SUSSEX, an English maritime county, bounded on the east by Kent, on the north by that county and Surry, on the west by Hampshire, and on the south by the British Channel. It is of an oblong shape, being about seventy miles in length from east to west, and no where more than twenty-six miles in breadth, from north to south. Its area is 1463 square miles, or 936,320 statute acres. It is divided into six portions, called provincially Rapes, which are again divided into sixty-five hundreds, and contain 313 parishes. The greater part of the county is within the diocese of Chichester; but the deanaries of Pagharn and South Malling, and All Saints in Chichester, form a part of the peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The number of houses in 1821 was 36,283, inhabited by 43,565 families; of whom 21,920 were chiefly employed in agriculture; 15,463 in trade, manufactures, or handicraft; and 6182 comprehended in neither of those classes. The number of inhabitants was 233,019, of whom 116,705 were males, and 116,314 females.
The northern part of the county was formerly a wholly a forest, and still is very thickly covered with wood, and adorned with the finest oak trees in the kingdom. The soil is generally of so tenacious a clay, and so deep, that, until within a few years, in which roads have been made, and the navigation of the river Arun improved, the timber scarcely paid the expence of carriage to districts where it was needed. A range of chalk hills, known as the South Downs, runs through the county parallel to the coast, and in some points terminating in the sea. On these, vast flocks of sheep are fed; and in the small vallies intervening, the heaviest crops of wheat and other grain are raised. In the south-west part of the county, there is a track of arable land of most singular fecundity. On some parts of the coast, where the chalk hills recede from the shore, there are rich level plains, which feed some of the best oxen that supply the markets of the metropolis.
The size of the estates vary much, but there are no very large proprietors. The farms in the weald or eastern vales are generally small, those on the South Downs as generally large. The average rent of the land, according to the returns under the late Property-tax, was 3s. 9d. per acre. More than 100,000 acres are not estimated at above 1s. 6d. per acre: 70,000 acres of down land are estimated at 6s. per acre, and 170,000 of woodland at 8s. per acre. The arable and woodland in the weald, amounting to about 420,000, are estimated at 12s. The marsh land and the arable land in the south-west have been let as high as 50s. per acre. In the weald about one-third is arable, one-third pasture, and one-third wood and waste land. On the south side of the Downs, the arable exceeds the pasture in the proportion of thirty acres to one.
The agriculture of the county is as various as the differences of the soil. In the stiff lands of the weald,
the practice of fallowing is generally prevalent; but to the south of the downs it is rarely resorted to. The growing of turnips, potatoes, pease or beans, is commonly found sufficient to prepare the land for corn. Hops are very extensively cultivated in the eastern part of the county; and as nearly the whole manure of the farms is applied to that plant, the crops of wheat and other grain are usually scanty.
The cattle of Sussex are celebrated through the whole kingdom. The cows are of a deep red colour, with small heads, and horns, thin and transparent, which run out horizontally, and turn up towards the tips. The quality of their milk is not equal to that of some other breeds; hence, there are few dairies, and the cattle are chiefly reared for the sake of the meat, which is excellent. As much of the ploughing is performed by oxen, they usually labour in harness three or four years before they are fattened. They are but lightly worked, that their growth may not be impeded; and it is not unusual to see eight and sometimes even ten oxen to a plough. The sheep of Sussex have spread gradually over most parts of the island. The sheep, known by the name of South Downs, have no horns, and their faces and legs are black or dark coloured. The flesh is surpassed by none in England. Their wool is as fine as that of Herefordshire, and they require less food for their support than sheep of any other breed.
There are no manufactures in the county. The making of iron formerly gave employment to many persons in the weald; but the invention of making it with coke instead of charcoal has removed it to those districts where mines of iron and of coal are to be found. The only branch of industry that gives any employment to the population, besides that of agriculture, is the fishery, which, in the summer, especially when the mackerel appear, is extensive. The prosperity of many places on the coast has arisen from the crowds of visitors who frequent them, for the pleasures of sea air and bathing. Among those places Brighton, as the favourite residence of his present Majesty, is the most prominent; besides which, much company is annually collected at Hastings, East Bourne, Rottendean, Worthing, and Bognor.
The rivers of Sussex are all streams of short course. The Lavant and Arun are navigable but a few miles from their mouths. The other rivers are the Adur, which, joining with the Ouse, runs by Lewes to Newhaven; and the Rother, which forms an estuary near Rye. The only canal is one that connects the towns of Petworth and Midhurst with the river Arun.
There are several remains of Roman camps in different parts of the county, and the Stane Street road may still be traced between Chichester and Dorking. The Saxon remains are very numerous, among which the most remarkable are Pevensey Castle, and Battle Abbey. Arundel Castle is a most splendid modernized edifice, upon the site of the ancient erection of that name. Besides these, Bayham Abbey, Eridge Castle, Bodiham Castle, and the buildings at Winchester, are worthy the attention of the antiquarian.
The titles derived from this county are—Duke of Sussex; Earls of Winchester, Ashburnham, and Chi-
chester; Lords Arundel, Gage, Selsey, and Sheffield. The county returns two members to Parliament, and two for each of the following places, Chichester, Arundel, Bramber, Horsham, East Grinstead, Lewes, Midhurst, Shoreham, and Steyning.
The most remarkable seats are, the Pavilion at Chief Seats. Brighton; Goodwood, the Duke of Richmond; Petworth, Earl of Egremont; Arundel Castle, Duke of Norfolk; Sheffield Place, Earl Sheffield; Eridge Castle, Earl of Abergavenny; Ashburnham House, Earl of Ashburnham; Stanstead, Reverend Lewis Way; Parham, Sir Cecil Bishop; Kidbrooke, Lord Colchester; Marisfield Park, Sir John Shelly; Firle, Lord Gage; Stanmer Park, Earl of Chichester; Ovingdean, Nathaniel Kemp, Esq.; Eartham, Right Honourable William Huskisson; Weshdean House, Lord Selsey.
The most considerable towns and their population Chief are, Chichester, 7362; Brighton, 24,429; Lewes, 7083; Hastings, 6085; Horsham, 4575; Battle, 2852; East Grinstead, 3163; Arundel, 2511; Rye, 3599.
See Young's Agricultural Survey of Sussex; Russell's Description of Kent and Sussex; Gilpin's Observations; Pennant's Journey from London to the Isle of Wight; Beauties of England and Wales. (w. w.)