A Brief History of Sussex

Prehistoric Sussex.
With the retreat of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago nomadic hunters moved into England from Europe, walking across the England Channel and North Sea which were dry land at this time.  They moved around, not setting up permanent settlements but have left evidence of their existence behind mostly in the form of arrow heads and spear heads.  Notable sites in Sussex include Chithurst, West Heath and Selmeston.
As the ice caps melted the English Channel and North Sea filled up cutting Britain off from Europe and isolating the inhabitants.
The first invasion of England happened around 3000BC with the arrival of a highly socially organised, dark haired people from the Mediterranean who were very different from the nomadic hunters already settled in Sussex.  They built twelve hilltop settlements along with south coast, four of them in Sussex at Whitehawk near Brighton, on the Trundle near Chichester, Barkhale near Bignor and on Coombe Hill above Eastbourne.  There is evidence that the weather at this time was a little warmer and wetter than it is nowadays and this made the more exposed Downs a more attractive potential home. 
However the weather deteriorated with the arrival of the Bronze Age and the colder and drier climate made the forests of the Weald more attractive to occupants.  Because of this, evidence of the Bronze Age farmers can be found further north in Sussex illustrating the move from the now bleak and windswept Downs to the sheltered forests of the Weald.

Sussex in the Iron Age.
The Bronze Age peoples survived unchanged for over a thousand years but slowly the Celts from central Europe began to penetrate into England, it was not an invasion but a slow and steady migration developing from new trade opportunities leading to integration with the existing population.  There was also a change from the flint tools of the past eight thousand years and semi nomadic farming to iron tools and crop farming.
The Celts were a more war like race; England was split by different tribes each defending their land from their hill forts.  Those that survive in Sussex include Mount Caburn built around 100BC and Cissbury where the fortifications enclose a area of sixty acres. 
In 75BC the Belgae had also invaded England and now occupied what is now Essex, Hertfordshire and part of Kent and in 55BC Julius Caesar made incursions into the country.  These events did not initially directly affect Sussex however the residents began to the strengthen their Iron Age strongholds and these were soon needed as the Belgae, led by Commius, moved in and took over the Manhood Peninsula (the area from the Trundle near Chichester south to Selsey).  A Belgic settlement was established south of Chichester, evidence has been found for its existence including pottery, coins and jewellery but nothing remains of the site itself which has probably been washed away by the sea.  Earthworks were built to protect the incomers from the existing population.
By the start of the new millennium and before the final Roman invasion it would appear that Sussex west of Brighton was controlled by the Belgic ruler Cogidumnus, that north of Brighton were some thirty Iron Age farming settlements and past Pevensey the population was sparse except for the iron works around the Hastings area.  The Manhood Peninsula was the centre for trade, furs and skins being exchanged for fabrics and metals.

Roman Sussex
The Roman route into England was made easier because of existing trade routes and supporters within England including Cogidumnus, the Belgic ruler, who was an ally of Rome long before the invasion.  Initially it had not been to Rome’s benefit to invade England as it was thought the British paid more in customs and duties than they would in taxes under Roman occupation (Strabo Geography).  However by 40AD the political situation in England was unstable as the various tribes were battling for power; the Catuvellauni (a Celtic/Belgic tribe from the south east of England) had defeated the Trinovantes (a Celtic tribe based in the Essex/Suffolk area and were now making moves on the Atrebates – the Sussex Belgic tribe.
The Romans moved in, in 43AD, and the south of England which was already familiar with Roman ways quickly accepted the Roman way of life, the town of Niviomagus Reginorum (Chichester) was built taking advantage of a good location on Stane Street.  There was also a palace built at Fishbourne, south of Chichester and an amphitheatre was built in Chichester around 85AD.  Sussex is littered with Roman roads, the remains of Roman villas and other buildings suggesting that Sussex prospered under the Romans.  Noviomagus and Anderida (Pevensey) were important locations, Noviomagus (the name means new market) was a fortified town whilst Anderida was the main Roman garrison post of Sussex.

Saxon Sussex
The Roman reign lasted until early in the 5th century when the  entire Roman empire was threatened and troops were withdrawn but Britain was already suffering from raids by the Saxons.  This was also the start of the Dark Ages, the period of history which less is known about than those which preceded it.
It was thought that the had Saxons invaded in force and destroyed the native inhabitants but more recently DNA evidence has shown that a lot of Celtic or otherwise ancient influence remains in the modern British makeup.   So it is more likely that whilst some areas of Britain were taken by force the majority of the invasion was peaceful.  Britons were in disarray, politically and economically following the loss of the Romans and they may well have welcomed an organised and well-ordered invader to fill the vacuum.   Few Roman settlements have survived to become modern towns and villages as the period following the Roman withdrawal was very unruly and many people left the Roman towns or their villas and returned to more secure places such as the Iron Age forts.
The Saxons landed in Sussex in 477AD in the form of Aelle and his three sons; Cymen, Wlenking and Cissa (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles) and they began to develop the kingdom of the Suth Seaxe.  By 491AD they had control of Pevensey Castle but did not go beyond the estuary and marshes which separated the rest of modern Sussex.  This area was under the control of another group of Saxons – the Haestingas – about whom almost nothing is known.  They maintained an isolated and separate existence for over 200 years.  Aella is recognised as an important figure, he was the first Bretwalda (overlord) of the Saxon invaders but Sussex itself was more cut off from the rest of England than it had been at any other time in its history by the forest of Anderida (Ashdown Forest).
By the 7th century the way of life began to change as the open field system of farming was introduced.  Now families had to co-operate with each other to get the best out of the arrangement and so they began living close to each other and villages began to develop.  As many of the Sussex villages developed around this time their names have Saxon origins.  Sussex itself means ‘suth seaxe’ – South Saxon’s.

Sussex Converted
Other areas around Sussex were converted to Christianity some years before Sussex but the isolation of Sussex meant they were harder to reach.  It was not until St Wilfrid landed near Selsey in 681AD that the conversion of the Sussex to Christianity began.  St Wilfrid was very influential in the early Church eventually becaming the Bishop of York; during his lifetime he made several visits to Rome and was ship wrecked on the coast of Sussex.  The locals nearly killed him before he was able to escape and he returned later to convert the last pagan area of England to Christianity.
His return trip to Sussex landed in Selsey and it was here he made his base; Selsey was a much bigger area in those days - much of it has now been lost to the sea.  Back at the end of the 7th century it was one of the most important places in Sussex.  Other towns began to grow in importance as well, Chichester which had been abandoned when the Romans left was reoccupied and developed as a Saxon town along with Pevensey, Steyning, Lewes and Hastings.  Development was halted in the 9th century as the settled and Christianised Saxons came under threat from Danish invaders.

Alfred the Great
The threat from the Danes united Sussex into the West Saxon monarchy forming almost a united England although some areas such as the West Country and the North were not yet part of it. 
Alfred was the king of the southern Anglo Saxon kingdom of Wessex (Sussex and the south east of England) and was given the epithet ‘the Great’ following his defense of the kingdom against the Danish Vikings.  A number of forts in Sussex were important to Alfred’s defense including Hastings, Lewes, Burpham, Chichester and Heorepeburan (possibly Pevensey).  The locals of Chichester defended their town using the Roman walls killing many Vikings and putting the rest to flight.
With the Vikings defeated some security was restored for the next few years but the Vikings began their raids again damaging if not destroying villages along the Sussex coastline.  Many stone built churches date from this period – built after the Vikings burnt down the wooden churches that existed before.