Sussex

Sussex
Historic county
A view from Devil's Dyke; Chichester; and Eastbourne Pier
Flag
Area
• Coordinates	51°N 0°E / 51°N 0°E / 51; 0
History
• Origin	Sub-Roman Britain
• Created	5th century (traditionally 477)
Status	Historic county
Chapman code	SSX
Government
• HQ	Various
• Motto	"We wunt be druv"
Contained within
• Ceremonial counties	East Sussex • West Sussex
Subdivisions
• Type	Rapes (largest & most notable of differing former subdivisions)
• Units	1 Chichester 2 Arundel 3 Bramber 4 Lewes 5 Pevensey 6 Hastings

Sussex (/ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English Sūþsēaxe; lit. 'South Saxons') is an area within South East England which was historically a kingdom and, later, a county. It includes the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex.

The area borders the English Channel to the south, and the ceremonial counties of Surrey to the north, Kent to the north-east, and Hampshire to the west. Sussex contains the city of Brighton and Hove and its wider city region, as well as the South Downs National Park and the National Landscapes of the High Weald and Chichester Harbour. Its coastline is 137 miles (220 km) long.

The kingdom of Sussex emerged in the 5th century; during Roman Britain the area was occupied by the Regni tribe. 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 continues to be treated as a single entity by some organisations, such as Sussex Police, the Sussex Wildlife Trust, and Sussex County Cricket Club. In 2007, Sussex Day was created to celebrate the county's culture and history.