SUSSEX
Sussex, maritime County in SE. of England, bounded N. and NE. by Surrey and
Kent, SE. and S. by the English Channel, and W. and NW. by Hants; greatest
length, N. and S., 27 miles; greatest breadth, E. and W., 76 miles; area,
933,269 acres, population 490,505. From the Hants border, near Petersfield, to
Beachy Head, the county is traversed by the South Downs; to the N. of this range
of chalk hills is the valley of the Weald, rising into the Forest Ridge on the
NE., and sinking on the SE., towards the sea, into wide marshes. The rivers are
not important; they are the Arun, Adur, Ouse, and Rother, all flowing S. to the
English Channel. ...more
[Transcribed from Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British
Isles, 1887.]
- The East Sussex Record Office is located in Lewes. It holds material for the Archdeaconry of Lewes, present-day East Sussex, and therefore generally holds historical material only for East Sussex parishes.
- An on-line catalogue for some of the collections held by the ESRO is available under the Access to Archives (A2A) project.
- The West Sussex Record Office is located in Chichester. Because it hold the records of the Diocese of Chichester, which covers the whole of Sussex, it has church records relating to both parts of Sussex.
- An on-line catalogue for some of the collections held by the WSRO is available under the Access to Archives (A2A) project
- 200 years of the Census in Sussex is a summary by the ONS of some of the main trends in Sussex revealed by the censuses (PDF, downlodable only - doesn't display in browser window) .
- List of the Bishops of Selsey and Chichester (from 681)
- The Roughwood British Churches Album has several hundred pictures of Sussex churches, both exterior and interior, accompnaied by historical notes
Sussex parishes fall almost entirely within the Diocese of Chichester
Original parish registers are held by the ESRO and WSRO, Bishops Transcipts by the WSRO.
- An Abstract of Feet of Fines relating to the County of Sussex
- The WSRO has a Photographic Database with details of around 32,000 photos in its collection, 4000 of which are available on-line.
- The Sussex Gallery has contemporary photographs of around 40 towns and villages.
- Images of England has photographs of around 100 listed buildings in East & West Sussex.
- Footsteps, a company selling reproductions of old photographs, has around 200 low-resolution images of Sussex on its site.
- West Sussex Past Pictures - 5000+ images from Sussex museums and the County Library Service
Sussex books at the Internet Archive
- William Axon, Bygone Sussex London, 1897
- George F. Bosworth, Sussex (Cambridge County Geographies, 1909)
- Charles Fleet, Glimpses of our ancestors in Sussex; with sketches of Sussex characters, remarkable incidents, &c Brighton 1878 (Internet Archive)
- Ian Hannah, The Sussex Coast London 1912
- Augustus Hare, Sussex London, 1894
- Anthony Highmore, A ramble on the coast of Sussex (1782) Brighton 1873
- Clare Jerrold, Picturesque Sussex Dundeee 1906
- E. V. Lucas, Highways and byways in Sussex London 1904
List of Sussex Directories 1784-1975 by John H. Farrant, a comprehensive listing with details of which Sussex and national libraries hold copies.
The Digital Library of Historical Directories has the following Sussex directories available:
- Pigot's National Commercial Directory for 1832-34 (Sussex)
- Pigot's Directory of Sussex, 1839
- Post Office Directory of Sussex [1851]
- The Post Office Directory of Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex, 1855
- Melville and Co.'s Directory & Gazetteer of Sussex, 1858
- Melville's Directory & Gazetteer of Sussex, 1858
- Post Office Sussex Directory, 1859
- French & Son's Handbook & Directory for Worthing, 1859
- Post Office Directory of Sussex, 1866
- Post Office Directory of Sussex, 1878
- Deacon's Court Guide, Gazetteer & Blue Book of Sussex, 1881
- Kelly's Directory of Sussex, 1890
- Kelly's Directory of Kent, Surrey and Sussex, 1891
- Kelly's Directory of Sussex, 1899
- Kelly's Directory of Sussex, 1905
- Kelly's Directory of Sussex, 1911
- Kelly's Directory of Sussex, 1915
Steve Pickthall has transcribed the Sussex places in Kelly's Post Office Directory of Essex, Herts, Middlesex, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, 1867. See the parish pages for links to these transcriptions.
The Sussex OPC scheme is currently transcribing 22 Sussex directories
- The Sussex Online Parish Clerks scheme researches all the available historical data they can find on a parish, and transcribes records.
Volume 1 Natural History
Volume 2 Religious Houses
Volume 3 City of Chichester
Volume 4 Rape of Chichester
Volume 5, Part 1 Arundel Rape (SW part)
Volume 6, Part 1 Bramber Rape (S part)
Volume 6, Part 2 Bramber Rape (NW part)
Volume 6, Part 2 Bramber Rape (NE part)
Volume 7 Rape of Lewes
List of topographical articles in the Sussex volumes of the Victoria County History
- The Royal Sussex Regiment (originally 35th Regiment of Foot)
- Redoubt Fortress Museum (the Military Museum of Sussex)
Before 1858, there were a number of probate jurisdictions in Sussex.
West Sussex Record Office hold Wills for the parishes in:
- Archdeaconry of Chichester
- Dean's Peculiar of the City of Chichester
- Archbishop's Peculiar Jurisdiction of Pagham and Tarring
East Sussex Record Office hold wills for the parishes in:
- Archdeaconry of Lewes
- Deanery of South Malling
- Deanery of Battle
- The East Sussex Community Information Services provides lists of:
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The Genuki Sussex pages are maintained by Peter Christian.
This page was last updated on 15 June 2013
