East Sussex - Encyclopedia Hub

East Sussex (pop. 545,847) is a seaside county in southern England. It forms the eastern half of the ancient county of Sussex. East Sussex is a mixture of holiday resorts and homes for commuters who work in London. Much of the land consists of small farms. It is dominated along the coast by the South Downs, a range of chalk hills.

People and government

Local customs.

On May Day each year, celebrations take place in Hastings, featuring Jack in the Green—a person dressed in leaves as a symbol of the return of spring. Jack in the Green is accompanied by teams of dancers.

Local government.

A county council is the main authority, with its headquarters at Lewes. Under the council, the county is divided into five districts—Eastbourne; Hastings; Lewes; Rother, which includes Battle, Bexhill, and Rye; and Wealden, which includes Crowborough and Uckfield. In 1997, Brighton and Hove became a separate unitary authority, which has all local government powers within its boundaries. Sussex Police, based at Lewes, cover both East and West Sussex, plus Brighton and Hove. The crown court for both East and West Sussex is in Lewes.

Recreation.

The Glyndebourne Festival, an annual opera festival, is held from May to early August at a historic house and estate near Lewes.

Economy

Manufacturing and mining.

East Sussex has no heavy industry. Gypsum is mined at Brightling and processed into plasterboard at nearby Mountfield. The remains of old iron workings are found all over the county, dating from the time of the Industrial Revolution of the 1700’s.

Agriculture and fishing.

Small farms cover much of the land. Beef and dairy cattle are raised, along with sheep, hogs, and chickens. Farms also grow grains, vegetables, oilseed, and other crops. There are many fruit farms and a number of vineyards. Fishing, once important, is confined to a few small boats, mainly at Rye and Hastings. A number of agricultural fairs are held, the most important being the South of England show at Ardingly.

Tourism

is the most important sector of the economy of East Sussex. The long sea coast has many vacation resorts, the main ones being Bexhill, Eastbourne, Hastings, Seaford, and Rye. There are many ancient and important buildings, including castles at Bodiam, Hastings, Lewes, and Pevensey. Pevensey consists of a Norman keep inside the huge walls of Anderida, a Roman fort. Along the coast are a number of Martello Towers, defenses built when an invasion by Napoleon I was feared. Battle Abbey, now a school, marks the site of the Battle of Hastings.

Transportation and communications.

Railroads connect all the large towns. Important roads run north from the coast. The main east-west roads are the A259 and A27 along the coast, and the A272 farther inland. A ferry service to France runs from Newhaven. There are several weekly local papers. The local radio station of the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC Sussex, serves the area.

Land and climate

Location and size.

East Sussex is bounded by the English Channel to the south, Kent to the east and northeast, Surrey to the northwest, and West Sussex and Brighton and Hove to the west. It is 43 miles (70 kilometers) from west to east, and 24 miles (38 kilometers) from north to south.

Land regions.

The South Downs, a range of chalk hills, dominate much of the coastline west of Eastbourne. They form a range of steep cliffs, the most notable being Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters. Inland, most of the Downs are covered with grass, but some land is used for agriculture.

Steep sandstone cliffs lie behind Hastings. Land to the east is mainly low-lying, protected from the sea by huge artificially created banks. The ancient towns of Rye and Winchelsea are on rocky former islands. Inland from the coast is the Weald, a region of lower-lying ground formerly densely wooded. In this area lies Ashdown Forest, from which most of the big trees have long been gone, felled for smelting iron. It is a heathland, and famous as the original setting for A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

Rivers and lakes.

There are no large rivers in East Sussex. From east to west are the Rother, the Cuckmere, the Stour, and the Uck. None is navigable by anything but small boats. The only lakes are reservoirs, of which the largest is Bewl Water.

Climate.

The climate of East Sussex is generally mild, the coolest regions being near the coast. In most years, rainfall is moderate.

History

Stone Age people were the original inhabitants of what is now East Sussex. By about 2,000 years ago, the land was occupied by tribes of Britons. The Romans conquered the land in the early A.D. 100’s and left many ruined buildings and artifacts. Several of their roads followed ancient trackways, and many lie under modern expressways.

Saxons from Germany began conquering East Sussex in the A.D. 500’s. The Norman Conquest began in East Sussex when Duke William of Normandy landed his army at Pevensey in 1066. The Battle of Hastings, the historic victory of Duke William that began the conquest of England, took place near the town of Hastings.

Before the development of iron smelting by the use of coke in the Industrial Revolution of the 1700’s, Sussex was one of England’s main sources of iron. The cannons that fought off the Spanish Armada in 1588 were mostly made in Sussex.

In the 1700’s and early 1800’s, East Sussex was the home of smugglers who brought silk, tobacco, and other goods into the country, avoiding customs duties. Old inns in Hastings and Rye still have traces of the smugglers’ activities. During World War II (1939-1945), East Sussex was in the forefront of the Battle of Britain. Many thousands of Allied soldiers were camped in the area prior to the 1944 invasion of Nazi-occupied France.

For many years, East Sussex has been a haven for writers, such as Rudyard Kipling, Sir Henry Rider Haggard, A. A. Milne, and Henry James. John Logie Baird made the first working television in Hastings.