East Sussex is a
ceremonial and
non-metropolitan county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
in
South East England on the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
coast. It is bordered by
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
to the north and east,
West Sussex to the west, and
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Sussex is the city of
Brighton and Hove.
History
East Sussex is part of the
historic county of
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
, which has its roots in the ancient
kingdom of the South Saxons, who established themselves there in the 5th century AD, after the departure of the
Romans. Archaeological remains are plentiful, especially in the upland areas. The area's position on the coast has also meant that there were many invaders, including the Romans and later the
Normans
The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
. Earlier industries have included fishing, iron-making, and the wool trade, all of which have declined, or been lost completely.
Governance
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
was historically sub-divided into six
rapes. From the 12th century the three eastern rapes together and the three western rapes together had separate
quarter sessions, with the
county town of the three eastern rapes being
Lewes. This situation was formalised by Parliament in 1865, and the two parts were made into
administrative counties, each with its own elected
county council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
Ireland
The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
in 1889 under the
Local Government Act 1888. In East Sussex there were also three self-administered
county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...
s:
Brighton,
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
and
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
.
Upon its foundation, East Sussex included the south of
Tunbridge Wells and the south of
Lamberhurst; by the
Local Government Act 1894
The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...
these areas were transferred to
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
.
In 1974 East Sussex was made a
non-metropolitan and
ceremonial county, and the three county boroughs became districts within the county. At the same time the western boundary was altered, so that the
Mid Sussex region (including
Burgess Hill
Burgess Hill is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town, Chichester. It ...
and
Haywards Heath) was transferred to the non metropolitan county of
West Sussex. In 1997,
Brighton and Hove became a self-administered
unitary authority; it was granted
city status in 2000, whilst remaining part of the ceremonial county of East Sussex.
The area of East Sussex County Council's jurisdiction is divided into five
local government districts. Three are large rural districts (from west to east):
Lewes,
Wealden, and
Rother.
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
and
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
are mainly urban areas. The rural districts are further subdivided into
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
es.
Geography
Geology
From a geological point of view East Sussex is part of southern
anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is t ...
of the
Weald: the
South Downs
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
, a range of moderate
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. C ...
hills which run across the southern part of the county from west to east and mirrored in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
by the
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills ...
. To the north lie parallel valleys and ridges, the highest of which is the Weald itself (the Hastings beds and Wealden Clay). The sandstones and clays meet the sea at Hastings; the Downs, at
Beachy Head. The area contains significant reserves of shale oil, totalling 4.4 billion
barrels of oil
A barrel is one of several units of volume applied in various contexts; there are dry barrels, fluid barrels (such as the U.K. beer barrel and U.S. beer barrel), oil barrels, and so forth. For historical reasons the volumes of some barrel units ...
in the Wealden basin according to a 2014 study, which then Business and Energy Minister
Michael Fallon said "will bring jobs and business opportunities" and significantly help with UK energy self-sufficiency.
Fracking in the area is required to achieve these objectives, which has been opposed by environmental groups.
Climate
East Sussex, like most counties by the south coast, has an annual average total of around 1,750
hours of sunshine per year. This is much higher than the UK's average of about 1,340 hours of sunshine a year.
Relief and drainage
The relief of the county reflects the geology.
The
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. C ...
uplands of the
South Downs
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
occupies the coastal strip between Brighton and Eastbourne. There are two river gaps: the
Rivers Ouse and
Cuckmere
The River Cuckmere rises near Heathfield in East Sussex, England on the southern slopes of the Weald. The name of the river probably comes from an Old English word meaning "fast-flowing", since it descends over 100 m (328 ft) in it ...
. The
Seven Sisters, where the Downs meet the sea, are the remnants of dry valleys cut into the chalk; they end at
Beachy Head, 530 feet (162 m) above sea level. To the east of Beachy Head lie the marshlands of the
Pevensey Levels, formerly flooded by the sea but now enclosed within a deposited beach. At
Bexhill the land begins to rise again where the sands and clays of the Weald meet the sea; these culminate in the sandstone cliffs east of Hastings. Further east are the
Pett Levels, more marshland, beyond which is the estuary of the
River Rother. On the far side of the estuary are the
dunes of
Camber Sands
Camber Sands is a beach in East Sussex, UK, in the village of Camber, near Rye. It is the only sand dune system in East Sussex, and is east of the estuary of the River Rother at Rye Bay stretching to just beyond the Kent border, where shin ...
. The highest point in the county is
Ditchling Beacon on the South Downs, which has a maximum elevation of and is classed as a
Marilyn.
The
Weald occupies the northern borderlands of the county. Between the Downs and Weald is a narrow stretch of lower lying land; many of the rivers and streams occupying this area originate in the Weald. The High Weald is heavily wooded in contrast to the South Downs; the Low Weald less so. Part of the Weald is the
Ashdown Forest
Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is situated some south of London in the county of East Sussex, England. Rising to an elevation
...
.
Settlements
The location of settlements in East Sussex has been determined both by its history and its geography. The original towns and villages tended to be where its economy lay: fishing along the coast and agriculture and iron mining on the Weald. Industry today tends to be geared towards tourism, and particularly along the coastal strip. Here towns such as
Bexhill-on-Sea
Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of ar ...
,
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
, and
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
lie.
Newhaven and
Rye are ports, although the latter is also of historical importance.
Peacehaven and
Seaford are more
dormitory towns than anything else. Away from the coast lie former market towns such as
Hailsham
Hailsham is a town, a civil parish and the administrative centre of the Wealden district of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Da ...
,
Heathfield and
Uckfield;
Crowborough is a centre for the Ashdown Forest.
Lewes, the
County town of East Sussex; and
Battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...
, with its
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...
beginnings, and
Wadhurst
Wadhurst is a market town in East Sussex, England. It is the centre of the civil parish of Wadhurst, which also includes the hamlets of Cousley Wood and Tidebrook. Wadhurst is twinned with Aubers in France.
Situation
Wadhurst is situated ...
are the other three towns of significance.
Economy and demography
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the
non-metropolitan county of East Sussex (
Brighton & Hove
Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages.
Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton a ...
has a separate table) at current basic price
published(pp. 240–253) by ''Office for National Statistics'' with figures in millions of pounds.
Landmarks
The
Seven Sisters Park is part of the
South Downs National Park.
Beachy Head is one of the most famed local attractions, along with the flats along
Normans Bay.
Apart from the physical landmarks such as the Downs and the Weald, East Sussex has a great many landmarks of historical interest. There are castles at
Bodiam,
Herstmonceux
Herstmonceux ( , ; ) is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, which includes Herstmonceux Castle.
The Herstmonceux Medieval Festival is held annually in August.
History
The name comes from Anglo-Saxon ...
,
Lewes and
Pevensey; and defence works such as the
Martello towers and
Eastbourne Redoubt
Eastbourne Redoubt is a circular coastal defence fort at Eastbourne, East Sussex, on the south coast of England. It was built in 1805 as part of the British anti-invasion preparations during the Napoleonic Wars. The building is now owned by th ...
.
Eastbourne Redoubt Fortress Military Museum
Eastbourne Redoubt is the home of the Royal Sussex Regimental Museum Battle Abbey, built to commemorate the Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conque ...
; Bateman's
Bateman's is a 17th-century house located in Burwash, East Sussex, England. It was the home of Rudyard Kipling from 1902 until his death in 1936. The house was built in 1634. Kipling's widow Caroline bequeathed the house to the National Trust ...
, home of Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)'' The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
, Hammerwood Park, one of the first examples of Greek Revival architecture in the UK; and the University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £14.4 million (2020)
, budget = £319.6 million (2019–20)
, chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar
, vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil
, ...
buildings at Falmer are among interesting buildings. Bexhill on sea is also home to the De La Warr Pavilion
The De La Warr Pavilion is a grade I listed building, located on the seafront at Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex, on the south coast of England.
The Modernist and International Style building was designed by the architects Erich Mendelsohn and Se ...
. East Sussex also includes two chalk hill figures, being the Litlington White Horse
The Litlington White Horse is a chalk hill figure depicting a horse, situated on Hindover Hill (known locally as High-and-Over) in the South Downs, looking over the River Cuckmere to the west of the village of Litlington and north of East Blat ...
and the Long Man of Wilmington, which are both situated in the Sussex Downs.
Transport
Roads
East Sussex has no motorways, and even dual carriageways are sparse in the county. The main roads through the county are those part of the radial pattern from London: the A21 from Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
to Hastings; the A22 from Surrey to Eastbourne; and the A23 from Gatwick to Brighton. Cross-country routes include the A26 which carries traffic from Newhaven and Lewes north into Kent; and the south coast trunk route, which starts in Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...
(Kent) as the A259 trunk road, and traverses the south coast to Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
, where it becomes the A27 trunk road and heads westwards towards Chichester
Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ...
in West Sussex and ultimately to Honiton in Devon. All the main roads suffer from congestion and traffic problems: the A27 which connects Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
to Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most d ...
is one of the busiest trunk roads in the UK.
Bus routes serve all the main areas of settlement and many of the villages in the county.
Railways
The railways serve the main towns in a similar fashion to the roads. Until the closures of many branch railways in the 20th century, rural East Sussex was well-served by rail: few such branch lines escaped the Beeching cuts so that today only main-line services remain. They include the East Coastway Line (including the Marshlink Line); the Hastings line; and the Uckfield branch of the Oxted Line. There are three heritage railways: the Kent and East Sussex Railway
The Kent and East Sussex Railway (K&ESR) refers to both a historical private railway company in Kent and East Sussex in England, as well as a heritage railway currently running on part of the route of the historical company.
Historical compan ...
operates from Tenterden
Tenterden is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the remnant forest the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother. It was a member of the Cinque Ports Confederation. Its riverside today is ...
in Kent to Bodiam; the Bluebell Railway from Sheffield Park to East Grinstead; and the Lavender Line Steam Railway
The Lavender Line is a heritage railway based at Isfield Station, near Uckfield in East Sussex, England.
History
The Lavender Line was originally part of the Lewes to Uckfield Railway opened to the public on 18 October 1858. This independen ...
near Lewes.
Trains in the county are operated by Southern
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
, Southeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
, Thameslink and Great Western Railway. Southern is the key operator for the county, operating services along the West Coastway and East Coastway routes, as well as trains from Brighton, Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
, Seaford and Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
to London Victoria, and to a lesser extent London Bridge
Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It re ...
, which is also where trains to/from Uckfield go. Southeastern operate trains from London Charing Cross
Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a central London railway terminus between the Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover via Ashf ...
to Hastings. Thameslink operate trains from Brighton to Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...
, and Great Western Railway operate from Brighton to Bristol Temple Meads, Cardiff Central, Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east o ...
, Worcester Shrub Hill and Great Malvern
Great Malvern is an area of the spa town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the eastern flanks of the Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill, and ...
.
Footpaths
Among the long-distance footpaths
A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway (landscape), greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking (wilderness), backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-cou ...
in East Sussex are the South Downs Way; 1066 Country Walk
The 1066 Country Walk is a waymarked long-distance footpath or recreational walk in southern England, United Kingdom.
Length of the route
The 1066 Country Walk runs for .
The route
The route commemorates 1066, the year of the Battle of ...
, High Weald Landscape Trail
The High Weald Landscape Trail (HWLT) is a route in England between Horsham, West Sussex and Rye, East Sussex, designed to pass through the main landscape types of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It does not follow th ...
, Saxon Shore Way
The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex, in total. This means that around Romney Marsh the ...
, Sussex Border Path, Sussex Ouse Valley Way, Vanguard Way
The Vanguard Way is a long-distance walk of from East Croydon station in outer London ( OS grid reference ), travelling from the north, to Newhaven, on the south coast of England. It passes through the counties of Surrey, Kent and East Sussex ...
, Wealdway and The Monarch's Way
The Monarch's Way is a long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester via Bristol and Yeovil to Shoreham, West Su ...
.
Education
The Universities of Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
and Brighton are based in East Sussex, with facilities in Brighton, Falmer and Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
.
Over 150 primary schools serve the area; many of them small and local in scope.
State and independent secondary schools include Lewes Old Grammar School, which celebrated its 500th anniversary in 2012. Overall, more than 50 serve East Sussex, including further education colleges in larger towns.
A number of independent boarding schools are also located in the county, including Brighton College and Roedean
Roedean is a village in the city of Brighton and Hove, England, UK, east of the seaside resort of Brighton.
Notable buildings and areas
Roedean Gap is a slight dip in the cliffs between Black Rock and Ovingdean Gap, and has been known by the ...
. The Pestalozzi Pestalozzi is the surname of an Italian family originally based in Gravedona and Chiavenna who settled in Switzerland during the Counter-Reformation. Members of this family include:
* Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827), Swiss pedagogue an ...
Children's Village, an international foundation, is located at Sedlescombe.
See also
*''Outline of England
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to England:
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Its 55,268,100 inhabitants account for more than 84% of the total UK population, while its mainland te ...
''
* Historic coats of arms of East Sussex County Council
* History of local government in Sussex
* ESCIS
* List of High Sheriffs of East Sussex
*List of hills of East Sussex
This is a list of hills in East Sussex. Many of these hills are important historical, archaeological and nature conservation sites, as well as popular hiking and tourist destinations in the county of East Sussex in southeast England.
Colour key ...
* The Keep: the county's archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual ...
and record office, near Falmer
* List of Lord Lieutenants of East Sussex
* Healthcare in Sussex
References
External links
*
*
Images of East Sussex
at the English Heritage Archive
WW1 East Sussex
Sussex County Council
{{Authority control
Non-metropolitan counties
Counties of England established in 1974