West Sussex (pop. 882,676) is a seaside county in southern England. It forms the western part of the ancient county of Sussex, which means the land of the South Saxons. In 1889, Sussex was divided into two counties—East Sussex and West Sussex—for administrative purposes. West Sussex is a land of rolling countryside with scattered farms and villages.
Government and recreation
Local government.
West Sussex County Council, the main authority, has headquarters at County Hall, Chichester. There are seven district councils—Adur, which includes Shoreham-by-Sea; Arun, which includes Arundel, Bognor Regis, and Littlehampton; Chichester; Crawley; Horsham; Mid Sussex, which includes Burgess Hill, Cuckfield, and East Grinstead; and Worthing. Sussex Police cover both East and West Sussex and also Brighton and Hove. The crown court meets at Chichester.
Recreation.
At Tinsley Green, near Crawley, a marbles championship match is played on Good Fridays. And at Ebernoe, near Petworth, a Horn Fair is held on July 25 every year. It features the roasting of a horned sheep and a game of cricket. The city of Chichester hosts an annual arts festival that includes orchestral concerts, solo recitals, lectures, dramatic presentations, and exhibitions. Goodwood Racecourse is one of England’s most important race tracks.
Economy
Manufacturing and mining.
West Sussex has light industries in various towns, but the main industrial complex is an automobile factory that opened in 2000 near Goodwood. Mines in the county produce building stone and chalk.
Agriculture.
Much of the land is divided into small farms that produce dairy and beef cattle and sheep. Grains, oilseed, and vegetables are the main crops. Several vineyards produce wine.
Tourism
is an important part of the economy of West Sussex. Coastal resorts include Worthing, Littlehampton (a small port at the mouth of the River Arun), and Bognor Regis. Tourists visit the stately homes in the county. Petworth House, for more than 500 years the home of the Percy family, contains a valuable collection of paintings and sculptures. Another home, Parham, was built in the 1570’s. Goodwood House, near Chichester, is owned by the Dukes of Richmond. Arundel Castle, overlooking the valley of the River Arun, is the home of the Dukes of Norfolk. It was first built soon after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The castle was severely damaged during the English Civil War in the 1600’s, but was later restored. At Singleton is the Weald and Downland Museum, an open-air site to which many ancient buildings have been moved and rebuilt to form a village.
A popular tourist site is the cathedral city of Chichester, which has a sailing center and Roman ruins of an amphitheater and palace. The city hosts the annual Chichester festivities, which include theater, concerts, and other entertainment.
Transportation and communication.
Several main roads link West Sussex with London, including the A24 from Worthing and the A29 from Bognor Regis. The A27 runs across the county, near the coast via Arundel and Chichester. Another east-west road is the A272, which runs from East Sussex through Billingshurst to Hampshire. East-west rail lines connect Chichester with Brighton and Hove and towns in East Sussex, and run to Portsmouth and Southampton. Rail lines also extend from the coast to London. Small airfields lie near Shoreham and Chichester.
Land and climate
Location and size.
The county measures 34 miles (55 kilometers) from east to west and 24 miles (38 kilometers) from north to south. The southern coast of West Sussex is bounded by the English Channel. The county of Hampshire lies to the west and Surrey to the north. East Sussex lies to the east, and the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove lies on the coast between the two halves of Sussex.
Land regions.
A ridge of chalk hills, the South Downs, runs from east to west, near the shore in the east but turns inland farther west. St. Leonards Forest, which covers about 9,000 acres (3,640 hectares), lies close to the town of Horsham in the northeast part of the county. The forest is all that is left of a much larger Saxon woodland called Andredswald.
Rivers.
The River Adur rises near Horsham and flows for about 40 miles (64 kilometers) to the sea at Shoreham. The Arun rises in St. Leonards Forest and flows for 37 miles (60 kilometers) through Arundel to the sea at Littlehampton. The Lavant, a small stream, flows through Chichester but has been piped under the city. All these rivers are prone to flooding.
Climate.
The climate of West Sussex is mild, with sunshine close to the coast. These conditions attract visitors to Worthing, Bognor Regis, and other seaside towns. Rainfall is generally not heavy.
History
Stone Age people were the first to live in West Sussex. They were conquered by the Romans, who left many ruins. The most notable are the foundations of a large Roman palace at Fishbourne, near Chichester, which has elaborate tiled floors. Coins and other Roman artifacts are frequently discovered in the county. The Saxons conquered the region in the A.D. 500’s. In the 680’s, the region was visited by Wilfrid, the exiled bishop of York, who converted the pagan population to Christianity and established his see (bishop’s headquarters) at Selsey, a peninsula south of Chichester. The see was moved in the 1000’s to the old Roman city of Chichester, where a fine cathedral was built. The see was twice destroyed by fire. The present building was begun in the late 1100’s, during the reign of Bishop Richard de Wych. Richard is regarded as the patron saint of Sussex.
See also Brighton and Hove; East Sussex; Saxons.
