Sussex

Sussex county, SE England, since 1888 divided for administrative purposes into East Sussex (1991 pop. 670,600), 693 sq mi (1,795 sq km), and West Sussex (1991 pop. 692,800), 768 sq mi (1,990 sq km). Lewes is the county seat of East Sussex; Chichester is the administrative center for West Sussex. The South Downs—low, rolling hills that cross the county from east to west and terminate at Beachy Head on the English Channel coast—are the county's most notable geographical feature. The principal streams are the Arun, the Ouse, the Rother, and the Adur. The long coast line along the Channel is famous for its resorts, such as Brighton and Eastbourne . Sussex is primarily an agricultural region devoted to dairy farming, wheat growing, and market gardening. It has many residential suburbs of London. The old kingdom of the South Saxons (Sussex) was founded by King Ælle in the late 5th cent. Later the region was incorporated into Wessex. William I (William the Conqueror) landed at Pevensey in 1066 and defeated Harold's Saxons at Hastings . In 1974, East Sussex and West Sussex were reorganized as nonmetropolitan counties.

Sussex Former county in se England, on the English Channel, since 1974 divided into the counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. Area: 3773sq km (1457sq mi).

Sussex Kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, settled by the South Saxons under Aelle (c.ad 477). It was allegedly the last Anglo-Saxon kingdom to adopt Christianity (c.680). A number of Kings of Sussex are known from the 7th and 8th centuries, but at various times they were under the dominance of Mercia. Wessex absorbed Sussex in the early 9th century. See East Sussex; West Sussex