West Sussex is a
county in the south of
England, bordering onto
East Sussex (with
Brighton and Hove),
Hampshire and
Surrey. The county of
Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate
county councils in 1888, but it remained a single
ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming into force of the
Local Government Act 1972. Also at this time the
Mid Sussex region (including
Haywards Heath,
Burgess Hill and
East Grinstead) was transferred from East Sussex.
West Sussex is a diverse county; it is well known for its
stately homes and
castles such as
Arundel Castle and
Bramber Castle. Over half the county is protected countryside, offering popular walking and cycling ground for visitors and residents alike .
Chichester is the
county town of West Sussex, and the highest point of the county is
Black Down, at 280m/919 ft ().
Settlements
Chichester Market Cross
Most settlements in West Sussex are either along the south coast or are situated in the
M23 corridor.
Crawley and
Worthing are the largest settlements in the county, with populations of approximately 100,000 inhabitants each. Next in size order comes
Bognor Regis, on the south coast, followed by the market town of
Horsham. Chichester, the county town, boasts a
cathedral and
city status, and is situated not far from the border with
Hampshire. Other towns in alphabetical order are
Burgess Hill,
East Grinstead and
Haywards Heath in the
Mid Sussex district, and
Littlehampton in the
Arun district.
Other settlements include the towns of
Arundel and
Shoreham-by-Sea, and the smaller settlements of
Billingshurst,
Copthorne,
Crawley Down,
Cuckfield,
Henfield,
Hassocks,
Hurstpierpoint,
Lancing,
Lindfield,
Midhurst,
Petworth,
Pulborough,
Rustington,
Southwater,
Southwick,
Steyning and
Storrington.
Communications and transport
The
M23/
A23/A24 runs through the east of the county from
Waterloo in
London all the way to
Brighton&
Worthing. Other major roads are the
A272 which runs east to west, and the
A27 which does the same but closer to the coast; the A272 going through the middle of the county. Along the majority of the coast can be found the
A259, which is often used as an alternate route to the A27.
Gatwick Airport, which handled over 32 million passengers in 2005, is located to the north of
Crawley, and is the second largest airport in the United Kingdom. There is also a considerably smaller local
airport at Shoreham. There are 3 main railway routes; the
Brighton Main Line, the
Arun Valley Line and the
West Coastway Line.
Local government
West Sussex County Council, based at County Hall Chichester, provides a large range of services including education, social services, fire and rescue, libraries, town and country planning, refuse disposal and consumer services. In addition, there are seven local government districts within the county of West Sussex:
Places of interest
Castles, houses and other buildings
- Christ's Hospital, an old public school notable for its archaic uniforms and picturesque campus.
- Hurstpierpoint College - a Public School, notable for its substantial Sussex flint buildings and large campus.
- Lancing College - a Public School, notable for its substantial Sussex sandstone chapel and large campus.
- Queen Victoria Hospital East Grinstead - Home of the McIndoe burns centre. Pioneered reconstructive surgery for burns patients during the Second World War.
- Cobnor House - Home to the Beale Family who were heavily involved with Chichester Harbour
Museums
right|thumb|Wakehurst Place Gardens, Ardingly.
- Tangmere Military Aviation Museum
Nature
Ancient history
Religious buildings
- Bosham Church - home church of Saxon royalty
See also :Category:Churches in West SussexThe arts
Other
History
Historic Coat of Arms, Replaced in 1975
.
Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of West Sussex at current basic prices (pp.240–253) by Office for National Statistics'' with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
The following are some of the companies based in West Sussex:
Education
West Sussex has a comprehensive education system, with 36 county-maintained secondary schools, one
Academy and over 20 independent senior schools. In addition, primary education is provided through a mix of around 240
infant,
junior,
primary,
first and
middle schools.
Politics
West Sussex County Council has 70
councillors; the majority of them being
Conservative. There are 47 Conservative councillors, 16
Liberal Democrats, and 7
Labour Party councillors.
As of the
2005 general election, West Sussex is largely represented by Conservative
MPs, with the exception of the Labour Party constituency of
Crawley, where Labour held the seat by just 37 votes. The Members of Parliament, their corresponding constituencies and the percentage of the vote they received are as follows:
- Bognor Regis - Nick Gibb, Conservative, 44.6%
See also
Image Gallery
