The rivers wholly within the county are relatively short. All rise in the Weald (St Leonard’s Forest area) and, apart from the
eastern River Rother, flow south to the English Channel, using gaps in the South Downs as they do so. The mouths of all have been
affected by longshore drift, particularly during violent storms during the Middle Ages.
From west to east they are:
Climate
South East England combines the highest average daytime temperatures found in the British Isles with the highest sunshine
averages on the British mainland. There are between 25 and 30 inches (635-760 mm) of rainfall; and there can be high variation of
temperature between day and night.
The climate of the coastal districts is strongly influenced by the sea, which because of its tendency to warm up slower than
land, can result in cooler temperatures than inland in the summer. In the autumn months, the coast sometimes has higher
temperatures. Rainfall during the summer months is mainly from thunderstorms and thundery showers; from January to March
the heavier rainfall is due to south-westerly frontal systems. The coast has consistently more sunshine than the inland
areas: sea breezes, blowing off the sea, clear any cloud from the coast.
Further details of climatic conditions along the coast may be found here
Industries
Agriculture
Sussex has retained much of its rural nature: apart from the coastal strip, it has few large towns. Although in 1841 over 40%
of the population were employed in agriculture (including fishing}, today less than 2% are so employed. There are still fishing
fleets, notably at Rye and Hastings, but the number of boats is much reduced.
Historically, the fisheries were of great importance, including cod, herring, mackerel,
sprats, plaice, sole, turbot, shrimps, crabs, lobsters, oysters, mussels, cockles, whelks and periwinkles. Bede records that St Wilfrid, when he visited the county in 681, taught the people
the art of netfishing. At the time of the Domesday survey the fisheries were extensive,
and no fewer than 285 salinae (saltworks) existed. The customs of the Brighton fishermen were documented in 1579.
There are working harbours at Rye, Hastings, Newhaven and Shoreham; whilst Pagham and Chichester harbours cater for leisure
craft, as does Brighton Marina.
Iron working
In medieval times the Weald was of national importance in the iron industry,
and the remains of that industry are still to be seen in the form of Furnace ponds.
Service industries
The string of holiday resorts, and the many tourist attractions, form part of the main economic base in Sussex. The presence
of the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton provide employment for many more; whilst reasonable rail connections allow
many people to work in London.
"Borough English"
The custom of borough-English, by which land descends to the youngest son, prevailed
to an extraordinary degree in Sussex, and no fewer than 140 manors have been catalogued in which it was found. Gavelkind tenure existed in Rye, in the large manor of Brede, and in Coustard
manor (in Brede parish).
Population
The area of the ancient county is 933,887 acres (3,800 km²), with a population in 1891 of 550,446 and in 1901 of 605,202. The
earliest statement as to the population is made by Bede, who describes the county as containing in the year 681 land of 7000
families; allowing ten to a family (a reasonable estimate at that date), the total population would be 70,000.
In 1693 the county is stated to have contained 21,537 houses. If seven were allowed to a house at that date, the total
population would be 150,759. It is curious, therefore, to observe that in 1801 the population was only 159,311. The decline of
the Sussex ironworks probably accounts for the small increase of population during several centuries, although after the
massacre of St Bartholomew upwards of 1500 Huguenots landed at Rye, and in 1685, after the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes, many more refugees were added to the county.
An act of Henry VII (1504) directed that for convenience the county court should
be held at Lewes as well as at Chichester, and this apparently gave rise to the division of Sussex into east and west parts.
History
See main article: History of Sussex
Antiquities
From early times castles guarded three important entries from the coast through the
South Downs into the interior provided by the valleys of the Ouse, the Adur and the Arun.
These are respectively at Lewes, Bramber and Arundel. The ruins of the first two, though imposing, do not compare in grandeur with the third, which is still
the seat of the dukes of Norfolk.
More famous than these are the massive remains, in part Norman but mainly of the 13th
century, of the stronghold of Pevensey Castle, within the walls of Roman Anderitum. Other ruins are those of the finely situated
Hastings Castle; the Norman remains at Knepp near
West Grinstead; the picturesque and remarkably perfect moated fortress of Bodiam, of the 14th
century; and Herstmonceux Castle, a beautiful 15th century building of brick.
The County is also rich in moated sites, and smaller castles, mostly found in the low weald.
Towns and cities
Major towns and cities of Sussex include:
See also
Further reading
- "Angels in the Sussex Air", an anthology of poetry by Sussex authors chosen and edited by Patrick Garland, ISBN 1-85619-725-5
- "An Historical Atlas of Sussex", An Atlas of the History of the Counties of East and West Sussex, edited by Kim Leslie and
Brian Short, with maps by Susan Rowland, published by Phillimore & Co. Ltd, Chichester, 1999, ISBN 1-86077-112-2
Links and References
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia
Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public
domain.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
