Product Code Database
Sussex (/ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English Sūþseaxe; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area of South East England that was historically a kingdom and, later, a county. The current ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex cover approximately the same area. The two ceremonial counties border Surrey to the north, Kent to the north-east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. Sussex contains the city of Brighton and Hove and its wider city region, part of the South Downs National Park and the national landscape of the High Weald, and Chichester Harbour. Its coastline is long.
The Kingdom of Sussex emerged in the fifth century in the area that had previously been inhabited by the Regni tribe in the Roman Britain period. In about 827, shortly after the Battle of Ellendun, Sussex was conquered by Wessex. From 860 it was ruled by the kings of Wessex, and in 927 it became part of the Kingdom of England. By the Norman period, Sussex was subdivided into six administrative districts known as rapes, which were themselves divided into hundreds. By the sixteenth century, the eastern three rapes and the western three rapes had been combined for most meetings of the court of quarter sessions, a division which was reinforced when the administrative counties of East Sussex and West Sussex were established in 1889. Subsequent local government reforms maintained the division into east and west. The county retained a single lord lieutenant and sheriff until 1974, when they were replaced with separate posts for East and West Sussex and Sussex lost its status as a ceremonial county.
Sussex is widely regarded as a single unified entity for some purposes, including provision of some public services,e.g. for Sussex Police, NHS Sussex, the Sussex Wildlife Trust, the Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority food and drinke.g. Sussex wine, beer, cheese and sport.e.g. Sussex County Cricket Club, Sussex County Football Association, Sussex Rugby Football Union In 2007, Sussex Day was created to celebrate the county's culture and history. In February 2025, the UK Government approved plans to devolve powers to a new combined county authority for East Sussex, West Sussex, and Brighton and Hove, to be headed by a directly elected mayor.
The earliest-known usage of the term South Saxons (Latin: Australes Saxones) is in a royal charter of 689 which names them and their king, Noðhelm, although the term may well have been in use for some time before that. The monastic chronicler who wrote up the entry classifying the invasion seems to have got his dates wrong; recent scholars have suggested he might have been a quarter of a century too late.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, Sussex is recorded as Sudsexe.
Three United States counties (in Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia), and a former county/land division of Western Australia, are named after Sussex.
Sussex by the Sea is regarded as the unofficial anthem of Sussex; it was composed by William Ward-Higgs in 1907, perhaps originally from the lyrics of Rudyard Kipling's poem entitled Sussex. Adopted by the Royal Sussex Regiment and popularised in World War I, it is sung at celebrations across the county, including those at Lewes Bonfire, and at sports matches, including those of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club and Sussex County Cricket Club.
The county day, called Sussex Day, is celebrated annually on 16 June, the feast day of St Richard of Chichester, Sussex's patron saint, whose shrine at Chichester Cathedral was an important place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages.
Sussex's motto, We wunt be druv, is a Sussex dialect expression meaning "we will not be pushed around" and reflects the traditionally independent nature of Sussex men and women. The round-headed rampion, also known as the "Pride of Sussex", was adopted as Sussex's county flower in 2002.
At , Blackdown is the highest point in Sussex, or county top. With a height of Ditchling Beacon is the highest point in East Sussex. At long, the River Medway is the longest river flowing through Sussex. The longest river entirely in Sussex is the River Arun, which is long. Sussex's largest lakes are man-made reservoirs. The largest is Bewl Water on the Kent border, while the largest wholly within Sussex is Ardingly Reservoir.
Rainfall is below average with the heaviest precipitation on the South Downs with of rainfall per year. The close proximity of Sussex to the Continent of Europe, results in cold spells in winter and hot, humid weather in summer.
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 prevailing south-westerly frontal systems.
In winter, the east winds can be as cold as further inland. Selsey is known as a tornado hotspot, with small tornadoes hitting the town in 1986, 1998 and 2000, with the 1998 tornado causing an estimated £10 million of damage to 1,000 buildings.
Sussex is rich in remains from the Bronze Age and , in particular the Bronze Age barrows known as the Devil's Jumps and Cissbury Ring, one of Britain's largest hillforts. Towards the end of the Iron Age in 75 BC people from the Atrebates, one of the tribes of the Belgae, a mix of Celtic and German stock, invaded and occupied southern Britain.Armstrong. A History of Sussex. Ch. 3. This was followed by an invasion by the Roman army under Julius Caesar that temporarily occupied south-eastern Britain in 55 BC. Soon after the first Roman invasion had ended, the Celtic Regni tribe under their leader Commius initially occupied the Manhood Peninsula. Eppillus, Verica and Cogidubnus followed Commius as rulers of the Regni or southern Atrebates, a region which included most of Sussex, with their capital in the Selsey area.Cunliffe. Iron Age communities in Britain. p. 169.
Much of Sussex was a Roman canton of the Regni, probably taking a similar area to the pre-Roman tribal area and kingdom. Its capital was at Noviomagus Reginorum, modern-day Chichester, close to the pre-Roman capital of the area, around Selsey. Sussex was home to the magnificent Roman Palace at Fishbourne, by far the largest Roman residence known north of the Alps. The Romans built villas, especially on the coastal plain and around Chichester, one of the best preserved being that at Bignor. Christianity first came to Sussex at this time, but faded away when the Romans left in the fifth century. The nationally important Patching hoard of Roman coins that was found in 1997 is the latest find of Roman coins found in Great Britain, probably deposited after 475 AD, well after the Roman departure from Britain around 410 AD.
By the seventh century, South Saxon kings were ruling from sites around Selsey (the pre-Roman capital of the area) and Chichester (the Roman capital of the area) initially with similar borders to the pre-Roman kingdom and Roman canton. For much of the 7th and 8th centuries, Sussex suffered attempts at invasion from the Kingdom of Wessex to its west. King Æðelwealh formed an alliance with Christian Mercia against Wessex, becoming Sussex's first Christian king. With support from St Wilfrid, Sussex became the last major Anglo Saxon kingdom to become Christian. South Saxon and Mercian forces took control of what is now east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Cædwalla of Wessex killed Æðelwealh and "ravaged Sussex by fierce slaughter and devastation". The South Saxons forced Cædwalla from Sussex and were able to lead a campaign into Kent, replacing its king. At this time Sussex could have re-emerged into a regional power. Shortly afterwards, Cædwalla returned to Sussex, killing its king and oppressing its people, putting them in what Bede called "a worse state of slavery". The South Saxon clergy were put under the control of West Saxon Winchester. Only around 715 was Eadberht of Selsey made the first bishop of the South Saxons, after which further invasion attempts from Wessex ensued.
Following a period of rule by King Offa of Mercia, Sussex regained its independence but was annexed by Wessex around 827 and was fully absorbed into the crown of Wessex in 860, which later grew into the Kingdom of England.
Sussex experienced some of the greatest changes of any English county under the Normans, for it was the heartland of King Harold and was potentially vulnerable to further invasion. In the immediate aftermath of the Normans' landing at Pevensey and the Battle of Hastings and to put an end to any rebellion, the Norman army destroyed estates and other assets on their route through Sussex, leading to a 40 per cent reduction in Sussex's wealth, a situation worse than any other southern or midland county. By 1086 wealth in Sussex was still 10 to 25 per cent lower than it had been in 1066.
It was also during the Norman period that Sussex achieved its greatest importance in comparison with other English counties. Sussex was on the main route between England and Normandy, and the lands of the Anglo-Norman nobility in what is now western France. The growth in Sussex's population, the importance of its ports and the increased colonisation of the Weald were all part of changes as significant to Sussex as those brought by the neolithic period, by the Romans and the Saxons. Sussex also experienced the most radical and thorough reorganisation of land in England. The county's existing sub-divisions, known as rapes, were made into castleries and each territory was given to one of William's most trusted barons. Castles were built to defend the territories including at Arundel, Bramber, Lewes, Pevensey and Hastings. Sussex's bishop, Æthelric II, was deposed and imprisoned and replaced with William the Conqueror's personal chaplain, Stigand. The Normans also built Chichester Cathedral and moved the seat of Sussex's bishopric from Selsey to Chichester. The Normans also founded new towns in Sussex, including New Shoreham (the centre of modern Shoreham-by-Sea), Battle, Arundel, Uckfield and Winchelsea.
Henry VIII's separation of the Church of England from Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries led to the demolition of Lewes Priory and Battle Abbey and the sites being given to Henry's supporters. The shrine to St Richard at Chichester Cathedral was also destroyed. Mary I returned England to Catholicism and in Sussex 41 Protestants were burned to death. Under Elizabeth I, religious intolerance continued albeit on a lesser scale, with several people being executed for their Catholic beliefs. In Elizabeth's reign, Sussex was open to the older Protestant forms practised in the Weald as well as the newer Protestant forms coming from Continental Europe; combined with a significant Catholic presence, Sussex was in many ways out of step with the rest of southern England.
Sussex escaped the worst ravages of the English Civil War, although control of the Wealden iron industry was strategically important to both sides. In 1642 there was a skirmish at Haywards Heath when Cavalier marching towards Lewes were intercepted by local Roundhead. The Royalists were routed with around 200 killed or taken prisoner. Shortly after there were at Chichester and Arundel, and a smaller battle at Bramber Bridge. Despite its being under Parliamentarian control, Charles II was able to journey through the county after the Battle of Worcester in 1651 to make his escape to France from the port of Shoreham.
In 1681 Charles II granted William Penn lands in what became Pennsylvania and Delaware. Amongst those whom he carried to North America as colonists were 200 people from Sussex, mostly Quakers,Lower. Worthies of Sussex. p. 341 who founded settlements named after places in Sussex including Lewes and Seaford in Sussex County, Delaware and Horsham Township and Chichester in Pennsylvania.
The Sussex coast was greatly modified by the social movement of sea bathing for health which became fashionable among the wealthy in the second half of the 18th century. Resorts developed all along the coast, including at Brighton, Hastings, Worthing, and Bognor.
At the beginning of the 19th century agricultural labourers' conditions took a turn for the worse with an increasing amount of them becoming unemployed, those in work faced their wages being forced down.Harrison. The common people. pp. 249–253 Conditions became so bad that it was even reported to the House of Lords in 1830 that four harvest labourers (seasonal workers) had been found dead of starvation. The deteriorating conditions of work for the agricultural labourer eventually triggered riots, first in neighbouring Kent, and then in Sussex, where they lasted for several weeks, although the unrest continued until 1832 and became known as the Swing Riots.Horspool. The English Rebel. pp. 339–340
During World War I, on 30 June 1916, the Royal Sussex Regiment took part in the Battle of the Boar's Head at Richebourg-l'Avoué. The day subsequently became known as The Day Sussex Died. Within five hours the 17 officers and 349 men were killed, and 1,000 men were wounded or taken prisoner. In 1918 the terms of the armistice to be offered to Germany at the end of World War I were agreed at a meeting at Danny House, Hurstpierpoint. With the declaration of World War II, Sussex found itself part of the country's frontline with its airfields playing a key role in the Battle of Britain and with its towns being some of the most frequently bombed.Kim Leslie and Marlin Mace. Sussex Defences in the Second World War in Kim Leslie. An Historical Atlas of Sussex. pp. 118-119. Sussex was garrisoned by multiple British and Canadian Army units from 1940 until at least May 1942. During the lead up to the Dieppe Raid and D-Day landings, the people of Sussex were witness to the buildup of military personnel and materials, including the assembly of landing crafts and construction of off the county's coast.Brandon. Sussex. pp. 302–309.
In the post-war era, the New Towns Act 1946 designated Crawley as the site of a new town. As part of the Local Government Act 1972, the eastern and western divisions of Sussex were made into the ceremonial counties of East and West Sussex in 1974. Boundaries were changed and a large part of the rape of Lewes was transferred from the eastern division into West Sussex, along with Gatwick Airport, historically part of the county of Surrey.
Amongst top-tier local authorities, East and West Sussex County Councils are both held by the Conservatives and Brighton and Hove City Council is led by Labour. Amongst district councils, as of June 2024, the Lib Dems had a majority in three local authorities (Chichester, Eastbourne and Horsham District) and the Labour Party had a majority in three local authorities (Adur District, Crawley and Worthing). Of the six local authorities in no overall control, one had a minority Green administration (Hastings), one was run by a Lib Dem-Labour-Green coalition (Arun District), one was run by a Green-Labour coalition (Lewes District), one as run by a Lib Dem-Independent coalition (Mid Sussex) one was run by an Independent-Labour-Lib Dem-Green coalition (Rother District) and one had a Lib Dem-Green coalition (Wealden District). Conservative Katy Bourne is the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner, having first been elected in 2012.
In the House of Commons, the lower house of the UK Parliament, Sussex is represented by 17 MPs. At the 2024 general election, 6 Labour and Labour Co-op MPs, 5 Conservative MPs, 5 Lib Dem MPs and 1 Green MP were elected from Sussex constituencies.
From 1290, Sussex returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England. Each county returned two MPs and each borough designated by Royal charter also returned two MPs. After the union with Scotland two members represented the county in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. The Reform Act 1832 led to the disenfranchisement of some of the smaller Sussex boroughs and divided what had been a single county constituency into eastern and western divisions, with two representatives elected for each division.Horsfield. The History, Antiquities and Topography of the County of Sussex. Volume II. Appendix pp. 23–75. The reforms of the 19th century made the electoral system more representative, but it was not until 1928 that there was universal suffrage.Richard Childs. Parliamentary Representation in Leslies, An Historical Atlas of Sussex. pp. 72–73.
There was a strong Radical politics and republican tradition in Sussex from the 19th century. For most of the 20th century Sussex was a Conservative Party stronghold—from the 1906 to 1997 general elections the only seats in Sussex won by parties other than the Conservatives were in the constituencies of Brighton and Brighton Kemptown. Since 1997 there has been a gradual shift to the left, especially in more urban areas. This has been most notable in Brighton and Hove, where in Brighton Pavilion the UK's first Green MP, Caroline Lucas, was elected in 2010 and the UK's first Green-led local authority was elected in 2011.
In the 2016 referendum on UK membership of the EU, the people of Sussex voted to leave the EU by the narrowest of margins, by 50.23% to 49.77% or 4,413 votes.
The first-tier Crown Court for all of Sussex is Lewes Crown Court, which has courts in Lewes, Brighton and Hove. Like other first-tier Crown Courts it has its own resident High Court Judge. There is also a third-tier Crown Court at Chichester. The local prison in Sussex for men is Lewes Prison and there is also a Category D prison at Ford.
At the time of the Norman Conquest, there were four rapes: Arundel, Lewes, Pevensey and Hastings. The rape of Bramber was created later in the 11th century and the rape of Chichester was created in the 13th century.
For the governance of a long narrow territory it became practical to divide the county into two sections. The three eastern rapes of Sussex became east Sussex and the three western rapes became west Sussex. This began in 1504, with separate administrations (Quarter Sessions) for east and west, a situation recognised by the County of Sussex Act 1865. Under the Local Government Act 1888, the two divisions became two administrative counties (along with three (Brighton, Hastings and, from 1911, Eastbourne) that were independent of the administrative counties).
Tourism in Sussex is well established, and includes seaside resorts and the South Downs National Park. Brighton and Hove has a high density of businesses involved in media, particularly digital or "new media"; since the 1990s Brighton has been referred to as "Silicon Beach". The Greater Brighton City Deal seeks to develop Brighton's creative-tech cluster under the name Tech City South. The University of Sussex and the University of Brighton provide employment for many more. A large part of the county, centred on Gatwick Airport has been recognised as a key economic growth area for South East England while reasonable rail connections allow many people to work in London. Several large companies are based in Sussex including American Express (Brighton), The Body Shop (Littlehampton), Bowers & Wilkins (Worthing), Hastings Insurance and Park Holidays UK (Bexhill), Ricardo plc (Shoreham-by-Sea), Rolls-Royce Motor Cars (Goodwood), Thales UK (Crawley), Alfa Laval (Eastbourne) and Virgin Atlantic (Crawley).
The Sussex Weald had an iron working industry from the Iron Age until the 19th century. The glass making industry started on the Sussex/Surrey border throughout the late medieval period until the 17th century.Brandon. Sussex. pp. 175–176. Agriculture in Sussex depended on the terrain, so in the sticky clays and acid sands of the Sussex Weald, pastoral and mixed farming took place, with sheep farming being common on the chalk downland. Fishing fleets continue to operate along the coast, notably at Rye and Hastings. There are working harbours at Rye, Hastings, Newhaven and Shoreham; while Pagham, Eastbourne and Chichester harbours cater for leisure craft, as does Brighton Marina. The Mid Sussex area had a thriving clay industry in the early 20th century.
Rail transport in Sussex is provided by the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) on the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise. This includes the Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express brands. Principle routes include the Brighton Mainline, East Coastway line, West Coastway line, Arun Valley line and Marshlink line. Since the 2010s it has been several interested parties have been examining the possibility of reopening the Wealden Line line, which would provide an alternative route to London to the Brighton Mainline.
Located 3 miles north of Crawley town centre is Gatwick Airport, the UK's second-busiest and in 2024 the 10th busiest airport in the world. Sussex has two commercial ports, th ports of Newhaven and Shoreham-by-Sea. Connected to Newhaven Harbour railway station, DFDS provides a cross-channel passenger ferry service from the port of Newhaven to Dieppe in Normandy, France. From Dieppe there are rail services that provide onward connections to Rouen and Paris.
In 1992 it was joined by the University of Brighton (with campuses in Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings) and in 2005 by the University of Chichester (with campuses in Chichester and Bognor Regis). Validated by University of the Arts London, higher education is also provided at Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, whose campuses in Brighton, Worthing and Shoreham-by-Sea are referred to as MET University Centre.
The Prebendal School in Chichester is the oldest known school in Sussex and probably dates to when the Normans moved the Sussex bishopric from Selsey Abbey to Chichester Cathedral in the 11th century. Primary and secondary education in the state sector in Sussex is provided by its three local education authorities of East and West Sussex County Councils and Brighton and Hove City Council. Sussex also has some of the best-known independent schools in England including Christ's Hospital School, Brighton College, Eastbourne College, Lancing College and Battle Abbey School.
The county is home to the Brighton Festival and the Brighton Fringe, England's largest arts festival. Brighton Pride is one of the UK's largest and oldest gay pride pride parade and other pride events take place at most other major towns including Crawley, Eastbourne, Hastings and Worthing Pride. Chichester is home to the Chichester Festival Theatre and Pallant House Gallery.
Typically conservative and moderate, the architecture of Sussex also has elaborate and eccentric buildings rarely matched elsewhere in England including the Saxon Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Sompting, Castle Goring, which has a front and rear of entirely different styles and Brighton's Indo-Saracenic Royal Pavilion.
In addition there are writers, who while they were not born in Sussex had a strong connection. This includes Charlotte Turner Smith, William Blake, Alfred Tennyson, H. G. Wells, Hilaire Belloc, John Cowper Powys, Arthur Conan Doyle, Henry James, E. F. Benson, John Roman Baker, James Herbert and AA Milne, who lived in Ashdown Forest for much of his life and set his Winnie-the-Pooh stories in the forest. Sussex has been home to four winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature: Rudyard Kipling spent much of his life in Sussex, living in Rottingdean and later at Burwash. "Kipling.s Sussex: The Elms" . Kipling.org. Irishman W. B. Yeats spent three winters living with American poet Ezra Pound at Colemans Hatch in the Ashdown Forest and towards the end of his life spent much time at Steyning and Withyham; John Galsworthy spent much of his life in Bury in the Sussex Downs; and Harold Pinter lived in Worthing in the 1960s.
Sussex has also been home to many composers of classical music including Thomas Weelkes, John Ireland, Edward Elgar, Frank Bridge, Sir Hubert Parry and Ralph Vaughan Williams, who played a major part in recording Sussex's traditional music. While Glyndebourne is one of the world's best known opera houses, the county is home to professional orchestras the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Worthing Symphony Orchestra.
In popular music, Sussex has produced artists including Leo Sayer, The Cure, The Levellers, Brett Anderson, Keane, The Kooks, The Feeling, Rizzle Kicks, Conor Maynard, Tom Odell, Royal Blood, Rag'n'Bone Man, Celeste, Architects and Maisie Peters. In the 1970s, Sussex was home to Phun City, the UK's first large-scale free music festival and hosted the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest which propelled ABBA to worldwide fame. Major festivals include The Great Escape Festival and Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
Sussex has been a single diocese of the established church since the eighth century, after St Wilfrid founded Selsey Abbey on land granted by King Æðelwealh, Sussex's first Christian king. The Normans moved the location of Sussex's cathedral to Chichester in 1075. Since 1965 Arundel Cathedral has been the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishops of Arundel and Brighton, which covers Sussex and Surrey. The established church and the Catholic Church were historically strongest in western and southern areas. In contrast, Protestant non-conformity was historically strongest in areas furthest from diocesan authorities in Chichester, in the south-west. This included in the Weald and in the east, where there were also links to Protestant northern Europe. St Richard of Chichester is Sussex's patron saint.
According to the 2011 census there were about 23,000 Islam in Sussex, constituting 1.4 per cent of the population. Within Sussex, Crawley had the highest proportion of Muslims with 7.2 per cent of the population.
Jewish people have been recorded as living in Sussex since the 12th century and are first mentioned in 1179/80 pipe roll for Chichester. A considerable Jewish community existed in Chichester by 1186. All Sussex's Jews would have been expelled in 1290 when Edward I of England issued the Edict of Expulsion. A Jewish population had returned to Sussex by the late 18th century in Brighton and Arundel.
A wide variety of non-traditional religious and belief groups have bases in and around East Grinstead. Groups include the Church of Scientology at Saint Hill Manor, Opus Dei, the Rosicrucian Order, the Pagan Federation and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons).
In the 20th century, Frederick Soddy won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on radioactive substances, and his investigations into the origin and nature of isotopes. Frederick Gowland Hopkins shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1929 with Christiaan Eijkman, for discovering the growth-stimulating . Martin Ryle shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974 with Cornishman Antony Hewish, the first Nobel prize awarded in recognition of astronomical research. While working at the University of Sussex, Harold Kroto won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Richard Smalley and Robert Curl from Rice University in the US for the discovery of fullerenes. David Mumford is a mathematician known for distinguished work in algebraic geometry and then for research into vision and pattern theory. He won the International Mathematical Union's Fields Medal in 1974 and in 2010 was awarded the United States National Medal of Science.
In the , Sussex was home to economist John Maynard Keynes from 1925 to 1946. The founding father of Keynesian economics, he is widely considered to be one of the founders of modern macroeconomics and the most influential economist of the 20th century.Davis, William L, Bob Figgins, David Hedengren, and Daniel B. Klein. "Economic Professors' Favorite Economic Thinkers, Journals, and Blogs," Econ Journal Watch 8(2): 126–146, May 2011.[3] David Pilbeam won the 1986 International Prize from the Fyssen Foundation.
In the early 20th century, Sussex was at the centre of one of what has been described as 'British archaeology's greatest hoax'. Bone fragments said to have been collected in 1912 were presented as the fossilised remains of a previously unknown early human, referred to as Piltdown Man. In 1953 the bone fragments were exposed as a forgery, consisting of the lower jawbone of an orangutan deliberately combined with the skull of a fully developed modern human. From 1967 to 1979, Sussex was home to the Isaac Newton Telescope at the Royal Greenwich Observatory in Herstmonceux Castle.
Sussex is represented in the Premier League by Brighton & Hove Albion and in the Football League by Crawley Town. Brighton has been a League member since 1920, whereas Crawley was promoted to the League in 2011. Brighton & Hove Albion play in the FA Women's Super League and Lewes play in the FA Women's Championship. Sussex has had its own football association, since 1882 and its own football league, which has since expanded into Surrey, since 1920. In horse racing, Sussex is home to Goodwood, Fontwell Park, Brighton and Plumpton. The All England Jumping Course show jumping facility hosts the British Jumping Derby and the Royal International Horse Show. Eastbourne Eagles speedway team race in the SGB Championship.
The county has vineyards and a long history of brewing of beer. It is home to the 18th century beer brewers, Harveys Brewery as well as many more recently established breweries. There are also many cider makers in Sussex, Hunts Sussex Cider and SeaCider are the largest cider producers. With 138 vineyards in 2023, Sussex has a quarter of the UK's vineyards. In 2022, Sussex wine gained Protected Designation of Origin status following decades of international acclaim with Sussex wines winning awards around the world. Many vineyards make wines using traditional Champagne varieties and methods, and there are similarities between the topography and chalk and clay soils of Sussex downland and that of the Champagne region which lies on a latitude to the south.
Dating from around the 12th century, the 'Lewes Group' of can be found in several churches across the centre of Sussex, some of which are celebrated for their age, extent and quality. Of uncertain origin, the Long Man of Wilmington is Europe's largest representation of the human form.
In the late 18th century three men commissioned important works of the county which ensured that its landscapes and daily life were captured onto canvas. William Burrell of Knepp Castle commissioned Swiss-born watercolourist Samuel Hieronymus Grimm to tour Sussex, producing 900 watercolours of the county's buildings. George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont of Petworth House was a patron of painters such as J. M. W. Turner and John Constable. John 'Mad Jack' Fuller also commissioned Turner to make a series of paintings which resulted in thirteen finished watercolours of Fuller's house at Brightling and the area around it.
In the 19th century landscape watercolourist Copley Fielding lived in Sussex and illustrator Aubrey Beardsley and painter and sculptor Eric Gill were born in Brighton. Gill went on to found an art colony in Ditchling known as The Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic, which survived until 1989. The 1920s and 1930s saw the creation of some of the best-known works by Edward Burra who was known for his work of Sussex, Paris and Harlem and Eric Ravilious who is known for his paintings of the South Downs.
In the early 20th century Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, both members of the Bloomsbury Group, lived and worked at Charleston Farmhouse near Firle. Sussex also became a major centre for surrealism in the early 20th century. At West Dean, Edward James was patron to artists including Salvador Dalí and René Magritte while at Farley Farm House near Chiddingly the home of Roland Penrose and Lee Miller was frequented by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Henry Moore, Eileen Agar, Jean Dubuffet, Dorothea Tanning and Max Ernst. Both collections form one of the most important bodies of Surrealist art in Europe.
References
Science
Pell's equation and the Pell number are both named after 17th century mathematician John Pell. Pell is sometimes credited with inventing the division sign, ÷, which has also been attributed to Swiss mathematician Johann Heinrich Rahn, one of his students. In the 19th century, geologist and palaeontologist Gideon Mantell began the scientific study of dinosaurs. In 1822 he was responsible for the discovery and eventual identification of the first fossil teeth, and later much of the skeleton of Iguanodon. Braxton Hicks contractions are named after John Braxton Hicks, the Sussex doctor who in 1872 first described the uterine contractions not resulting in childbirth.
Sport
Sussex has a centuries-long tradition of sport. Sussex has played a key role in the early development of both cricket and stoolball. Cricket is recognised as having been formed in the Weald and Sussex is where cricket was first recorded as being played by men (in 1611), and by women (in 1677), as well as being the location of the first reference to a cricket bat (in 1622) and a wicket (in 1680). Founded in 1839, Sussex CCC is England's oldest county cricket club and is the oldest professional sports club in the world. Slindon Cricket Club dominated the sport for a while in the 18th century. The cricket ground at Arundel Castle traditionally plays host to a Duke of Norfolk's XI which plays the national test cricket sides touring England. Founded in 1971, the Sussex Cricket League is believed to be the largest adult cricket league in the world, with 335 teams in 2018. Referred to as Sussex's national sport and a Sussex game or pastime, Sussex may be where the sport of stoolball originated and is where the sport was formalised in the 19th century and its revival took place in the early 20th century.
Cuisine
The historic county is known for its "seven good things of Sussex". These seven things are Pulborough eel, Selsey cockle, Chichester lobster, Rye herring, Arundel mullet, Amberley trout and Bourne wheatear. Sussex is also known for Ashdown Partridge Pudding, Chiddingly Hot pot, Sussex Bacon Pudding, Sussex Hogs' Pudding, Huffed Chicken, Sussex Churdles, Sussex Shepherds Pie, Sussex Pond Pudding, Sussex Blanket Pudding, Sussex Well Pudding, and Chichester Pudding. Sussex is also known for its cakes and biscuits known as Sussex Plum Heavies and Sussex Lardy Johns, while banoffee pie was first created in 1972 in Jevington.
Visual arts
Some of the earliest known art in Sussex is the carvings in the galleries of the Neolithic flint mines at Cissbury on the South Downs near Worthing. From the Roman period, the palace at Fishbourne has the largest in situ collection of in the UK, while the villa at Bignor contains some of the best preserved in England.
Notable people
See also
Footnotes
Notes
Bibliography
(2026). 9781472405227, Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 9781472405227
(2026). 9780300125344, Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300125344
(2026). 9780953313242, Optimus Books. ISBN 9780953313242
(1995). 9780788402067, Heritage Books. ISBN 9780788402067
(2026). 9781000117318, Routledge. ISBN 9781000117318
External links
|
|
