A History of the County of Sussex, Index to Volumes I-IV, VII and IX

Six volumes of the Victoria County History of Sussex were published between 1905 and 1953 . Until now they have been without an index, apart from the Domesday index included in Volume I. The present volume is designed to make their contents far more readily accessible, directing the reader to the pages on which places, persons, and the principal subjects are mentioned. An essential key is thus at last provided to the general chapters in Volumes I and II, to the accounts of Romano-British Sussex and of the City of Chichester in Volume III, and to the histories of the towns and villages in the rapes of Chichester (Volume IV), Lewes (Volume VII), and Hastings (Volume IX). Each futurevolume will, like that on the southern part of Bramber rape (Volume VI, part 1) published in 1980, contain its own index.   hardback   ISBN 978-0-197-22766-4

Price:  £60.00

A History of the County of Sussex, Volume V Part I Arundel Rape (South-western part) including Arundel

Arundel Rape (South-western part) including Arundel   hardback   ISBN 978-0-197-22781-7

Price:  £75.00

A History of the County of Sussex, Volume VI Part I: Bramber Rape (Southern Part)

This volume describes the southern part of Bramber rape, the easternmost of the three rapes of West Sussex. It tells the history of 19 parishes lying along the coastal strip and over the South Downs. The rape takes its name from the castle at Bramber, which was the centre of the feudal honour and in whose shadow the de Braoses, the lords of the rape, planted a new town. Neighbouring Steyning, once one of the chief towns of the county, was a Saxon foundation with a college of secular canons and a port on the river Adur. The port gradually silted up and was replaced by that at New Shoreham, another Norman town planted in a corner of Old Shoreham parish. New Shoreham, once a major channel port and a centre for shipbuilding, has been much affected by changes in the coastline; the modern harbour lies in Kingston Bowsey and Southwick. The silting and reclamation of the Adur estuary has also changed the face of Lancing, where the college and chapel overlook the new ground. Sompting near by has one of the several noteworthy Romanesque churches is the area. The growth of Worthing was impeded in the 19th century by sanitary problems, but thetown is now the second largest in Sussex. It was also formerly renowned for its glasshouse produce. It has swallowed its parent parish of Broadwater and the parishes of Durrington, Heene, and West Tarring, the last named including two fine medieval secular buildings. The urban sprawl takes in part of Findon, scene of the annual sheep fair, which like Clapham and Patching to the west retains extensive downland. Washington, north of the downs is noted for market gardening and sand quarrying, while at Wiston was one of the most important country houses in Sussex. The tally of parishes is completed by the deserted villages of Botolphs and Coombes.   hardback   ISBN 978-0-197-22753-4

Price:  £60.00

A History of the County of Sussex, Volume VI Part II: Bramber Rape (North-Western Part) including Horsham

The volume gives the history of the ten parishes that form the north-western part of Bramber rape, from Sullington in the south to Warnharn in the north, lying mostly in the Weald. Horsham is the focus of the area, and its historyoccupies more than a third of the volume. It was a borough by 1235 and developed later as one of the chief towns of the county, hav-ing the county gaol from the 16th to the 19th century and being from 1889 to 1916 joint county town of West Sussex with Chichester. Horsham parish also contained an extensive rural area, and West Grin-stead and Shipley were other unusually large parishes. The land was heavily wooded in the Middle Ages and settlement was scattered; many settlements originated as outlying holdings of manors centred in the south end of the rape. Later, some settlements grew as ribbons along main roads, others around the edges of commons. From the mid 19th century there was an influx of wealthy residents: among the new- comers was Hilaire Belloc, and the large houses built or rebuilt included Warnham Court, seat of the Lucases, and Little Thakeham, designed by Lutyens. Humbler houses in considerable numbers were built at Ashington, Barns Green, Partridge Green, Sullington, and Thakeham, and Horsham more than trebled in size between 1891 and 1971. Agriculture was limited by the extensive woodland; open fields were few and small, and there were many parks and commons. To provide for London and the coastal towns stock raising and dairying came to predominate over arable from c.1850, and was accompanied by poultry farming and market gardening. The mainindustrial activities have been ironworking and brickmaking.   hardback   ISBN 978-0-197-22767-1

Price:  £60.00

A History of the County of Sussex, Volume VI Part III: Bramber Rape (North-Eastern Part) including Crawley New Town

The volume gives the history of the eleven parishes that form the north-eastern part of Bramber rape, from Upper Beeding in the south to Ifield in the north, together with that of Crawley new town, founded in 1947. The area lies mostly on Wealden sands and clays, where settlement was chiefly scattered. Many settlements originated as outlying holdings of manors centred in the south end of the rape; the parish of Beeding lay in two parts, Upper Beeding astride the scarp of the South Downs, and Lower Beeding eleven miles to the north. St. Leonard's Forest in Lower Beeding was roughly divided in the Middle Ages between woodland and heath; its present appearance is the result of 19th- and 20th -century afforestation and reclamation for agriculture, and settlement was later there than elsewhere. The 19th century saw a great influx of wealthy new residents, some of whom built large houses or laid out parks or gardens like those at Sedgewick Park or Leonardslee. In the mid 20th century the villages or hamlets of Upper Beeding, Hen-field, and Mannings Heath in Nuthurst have been much expanded. Crawley, part of whose built-up area lay in Ifield parish, was already a town by the later 19th century; of other places, only Henfield was larger than the average, offering some urban functions. There is little evidence of open-field agriculture except in the south; St. Leonard's Forest was largely used as rabbit warrens in the 17th and 18th centuries; and market gardening and fruit and flower growing were prominent, for instance around Albourne, in the 20th. Industrial activities before the foundationof Crawley new town included medieval saltworking in the Adur valley, ironworking, quarrying, and fishing, together with varied woodland industries, and cement manufacture at Upper Beeding.   hardback   ISBN 978-0-197-22768-8

Price:  £60.00

Sussex - Black's Guide 1909

A superb guide book to the county of Sussex. Visit all of the towns and villages and learn about their history and antiquities. The book contains many excellent illustrations.    

Price:  £9.79

The Victoria History of the County of Sussex, Volume I

Natural History, Archaeology, Domesday, Political History.   hardback   ISBN 978-0-712-90585-5

Price:  £60.00

The Victoria History of the County of Sussex, Volume II

Ecclesiastical History, religious Houses, Maritime, History, Social and Economic History, Industries, Agriculture, Endowed Schools, Sport.   hardback   ISBN 978-0-712-90586-2

Price:  £60.00

The Victoria History of the County of Sussex, Volume III

Romano-British Sussex, Chichester City.   hardback   ISBN 978-0-712-90587-9

Price:  £60.00

The Victoria History of the County of Sussex, Volume IV: The Rape of Chichester

Cichester rape, the western end of the county, including Midhurst and Bognor.   hardback   ISBN 978-0-712-90588-6

Price:  £60.00

The Victoria History of the County of Sussex, Volume IX: The Rape of Hastings

Hastings rape, the eastern end of the county, including Rye and Winchelsea.   hardback   ISBN 978-0-712-90590-9

Price:  £60.00

The Victoria History of the County of Sussex, Volume VII: The Rape of Lewes

Lewes rape, including Brighton and Cuckfield.   hardback   ISBN 978-0-712-90589-3

Price:  £60.00