Bibliography - History: All periods - county wide
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A Compleat History of Sussex, by Thomas Cox, published 1730 in Magna Britannia et Hibernia (vol. 5, article, pp.463-580) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

A Topographical and Historical Description of The County of Sussex, by Frederick Shoberl, published c.1813 (208 pp., London: Sherwood, Neely and Jones) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

The History and Topography of Sussex: with Biographical Sketches and a Map of the County, by William Pinnock, published 1820 (68 pp., London: G. Whittaker) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

History of the Counties of Surrey and Sussex, illustrated by a series of views engraved on steel from original drawings by Nathaniel Whittock, by Thomas Allen, published 1829 (2 volumes, London: I. T. Hinton) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10554] & British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Sussex: Being an Historical, Topographical, and General Description of every Rape, Hundred, River, Town, Borough, Parish, Village, Hamlet, Castle, Monastery, and Gentleman's Seat in that County, by Mark Antony Lower, published 1831 (268 pp., Lewes: R. W. Lower) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The History, Antiquities and Topography of the County of Sussex, by Thomas Walker Horsfield, published 1835 (volume 1, Lewes: J. Baxter) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2396][Lib 3211] & The Keep [LIB/507380][Lib/500087] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The History, Antiquities and Topography of the County of Sussex, by Thomas Walker Horsfield, published 1835 (volume 2, Lewes: J. Baxter) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2397][Lib 3212] & The Keep [LIB/507381][Lib/500088] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Observations on the Landing of William the Conqueror, and subsequent Events, by Mark Antony Lower, published 1849 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 2, article, pp.53-57) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2087] & The Keep [LIB/500221] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Historical and Archaeological Notices of the Iron Works of the County of Sussex, by Mark Antony Lower, published 1849 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 2, article, pp.169-246) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2087] & The Keep [LIB/500221] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Supplementary Notices of the Iron-Works of the County of Sussex, by Mark Antony Lower, published 1850 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 3, article, pp.240-248) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2088] & The Keep [LIB/500222] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Miscellaneous Antiquities discovered in, and relating to, the County of Sussex, by Mark Antony Lower, published 1852 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 5, article, pp.198-206) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2090] & The Keep [LIB/500224] & S.A.S. library   View Online

Participation of Sussex in Cade's Rising, 1450, by W. D. Cooper, F.S.A., published 1866 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 18, article, pp.17-36) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2103] & The Keep [LIB/500237] & S.A.S. library   View Online

A Compendious History of Sussex, Topographical, Archaeological & Anecdotal. Vol I, by Mark Antony Lower, M.A., published 1870 (Lewes: George P. Bacon) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8946][Lib 3314] & The Keep [LIB/500159] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries   View Online

A Compendious History of Sussex, Topographical, Archaeological & Anecdotal. Vol II, by Mark Antony Lower, M.A., published 1870 (Lewes: George P. Bacon) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8946][Lib 3315] & The Keep [LIB/500158] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries   View Online

A History of the Castles, Mansions, and Manors of Western Sussex, with original illustrations by Messrs. Thomas Batterbury and William Penstone, architects, by Dudley George Cary Elwes, F.S.A. and Rev. Charles John Robinson, M.A., published 1876 (London: Longmans & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 193][Lib 3236] & R.I.B.A. Library & West Sussex Libraries   View Online

The Early History of Sussex, by E. A. Freeman, D.C.L., LL.D., published 1883 in The Archaeological Journal (vol. 40, article, pp.335-367)   View Online

Sussex, by Augustus Hare, published 1894 (London: George Allen) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500145] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries   View Online

The Gentleman's Magazine Library: being a classified collection of the chief contents of the Gentleman's Magazine from 1731 to 1868. English Topography, Part XII. Surrey - Sussex, by George Laurence Gomme, F.S.A., published 1900 (London: Elliot Stock) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2054] & West Sussex Libraries   View Online

Highways and Byways in Sussex, by E. V. Lucas with illustrations by Frederick L. Griggs, published 1904 (xx + 444 pp., London: Macmillan & Co.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 41][Lib 12792][Lib 15825] & The Keep [LIB/500142] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries   View Online

The Victoria History of the County of Sussex, edited by William Page, F.S.A., published 1905 (vol. 1: Natural History, Geology, pre-medieval Archaeology, the Domesday survey, and Political History, xxi + 554 pp. (facsimile edition published 1973), London: Victoria County History, ISBN-10: 0712905855 & ISBN-13: 9780712905855) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2398] & The Keep [LIB/500089] & R.I.B.A. Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries   View Online

Highways and Byways in Sussex, by E. V. Lucas with illustrations by Frederick L. Griggs, published 1907 (1st edition reissued, London: Macmillan & Co.) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

The Victoria History of the County of Sussex, edited by William Page, F.S.A., published 1907 (vol. 2: Ecclesiastical, Maritime, Social and Economic History, Population 1801-1901, Industries, Agriculture, Forestry, Architecture, Schools and Sport, xv + 481 pp. (facsimile edition published 1973), London: Victoria County History, ISBN-10: 0712905863 & ISBN-13: 9780712905862) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2399][Lib 9097] & The Keep [LIB/500090][Lib/504899] & R.I.B.A. Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries   View Online

Sussex in Bygone Days, by Nathaniel Paine Blaker, published 1919 (xvi + 199 pp., Hove: Combridges) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502114] & British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

The Story of Sussex, illustrated by George Fossick, by W. Victor Cook, published 1920 (Hove: Combridges) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 653][Lib 12292] & West Sussex Libraries

The Historical Geography of the Wealden Iron Industry, by Mary Cecilia Delany, published 1921 (London: Benn Brothers Ltd.) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/502338] & West Sussex Libraries

Camden's Sussex, by Leonard Selden, published 1927 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. I no. 12, article, pp.511-513) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2303][Lib 8326] & The Keep [LIB/500137]

Prehistoric Sussex, by Eliot Cecil Curwen, published 1929 (London: The London: Homeland Association) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8948] & The Keep [LIB/506724] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Among those who in recent years have studied our Sussex earthworks, none have been more assiduous and successful than the Drs. Curwen, father and son, and now Dr. E. Cecil Curwen in this book, dedicated with filial affection to his father, has brought together the results of their work - correlated with that of others in the same field - in a connected survey of prehistoric times. It is an excellent piece of work, thorough and exact, but not too technical for the general reader, and the author's efforts to recall something of the life and manners of the people give a human interest to the story. Dr. Curwen's style is pleasant - but his occasional gibes at immemorial practices of the Church are apt to offend.
After a general description of the geographical features of the Downland area, with which the book mainly deals, we have an interesting chapter on Neolithic Flint Mines, giving evidence of an organised industry for the production of flint implements as early as 2000 B.C. Passing then to " Burial Mounds " the author mentions the eight Long Barrows (the only examples so far recognised in Sussex), associated with the Neolithic period. Reference to the more numerous Round Barrows of the Bronze Age and later periods leads to a summary of Mr. Allcroft's conclusions in regard to the continuity of idea between barrows and the churchyards of more modern days, as fully described in his "The Circle and the Cross." A chapter on Hill Forts deals with such well-known camps as the Caburn, Cissbury and the Trundle near Goodwood and White Hawk, Brighton. A valuable feature is the list, at the end of each chapter, of examples of the particular kind of earthwork dealt with, arranged according to districts, which show the wealth of material in the County.
We are not sure that Dr. Curwen is on quite such safe ground when he leaves the earthworks of the Downs - where he is unassailable - and comes to consider the lesser roads in the lowlands and their relation to medieval manors. It is questionable whether sufficient weight is given to the possibility of the lay out of Roman roads having influenced the site and arrangements of the Saxon manors, and the need for roads in medieval times seems to be unduly minimised. Although Dr. Curwen uses the term "The Weald" in a wider sense than usual, surely it must be an error to describe the "covered way" on Willingdon Hill (p.123) as leading into the Weald.
The clear instructions in the concluding chapter on the Detection and Mapping of Earthworks should be of great use to those - and there ought to be many - who after reading this book are inclined to pursue the fascinating study of Field Archaeology. The book is well illustrated by drawings and air-photographs, there is a good index, and the printing and general get up are a credit to all concerned.

Sussex - The Borzoi County Histories, by John H. Ford, published 1929 (London: Alfred A. Knopf) accessible at: & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Sussex, by Samuel Edward Winbolt, M.A., & Edgar and Winifred Ward, published 1929 (Bell's Pocket Guides) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/500125]

This is an attractive handbook, well-written and with delightful illustrations. An introduction deals with the county as a whole in various aspects, including a useful survey of its historical associations. The detailed descriptions of the places are terse, and clear directions as to routes are given. Notwithstanding the warning that the book does not pretend to be a complete guide to the county, one cannot but regret some of the omissions. The local pronunciation of the place-names is a useful feature, but in some cases there is room for difference of opinion. To take the example of Berwick (E. Sussex), Mr. Winbolt says it is not to be pronounced Berrick. But that is just the form (less one " r," Berick) that appears on an estate plan dated 1647. Which is the more likely to give the true Sussex vernacular, the 17th century or the 20th?

The Landing of Duke William, by Edward Shoosmith, published 1930 in Sussex County Magazine (vol. IV no. 9, article, pp.768-770) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 2308][Lib 2309] & The Keep [LIB/500173]

Highways and Byways in Sussex, by E. V. Lucas with illustrations by Frederick L. Griggs, published 1935 (2nd edition, London: Macmillan & Co.) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

The County of Sussex, by Hilaire Belloc, published 1936 (x + 214 pp., London: Cassell & Co.) accessible at: British Library

Early Sussex Charters and Documents (in the possession of Messrs. Raper & Co., Chichester), by Miss K. M. E. Murray [corrected SNQ viii p.64], published February 1940 in Sussex Notes & Queries (vol. VIII no. 1, article, pp.13-15) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 8865][Lib 2207] & The Keep [LIB/500210] & S.A.S. library

Sussex, by Clifford Musgrave, published 1957 (London: Thames and Hudson) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

A History of Sussex, by J. R. Armstrong, published 1961 (London: Darwen Finlayson Ltd.) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 77] & British Library & West Sussex Libraries

Of the making of books about Sussex there is no end. Here is another scissors-and-paste compilation in which the scissors of selection and the paste of style are competently wielded; though it is odd that there is little reference to the town and none at all to the Battle of Lewes. Each of the 19 chapters has a too scrappy note on "Further reading": in that for the Norman period, the Facsimile of Domesday should be attributed to the Archaeological, not the Record, Society, and the germane volume of V.C.H. is vol. 1, not vol. 3. The later chapters are better than the earlier, which contain some careless blunders; thus, the mint at Pevensey does not go back to the tenth century, St. Richard died in 1253 not 1248, and he was buried at Chichester and not at Dover; and one would like to know the evidence for Battle Abbey being "one of the most popular centres of pilgrimage in the whole country". The numerous illustrations are well chosen and excellently produced, and there is a useful series of diagrammatic maps.

Sussex, by Barbara Willard, published 1965 (208 pp., London: B. T. Batsford, ISBN-10: 0713400609 & ISBN-13: 9780713400601) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 12872] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Of making books about Sussex there is no end. This volume, written in a rather breathless style, aims largely at enabling motorists to discover the less known villages and churches in the county. One would like to know the authority for such statements as that Bosham was a centre of Christianity 'well over 200 years before Augustine landed on the coast of Kent' (p. 30), or that Edward VI was born at Halnaker (p. 32). But one has ceased to hope for accuracy in these popular books. As the author has an interest, almost amounting to an obsession, in monuments and epitaphs, it is odd that when writing of Arundel she says not a word of the FitzAlan chapel and its magnificent tombs. It is also odd that Miss Willard, a member of the Archaeological Society, when dealing with Lewes omits all mention of Barbican House and dismisses Anne of Cleves as 'a timbered house holding a small museum.' As might be expected of a Batsford book, the illustrations are well chosen and excellently reproduced.

The History of a Parish or Locality, by Judith A. Brent, published 1970 (handbook, 16 pp., East Sussex Record Office) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

"The purpose of this publication is to familiarize those starting research on the history of their locality or parish with the printed and documentary sources likely to be most valuable to them." So are the opening words of the Introduction. This aim is well achieved; the various sources are set out under numerous headings and information given as to where unprinted documents can be seen or referred to. Every Local Historian in Sussex should obtain a copy and make full use of it.

South-East England, by Ronald Jessup, F.S.A., published 1970 (Thomas & Hudson) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries

This is a very useful and readable account of the early inhabitants of South-East England down to the end of the Roman period. It is especially strong in the detail of the pre-Roman people as exemplified by their habitation sites that have been examined, notably but not entirely on the South Downs. Indeed a more accurately descriptive title would be "The Early Peoples of South-east England."
The book opens with a good summary of the topography and follows this with six chapters (135 pages) on the prehistoric phases, closing with a 40-page chapter on the Roman period. All these are well illustrated with 59 excellently clear line drawings and plans, mostly placed exactly where the reader needs them (so rare nowadays). There are also many good plates, 75 in all, grouped together at the end and followed by the relevant captions and notes which involves some page turning but is reasonably convenient. Lists of sites to visit, museums in the region, and a bibliography for each chapter complete the book.

The Sussex Landscape, by Peter Brandon, published 1974 (288 pp., Hodder and Stoughton, ISBN-10: 0340165170 & ISBN-13: 9780340165171) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 3642] & The Keep [LIB/500127] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

A History of Sussex, by J. R. Armstrong, published 30 April 1974 (3rd revised and enlarged edition, 176 pp., Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., ISBN-10: 0850331854 & ISBN-13: 9780850331851) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 5695] & British Library & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Camden's Britannia: Surrey and Sussex, by William Camden and edited by Gordon J. Copley, published 1 May 1977 (80 pp., London: Hutchinson, ISBN-10: 0091220009 & ISBN-13: 9780091220006) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 6425] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

William Camden's "Britannia" (1610) was the first great text describing the British nation, its antiquities and culture. The work by Camden (1551-1623), often dubbed as the "father" of British history, deploys sophisticated historical material in the fashion of a geographical chorography. Organized by a set of country descriptions arranged according to the tribes of the Saxon Heptarchy, the work provided the benchmark by which later chorographers defined themselves. Originally published in Latin in 1586, this reprinting of Camden's epic geographical work is of the rare, revised, amended and enlarged English translation by the "translator general" Philimon Holland. Lavishly illustrated and revised six times over 20 years, Britannia is a product of European humanism, and remains an indispensable work on history, geography and national identity from the age of Elizabeth to the end of the Georgian era. Of great relevance to historians, geographers and critics "Britannia" was, is and remains an intricate fusion of geography and history.

The state of local history: 1 Sussex, by John H. Farrant, published May 1977 in The Local Historian (vol. 12, no. 6, article, pp.267-272)   View Online

General review of the present (1977) state of local history in the county of Sussex, which covers the following major aspects: i) the record offices and local studies libraries; ii) bibliographies; iii) museums; iv) Sussex Archaeological Society and its annually-published Collections; v) the lack of a clear focal point for the promotion of scholarly research, and the failure of the University of Sussex to develop any role in this field; vi) adult education in the county; vii) specialist organisations; viii) local history societies and the possibility of a county federation; ix) the work and publications of the Sussex Record Society; and x) possible ways of developing the work of local historians in Sussex and the creation of a better framework for their activities.

The South Saxons, edited by Peter Brandon, published 1 January 1978 (288 pp., Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., ISBN-10: 0850332400 & ISBN-13: 9780850332407) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/501557] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

A Short History of Sussex, by John Lowerson, published 1980 (214 pp. & 8 maps, Folkestone: Dawson Publishing, ISBN-10: 0712909486 & ISBN-13: 9780712909488) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 7405] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

A Brief History of Hastings, by J. F. C. Powis, published 1981 (12 pp. & 5 illustrations, East Sussex County Library)

Settlement, economy, ceremony and territorial organization in Sussex : 4th - 2nd Millennium B.C. , by Peter Ladson Drewett, 1985 at U.C.L., University of London (Ph.D. thesis)

The County of Sussex in 1910. Sources for a New Analysis, by Brian Short, Mick Reed and William Caudwell, published 1987 in Sussex Archæological Collections (vol. 125, article, pp.199-224) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9994] & The Keep [LIB/500304] & S.A.S. library

The South East from 1000 AD, by Peter Brandon and Professor Brian Short, published 16 July 1990 (444 pp., London: Addison-Wesley Longman Ltd., ISBN-10: 0582492459 & ISBN-13: 9780582492455) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

A volume dealing with the regional and local history of South East England, this covers the landcape and society of the modern counties of Surrey, Kent, East and West Sussex and Greater London, south of the Thames from late Anglo-Saxon times to the present. The authors have tried to show the diversity that can be found within the region as well as common characteristics which illustrate the local peculiarities of the area. The works in the series offer a synthesis of both historical and archaeological work in local areas. Each region is covered in two linked but independent volumes, the first covering the period up to AD 1000 and necessarily relying on archaeological data, and the second bringing the story up to modern times. It aims to portray life as it was experienced by the majority of people of South Britain or England as it was to become. The authors look at the major historical events which have an impact on the reagion - wars, plagues, technological changes and socio-cultural trends amongst them - but they also stress the underlying continuity of rural and urban life.

Cobbett at Cowdray, published October 1992 in Midhurst Magazine (Volume 5 Number 1, article, pp.35-37, Autumn 1992) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15968]

Extract from Cobbett's Rural Rides Volume 2 dated 1825. Relates to Cobbett's impressions of his visit to Cowdray in November of that year.

A little bit of Hampshire in Sussex, by John Stringer, published April 1995 in Midhurst Magazine (Volume 7 Number 3, article, pp.19-22, Spring 1995) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15968]

Theories as to how Ambersham became part of the Hampshire Parish of Steep, until finally detached in 1916. Extracts from an article by W H Whiteman.

A History of Sussex, by J. R. Armstrong, published 10 November 1995 (4th revised edition, 168 pp., Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., ISBN-10: 0850339464 & ISBN-13: 9780850339468) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 13096] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

Sussex has become synonymous with its first inhabitant, 'Boxgrove Man', but it was fashioned by the Romans, invaded by the Saxons, and became a strategic defence. It achieved its greatest importance with the Normans who made it the main highway from England to the Continent.

Sick of the Mulygrubes, by E V Lucas, published July 1997 in Midhurst Magazine (Volume 9 Number 4, article, pp.23-24, Summer 1997) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15969]

Extract from book on the history of West Harting parish, published in 1877 by the Rector, H D Gordon. Contains gossipy items about, for example, Lady Mary Caryll and Gilbert White! From Highways and Byways of Sussex by E V Lucas.

A Very Private House, by F J-D [Mrs D.V.F Johnson-Davies], published October 1997 in Midhurst Magazine (Volume 10 Number 1, article, pp.8-17, Autumn 1997) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15969]

A history of Woolbeding House, with photos and information concerning the prominent citizens who owned and visited the House.

St Mary's and other Spitels, by Thea Valentine, published December 1997 in Midhurst Magazine (Volume 10 Number 2, article, pp.31-34, Winter 1997) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15969]

Brief history of the founding of the medieval hospitals, with reference to St Mary's in Chichester (founded 1172) and Christ's Hospital, Horsham, founded in the mid 1500s.

Selsey was an Island, by Mary Habberfield, published July 1998 in Midhurst Magazine (Volume 10 Number 4, article, pp.34-38, Summer 1998) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15969]

Brief summary of the history of Selsey. Includes a 1913 advertisement promoting Colin Pullinger, 'Contractor, Inventor, Fisherman and Mechanic' and inventor of 'A Curious Mouse Trap'! Also, other intriguing advertisements of the same date.

Amberley Castle, by Thea Valentine, published April 2000 in Midhurst Magazine (Volume 12 Number 3, article, pp.24-26, Spring 2000) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 15969]

A short history of Amberley Castle

Sussex, by Peter Brandon, published 2006 (480 pp., Robert Hale, ISBN-10: 0709069987 & ISBN-13: 9780709069980) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

With an entertaining and highly detailed narrative Peter Brandon takes us on a tour of Sussex's market towns, hills, castles, seaside resorts, gardens and churches, from Brighton to Ashdown Forest, and from Gatwick Airport to the Ouse. Every feature of the county is covered. Sussex has often been featured in art and literature over the centuries, not to mention in the chronicles of history, and to this day it remains a centre of national cultural significance. With its exquisite natural beauty, varied landscapes, local traditions, international transport systems, diverse communities, and strong links with the worlds of education and music, Sussex is still one of the most interesting and important counties in Britain. Dr Brandon's erudition and his infectious enthusiasm for his native home make Sussex a fascinating read for anyone interested not only in the county but in English history.

The Shaping of the Sussex Landscape, by Peter Brandon, published 16 December 2009 (96 pp., Snake River Press Ltd., ISBN-10: 190602216X & ISBN-13: 9781906022167) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

How did Sussex get to look like what it looks like today? What does its distinctive landscape tell us about how people lived and worked here in the past? What impact have invasion, technology, war and, most importantly, sheep made on it? Find out how today's landscape is the joint and ongoing creation of nature's long, slow relentless shift and humanity's incessant bodging and fidgeting with its environment. To the untrained eye, the rolling Sussex landscape looks like a natural phenomenon that has been in place for millennia. But as this fascinating guide shows, what we see today is the result of centuries of human activity and interference. Did you know, for example, that Sussex was once the heart of the iron industry? The clues are in the hammer ponds, found in what are now idyllic backwater villages and bosky woodland. These were once Sussex's version of Blake's satanic mills. "The Shaping of the Sussex Landscape" will help train your historic eye to pierce through the layers of time, changing custom and technology, to discover the different ways the land has been used and really appreciate and understand the ingenious ways the landscape has been shaped and continues to be shaped to new needs and attitudes.

Social Relations in Later Prehistory: Wessex in the First Millennium BC, by Niall Sharples, published 25 June 2010 (392 pp., Oxford University Press, ISBN-10: 0199577714 & ISBN-13: 9780199577712)

In this fully illustrated study, Niall Sharples examine the complex social relationships of the Wessex region of southern England in the first millennium BC. He considers the nature of the landscape and manner of its organization, the methods that bring people together into large communities, the role of the individual, and how the region relates to other regions of Britain and Europe. These thematic concerns cover a detailed analysis of the significance of hillforts, the development of coinage and other exchange processes, the character of houses, and the nature of burial practices. Sharples offers an exciting new picture of a period and a region which has considerable importance for British archaeology, and he also provides all archaeologists interested in prehistory with a model of how later prehistoric society can be interpreted.

What relevance has this book on Wessex for Sussex? A little and a lot I think. The former because the book encompasses the far west of Sussex - Chichester and the coastal plain; the latter because it provides a source of ideas with which to rethink aspects of the last millennium BC in our county. Four chapters deal with major themes - the landscape, gifts and exchange, the house and finally the burial record, and this reader found new insights into all of them. An interesting interpretation of hillforts, for example, sees them as competing communal centres in regions populated by many small, antagonistic communities.
. . .
Sussex readers will find reference to some well known sites as Blackpatch, Itford Hill, The Trundle and the Chichester Dykes. Some minor points of disagreement. The author maintains that the siting of the hillfort at The Trundle was not linked in some way to the earlier Neolithic causewayed-camp (page 25); I think it was. And Middle Iron Age multiple-roundhouse settlements at Chalkpit Lane and Westhampnett suggest quite a dense Iron Age occupation of the West Sussex Coastal Plain (pace Sharples page 81). Much of the author's inspiration is derived from extensive reading of ethnography and social anthropology - which makes the archaeological interpretation so much richer.

The Discovery of Sussex, by Peter Brandon, published 28 July 2010 (288 pp., Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., ISBN-10: 1860776167 & ISBN-13: 9781860776168) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

There is a greater difference between life in Sussex today and life one hundred years ago than there was between the times of our great-grandparents and of Queen Elizabeth, for in 1900 Sussex away from the seaside resorts had more in common with the Sussex of 1700 than today's county. Horse power still set the pace of life and thistledown floated up from the spacious sheepwalks in high summer. Hazel and chestnut coppice was still cut regularly, men had not left off singing, and the bell-teams of wagon horses on the road were familiar sounds in what was called 'sleepy, snoozy, Sussex'. This book examines the social, cultural and environmental changes which went into the making of modern Sussex from the end of the 18th century, particularly those that resulted from the invasion of wideeyed Londoners as tourists and health-seekers, writers and artists, weekenders or permanent residents, in the half-century up to 1939. Those in favour of innovation and progress, who wanted to let things run their course, gave their active or tacit support to change, but there were others who abhorred the modern age and tried angrily to reverse the process. There were also those who fought on behalf of the countryside and resisted urbanisation by means of landscape protection, thus saving much of the county from bricks and mortar. Sussex became a foil to the metropolis on its doorstep, functioning as a re-discovered Eden in the guise of an undeclared national park, with values and lifestyles at variance with those of the capital city. The remarkable efflorescence of painting, writing, arts and crafts, domestic architecture, and landscape design and planning was deeply affected by the nostalgia for the countryside which accompanied the rapid and largely unplanned metropolitan growth. Writers and promoters of tourism created a rural ideology designed to meet the strains and stresses of the new urban mode of existence.

What more could Peter Brandon possibly have to say about Sussex? In a seemingly constant stream of publications, beginning for most of us with his The Sussex Landscape in 1974, he has been at the forefront of British academic regional writers, inviting us to think of the interplay between landscape history, artistic creativity and conservation.
There is, however, one important difference from his earlier publications. The latter offered long-term narratives relating to particular places: the South Downs, the Weald, or the historic county of Sussex. But this latest volume is thematic. It examines the social, cultural and environmental changes within Sussex from the end of the 18th century through to 1939 - covering roughly 150 years of 'discovery'. Much is linked to the influx of Londoners to Sussex and their impact on a county which otherwise seemed more resistant to metropolitan influence than other counties equidistant from the capital. There were many who encouraged and initiated change, but also many who abhorred modernity in its many guises. Rapid urbanisation precipitated its own counter-culture, and Sussex saw a remarkable flowering of painting, writing, arts and crafts design, vernacular architecture and landscape design, all charted carefully through this volume. Chapter 19 on Eric Gill and the artistic communities of Ditchling is a particularly delightful and knowledgeable example of these trends. We also hear of the radical poet Charlotte Smith, ensconced in the district around Bignor Park in the late 18th century, writing of class warfare and moral degradation, and criticising the 'polluted, smoky atmosphere and dark and stuffy streets' of London and yearning for her South Downs. And other personalities loom large in the book: Belloc and Kipling make repeated appearances, and if Brandon characterises Belloc's The Four Men (1912) as "the most passionate book on Sussex" (p.217), one could summon up a decent argument for making The Discovery of Sussex a close second!
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This book is well written, an erudite, lively and utterly readable account, even joyous on occasion, helped by 41 plates and 157 blackand-white illustrations. There are some minor bibliographic issues, but overall the excellent partnership with Phillimore has produced another Brandon classic.