East Sussex

The county of East Sussex in the South East region of England was created in 1974 when the county of Sussex was divided in two. However, the separation of East and West Sussex councils occurred in 1888, along similar lines to the division lines centred around the two archdeaconries created in the 12th Century - Chichester and Lewes. Prior to the unification of England, Sussex was a kingdom, said to have been founded in 477 AD and is Old English for "South Saxons".

Lewes is the county town - Brighton and Hove are historically part of East Sussex but since 1997 has been managed as its own separate unitary authority rather than East Sussex County Council. Other major and noteworthy towns are: Eastbourne, Hastings, Bexhill-on-Sea, Newhaven, Rye, Peacehaven, Seaford, Hailsham, Heathfield, Uckfield, Crowborough and Battle.

There are no motorways in East Sussex. From London, the main roads into East Sussex are the A21 to Hastings; A22 to Eastbourne and A23 to Brighton. The A26 carries traffic from Newhaven and Lewes through Uckfield and into Tunbridge Wells in Kent. The A259 from Folkestone carries traffic from Kent into Eastbourne where some traffic continue along the coast to Brighton or move onto the busy A27 which also proceeds west to Brighton on to West Sussex, but further inland.

Brighton is the main rail terminus in East Sussex, with trains either going on the West Coastway Line to Chichester, to London on the Brighton Main Line or on the East Coastway Line through Lewes and onto Eastbourne and Hastings. Lewes is a central railway hub with trains going from London to Eastbourne and Hastings, and trains from Brighton going to Eastbourne and Hastings. Until the late 1960s, trains also went through Lewes to Uckfield and Crowborough through north Kent and south east Surrey into Croydon and London. Eastbourne is another terminus with trains going into Kent. Southern Railway manage all the stations in West Sussex and operate most of the train services.

Places of interest:-

• Lewes Castle
• Bodiam Castle
• South Downs Way / South Downs National Park
• The Weald Way
• Beachy Head
• Herstmonceaux
• Pevensey Castle

East Sussex County Council currently administers the following districts and boroughs:-

• Eastbourne
• Hastings
• Lewes District
• Rother District
• Wealden District (Crowborough, Uckfield, Hailsham)

A separate unitary authority administers Brighton and Hove.