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Andhun Of Sussex

Andhun of Sussex

Andhun was an Ealdorman of Sussex under King Æðelwealh, who was slain by the Wessex prince Caedwalla, when he invaded and ravaged the kingdom. Berhthun and Andhun succeeded in driving Caedwalla from Sussex. In 686 the South Saxons attacked Hlothhere, King of Kent, in support of his nephew Eadric, but soon afterwards Berhthun was killed and the kingdom subjugated for a time by Ceadwalla, who had now become King of Wessex.

Sussex

Sussex is a traditional county in south-eastern England, corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for administrative purposes into West Sussex and East Sussex and the city of Brighton and Hove. The latter was created a unitary authority in 1997; and was granted city status in 2000. Until then Chichester had been Sussex's only city. The divisisions of West Sussex and East Sussex were originally established in 1189, and had obtained separate administrations (Quarter Sessions) by the 16th century. This situation was recognised by the County of Sussex Act 1865. Under Local Government Act 1888 the two divisions were two administrative counties (along with three county boroughs): Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings). [http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/newsroom/CONNECTIONS_12%20.pdf] The appellation Sussex remained in use as a ceremonial county until 1974, when the Lord-Lieutenant of Sussex was replaced with one each for East and West Sussex. The whole of Sussex has had a single police force since 1968. Sussex still retains a strong local identity and the county's unofficial anthem is Sussex by the Sea. The county's motto, "We wun't be druv", reflects the strong-willed nature of its people in past centuries. Sussex's crest shows six martlets, each of which represents one of the six ancient rapes or sub-divisions of the county.

Geography

Relief

The physical geography of Sussex relies heavily on its lying on the southern part of the Wealden anticline. The major features of that is the high land which crosses the county in a west to east direction: the Weald itself, and the South Downs. The former consists of clays and sands; the latter chalk. Between those two ridges, mainly in West Sussex, lies the ‘’Vale of Sussex’’; at the eastern end of the county is the valley of the River Rother, which flows into what was a long sea inlet to reach the sea at Rye Bay.

The Weald

The Weald runs in an easterly direction from St Leonard’s Forest, south-west of Crawley; and continues to Ashdown Forest. Its eastern extremity is in two sections, divided by the River Rother valley. The northern arm reaches the sea at Folkestone; the southern at Fairlight Down east of Hastings, Within the Weald lies Sussex's highest point, the pine-clad Black Down, close to the Surrey border at 917 ft (280m). Another high point is in the part called Forest Ridges: a height of about 800 ft (240 m) is reached in the neighbourhood of Crowborough. The High Weald, as the main area is known, gets its name from ’’wilderness’’ or forest, and it remains the highest proportion of ancient woodlands in the country. Around 1660 the total area under forest as estimated to exceed 200,000 acres (800 km²), but much wood was cut to supply the furnaces of the ironworks which formed an important industry in the county down to the 17th century, which survived even until the early years of the 19th.

South Downs

The South Downs, start from a point near Petersfield in Hampshire . Entering Sussex, its summit is about 10 miles (16 km) from the sea. They run east for some 50 miles (80 km), gradually approaching the coast, and terminating in the bold promontory of Beachy Head near Eastbourne. The average height is about 500 ft (150 m), though Ditchling Beacon is 813 ft (248 m) (the third highest summit) and many other summits exceed 700 ft (210 m). Dry valleys are a feature of the Downs. One in particular, known as Devil's Dyke, north-west of Brighton, is a popular tourist and outdoor sports venue.

Vale of Sussex

The Vale of Sussex is the lower undulating land which came into being when the softer clays between the Weald and the Downs were worn away. Crossing the Vale are most of the rivers in Sussex: those rising on the slopes of the Weald and cutting through the Downs to reach the sea (see Drainage).

The coastal plain

This is a fertile narrow belt from Chichester to Brighton. Once noted for market gardening, it is now heavily built-up into a sprawling coastal conurbation. The beaches along the coast vary from sandy to shingle: that factor, together with the mild climate of the coast, sheltered by the hills from north and east winds, have resulted in the growth of numerous resort towns, of which the most popular are Brighton, Hastings, Eastbourne, Bexhill, Seaford, Shoreham, Worthing, Littlehampton and Bognor. See also: Sussex coast.

Marshland

There are several areas of low-lying marshland along the coast; from west to east these are:
- in the west of the county, south of Chichester , lying between Chichester Harbour and Pagham Harbour;
- beyond Beachy Head, the ‘’Pevensey Levels’’;
- beyond Hastings, the ‘’Pett Levels’’;
- beyond Rye, the ‘’Walland Marsh’’ part of Romney Marsh. All were originally bays; natural coastal deposition and man-made protective walls have given rise to alluvial deposition.

Drainage

The rivers wholly within the county are relatively short. All rise in the Weald (St Leonard’s Forest area) and, apart from the eastern River Rother, flow south to the English Channel, using gaps in the South Downs as they do so. The mouths of all have been affected by longshore drift, particularly during violent storms during the Middle Ages. From west to east they are:
- Arun, and its tributary the western River Rother (Western): source of Arun near Horsham ; entering the sea at Littlehampton
- Adur: source near Cuckfield; mouth near Shoreham-by-Sea
- Ouse: source near Lower Beeding; mouth at Newhaven
- Cuckmere: rising near Heathfield; mouth ‘’Cuckmere Haven’’.
- Eastern River Rother and its many tributaries including the Rivers Bewl (flowing through Bewl Water) and Tillingham: source, the Weald near Heathfield; it flows in an easterly direction and enters the sea at Rye Bay. A section known as the Kent Ditch forms the boundary between East Sussex and Kent.

Climate

South East England combines the highest average daytime temperatures found in the British Isles with the highest sunshine averages on the British mainland. Between 25-30 inches (635-760mm) of rain fall; and there can be high variation of temperature between day and night, resulting in bracing air. The climate of the coast district is strongly influenced by the sea, which because of its tendency to warm up slower than land, can result in cooler temperatures than inland. This is especially noticeable in the autumn months, by which time the coast had higher temperatures. Rainfall during the summer months is mainly from thunderstorms and thundery showers; from October to January the heavier rainfall is due to south-westerly frontal systems. the coast has consistently more sunshine the inland: sea breezes, blowing off the sea, clear any cloud from the coast. Further details of climatic conditions along the coast may be found [http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/weather/climlse.asp#temp here]
Industries

Agriculture
Sussex has retained much of its rural nature: apart from the coastal strip, there it has few large towns. Although in 1841 over 40% of the population were employed in agriculture (including fishing{

Aethelwalh of Sussex

Aethelwalh, or, more correctly, Æðelwealh, was the first historic King of Sussex. In 661, King Wulfhere of Mercia handed him the territories of the Meonware and the Isle of Wight, and sponsored his conversion to Christianity, thus becoming the first Christian King of Sussex. He married Eafe, daughter of Eanfrith of Hwicce. In 681 Æðelwealh gave lands in Selsey to Wilfrid, exiled Bishop of York, on which to found an abbey. In 685, Caedwalla, a West Saxon prince, invaded Sussex, ravaging the kingdom, and Æðelwealh was slain. Caedwalla was driven out by Æðelwealh's Ealdormen Berthun and Andhun, who thereafter governed the kingdom. See also: Kings of Sussex See also: Kingdom of Sussex Category:Anglo-Saxon monarchs

Caedwalla

Caedwalla (c. 659–April 20, 689) was the King of Wessex from 685 until 688. During his brief reign, he conquered much of southeast England. Caedwalla was the son of Cenberht, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle traces his lineage back to Cynric and his father Cerdic of Wessex. In 685, apparently acting as an independent warlord (Bede, in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, says that Caedwalla, described as "a daring young man", had been banished from his kingdom), he conquered Sussex, killed its king Athelwalh, and "wasted that country with much slaughter and plundering" (Bede). He was, however, soon expelled by Berthun and Andhun, Athelwalh's commanders, "who afterwards held the government of that province". In the same year, Caedwalla began, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, "to contend for the kingdom" (of Wessex). In 686, by then king of Wessex, he again attacked Sussex, killed Berthun and firmly established West Saxon authority there. He subsequently marched on into Kent, conquering it and possibly establishing his brother Mul there in place of its king Eadric. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that, in 686, "Caedwalla gave Hoo, which is on an island called Avery, into St. Peter's minister, Peterborough." Caedwalla also attacked the Isle of Wight, which was still an independent pagan kingdom. There he waged a brutal campaign of slaughter against the inhabitants (intending, according to Bede, to replace them with "people from his own province"), and their last king, Atwald, was killed. Bede tells us that two young brothers of Atwald, who had been captured, were converted to Christianity before being executed. In Kent, there had apparently been a revolt in which Mul was "burned" along with 12 others, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Caedwalla responded with a renewed campaign against Kent, laying waste to its land and leaving it in a state of chaos. At this point, however, Caedwalla abdicated, being succeeded by Ine, and went on a pilgrimage to Rome, possibly because he was dying of the wounds he had suffered while fighting on the Isle of Wight. Although Caedwalla was, according to the 20th century historian Frank Stenton, "an associate and patron of churchmen", he had never been baptized, and Bede states that he wished to "obtain the peculiar honour of being baptized in the church of the blessed apostles". In Rome, he was indeed baptized by Pope Sergius I on the Saturday before Easter (according to Bede), took the name Peter, and died not long afterwards, "still in his white garments". He was buried in St. Peter's church. Bede's Ecclesiastical History and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle agree that Caedwalla died on April 20 (and Bede tells us that he was about 30 years old), but the latter says that he died 7 days after his baptism, although the Saturday before Easter was on April 10 that year.

References

- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 685 to 688.
- Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/bede-book4.html Book IV, Chapter XV and XVI]; [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/bede-book5.html Book V, Chapter VII.]
- Stenton, Frank M. Anglo-Saxon England (1943). Chapter II: "The Kingdoms of the Southern English". Third Edition. Category:West Saxon monarchs Category:689 deaths

Berthun of Sussex

Berthun, or, more correctly, Berhthun, was an Ealdorman of Sussex under King Æðelwealh, who was slain by the Wessex prince Caedwalla, when he invaded and ravaged the kingdom. Berthun and Andhun succeeded in driving Caedwalla from Sussex. In 686 the South Saxons attacked Hlothhere, King of Kent, in support of his nephew Eadric, but soon afterwards Berhthun was killed and the kingdom subjugated for a time by Ceadwalla, who had now become King of Wessex. See also: Kings of Sussex See also: Kingdom of Sussex

686

Events

- October 21 - Conon becomes Pope, succeeding Pope John V.
- Empress Jitō ascends to the throne of Japan
- Kingdom of Kent attacked and conquered by West Saxons under Caedwalla
- The Isle of Wight becomes the last place in the United Kingdom to convert to Christianity

Births

- August 23 - Charles Martel, winner of the Battle of Tours

Deaths

- August 2 - Pope John V
- Emperor Temmu, emperor of Japan
- Korean Buddhist monk Weonhyo

Kent

:This article is about the English county of Kent. See also Kent (disambiguation). Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. The county town is Maidstone. Kent has land borders with East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London, and a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames estuary. Kent also has a nominal border with France halfway along the Channel Tunnel. The two cities in Kent are Canterbury, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Rochester, the seat of the Bishop of Rochester. However, since 1998 when local government was reorganised, Rochester lost its official city status through an administrative oversight; attempts are now being made to regain it. For other towns, see the list below. Kent, because of its soubriquet "the Garden of England", might be regarded as a picturesque rural county, but farming is still an industry. Over the centuries many other industries have been of importance; some still are. Woollen cloth-making, iron-making; paper; cement; engineering: all have been part of the industrial scene. Fishing and tourism occupy many people, especially the coastal resorts. The East Kent coalfield was mined in the 20th century: and there is a nuclear power station located at Dungeness. Nevertheless, the district of Thanet has been regarded as one of the most disadvantaged areas in the south-east of England. Ferry ports, the Channel Tunnel and two motorways provide links with the European continent. There are airports at Manston and Rochester and smaller airfields at Headcorn and Lydd. Famous residents of Kent have included Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin. Sir Winston Churchill's home Chartwell is also in Kent. Although the Victoria County History for Kent is limited, an extensive survey of the county was undertaken over a 50-year period by Edward Hasted between 1755-1805. William Lambarde was an even earlier writer, in the 16th century.

History

:Main article: History of Kent The area has been occupied since the Lower Palaeolithic as finds from the quarries at Swanscombe attest. During the Neolithic the Medway megaliths were built and there is a rich sequence of Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman occupation indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere gold cup and the Roman villas of the Darent valley. The modern name Kent is derived from the Brythonic word Cantus meaning a rim or border, being applied as a name to the eastern part of the modern county, and meaning border land or coastal district. Julius Caesar described it as Cantium, home of the Cantiaci in 51BC. The extreme west of the modern county was occupied by other Iron Age tribes; the Regnenses and possibly another ethnic group occupying The Weald. East Kent became one of the kingdoms of the Jutes during the fifth century AD (see Kingdom of Kent) and the area was later known as Cantia in about AD730 and Cent in AD835. The early Mediaeval inhabitants of the county were known as the Cantwara or Kent people, whose capital was Canterbury. Canterbury is the religious centre of the Anglican faith, and see of St Augustine of Canterbury. Augustine is traditionally credited with bring Christianity to the county and thus to England in 597. Following the invasion of Britain by William of Normandy the people of Kent adopted the motto Invicta meaning undefeated and claiming (quite wrongly) that they had frightened the Normans away, presumably in an attempt to defame the people of Hastings in neighbouring Sussex. During the medieval period, Kent produced several rebellions including the Peasants' Revolt led by Wat Tyler and later, Jack Cade's rebellion of 1450. Thomas Wyatt led an army into London from Kent in 1553, against Mary I. Canterbury became a great pilgrimage site following the martyrdom of Thomas Becket. Canterbury's religious role also gave rise to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a key development in the rise of the written English language and ostensibly set in the countryside of Kent. By the 17th century, tensions between Britain and the continental powers of the Netherlands and France led to increasing military build-up in the county. Forts were built all along the coast following a daring raid by the Dutch navy on the shipyards of the Medway towns in 1667. During the Second World War, airfields in Kent became played a vital part in the Battle of Britain while civilian settlements were often bombed.

Geography

Physical geography

Kent is the southeasternmost county in England. It is bounded on the north by the River Thames and the North Sea, and on the south by the Straits of Dover and the English Channel. The continent of Europe is a mere 21 miles across the Strait. The major geographical features of the county are determined by a series of ridges running from west to east across the county. These ridges are the remains of the Wealden dome, which was the result of uplifting caused by the Alpine movements between 10-20 million years ago. Erosion has resulted in these ridges and the valleys between. From the north they are: the marshlands along the Thames/Medway estuaries and along the North Kent coast; the chalk North Downs reaching heights of around 600ft; the sandstone and clay valley containing the River Medway and its tributaries; the Greensand ridge; the Wealden clay valley and finally the sandstone High Weald. The highest point of the county is Betsom's Hill, GR TQ435563, at 251m/823ft. Probably the most significant geographical feature of Kent is the White Cliffs. It is here that the North Downs reaches the sea. From there to Westerham is now the Kent Downs Area of Oustanding Natural Beauty AONB. The Weald derives its ancient name from the Germanic word wald meaning simply woodland. Much of the area remains today densely wooded; where there are also heavy clays the tracks through are nearly impassable for much of the year. Kent's principal river, the River Medway, rises near Edenbridge and flows some 25 miles (40km) eastwards to a point near Maidstone when it turns north. Here it breaks through the North Downs at Rochester before joining the River Thames as its final tributary near Sheerness. The river is tidal as far as Allington lock, but in earlier times cargo-carrying vessels reached as far upstream as Tonbridge. There are other rivers in Kent.

Industries

In medieval times the Weald was of national importance for two industries: the iron industry and cloth-making. Kent is sometimes known as the Garden of England because of its agricultural influence, extensive orchards and hop-gardens. Distinctive hop-drying buildings called oast houses are common in the countryside, although many have been converted into dwellings. Nearer London, market gardens also flourish. In more recent times, three industries have been of some importance: paper-making, cement-making and coal-mining:
- Paper needs a supply of the right kind of water: in Kent the original mills stood on streams like the River Darent, tributaries of the River Medway, and on the Great Stour. Two 18th century mills were on the River Len and at Tovil on the River Loose. In the late 19th century huge modern mills were built at Dartford and Northfleet on the River Thames; and at Kemsley on The Swale.
- Cement came to the fore in the 19th century when massive building projects were being undertaken. The ready supply of chalk available, and huge pits between Stone and Gravesend bear testament to that industry. There were also other workings around Burham on the tidal Medway.
- Coal was mined in East Kent: from about 1900 several pits were operating, and Snowdown Colliery was opened in 1908. The coalfield is now closed.

Political divisions

Man of Kent or Kentish Man?

Kent is traditionally divided into West Kent and East Kent by the River Medway. This division into east and west is also reflected in the term Men of Kent for residents east of the Medway; those from west are known as Kentish Men. However, further investigation shows that the division is not the Medway, but further east in Gillingham. Edward Hasted, in his 1798 description of Rainham, writes: "The whole of this parish is in the division of East Kent which begins here, the adjoining parish of Gillingham, westward, being wholly in that of West Kent." The division, according to one historian, Freddie Cooper, a former Mayor of Gillingham, remained until April 1, 1929 when Rainham was transferred, despite protest, from the administration of Milton Rural District Council to that of Gillingham. In religious matters, Kent was divided between the two episcopal areas of Canterbury and Rochester.

Lathes

A lathe was an ancient administration division of Kent, and may well have originated during a Jutish colonisation of the county. These ancient divisions still exist, but have no administrative significance. There are seven Lathes in Kent; Aylesford, Milton, Sutton, Borough, Eastry, Lympne and Wye. these units are recorded as intermediate between the county and hundred. The Domesday Book reveals that in 1086 Kent was divided into the seven lathes or "lest(um)" for administrative, judicial and taxation purposes and these units remained important for another 600 years. Each of the seven lathes were divided into smaller areas called hundreds, although the difference between the functions of lathes and hundreds remains unclear.
- Taken from Frank W Jessup's History of Kent 1958

Feudalism

A Manorial court was an early form of dispensing justice which came into being after the Domesday Book. Among other things it dealt with land tenure. After the 17th century most of the court's functions were taken over by a Justice of the Peace, who had first been appointed from the 14th century. From 1361 until 1971 the justices met four times a year in Quarter Sessions. In Kent there were separate courts of Quarter Sessions (at Maidstone and Canterbury) until 1814.

The Poor Law

Under the Poor Law every parish had had the responsibility of looking after its own poor, and seeing that they had the bare minimum of shelter, food, clothing and medical attention. In most parishes the burden of poor relief mounted rapidly in the early part of the 19th century. Huge population increase, and the lack of work on the land, made it imperative that the Poor Law was amended. It was, in 1834, when the institutions known as workhouses came into being. These were often run by a group of parishes — hence the title Union Workhouse. Boards of Guardians were set up to oversee them.

Boards of Health

Boards of Health, in much the same way as the Boards of Guardians for the poor, were set up in 1875, because of the huge rise in epidemics, notably of cholera. The area of the sanitary districts, as they were known, coincided with the union boundaries. Larger parishes (<5000 people) became urban sanitary districts — or, as they became known, urban districts — while the smaller ones evolved into rural districts.

Highway boards

Highway boards also came into being, and the old turnpike trusts gradually expired.

Municipal boroughs

The final sub-division of Kent was into towns which had been granted a charter by the Crown giving them special privileges, including that of having a mayor. The boroughs at the beginning of the 19th century are those marked (MB) on the list of Cities & Towns below. In addition the village of Fordwich also counted as a borough: it was deprived of that status in 1882.

Kent County Council

In 1888 an Act of Parliament set up, inter alia, Kent County Council which, with its members coming from all parts of the county (except Canterbury, which became a County Borough with similar powers), first met in 1889. Its duties at first were few, but gradually it absorbed School Boards, the rural Highway Boards and the Boards of Guardians.

Parish councils

In 1894, parish councils were set up. These were civil parishes, and unconnected with an ecclesiastical parish. Although since 1979 there have been many changes in local government, parish councils now are in a strong position, particularly in unitary authorities, where they act as a second tier. In other districts, some functions are held by the county council, relegating parish councils to a less influential third-tier status. Parish rates are today collected by the district or unitary tier and then disbursed to parish clerks. Those parish councils serving areas of denser settlement are normally known as town councils although their rank and influence is much the same. These traditionally elect a mayor from the town councillors with the greatest experience.
- All the preceding notes in this section taken from Kent History Illustrated Frank W Jessup (Kent County Council 1966)

Local Government Act 1972

In 1974 the old division between county and borough came to an end, with England being divided below county level into districts. Canterbury, hitherto separately administered as a county borough, became one of the boroughs into which Kent was divided.

Medway unitary authority

In 1998 the districts of Gillingham and Rochester were removed from county council government to become the unitary authority entitled the Borough of Medway.

Kent and London

When the County of London and London County Council were created in 1888, the new county incorporated a considerable part of north west Kent including Deptford, Greenwich, Woolwich and Lewisham. Further change came in 1965, when the London County Council was abolished and the Greater London Council took its place. The places that had been removed in 1888 were amalgamated to form the London Borough of Lewisham and the London Borough of Greenwich and two further boroughs were created. These were the London Borough of Bromley — an amalgamation of Bromley, Beckenham, Chislehurst, Orpington and Penge and the London Borough of Bexley comprising Bexley, Sidcup, Erith and Crayford. Much of the north-west of the county is part of the London commuter belt. The Thames Gateway regeneration area includes riverside areas of north Kent as far east as Sittingbourne and largely to the north of the A2 road.

Ceremonial county

The ceremonial county of Kent corresponds to the administrative county plus the district of Medway (or Medway Towns).

Cities, towns and villages

See the list of places in Kent, list of civil parishes in Kent

Places of interest

- Bayham Abbey Lamberhurst [2]
- Bedgebury Pinetum
- Bewl Water
- Bough Beech Reservoir, Ide Hill
- Bluewater Shopping Centre
- Canterbury Cathedral
- Chartwell, Winston Churchill's home [1]
- Chatham_Dockyard It has been suggested Chatham originated the word chav.
- Chiddingstone Castle
- Cinque Ports
- Deal Castle [2]
- Dolphin Yard Sailing Barge Museum, Sittingbourne
- Dover Castle [2]
- Dungeness Power Station
- East Kent Railway, a heritage railway
- Emmett's Garden, Ide Hill [1]
- Faversham
- Hever Castle
- Hoo Peninsula
- Ightham Mote 14th century house [1]
- Isle of Grain
- Isle of Sheppey
- Isle of Thanet
- Kent & East Sussex Railway, a heritage railway
- Kent Battle of Britain Museum
- Kent International Airport (formerly known as London Manston Airport) with two aviation museums
- Knole, Sevenoaks [1]
- Leeds Castle
- North Downs Way, a long distance footpath
- Penshurst Place
- Reculver Roman Fort & Reculver Tower
- Richborough Castle & Roman Fort, near Sandwich [2]
- Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, a heritage railway
- Romney Marsh
- Royal Engineers Museum of Military Engineering, Gillingham
- St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury [2]
- Scotney Castle [1]
- Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Sissinghurst [1]
- Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, a heritage railway
- Smallhythe Place, Tenterden [1]
- Squerryes Court & Garden, Westerham
- Turner Gallery to open in Margate
- Upnor Castle [2]
- Walmer Castle & Gardens [2]
- The Wantsum Channel
- [1] Properties under the care of the National Trust
- [2] Properties under the care of English Heritage

External links

- [http://www.kent.gov.uk/ Kent County Council] - Local Government website
- [http://www.kentonline.co.uk/ Kent Online] - A Kent Messenger Group website
- [http://www.camelotintl.com/heritage/counties/england/kent.html Kent heritage]
- [http://www.digiserve.com/peter/village.htm Kent resources website]
- [http://www.kentdowns.org.uk Kent Downs AONB website]
- [http://www.villagenet.co.uk/ Village Net web site has photographs and historic details of over 240 Villages in Kent and East Sussex]
- [http://www.historic-kent.co.uk/ provides further information on villages throughout Kent. It makes the point that there thought to be over 300, although the term 'village' covers settlements of a great variation in size. There is a 'Select a destination' box for the alphabetical list]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/places/names/index.shtml#a Spelling of placenames in the county from BBC website]

References

- Glover, J., Place names of Kent.
- Freddie Cooper, personal research
- Men of Kent: Sorry ... but we’re joining a new tribe, by Stephen Rayner, Memories page, Medway News, October 2004
ko:켄트 주 simple:Kent

Eadric of Kent

Eadric (died August 686?) was a King of Kent (685 - 686). He was the son of Ecgberht. Eadric was for a time co-ruler alongside his uncle Hlothhere, and a code of laws issued in both their names has survived. However, Eadric eventually revolted and defeated Hlothhere with the aid of the South Saxons. Hlothhere died of wounds received in battle on February 6, 685, and Eadric became sole ruler. It was not long, however, before Kent faced the overwhelming invasion of the West Saxons under Caedwalla. In August 686, Eadric was defeated and Kent was conquered; he was probably was killed in battle. Category:Kentish monarchs Category:686 deaths

Wessex

:This article concerns the English kingdom, not the Westland Wessex helicopter Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the Kingdom of England. It was named after the West Saxons and situated in the south and southwest of England. It existed as a kingdom from the 6th century until the emergence of the English state in the 9th century, and as an earldom between 1016 and 1066. "Wessex" has never had any official existence since that time, but it remains a familiar term. It is particularly associated with the novels and poetry of Thomas Hardy, and some wish to see it restored as a region of England.

History

Wessex was, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (ASC), founded by Cerdic and Cynric, although the specifics given by the ASC are considered to be suspect. Archaeological evidence points to an origin in the upper Thames and Cotswolds area and the ASC origin myth may have been political propaganda designed to justify a later invasion of the Jutish province in southern Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The first certain event in Wessex is the baptism of Cynegils around the year 640. Wessex expanded its boundaries and clashed with its neighbours, including Celtic Dumnonia (essentially modern day Devon and Cornwall, which it eventually came to dominate), and with Mercia. After Egbert defeated Mercia in 825 and the Northumbrians accepted his overlordship in 829 Egbert became the first King of England. The Burghal system of fortified towns (the "burhs") under Alfred the Great, described in both Asser and the ASC and documented in a unique hidage, [http://www.ogdoad.force9.co.uk/alfred/alfhidage.htm] helped to prevent the conquest of southern England by the Danish invaders in the 870s. The hidage identifies thirty-three forts, which ensured that no one in Wessex was more than a long day's ride from a place of safety. Southwark is included, but London fell beyond West Saxon territory. Important West Saxon settlements included old Roman settlements such as Dorchester, or Winchester, which Alfred made the capital in 871, and new burhs such as Wallingford. There is some evidence that kingship in Wessex was not rigidly hereditary. The strongest candidate from the pool of the senior families was elected or forced his control on the lesser kings. The internal feuding produced by this may have delayed the rise of Wessex as a full kingdom, but this is conjecture. After the Mercian conquest of its original territories in Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, its northern boundary was probably the River Thames, and its heartland was the present-day counties of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, and Berkshire.

Revival

Berkshire The English author Thomas Hardy used a fictionalised south-west as a setting for many of his novels, reviving the term 'Wessex' for southwest England. His Wessex included all the counties mentioned in the previous paragraph apart from Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, along with Devon. He gave the counties the following fictionalised names: Berkshire = North Wessex; Devon = Lower Wessex; Dorset = South Wessex; Hampshire = Upper Wessex; Somerset = Outer Wessex; Wiltshire = Mid-Wessex. Neighbouring Cornwall was described as Off-Wessex or Lyonesse. There is a movement in modern day south-central England to create a regional cultural and political identity in Wessex. This consists of three distinct but interlinked organisations. The Wessex Regionalist Party is a registered political party which contests elections. The Wessex Constitutional Convention is an all-party pressure group in which those sympathetic to Wessex devolution who are not members of the Wessex Regionalist Party can also be represented. The Wessex Society is a cultural society which promotes a cultural identity for Wessex while remaining neutral on questions of political devolution. The boundaries of Wessex were unclear and subject to dispute. The Wessex Constitutional Convention and Wessex Society add Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire to Hardy's list; and the Wessex Regionalists, who currently use Hardy's definition of Wessex, are likely to follow suit in the near future. This definition of Wessex has been criticised from a number of quarters. For example a number of people within Devon, southern Somerset and parts of Dorset see those areas as sharing a Dumnonian Celtic identity with Cornwall, whereas some regard Hardy's definition as correct on the grounds that the counties north of the Thames, along with Berkshire and north-east Somerset, were part of Mercia for most of the Anglo-Saxon period. There are also a few in Hampshire who argue that southern Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were once a Jutish province in their own right and deserve to be treated differently to the rest of Wessex. The Wessex regionalist movements defend their 8-shire definition of Wessex as being justifiable in terms of both history and modern regional geography, and point to the impossibility of pleasing everyone as an argument against change at the present time, though they do not rule out the possibility of change in the future if the popular will demands it.

The present South West England region

The government office region of South West England covers a different area, consisting of Hardy's Wessex less Berkshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, but including Cornwall and Gloucestershire. Wessex groups are currently campaigning for boundary revisions to the regions in order to more closely match their definitions of Wessex.

Modern uses of Wessex

- 43rd (Wessex) Brigade - British Army's regional command for the South West region
- Royal Wessex Yeomanry - British Army territoral unit
- [http://www.wessexarch.co.uk Wessex Archaeology] - An educational charity and the largest UK archaeological practice.
- Wessex culture - an archaeological label used anachronistically to describe a bronze age culture whose remains are found in the Wessex area
- Wessex Trains - train operating company that covers much of the South West region
- Wessex Water - water supply company that covers much of the South West region

Earl of Wessex

In an unusual move Prince Edward was made Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn in honour of his marriage to Sophie Rhys-Jones (styled as Countess of Wessex) in 1999. The title Earl of Wessex had not been in use for over 900 years. The last earl, King Harold, was famously killed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

External links

- [http://www.zyworld.com/wessexsociety/caseforwessex.htm The Case for Wessex (devolutionary movement)]
- [http://www.ogdoad.force9.co.uk/alfred/alfhidage.htm The Burghal Hidage]
- [http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~bp10/wessex/index.shtml Thomas Hardy's Wessex] Research site by Dr Birgit Plietzsch Category:Anglo-Saxon England Category:Regions of England

Kingdom of Sussex

The Kingdom of Sussex, (Suth Seaxe, i.e. the South Saxons), was one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the boundaries of which coincided in general with those of the earlier kingdom of the Regini and the later county of Sussex. A large part of that district, however, was covered in early times by the forest called Andred. According to the traditional account given in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was in 477 that a certain Ælle led the invaders ashore at a place called Cymenes ora and defeated the inhabitants. A further battle at a place called Mearcredes burne is recorded under the year 485, and in the annal for 491 we read that Ælle and Cissa his son sacked Anderida and slew all the inhabitants. Ælle is the first king of the invading race whom Bede describes as exercising supremacy over his fellows, though little weight can be attached to the dates and events given by the Chronicle, which was not compiled until some centuries later. The history of Sussex now becomes a blank until 607, in which year Ceolwulf of Wessex is found fighting against the South Saxons. In 681 Wilfrid of York, on his expulsion from Northumbria by Ecgfrith, retired into Sussex, where he remained until 686 converting its pagan inhabitants. According to Bede, Æðelwealh, king of Sussex, had been previously baptized in Mercia at the suggestion of Wulfhere, who presented him with the Isle of Wight and the district about the Meon. After Wilfrid's exertions in relieving a famine which occurred in Sussex, Æðelwealh gave lands in Selsey to him on which to found an abbey, that later became the seat of the South Saxon bishopric, and remained so until 1075. Shortly afterwards, however, Æðelwealh was slain and his kingdom ravaged by the exiled West Saxon prince Caedwalla. The latter was eventually expelled by two Ealdormen named Berhthun and Andhun, who thereupon assumed the government of the kingdom. In 686 the South Saxons attacked Hlothhere, king of Kent, in support of his nephew Eadric, but soon afterwards Berhthun was killed and the kingdom subjugated for a time by Ceadwalla, who had now become king of Wessex. Of the later South Saxon kings we have little knowledge except from occasional charters. In 692 a grant[http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+45] is made by a king called Noðhelm, or Nunna, to his sister, which is witnessed by another king called Watt. Nunna is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the kinsman of Ine of Wessex who fought with him against Geraint, King of the Britons, in 710. According to Bede, Sussex was subject to Ine for a number of years. A charter [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+43], dated 775 in error for 725, purports to be a grant by Noðhelm to Eadberht, Bishop of Selsey, and to this too Watt appears as a witness. But this charter is now believed to be a forgery from the late 10th century or early 11th century, and is therefore of no value. There is an undated charter of Noðhelm [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+44] that is witnessed by a certain Osric, without indication of rank or territory, but presumably another king, as his name is listed before, and he therefore ranked higher than, Eadberht, Bishop of Selsey, whose rank and see are also omitted. The charter can be approximately dated to some point between about 705 and 717. Noðhelm’s last surviving charter, which is dated 714 in error for 717, [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+42], is witnessed by a King Æðelstan. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that "In 722 Ealdberht fled into Surrey and Sussex, and Ine fought against the South Saxons". A little later, Æðelberht, was King of Sussex, but he is known only from charters. The dates of Æðelberht’s reign are unknown beyond the fact that he was a contemporary of Sigeferth, Bishop of Selsey from 733, as Sigeferth witnessed an undated charter of Æðelberht [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+46] in which Æðelberht is styled Ethelbertus rex Sussaxonum. After this we hear nothing more until about 765, when a grant [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+50] of land is made by a king named Ealdwulf and with two other kings, Ælfwald and Oslac, as witnesses. In 765 [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+48] and 770 [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+49] grants are made by a King Osmund, the latter of which was later confirmed by Offa of Mercia. Offa also confirmed two charters of Æðelberht, and in 772 [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+108] he grants land himself in Sussex, with Oswald, dux Suðsax, as a witness. It is probable that about this time Offa definitely annexed the kingdom of Sussex, as several persons, Osmund, Ælfwald and Oslac, who had previously used the royal title, now sign with that of dux. In 825 the South Saxons submitted to Ecgberht, and from this time they remained subject to the West Saxon dynasty. The earldom of Sussex seems later to have been held sometimes with that of Kent. The death of Eadwine, Ealdorman of Sussex, is recorded in 982, because he was buried at Abingdon Abbey in Berkshire, where one version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was compiled. According to the abbey’s records, in which he was called princeps Australium Saxonum, Eadwinus nomine, he bequeathed estates to them in his will, although the document itself has not survived. Earlier in the same year he witnessed a charter of King Æðelræd Unræd [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+839] as Eaduuine dux. His name was also added to a forged charter dated 956 (possibly an error for 976) [http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+828]. In the next generation, Wulfnoð Cild, Thegn of Sussex, played a prominent part in English politics. In 1009 his actions resulted in the destruction of the English fleet, and by 1011 Sussex, together with most of South East England, was in the hands of the Danes. In an early example of local government reform, the Anglo-Saxon ealdormandoms were abolished by the Danish kings and replaced a smaller number of larger earldoms. Wulfnoð Cild was the father of Godwine, who was made Earl of Wessex in 1020. His earldom included Sussex. When he died in 1053, Godwine was succeeded as Earl of Wessex (including Sussex) by his son Harold, who had previously been Earl of East Anglia.
See also

- Kings of Sussex
- Bishops of Selsey
Links and References

- [http://www.britishcounties.info/sussex/ Information on Sussex, including the Kingdom, history and maps]
- Based on a 1911 encyclopedia article. Category:Anglo-Saxon England Sussex Category:History of Sussex

Category:Anglo-Saxon people

Category:Anglo-Saxon England Category:English people

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