East Sussex
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2022) |
East Sussex | |
---|---|
UTC±00:00 (Greenwich Mean Time) | |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+01:00 (British Summer Time) |
Members of Parliament | |
29th of 48 | |
Density | 472/km2 (1,220/sq mi) |
Ethnicity |
|
Non-metropolitan county | |
County council | East Sussex County Council |
Executive | Conservative |
Admin HQ | Lewes |
Area | 1,709 km2 (660 sq mi) |
• Ranked | 19th of 21 |
Population | 546,924 |
• Ranked | 21st of 21 |
Density | 320/km2 (830/sq mi) |
ISO 3166-2 | GB-ESX |
ONS code | 21 |
ITL | UKJ22 |
Website | eastsussex |
Districts | |
Unitary County council area Districts of East Sussex | |
Districts |
East Sussex is a
The county has an area of 1,792 km2 (692 sq mi) and a population of 822,947.[3][4] The latter is largely concentrated along the coast, where the largest settlements are located: Brighton and Hove (277,105), Eastbourne (99,180), and Hastings (91,490).[5] The centre and north of the county are largely rural, and the largest settlement is Crowborough (21,990).[5] For local government purposes, East Sussex comprises a non-metropolitan county, with five districts, and the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove. East Sussex and West Sussex historically formed a single county, Sussex.
The north-east of East Sussex is part of the
History
East Sussex is part of the
Governance
Upon its foundation, East Sussex included the south of Tunbridge Wells and the south of Lamberhurst; by the Local Government Act 1894 these areas were transferred to Kent.
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 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
Geography
Geology
Geologically, East Sussex is part of southern
Climate
East Sussex, like most counties by the south coast, has an annual average total of around 1,750[12] 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
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.
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, particularly along the coastal strip where towns such as
Economy and demography
This section needs to be updated.(September 2020) |
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the
Year | Regional Gross Value Added[14] |
Agriculture[15] | Industry[16] | Services[17] |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | 4,359 | 84 | 1,053 | 3,222 |
2000 | 4,953 | 54 | 1,155 | 3,744 |
2003 | 5,326 | 69 | 1,252 | 4,004 |
Area | August 2012 | August 2001 | Population (April 2011) |
---|---|---|---|
East Sussex | 18,790 | 34,335 | 526,671 |
% of 2011 resident population (2001 population where applicable) [clarification needed] |
3.6% | 7.0% | – |
Hastings | 6.7% | 12.1% | 90,254 |
Eastbourne | 4.3% | 8.2% | 99,412 |
Rother | 3.1% | 6.5% | 90,588 |
Lewes | 3.0% | 5.7% | 97,502 |
Wealden | 1.8% | 4.2% | 148,915 |
Economic activities
Measured by the number of registered companies, East Sussex is not a major manufacturing or industrial area of the UK. Of the companies registered, the leading category in 2023 was "construction", followed by "real estate activities".[19] An important contribution to the county's economy comes from the fact that many residents of Brighton and Hove, Eastbourne and Hastings commute to London or work remotely for companies outside the county.[20]
There were 1,720 agricultural holdings in East Sussex (excluding Brighton and Hove) in 2022, with a total farmed area of 108,825 hectares. They employed just over 4000 people and, in 2020, produced a gross value added of £66 million. Livestock grazing accounts for almost 40% of the farmed area, with there being approximately six times as many sheep as cattle.[21] Fishing is limited but there are still fishing fleets, notably at Rye and Hastings, although the number of boats is much reduced. Historically, the fisheries were of great importance.
Landmarks
The
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
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 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 (Kent) as the A259 trunk road, and traverses the south coast to Eastbourne, where it becomes the A27 trunk road and heads westwards towards Chichester in West Sussex and ultimately to Honiton in Devon. All the main roads suffer from congestion and traffic problems: the A27 which connects Eastbourne to Portsmouth is one of the busiest trunk roads in the UK.[citation needed]
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
Trains in the county are operated by
Airports
There are no airports offering scheduled flights in East Sussex. London's second airport, Gatwick Airport, is a short distance from East Sussex and easily accessible by road and rail from most of the county. Despite its name, Brighton City Airport, the former Shoreham Airport, is in West Sussex. Three airports service small private planes, helicopters and flying schools: Spilsted Farm near Hastings;[24] Kittyhawk Aerodrome near Lewes;[25] and Deanland Airfield, also near Lewes.[26]
Ferries
A ferry operates from
Footpaths
Among the
Education
The Universities of Sussex and Brighton are based in East Sussex, with facilities in Brighton, Falmer and Hastings.
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 that also cater to day students are located in the county, including Brighton College and Roedean. The Pestalozzi Children's Village, an international foundation, is located at Sedlescombe.
Culture
East Sussex has many theatres and performance venues, including the Theatre Royal in Brighton and the Brighton Dome, the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts at the University of Sussex, the Royal Hippodrome Theatre and Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne, and the White Rock Theatre in Hastings. The annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera takes place at Glyndebourne near Lewes. The Brighton Festival is a large multi-arts festival held every May.
There is a wide range of museums and art galleries in East Sussex. Notable amongst these are the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery; the Hove Museum of Creativity; the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery; Hastings Contemporary; Charleston Farmhouse near Lewes, with an exhibition devoted to the artistic work of the Bloomsbury Group; the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, which houses a contemporary art gallery; and the Towner Eastbourne gallery, which celebrated its centenary in 2023 and hosted the award ceremony for the Turner Prize on 5 December of that year.[28]
Tourism
The coastal towns of Brighton and Hove, Bexhill-on-Sea, Hastings and Eastbourne attract many day trippers during the summer to visit the beaches. Brighton and Hove have a range of attractions including the
Brighton Palace Pier, Eastbourne Pier and Hastings Pier serve as entertainment centres that attract many visitors. Several other piers built in the heyday of day tripper visits by train no longer exist, notably St Leonards Pier, in St Leonards-on-Sea, and the West Pier in Brighton, parts of which can still be seen in the sea opposite the Brighton i360. Originally, the profits from the i360 were seen as a potential source of funds to rebuild the West Pier, but that now seems unlikely.[30] Other important tourist attractions within East Sussex include Ashdown Forest, Drusillas Zoo Park near Alfriston and Michelham Priory. The county has two narrow-gauge railways, the Hastings Miniature Railway, which is powered by a steam locomotive, and Volk's Electric Railway, which runs from Brighton's Palace Pier to Brighton Marina along the seafront. Volk's is the oldest operational electric railway in the world. There are also several castles that attract many visitors, as indicated in the Landmarks section above.
Annual events also promote tourism to the county. Brighton Pride is one of the UK's largest and oldest pride parades and other pride events take place at Eastbourne and Hastings.[31][32] The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is the world's longest-running motoring event. To qualify, cars must have been built before 1905. It is also the world's largest gathering of veteran cars. The race finishes on Madeira Drive in Brighton.[33]
For visitors who wish to explore East Sussex by car, there are many interesting and attractive towns and villages, such as Alfriston; Battle, site of the Battle of Hastings; Ditchling; Herstmonceux, with the castle of the same name; Lewes; Rottingdean; and Rye.
Traditions
The Lewes Bonfire is a set of bonfire celebrations held on Guy Fawkes Night, which both celebrates the uncovering of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 and commemorates the memory of the seventeen Protestant martyrs from Mayfield burned at the stake between 1555 and 1557. It has a history of religious antagonism and anti-popery, including the burning of an effigy of the Pope. The event attracts tens of thousands of spectators every year. There are also many other bonfire societies in East Sussex.[34]
Sport
Football
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. is the most successful club in East Sussex, playing in the Premier League in 2023–24 and also competing in the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League. It has appeared once in the FA Cup final, in 1983, losing to Manchester United after a replay. It is the only fully professional men's team in the county. The oldest club in East Sussex is Eastbourne Town F.C., which was founded in 1881. Lewes F.C. is a semi-professional football club. The men's first team is in the Isthmian League Premier Division. It also has a successful women's team, which in 2023–24 was competing in the second-tier Women's Championship against teams supported by much larger clubs, including some with their men's team in the Premier League.[35]
Cricket
Cricket had its origins in the counties of Kent, Surrey and Sussex. There is no team representing East Sussex. It combines with West Sussex as the Sussex County Cricket Club, playing first-team matches at the County Ground in Hove and reserve-team matches in both East and West Sussex. There are around 25 local clubs playing the game in East Sussex.[36]
Rugby
There are around 15 rugby clubs in East Sussex, with many of them fielding several teams including women's and girls' teams. Seaford Rugby Club claims the distinction of playing its home games below sea level.[37]
Cycling
The fourth stage of the 1994 Tour de France ended in Brighton after departing from Dover. The route included a climb over Ditchling Beacon.[38] The hilly nature of the Downs presents a good challenge for cyclists and there are at least eight cycling clubs in East Sussex.[39]
Golf
There are 42 golf courses in East Sussex, many on downland. Four of these (2 in Brighton and Hove, one in Eastbourne and one in Crowborough) are public courses; the remainder private, semi-private or resorts.[40]
Other sports
Other popular sports include sailing, bowls and tennis.
See also
- Outline of England
- Historic coats of arms of East Sussex County Council
- History of local government in Sussex
- List of High Sheriffs of East Sussex
- List of hills of East Sussex
- The Keep: the county's archive and record office, near Falmer
- List of Lord Lieutenants of East Sussex
- Healthcare in Sussex
References
- ^ "About the Lord Lieutenant – Personal Profile". Lieutenancy of East Sussex. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ "High Sheriff". Lieutenancy of East Sussex. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ "East Sussex County". Nomis. Archived from the original on 23 June 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "Brighton and Hove Local Authority". Nomis. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales – Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "East Sussex | Coastal Towns, Beaches, South Downs". Britannica. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 165–168. .
- ^ "Battle of Hastings". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ Connections Archived 25 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine West Sussex
- ^ See List of civil parishes in East Sussex
- London Evening Standard. p. 8. Archivedfrom the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "Met Office:English Climate". Met Office. Archived from the original on 25 May 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
- ISBN 978-1-84-953239-6.
- ^ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
- ^ includes hunting and forestry
- ^ includes energy and construction
- ^ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
- 2001 census) Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ^ "Companies in East Sussex". SparkLines. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ "Horsham and Reading show over 218% rise in commuting to London". the business magazine. July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "Agriculture in Sussex" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ Eastbourne Redoubt Fortress Military Museum Archived 18 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Eastbourne Redoubt is the home of the Royal Sussex Regimental Museum
- ^ "Heritage railways, steam railways and railway museums in South East". Railtracks. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "Spilsted Farm Airfield". Cristal Air. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "Kittyhawk Aerodrome". Kittyhawk Farm. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "Deanland Airfield". Deanland Airfield. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "Ferries to France". DFDS. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ Seymour, Tom (5 December 2023). "British artist Jesse Darling wins 2023 Turner Prize". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ "'Range of options' on table after latest £900k loan default by i360". The Argus. 7 January 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "West Pier's 150th birthday to be celebrated in style". Brighton Argus & Gazette. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Eastbourne Pride 2024". Eastbourne Pride. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Hastings Pride 27th August 2023". Hastings Pride. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "London to Brighton Veteran Car Run 2023". Royal Automobile Club. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "The History of Lewes: The Biggest Bonfire Night Celebration in the UK". Sky History. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "Lewes Women – Fixtures and Results". Football Web Pages. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
- ^ "Cricket clubs in East Sussex". East Sussex.org. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ "Rugby in East Sussex". East Sussex.org. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ James, Ben (16 September 2014). "Spectacle over in a flash". Evening Argus. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ "Cycling in East Sussex". East Sussex.org. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ "East Sussex Golf Guide". Golf Pass. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
External links
- East Sussex at Curlie
- Images of East Sussex at the English Heritage Archive
- WW1 East Sussex, Sussex County Council
- Further historical information and sources on GENUKI