Sussex

The southern border of the county is formed by the coastline between Hampshire and Kent with its northern border adjoining Surrey. It is divided for local government into West Sussex and East Sussex and the City of Brighton and Hove. Mainly still a rural county apart from the coastal strip, there are few large towns. In the past fishing was an important industry and there are still working harbours at Rye, Hastings, Newhaven and Shoreham. The county now relies heavily on the tourist industry, both by the sea and inland where tourists can explore the South Downs.

Sussex was the home of the Greenwich Royal Observatory at Herstmonceux until 1998. There are castles at Hastings, Lewes, Pevensey and Bodiam while the site of the Battle of Hastings is to be found at Senlac Hill near the town of Battle. There is a Roman Villa in Fishbourne. The Weald and Downland Museum is in Singleton. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is in Sussex at Arundel Castle. Rudyard Kipling lived in a Jacobean ironmaster's house, Bateman's, near Burwash in Sussex. The county has a song dedicated to it called "Sussex by the Sea" written in 1907 by William Ward-Hicks. East Sussex county town: Lewes West Sussex county town: Chichester Other major towns: Brighton, Eastbourne, Hove, Bognor Regis, Crawley Sussex Places of Worship Regional Projects Forum

Source: Wikipedia

Resources

Chichester Market Cross. Submitted by Caroline

Primary Reference

• East Sussex Record Office

• West Sussex Record Office

• Sussex Family History Society

• East Sussex County Libraries

• West Sussex County Libraries

• Sussex Look-up Exchange

• Sussex Online Parish Clerks

Ancestry Library edition available to West Sussex Library members at Worthing, Horsham, Crawley and East Grinstead libraries and at any library with computers for East Sussex library members.

Countywide Interest

• Sussex Electoral Poll 1734

• West Sussex Online Catalogue

• History of Sussex

• The Sussex Record Society

• The Sussex 1861 Transcribers Ongoing

• The Weald of Kent, Surrey and Sussex

• Sussex Family History census transcripts for several West Sussex villages

Specific Town and Village Interest

• Wiki Page: Aldingbourne

• Angmering Village

• Wiki Page: Arlington, Sussex

• Arundel Museum

• Barcombe and Hamsey

• Bognor Regis Local History

• History of Brighton and Hove

• East Brighton Bygones

• Brighton History Centre

• Chailey Village 1914-1918

• Cuckfield Compendium

• Ditchling Museum

• Eastbourne and District Family History Society

• Eastbourne Borough Council's History Section

• East Hoathly Parish

• The Fernhurst Society

• Findon Village

• Fishbourne

• Graves and Inscriptions in Fletching, Sussex

• Hastings Chronicle

• Hastings and Lewes

• Hastings and Rother Family History Society

• Henfield History Group

• Horsham Past and Present

• Reminiscences of Horsham

• Horsted Keynes Village Website

• Hurst History Study Group (Hurstpierpoint)

• Midhurst in Living Memory

• Nutbourne Association

• The Petworth Emigration Project

• Ringmer Village

• Salehurst

• Southease Village History

• West Hoathly, St Margarets including BMDs 1600-1900

• Worthing and Broadwater

• Worthing Family History

Maps and Photographs

• Bomb Census: Brighton & Hove

• Historical Maps of Sussex

• Brighton's Architecture

• James Gray Collection: Historic photographs of Brighton

• Photographs of Sussex

• Photographers in Brighton 1841-1910

• Photographers of Sussex

• Sussex Postcards: Directory of publishers with a gallery of their work

Books of local interest

SHOTTERMILL - its Farms, Families and Mills. Part 1 - Early Times to the 1700s. ISBN 1-873855-39-7

SHOTTERMILL - its Farms, Families and Mills. Part 2 - 1730 to the Early 20th Century. ISBN 1-873855-40-0

Both by Greta A. Turner and available from John Owen Smith.

Although centred on Headley in Hampshire, John Owen Smith's website also covers the local area of Surrey and Sussex.

Sussex customs and lifestyle

• Stoolball history (a popular summer sport)

• British library recordings of Sussex dialects

Register Offices ~ East Sussex

Online orders and copy certificate information. Buying copies of certificates

Brighton and Hove

The Register Office
Brighton Town Hall
Bartholomews
Brighton
BN1 1JA
Tel 01273 292016

Crowborough Register Office

Beaconwood
Beacon Road
Crowborough
East Sussex
TN6 1AR
Tel 01892 653803
E-mail crowborough.registrar@eastsussex.gov.uk

Eastbourne Register Office

Town Hall
Grove Road
Eastbourne
East Sussex
BN21 4UG
Tel: 01323 415051
E-mail eastbourne.registrar@eastsussex.gov.uk

Hastings Register Office

Summerfields
Bohemia Road
Hastings
East Sussex
TN34 1EX
Tel 01424 721722
E-mail hastings.registrar@eastsussex.gov.uk

Lewes Register Office

Southover Grange
Southover Road
Lewes
East Sussex
BN7 1TP
Tel 01273 475589
E-mail lewes.registrar@eastsussex.gov.uk

Register Offices ~ West Sussex

Chichester Registration District

Greyfriars
61 North Street
Chichester
PO19 1NB
Tel 01243 642122

Crawley Registration District

Crawley Register Office
Town Hall
The Boulevard
Crawley
RH10 1UZ
Tel 01243 642122

Haywards Heath Registration District

Superintendent Registrar's Office
Haywards Heath Register Office
West Sussex County Council Offices
Oaklands Road
Haywards Heath
RH16 1SU
Tel 01243 642122

Horsham Registration District

Superintendent Registrar's Office
Horsham Register Office
Town Hall
Market Square
Horsham
RH12 1EU
Tel 01243 642122

Worthing Registration District

Worthing Register Office
CentenaryHouse
Durrington Lane
Worthing
BN13 2QB
Tel 01243 642122

Requests for Research and Photographs in this area

Please read the Terms and Conditions before requesting a lookup.

A list of members who have volunteered to do Research lookups or take photographs can be found in the Research Offers forum or on the following pages in the Wiki:

• Research Offers: Cemetery
• Research Offers: Photograph
• Research Offers: Probate
• Research Offers: Record Office/Archive

If any member wishes to offer to do lookups or take photographs in a particular location, please leave a message on our Volunteers Needed thread.

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