92-644: The Great Devonian Controversy began in 1834 when Roderick Murchison disagreed with Henry De la Beche as to the dating of certain petrified plants found in coals in the Greywacke stratum in North Devon , England . De La Beche was claiming that since Carboniferous fossils were found deep in the Greywacke stratum, which itself was older than the Carboniferous period, this method of dating rocks
184-814: A Lib Dem-Independent coalition ( Mid Sussex ) one was run by an Independent-Labour-Lib Dem-Green coalition ( Rother ) and one had a Lib Dem-Green coalition ( Wealden ). Conservative Katy Bourne is the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner , having first been elected in 2012. In the 2016 referendum on UK membership of the EU , the people of Sussex voted to leave the EU by the narrowest of margins, by 50.23% to 49.77% or 4,413 votes. Headquartered in Lewes, Home Office policing in Sussex has been provided by Sussex Police since 1968. The first-tier Crown Court for all of Sussex
276-600: A blue background, blazoned as Azure , six martlets or . Recognised by the Flag Institute on 20 May 2011, its design is based on the heraldic shield of Sussex . The first-known recording of this emblem being used to represent the county was in 1611 when cartographer John Speed deployed it to represent the Kingdom of the South Saxons . However, it seems that Speed was repeating an earlier association between
368-537: A ceremonial county. Sussex is widely regarded as a single unified entity for some purposes, such as the environment, food and drink and sport . In 2007, Sussex Day was created to celebrate the county's culture and history . The name "Sussex" is derived from the Middle English Suth-sæxe , which is in turn derived from the Old English Sūþseaxe , meaning "(land or people) of
460-658: A gigantic system of dislocations, whereby successive masses of the oldest gneisses , have been exhumed from below and thrust over the younger formations. In 1855 Murchison was appointed director-general of the British Geological Survey and director of the Royal School of Mines and the Museum of Practical Geology in Jermyn Street, London, in succession to Sir Henry De la Beche , who had been
552-561: A lesser scale, with several people being executed for their Catholic beliefs. In Elizabeth's reign, Sussex was open to the older Protestant forms practised in the Weald as well as the newer Protestant forms coming from Continental Europe; combined with a significant Catholic presence, Sussex was in many ways out of step with the rest of southern England. Sussex escaped the worst ravages of the English Civil War , although control of
644-405: A new period called Devonian . This geology article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Roderick Murchison Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871 ) was a Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigating and describing
736-520: A period of rule by King Offa of Mercia , Sussex regained its independence but was annexed by Wessex around 827 and was fully absorbed into the crown of Wessex in 860, which later grew into the Kingdom of England. The Battle of Hastings was fought in Sussex, the victory that led to the Norman conquest of England . In September 1066, William of Normandy landed with his forces at Pevensey and erected
828-409: A regional power. Shortly afterwards, Cædwalla returned to Sussex, killing its king and oppressing its people, putting them in what Bede called "a worse state of slavery". The South Saxon clergy were put under the control of West Saxon Winchester . Only around 715 was Eadberht of Selsey made the first bishop of the South Saxons , after which further invasion attempts from Wessex ensued. Following
920-533: A turn for the worse with an increasing amount of them becoming unemployed, those in work faced their wages being forced down. Conditions became so bad that it was even reported to the House of Lords in 1830 that four harvest labourers (seasonal workers) had been found dead of starvation. The deteriorating conditions of work for the agricultural labourer eventually triggered riots, first in neighbouring Kent, and then in Sussex, where they lasted for several weeks, although
1012-632: A wooden castle at Hastings , from which they raided the surrounding area. The battle was fought between Duke William of Normandy and the English king, Harold Godwinson , who had strong connections with Sussex and whose chief seat was probably in Bosham . After having marched his exhausted army 250 miles (400 km) from Yorkshire, Harold fought the Normans at the Battle of Hastings, where England's army
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#17327650711541104-525: Is Bewl Water on the Kent border, while the largest wholly within Sussex is Ardingly Reservoir . The coastal resorts of Sussex and neighbouring Hampshire are the sunniest places in the United Kingdom. The coast has consistently more sunshine than the inland areas: sea breezes, blowing off the sea, tend to clear any cloud from the coast. The sunshine average is approximately 1,900 hours a year; this
1196-436: Is Lewes Crown Court , which has courts in Lewes, Brighton and Hove. Like other first-tier Crown Courts it has its own resident High Court Judge . There is also a third-tier Crown Court at Chichester. The local prison in Sussex for men is Lewes Prison and there is also a Category D prison at Ford . A rape is a traditional territorial sub-division of Sussex, formerly used for various administrative purposes. Their origin
1288-712: Is a Murchison Avenue in Old Bexley, southeast London. Scarborough in North Yorkshire has a Murchison Street. Murchison's View is named after him. The viewpoint within the Wren's Nest area of Dudley gives a panoramic view over much of Birmingham and the Black Country. Murchinson's visits to the limestone hills of Dudley helped him to develop his understanding of the Silurian System. When he returned to
1380-489: Is celebrated annually on 16 June, the feast day of St Richard of Chichester , Sussex's patron saint , whose shrine at Chichester Cathedral was an important place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages . Sussex's motto, We wunt be druv , is a Sussex dialect expression meaning "we will not be pushed around" and reflects the traditionally independent nature of Sussex men and women. The round-headed rampion , also known as
1472-628: Is much higher than the UK average of 1,340 hours a year. Most of Sussex lies in hardiness zone 8; the exception is the coastal plain west of Brighton, which lies in the milder zone 9. Rainfall is below average with the heaviest precipitation on the South Downs with 950 mm (37 in) of rainfall per year. The close proximity of Sussex to the Continent of Europe, results in cold spells in winter and hot, humid weather in summer. The climate of
1564-636: Is the 20th-century north–south development on the A23 - Brighton line corridor , Sussex's main link to London. Sussex's population is dominated by the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation that, with a population of over 470,000, is home to almost 1 in 3 of Sussex's population. According to the ONS urban area populations for continuous built-up areas, these are the five largest conurbations: The combined population of Sussex as of 2021
1656-583: Is the highest point in Sussex, or county top . With a height of 248 metres (814 ft) Ditchling Beacon is the highest point in East Sussex. At 113 kilometres (70 miles) long, the River Medway is the longest river flowing through Sussex. The longest river entirely in Sussex is the River Arun , which is 60 kilometres (37 mi) long. Sussex's largest lakes are man-made reservoirs. The largest
1748-616: Is unknown, but they appear to predate the Norman Conquest Each rape was split into several hundreds and may be Romano-British or Anglo-Saxon in origin. At the time of the Norman Conquest, there were four rapes: Arundel, Lewes, Pevensey and Hastings. The rape of Bramber was created later in the 11th century and the rape of Chichester was created in the 13th century. Local government in Sussex has been subject to periodic review over time . Currently, Sussex
1840-790: The American Antiquarian Society . Three years later, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society . In 1863 he was made a KCB , and three years later he was created a baronet . The learned societies of his own country bestowed their highest rewards upon him: the Royal Society gave him the Copley Medal , the Geological Society its Wollaston medal , and the Royal Society of Edinburgh its Brisbane Medal. There
1932-503: The American Revolution . Known as 'the radical duke', Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond , was an early supporter of parliamentary reform and US independence. Richard Cobden was a product of Sussex's rural radicalism, and became a campaigner for free trade and peace. Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was another influential radical from Sussex. At the beginning of the 19th century agricultural labourers' conditions took
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#17327650711542024-589: The Bishop of Chichester and the Earl of Gloucester . These three were to elect a council of nine, to govern until a permanent settlement could be reached. During the Hundred Years' War , Sussex found itself on the frontline, convenient both for intended invasions and retaliatory expeditions by licensed French pirates. Hastings, Rye and Winchelsea were all burnt during this period and all three towns became part of
2116-540: The Catuvellauni , a tribe based around modern Hertfordshire. Much of Sussex was a Roman canton of the Regni , probably taking a similar area to the pre-Roman tribal area and kingdom. Its capital was at Noviomagus Reginorum , modern-day Chichester, close to the pre-Roman capital of the area, around Selsey. Sussex was home to the magnificent Roman Palace at Fishbourne , by far the largest Roman residence known north of
2208-619: The Cinque Ports , a loose federation for supplying ships for the country's security. Also at this time, Amberley and Bodiam castles were built to defend the upper reaches of navigable rivers. One of the impacts of the war and the Black Death , which killed around half of the population of Sussex, was the perceived injustice that led many Sussex people to participate in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. Coastal areas suffered most from
2300-636: The English border counties , were embodied in The Silurian System (1839). The English naturalist, geologist, and palaeontologist John William Salter assisted Murchison in his work on Siluria (1854 and later editions). The establishment of the Silurian system was followed by that of the Devonian system, an investigation in which Murchison assisted, both in the south-west of England and in
2392-581: The Highlands Controversy . James Nicol recognised the fallacy in Murchison's theory and propounded his own ideas; in the 1880s these were superseded by the correct theory of Charles Lapworth , which was corroborated by Benjamin Peach and John Horne . Their subsequent research showed that the infraposition of the fossiliferous rocks is not their original place, but had been brought about by
2484-626: The Old Red Sandstone could be grouped into a definite order of succession. The result was the establishment of the Silurian system under which were grouped, for the first time, a remarkable series of formations, each replete with distinctive organic remains other than and very different from those of the other rocks of England. These researches, together with descriptions of the coalfields and overlying formations in South Wales and
2576-515: The Rhineland . Soon afterwards Murchison projected an important geological campaign in Russia with the view of extending to that part of the Continent the classification he had succeeded in elaborating for the older rocks of western Europe. He was accompanied by Édouard de Verneuil (1805–1873) and Count Alexander von Keyserling (1815–1891), in conjunction with whom he produced a work on Russia and
2668-667: The Roman departure from Britain around 410 AD. The foundation legend of Sussex is provided by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , which states that in the year AD 477 Ælle landed with his three sons. Having fought on the banks of the Mearcredesburna , it seems Ælle secured the area between the Ouse and Cuckmere in a treaty. Traditionally this is thought to have been against native Britons, but it may have been to secure
2760-551: The Silurian , Devonian and Permian systems. Murchison was born at Tarradale House , Muir of Ord , Ross-shire , the son of Barbara and Kenneth Murchison. His wealthy father died in 1796, when Roderick was four years old, and he was sent to Durham School three years later and then to the Royal Military College, Great Marlow , to be trained for the army. In 1808 he landed with Wellesley in Portugal, and
2852-585: The South Saxons " (cf. Essex , Middlesex and Wessex ). The South Saxons were a Germanic tribe that settled in the region from the North German Plain during the 5th and 6th centuries. The earliest-known usage of the term South Saxons (Latin: Australes Saxones ) is in a royal charter of 689 which names them and their king, Noðhelm , although the term may well have been in use for some time before that. The monastic chronicler who wrote up
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2944-554: The UK Parliament , Sussex is represented by 17 MPs. At the 2024 general election , 6 Labour and Labour Co-op MPs, 5 Conservative MPs, 5 Lib Dem MPs and 1 Green MP were elected from Sussex constituencies. Amongst top-tier local authorities, East and West Sussex County Councils are both held by the Conservatives and Brighton and Hove City Council is led by Labour. Amongst district councils, as of June 2024,
3036-620: The Ural Mountains . The publication of this monograph in 1845 completes the first and most active half of Murchison's scientific career. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1840. In 1846 he was knighted, and in the same year he presided over the meeting of the British Association at Southampton . During the later years of his life, a large part of his time
3128-613: The Weald were all part of changes as significant to Sussex as those brought by the neolithic period, by the Romans and the Saxons. Sussex also experienced the most radical and thorough reorganisation of land in England. The county's existing sub-divisions, known as rapes, were made into castleries and each territory was given to one of William's most trusted barons. Castles were built to defend
3220-631: The ceremonial counties of Surrey to the north, Kent to the north-east, and Hampshire to the west. Sussex contains the city of Brighton and Hove and its wider city region , as well as the South Downs National Park and the National Landscapes of the High Weald and Chichester Harbour . Its coastline is 137 miles (220 km) long. The Kingdom of Sussex emerged in the 5th century; during Roman Britain
3312-445: The union with Scotland two members represented the county in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. The Reform Act 1832 led to the disenfranchisement of some of the smaller Sussex boroughs and divided what had been a single county constituency into eastern and western divisions, with two representatives elected for each division. The reforms of
3404-626: The "Pride of Sussex", was adopted as Sussex's county flower in 2002. The physical geography of Sussex relies heavily on its lying on the southern part of the Wealden anticline , the major features of which are the high lands that cross the county in a west to east direction: the Weald itself and the South Downs . Natural England has identified the following seven national character areas in Sussex: At 280 metres (920 feet), Blackdown
3496-679: The 17th century, after which it began to decline. It also brought widespread deforestation of parts of the Sussex Weald. Henry VIII 's separation of the Church of England from Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries led to the demolition of Lewes Priory and Battle Abbey and the sites being given to Henry's supporters. The shrine to St Richard at Chichester Cathedral was also destroyed. Mary I returned England to Catholicism and in Sussex 41 Protestants were burned to death . Under Elizabeth I , religious intolerance continued albeit on
3588-413: The 19th century made the electoral system more representative, but it was not until 1928 that there was universal suffrage. There was a strong radical and republican tradition in Sussex from the 19th century. For most of the 20th century Sussex was a Conservative Party stronghold—from the 1906 to 1997 general elections the only seats in Sussex won by parties other than the Conservatives were in
3680-596: The 2020 film Ammonite . He is played by James McArdle . Sussex Sussex ( /ˈsʌsɪks/ ; from the Old English Sūþseaxe ; lit. ' South Saxons '; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England which was historically a kingdom and, later, a county . It includes the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex . The area borders the English Channel to the south, and
3772-524: The Alps. The Romans built villas, especially on the coastal plain and around Chichester, one of the best preserved being that at Bignor . Christianity first came to Sussex at this time, but faded away when the Romans left in the 5th century. The nationally important Patching hoard of Roman coins that was found in 1997 is the latest find of Roman coins found in Britain , probably deposited after 475 AD, well after
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3864-672: The Black Death, and took longest to recover. Instead much economic activity in Sussex was focused on the Weald. Merchants moved north from the coastal towns and many Continental craftsmen, fleeing religious persecution, brought their expertise to the timber, iron, clothmaking and glass industries. Economic and social tensions continued for many years as Sussex people were also involved in Jack Cade 's rebellion of 1450, in which Cade may have been killed at Cade Street , near Heathfield. Demands grew more radical in Sussex in 1451 when John and William Merfold advocated rule by common people. They also demanded that Henry VI be deposed and publicly incited
3956-427: The Lib Dems had a majority in three local authorities ( Chichester , Eastbourne and Horsham ) and the Labour Party had a majority in three local authorities ( Adur , Crawley and Worthing ). Of the six local authorities in no overall control , one had a minority Green administration ( Hastings ), one was run by a Lib Dem-Labour-Green coalition ( Arun ), one was run by a Green-Labour coalition ( Lewes ), one as run by
4048-406: The Roman army under Julius Caesar that temporarily occupied south-eastern Britain in 55 BC. Soon after the first Roman invasion had ended, the Celtic Regni tribe under their leader Commius initially occupied the Manhood Peninsula . Eppillus , Verica and Cogidubnus followed Commius as rulers of the Regni or southern Atrebates, a region which included most of Sussex, with their capital in
4140-561: The Royal Geographical Society and the British Geological Survey." The chief geological investigation of the last decade of his life was devoted to the Highlands of Scotland, where he wrongly believed he had succeeded in showing that the vast masses of crystalline schists , previously supposed to be part of what used to be termed the Primitive formations, were really not older than the Silurian period, since underneath them lay beds of limestone and quartzite containing Lower Silurian ( Cambrian ) fossils . This started off what became known as
4232-420: The Selsey area. A number of archaeologists now think there is a strong possibility that the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43 started around Fishbourne and Chichester Harbour rather than the traditional landing place of Richborough in Kent. According to this theory, the Romans were called to restore the refugee Verica , a king whose capital was in the Selsey and Chichester area, who had been driven out by
4324-405: The Silurian classification into other countries. In 1845, whilst visiting Carclew in Cornwall , he met several Cornish miners who were going to Australia. Believing that there might be gold there, he asked them to send back likely samples. They did this, and thus Murchison knew of the existence of gold in Australia before Edward Hargraves ' discovery. In 1857, Murchison was elected a member of
4416-412: The Sussex Downs were the location of the Battle of Lewes , in which Simon de Montfort and his fellow barons captured Prince Edward (later Edward I ), the son and heir of Henry III . The subsequent treaty, known as the Mise of Lewes , led to Montfort summoning the first parliament in English history without any prior royal authorisation. A provisional administration was set up, consisting of Montfort,
4508-440: The Wealden iron industry was strategically important to both sides. In 1642 there was a skirmish at Haywards Heath when Royalists marching towards Lewes were intercepted by local Parliamentarians . The Royalists were routed with around 200 killed or taken prisoner. Shortly after there were sieges at Chichester and Arundel , and a smaller battle at Bramber Bridge . Despite its being under Parliamentarian control, Charles II
4600-547: The acquaintance of Sir Humphry Davy . Davy urged Murchison to turn his energy to science, after hearing that he wasted his time riding to hounds and shooting. With encouragement from his wife Charlotte, Murchison became fascinated by the young science of geology and joined the Geological Society of London , soon becoming one of its most active members. His colleagues there included Adam Sedgwick , William Conybeare , William Buckland , William Fitton , Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin . Exploring with his wife, Murchison studied
4692-490: The arcade on the west side of the central path. The crater Murchison on the Moon and at least fifteen geographical locations on Earth are named after him. These include: the Murchison Range, part of the Stauning Alps , and the Murchison Sound in Greenland ; Mount Murchison in Banff National Park , Canada; Mount Murchison in the Mountaineer Range , Antarctica; Mount Murchison, just west of Squamish, British Columbia , Canada; tiny Murchison Island in Haida Gwaii in
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#17327650711544784-472: The area east of the Saxon Shore fort of Anderida from the influence of the Kingdom of Kent, with whom the South Saxons may have had occasional disputes. Ælle was recognised as the first ' Bretwalda ' or overlord of southern Britain. He was probably the most senior of the Anglo-Saxon kings and led the ill-fated campaign against King Arthur at Mount Badon . By the 7th century, South Saxon kings were ruling from sites around Selsey (the pre-Roman capital of
4876-418: The area in 1849 he was greeted by 15,000 locals who declared him the King of Siluria. A memorial tablet was installed on 3 November 2005 in front of School #9 in Perm in Russia. It consists of a stone base, irregular in form, about two metres long, and bearing a dark stone plate with the following inscription (in Russian): To Roderick Impey Murchison, Scottish geologist, explorer of Perm Krai , who gave to
4968-406: The area was inhabited by the Regni tribe. In about 827, shortly after the Battle of Ellendun , Sussex was conquered by Wessex . From 860 it was ruled by the kings of Wessex , and in 927 it became part of the Kingdom of England . By the Norman period , Sussex was subdivided into six administrative districts known as rapes , which were themselves divided into hundreds . By the sixteenth century,
5060-409: The area) and Chichester (the Roman capital of the area) initially with similar borders to the pre-Roman kingdom and Roman canton. For much of the 7th and 8th centuries, Sussex suffered attempts at invasion from the Kingdom of Wessex to its west. King Æðelwealh formed an alliance with Christian Mercia against Wessex, becoming Sussex's first Christian king. With support from St Wilfrid , Sussex became
5152-456: The armistice to be offered to Germany at the end of World War I were agreed at a meeting at Danny House , Hurstpierpoint . With the declaration of World War II , Sussex found itself part of the country's frontline with its airfields playing a key role in the Battle of Britain and with its towns being some of the most frequently bombed. Sussex was garrisoned by multiple British and Canadian Army units from 1940 until at least May 1942. During
5244-412: The breadline and receiving regular relief. Socially acceptable crimes, including protest, riot, collective action and smuggling were commonplace in Sussex and were seen by many as a legitimate way to address grievances and assert freedoms. At this time, Sussex became a centre for radicalism . Thomas Paine developed his political ideas in Lewes, and later wrote Common Sense which was influential in
5336-469: The ceremonial counties of East and West Sussex in 1974. Boundaries were changed and a large part of the rape of Lewes was transferred from the eastern division into West Sussex, along with Gatwick Airport, historically part of the county of Surrey. From 1290, Sussex returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England . Each county returned two MPs and each borough designated by Royal charter also returned two MPs. After
5428-403: The closing public acts of Murchison's life was the founding of a chair of geology and mineralogy at the University of Edinburgh . Under his will there was established the Murchison Medal and a geological fund ( The Murchison Fund ) to be awarded annually by the council of the Geological Society in London. Murchison died in 1871 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery , London, near the north end of
5520-440: The coastal districts is strongly influenced by the sea, which, because of its tendency to warm up slower than land, can result in cooler temperatures than inland in the summer. In the autumn months, the coast sometimes has higher temperatures. Rainfall during the summer months is mainly from thunderstorms and thundery showers; from January to March the heavier rainfall is due to prevailing south-westerly frontal systems. In winter,
5612-399: The constituencies of Brighton and Brighton Kemptown . Since 1997 there has been a gradual shift to the left, especially in more urban areas. This has been most notable in Brighton and Hove, where in Brighton Pavilion the UK's first Green MP, Caroline Lucas , was elected in 2010 and the UK's first Green-led local authority was elected in 2011. In the House of Commons , the lower house of
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#17327650711545704-420: The county. The population of Sussex was 550,446 in 1891 and 605,202 in 1901. Finds at Eartham Pit in Boxgrove show that the area has some of the earliest hominid remains in Europe, dating back some 500,000 years and known as Boxgrove Man or Homo heidelbergensis . At a site near Pulborough called The Beedings, tools have been found that date from around 35,000 years ago and that are thought to be from either
5796-431: The difficult problem of the geological structure of the Alps . Their joint paper giving the results of their study is a classic in the literature of Alpine geology. Murchison was an opponent of Charles Darwin 's theory of evolution. He opposed the transmutation of species and supported successive creation . In 1831 he went to the England–Wales border , to attempt to discover whether the greywacke rocks underlying
5888-408: The east winds can be as cold as further inland. Selsey is known as a tornado hotspot, with small tornadoes hitting the town in 1986, 1998 and 2000, with the 1998 tornado causing an estimated £10 million of damage to 1,000 buildings. Most of Sussex's population is distributed in an east–west line along the English Channel coast or on the east–west line of the A272 . The exception to this pattern
5980-428: The eastern Mediterranean. Sussex is rich in remains from the Bronze and Iron Ages , in particular the Bronze Age barrows known as the Devil's Jumps and Cissbury Ring , one of Britain's largest hillforts. Towards the end of the Iron Age in 75 BC people from the Atrebates , one of the tribes of the Belgae , a mix of Celtic and German stock, invaded and occupied southern Britain. This was followed by an invasion by
6072-503: The eastern three rapes and the western three rapes had been combined for most meetings of the court of quarter sessions , a division which was reinforced when the administrative counties of East Sussex and West Sussex were established in 1889. Subsequent local government reforms maintained the division into east and west. The county retained a single lord lieutenant and sheriff until 1974, when they were replaced with separate posts for East and West Sussex and Sussex lost its status as
6164-399: The emblem and the county, rather than being the inventor of the association. It is now firmly regarded that the county emblem originated and derived from the coat of arms of the 14th-century Knight of the Shire , Sir John de Radynden . Sussex's six martlets are today held to symbolise the traditional six sub-divisions of the county known as rapes . Sussex by the Sea is regarded as
6256-469: The entry classifying the invasion seems to have got his dates wrong; recent scholars have suggested he might have been a quarter of a century too late. In the Domesday Book of 1086, Sussex is recorded as Sudsexe . Three United States counties (in Delaware , New Jersey and Virginia ), and a former county/land division of Western Australia , are named after Sussex. The flag of Sussex consists of six gold martlets , or heraldic swallows , on
6348-414: The first to hold these offices. Official routine now occupied much of his time, but he found opportunity for the Highland researches just alluded to, and also for preparing successive editions of his work Siluria (1854, ed. 5, 1872), which was meant to present the main features of the original Silurian System together with a digest of subsequent discoveries, particularly of those that showed the extension of
6440-510: The geology of the south of England, devoting special attention to the rocks of the north-west of Sussex and the adjoining parts of Hampshire and Surrey , on which, aided by Fitton, he wrote his first scientific paper, read to the Geological Society of London in 1825. Turning his attention to Continental geology, he and Lyell explored the volcanic region of Auvergne , parts of southern France, northern Italy, Tyrol and Switzerland. A little later, with Sedgwick as his companion, Murchison attacked
6532-401: The killing of the nobility and clergy. The Wealden iron industry expanded rapidly, especially after the first blast furnace arrived in Sussex in 1496, from the Low Countries , which greatly improved efficiency. Skilled Flemish workers moved to Sussex, followed again by Huguenot craftsmen from France, who brought new techniques. The industry was strategically important and flourished into
6624-527: The last Neanderthals in northern Europe or pioneer populations of modern humans. The thriving population lived by hunting game such as horses, bison, mammoths and woolly rhinos . Around 6000 BC the ice sheet over the North Sea melted, sea levels rose and the meltwaters burst south and westwards, creating the English Channel and cutting the people of Sussex off from their Mesolithic kinsmen to
6716-457: The last major Anglo Saxon kingdom to become Christian. South Saxon and Mercian forces took control of what is now east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Cædwalla of Wessex killed Æðelwealh and "ravaged Sussex by fierce slaughter and devastation". The South Saxons forced Cædwalla from Sussex and were able to lead a campaign into Kent , replacing its king. At this time Sussex could have re-emerged into
6808-837: The last period of the Paleozoic era the name of Permian. The decision to perpetuate the explorer's name was accepted by the school administration and pupils in connection with a discussion to establish in Perm a pillar or an arch devoted to Roderick Murchison. In 2009, the Ural-Scottish Society erected a memorial to Murchison on the banks of the Chusovaya River . There is a commemorative blue plaque on his residence at 21 Galgate in Barnard Castle (County Durham). A fictionalised version of Murchison appears in
6900-638: The lead up to the Dieppe Raid and D-Day landings, the people of Sussex were witness to the buildup of military personnel and materials, including the assembly of landing crafts and construction of Mulberry harbours off the county's coast. In the post-war era, the New Towns Act 1946 designated Crawley as the site of a new town . As part of the Local Government Act 1972 , the eastern and western divisions of Sussex were made into
6992-909: The same province; the Murchison Falls in Uganda; the Murchison River in Western Australia. Murchison has two other rivers named after him in Western Australia: the Roderick River and the Impey River , both tributaries of the Murchison. The town of Murchison in the Tasman Region of New Zealand's South Island was also named after him. Murchison Road is one of the streets in east London, and there
7084-591: The south. Later in the Neolithic period, the area of the South Downs above Worthing was one of Britain's largest and most important flint -mining centres. The flints were used to help fell trees for agriculture. The oldest of these mines, at Church Hill in Findon, has been carbon-dated to 4500 BC to 3750 BC, making it one of the earliest known mines in Britain. Flint tools from Cissbury have been found as far away as
7176-542: The territories including at Arundel, Bramber, Lewes, Pevensey and Hastings. Sussex's bishop, Æthelric II , was deposed and imprisoned and replaced with William the Conqueror's personal chaplain, Stigand . The Normans also built Chichester Cathedral and moved the seat of Sussex's bishopric from Selsey to Chichester. The Normans also founded new towns in Sussex, including New Shoreham (the centre of modern Shoreham-by-Sea), Battle, Arundel, Uckfield and Winchelsea. In 1264,
7268-602: The unofficial anthem of Sussex; it was composed by William Ward-Higgs in 1907, perhaps originally from the lyrics of Rudyard Kipling 's poem entitled Sussex . Adopted by the Royal Sussex Regiment and popularised in World War I , it is sung at celebrations across the county, including those at Lewes Bonfire , and at sports matches, including those of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club and Sussex County Cricket Club . The county day, called Sussex Day ,
7360-563: The unrest continued until 1832 and became known as the Swing Riots . During World War I , on 30 June 1916, the Royal Sussex Regiment took part in the Battle of the Boar's Head at Richebourg-l'Avoué . The day subsequently became known as The Day Sussex Died . Within five hours the 17 officers and 349 men were killed, and 1,000 men were wounded or taken prisoner. In 1918 the terms of
7452-652: Was able to journey through the county after the Battle of Worcester in 1651 to make his escape to France from the port of Shoreham. In 1681 Charles II granted William Penn lands in what became Pennsylvania and Delaware . Amongst those whom he carried to North America as colonists were 200 people from Sussex, mostly Quakers, who founded settlements named after places in Sussex including Lewes and Seaford in Sussex County , Delaware and Horsham Township and Chichester in Pennsylvania. The Sussex coast
7544-542: Was about 1.7 million. In 2021, Sussex had a population density of 451 per km , higher than the average for England of 434 per km . The decline of the Sussex ironworks probably accounts for the small increase in population during several centuries, although after the Massacre of St Bartholomew upwards of 1,500 Huguenots landed at Rye, and in 1685, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes , many more refugees were added to
7636-415: Was defeated and Harold was killed. It is likely that all the fighting men of Sussex were at the battle, as the county's thegns were decimated and any that survived had their lands confiscated. William built Battle Abbey at the site of the battle, with the exact spot where Harold fell marked by the high altar. Sussex experienced some of the greatest changes of any English county under the Normans, for it
7728-725: Was devoted to the affairs of the Royal Geographical Society , of which he was in 1830 one of the founders, and he was president 1843–1845, 1851–1853, 1856–1859 and 1862–1871. He served on the Royal Commission on the British Museum (1847–1849). Murchison also announced the Permian system to geology in 1841, based on explorations in Perm Krai undertaken with Édouard de Verneuil. Murchison
7820-410: Was greatly modified by the social movement of sea bathing for health which became fashionable among the wealthy in the second half of the 18th century. Resorts developed all along the coast, including at Brighton, Hastings, Worthing, and Bognor. Poverty increased and by 1801 Sussex had the highest poor law rates in England, with 23 per cent of its population (37,000 people out of 160,000) living on
7912-616: Was hardly a foreign scientific society of note without his name among its honorary members. The French Academy of Sciences awarded him the prix Cuvier, and elected him one of its eight foreign members in succession to Michael Faraday . In 1855 he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and in 1871 awarded the Founders' Medal of the Royal Geographical Society. One of
8004-430: Was not valid. Murchison, in contrast, claimed that De La Beche had not placed the fossils correctly, as they were occurring quite near the top of the stratum as opposed to deep within it. De La Beche soon agreed with Murchison's argument as to the placing of fossils but maintained that since a layer of Old Red Sandstone , present in other formations, was missing between the layer of older rock and this new formation, there
8096-680: Was present at the actions of Roliça and Vimeiro in the Peninsular War as an ensign in the 36th Regt of Foot . Subsequently, under Sir John Moore , he took part in the retreat to Corunna and the final battle there. After eight years of service Murchison left the army and married Charlotte Hugonin (1788–1869), the only daughter of General Hugonin of Nursted House, Hampshire. Murchison and his wife spent two years in mainland Europe, particularly in Italy. They then settled in Barnard Castle , County Durham, England, in 1818, where Murchison made
8188-577: Was responsible for establishing much of the international prestige of British geology, and he viewed the spread of his stratigraphic systems on maps around the world "as a scientific form of imperial expansion". He frequently described geological excursions (such those he made abroad) as "invasions" or "conquests" and enjoyed being dubbed the "King of Siluria". According to the scholar Robert A. Stafford, "Murchinson's tendencies towards militarism , imperialism , and megalomania ran through his career and finally found full expression his simultaneous leadership of
8280-534: Was still 10 to 25 per cent lower than it had been in 1066. It was also during the Norman period that Sussex achieved its greatest importance in comparison with other English counties. Sussex was on the main route between England and Normandy , and the lands of the Anglo-Norman nobility in what is now western France. The growth in Sussex's population, the importance of its ports and the increased colonisation of
8372-464: Was still insufficient evidence to suggest the formation was not part of the older Silurian strata. There followed much debate and some extensive investigations which ranged as far as Russia, where in 1840 Murchison discovered a layer similar to the one found in Devon placed between well-defined Silurian and Carboniferous deposits. This discovery put an end to the controversy and led to the definition of
8464-434: Was the heartland of King Harold and was potentially vulnerable to further invasion. In the immediate aftermath of the Normans' landing at Pevensey and the Battle of Hastings and to put an end to any rebellion, the Norman army destroyed estates and other assets on their route through Sussex, leading to a 40 per cent reduction in Sussex's wealth, a situation worse than any other southern or midland county. By 1086 wealth in Sussex
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