1.
English country house
–
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people. However, the term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses. With large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff, country houses were important as places of employment for rural communities. In turn, until the agricultural depressions of the 1870s, the estates, of country houses were the hub. However, the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the swansong of the traditional English country house lifestyle, increased taxation and the effects of World War I led to the demolition of hundreds of houses, those that remained had to adapt to survive. While a château or a schloss can be a fortified or unfortified building, if fortified, it is called a castle, but not all buildings with the name castle are fortified. The term stately home is subject to debate, and avoided by historians, as a description of a country house, the term was first used in a poem by Felicia Hemans, The Homes of England, originally published in Blackwoods Magazine in 1827. In the 20th century, the term was popularised in a song by Noël Coward. The books collection of homes also includes George IVs Brighton town palace. The country houses of England have evolved over the last five hundred years, before this time, larger houses were usually fortified, reflecting the position of their owners as feudal lords, de facto overlords of their manors. The Tudor period of stability in the saw the building of the first of the unfortified great houses. Henry VIIIs Dissolution of the Monasteries saw many former ecclesiastical properties granted to the Kings favourites, woburn Abbey, Forde Abbey and many other mansions with abbey or priory in their name became private houses during this period. Other terms used in the names of houses to describe their origin or importance include palace, castle, court, hall, mansion, park, house, manor, and place. Burghley House, Longleat House, and Hatfield House are among the best known examples of the prodigy house. Some of the best known of Englands country houses were built by one architect at one time, Montacute House, Chatsworth House. They finally ran out of funds in the early 20th century, an example of this is Brympton dEvercy in Somerset, a house of many periods that is unified architecturally by the continuing use of the same mellow, local Ham Hill stone
2.
Chichester
–
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, in South-East England. It is the city in West Sussex and is its county town. It has a history as a settlement from Roman times and was important in Anglo-Saxon times. It is the seat of a bishopric, with a 12th-century cathedral, Chichester has three tiers of local government. It is a hub, and a centre for culture in the county, with a theatre, museum. Chichester Harbour and the South Downs provide opportunities for outdoor pursuits, the city centre stands on the foundations of the Romano-British city of Noviomagus Reginorum, capital of the Civitas Reginorum. The Roman road of Stane Street, connecting the city with London, started at the east gate, the plan of the city is inherited from the Romans, the North, South, East and West shopping streets radiate from the central market cross dating from medieval times. The original Roman city wall was over 6½ feet thick with a steep ditch and it survived for over one and a half thousand years but was then replaced by a thinner Georgian wall. The city was home to some Roman baths, found down Tower Street when preparation for a new car park was under way. A museum, the Novium, preserving the baths was opened on 8 July 2012, an amphitheatre was built outside the city walls, close to the East Gate, in around 80 AD. The area is now a park, but the site of the amphitheatre is discernible as a bank approximately oval in shape. In January 2017, archaeologists using underground radar reported the discovery of the relatively untouched ground floor of a Roman townhouse, the exceptional preservation is due to the fact the site, Priory Park, belonged to a monastery and has never been built upon since Roman times. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle it was captured towards the close of the century, by Ælle. It was the city of the Kingdom of Sussex. The cathedral for the South Saxons was founded in 681 at Selsey, Chichester was one of the burhs established by Alfred the Great, probably in 878-9, making use of the remaining Roman walls. The system was supported by a network based on hilltop beacons to provide early warning. It has been suggested that one such link ran from Chichester to London, when the Domesday Book was compiled, Chichester consisted of 300 dwellings which held a population of 1,500 people. There was a mill named Kings Mill that would have been rented to local slaves and villeins
3.
England
–
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
4.
Listed building
–
A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
5.
Goodwood Festival of Speed
–
In the early years of the Festival, tens of thousands attended over the weekend, it currently attracts crowds of around 100,000 on each of the three days it is now held. A record crowd of 158,000 attended in 2003, before an advance-ticket-only admission policy came into force, attendance is now capped at 150,000. The Goodwood Festival of Speed was founded in 1993 by Lord March in order to bring racing back to the Goodwood estate — a location steeped in British motor racing history. Shortly after taking over the estate in the early 1990s, Lord March wanted to bring motor racing to Goodwood Circuit. Therefore, he hosted it on his own grounds. After the first events date clash, Lord March would ensure that the event would never be allowed to clash with either Le Mans or Formula One races, in 1994, Saturday was added, making it a weekend event. In 1996, Friday was added, making it a three-day event, in 2010, the Moving Motor Show was added on the Thursday. Visitors are free to walk around several paddocks where the cars and drivers can be seen at close quarters. The atmosphere of the Festival of Speed, when compared to the separation of fans from drivers and machines common to most top end motor sport events, the track has an elevation change of 92.7 metres, for an average gradient of 4. 9%. The record time for the hillclimb was set in 1999 when Nick Heidfeld drove a McLaren MP4/13 Formula One car up the hill in 41.6 seconds. For safety reasons Formula One cars are no longer allowed to do official timed runs, in 2006 Heikki Kovalainen completed the course in a Renault R25 F1 car and was unofficially timed below 40 seconds. In 2016, to commemorate the 40 year anniversary of James Hunt winning the F1 World Championship, from 2000 to 2004 this was a downhill race for gravity-powered cars. Starting from just below the hill-climb finish line, to a line in front of the house. It included entries from Cosworth, Prodrive, and other top companies, with some famous riders/drivers piloting them, including Barry Sheene. Despite an official cap on the cost of cars, the costs were becoming too high. From 2005 to present there has been an area for the rally cars at the top of the hill. Initially, in 2005, the track through the forest was widened, and the cars ran down through the forest, turned on the tarmac section just outside the wood. This meant that the cars could only run one-at-a-time, in 2006, a full forest stage was introduced, designed by Hannu Mikkola this was a complete circuit, with a separate start and finish line at the top of the wood
6.
Goodwood Racecourse
–
Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It is considered to enjoy an attractive setting to the north of Trundle Iron Age hill fort. One problem is that its proximity to the coast means that it can get very foggy and this is an unusual, complex racecourse with a straight six furlongs — the Stewards Cup Course — which is uphill for the first furlong and mostly downhill thereafter. There is a tight right-handed loop at the far end of the straight on which there are starts for various longer distance courses and these include the 1 mile 2 furlongs Craven Course, the 1m 4f Gratwicke Course and the 1m 6f Bentinck Course. The start for the 2m 5f Cup Course is quite close to the winning post – horses travel outwards on the straight, around the loop, throughout the loop there are severe undulations and sharp turns. The course is used for racing only. In 2007 the rights passed to Channel 4 Racing, from 2017 races will be live on ITV Racing after the channel won the rights to televise horse racing from Channel 4. Other races Conqueror Stakes Festival Stakes On The House Stakes Starlit Stakes Tapster Stakes Official website Course guide on GG
7.
Goodwood Cricket Club
–
Goodwood Cricket Club is a Sunday village cricket team that play during the summer in the grounds of Goodwood Park, near Chichester. The ground overlooks Goodwood House and is owned by the Duke of Richmond and it is thought to be one of the oldest cricket clubs in the world. It had strong links with Lords, as the 4th Duke was one of the backers of Thomas Lord. Today, the club and ground is owned by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, the Club has formed an alliance with Chichester Priory Park Cricket Club and their 1st and 2nd XIs play at the ground on Saturdays. A receipt for brandy, given to the players, records Goodwoods earliest known game in 1702, in 1727 in Goodwood Park, a game was played between the 2nd Duke of Richmond and Mr Brodrick of Peper Harow Park, near Godalming. As was common in those days there was a wager on the match and these rules are the oldest set of written cricket rules in existence, today, in the world. The originals are kept in Goodwood House, with a copy in the club pavilion, the Club has a strong link with Lords. The 4th Duke, was one of the backers of Thomas Lord when he bought the rough piece of land in St Johns Wood. The present Duke was President/Patron of Sussex CCC for 25 years, another link with Lords could be the club colours. These colours are the colours of the Dukes of Richmond. Sometime after their use by the Dukes, and the cricket club, although they could also have links to the Nicholson’s Gin Company. The tree was planted as a seed in 1752 and planted out on the ground in 1756, there has been one 1st class match at Goodwood, this was played on 22-23 July 1814 between Lord F Beauclerk’s XI and G Osbaldeston’s XI. The match was scheduled for three days but was over in two, a total of 265 runs were scored in 4 innings,44 wickets taken and G Osbaldeston’s XI won by 17 runs. The square and pavilion are all maintained by voluntary help with support from the Estate, major updates to the existing website. A photo gallery of previous matches, using a photo-sharing website, a Twitter page, providing members with quick news updates/club news. A Facebook page, was set up in 2010 to try to keep members, one of the oldest fixtures is the all day game against London New Zealand which was first played in 1955. 2016 saw the reinstatement of a match against the Duke of Richmonds XI organised and captained by his grandsons, the Goodwood Cricket Club Website- Goodwood Online Website
8.
Monarch's Way
–
The Monarchs Way is a 615-mile long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester via Bristol and Yeovil to Brighton, all of the footpath is waymarked. The waymark is yellow and shows a picture of the ship Surprise above the Prince of Wales three-point feathered crown which is superimposed on a Royal Oak tree in black. This route is shown as a series of diamonds on the Ordnance Survey 1,25000 maps. From its starting point at Worcester the route north to Boscobel. It then continues south to Stow on the Wold before turning south west towards Bristol via Cirencester, South of Bristol the route is almost directly south across the Mendip Hills to Wells, continues through Somerset almost to Yeovil and then south west to Charmouth in Dorset. The Monarchs Way is an approximation of the Kings route using available public rights of way, most of the route has been radically changed in the intervening centuries by enclosure, mining, urbanisation and the building of roads, canals and railways. Use of canals and disused railways allows a pleasant walk than taking to the public highway. A memorial near Powick Bridge commemorates the thousands of Scots who perished in the Royalist cause at the Battle of Worcester, Powick Bridge saw both the first and last engagements of the English Civil War. From here the footpath follows the banks of the River Teme, the King watched the battle unfold from the tower of the cathedral before fleeing with Colonel Charles Giffard of Chillington and others. The Monarchs Way leaves the city past the Commandery, now a museum, on the towpath of the Worcester & Birmingham Canal then crossing to the Droitwich Canal, currently under restoration, heading north it passes Chaddesley Corbett and Hagley on its way to Stourbridge. Here it joins the towpath of the Stourbridge Canal negotiating the four locks at Stourton to join the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. Continuing north along the canal to the Bratch Locks at Wombourne to pick up the trackbed of the former Oxford, Worcester, leaving the railway the northerly route continues passing Pendrell Hall and Boscobel to White Ladies Priory. The King was hidden overnight in the house by Richard Pendrell, the next part of the route traces the Kings unsuccessful attempt to cross the River Severn to escape into Wales. Leaving White Ladies and the nearby Pendrell home at Hubbal Grange the route turns west via Tong to Evelith Mill, reaching Madeley it became apparent that the river crossings were well guarded and the King spent a night in the Royal Barn before beating a hasty retreat. Retracing the route through Norton and Beckbury to Boscobel House where the King hid in an oak tree to avoid capture, a descendant of the Royal Oak stands in the grounds of the English Heritage property. An alternative plan was hatched for the Kings escape and the path now heads east, from Moseley Old Hall the King left in the night for Bentley Hall with Colonel Lane. The Monarchs Way passes Northycote Farm and Essington before entering the fringe of the urban West Midlands, the route follows the Wyrley & Essington Canal the Curly Wyrley and the ancient forest at Rough Wood to reach Bentley Hall at Bentley, West Midlands
9.
Matthew Brettingham
–
Much of his principal work has since been demolished, particularly his work in London, where he revolutionised the design of the grand townhouse. As a result, he is often overlooked today, remembered principally for his Palladian remodelling of numerous country houses, as Brettingham neared the pinnacle of his career, Palladianism began to fall out of fashion and neoclassicism was introduced, championed by the young Robert Adam. Brettingham was born in 1699, the son of Launcelot Brettingham, a bricklayer or stonemason from Norwich. He married Martha Bunn at St. Augustines Church, Norwich, on 17 May 1721 and they had nine children together. His early life is documented, and one of the earliest recorded references to him is in 1719. A critic of Brettinghams at this time claimed that his work was so poor that it was not worth the nine shillings a week he was paid as a craftsman bricklayer, whatever the quality of his bricklaying, he soon advanced himself and became a building contractor. During the early century, a building contractor had far more responsibilities than the title suggests today. A contractor often designed, built, and oversaw all details of construction to completion, Architects, often called surveyors, were employed only for the grandest and largest of buildings. By 1730, Brettingham is referred to as a surveyor, working on more important structures than cottages, in 1731, it is recorded that he was paid £112 for his work on Norwich Gaol. From then, he appears to have worked regularly as the surveyor to the Justices on public buildings, margarets Church, Kings Lynn, which had been severely damaged by the collapse of its spire in 1742. Brettinghams brief flirtation with the Gothic style, in the words of Robin Lucas, the Shirehouse was demolished in 1822. Brettingham was appointed Clerk of Works, at a salary of £50. He retained the position until the Earls death in 1759 and it was at Holkham that Brettingham first worked with the fashionable Palladian style, which was to be his trademark. Brettingham was commissioned in 1742 to redesign Langley Hall, a standing in its own parkland in South Norfolk. His design was much in the Palladian style of Holkham, though much smaller. The corner towers, while similar to those designed by Brettingham at Euston Hall, were the work of a later owner. The neoclassical entrance lodges were an addition, by Sir John Soane. In 1743, Brettingham began work on the construction of Hanworth Hall, Norfolk, also in the Palladian style, in 1745, Brettingham designed Gunton Hall in Norfolk for Sir William Harbord, three years after the former house on the site was gutted by fire
10.
James Wyatt
–
James Wyatt RA was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style and neo-Gothic style. Wyatt spent six years in Italy, 1762–68, in company with Richard Bagot of Staffordshire, in Venice, Wyatt studied with Antonio Visentini as an architectural draughtsman and painter. Back in England, his selection as architect of the proposed Pantheon or Winter Ranelagh in Oxford Street, London, brought him almost unparalleled instant success. His brother Samuel was one of the promoters of the scheme. When the Pantheon was opened in 1772, their choice was at once endorsed by the fashionable public, externally it was unremarkable, but the classicising domed hall surrounded by galleried aisles and apsidal ends, was something new in assembly rooms, and brought its architect immediate celebrity. On the 15 February 1785 Wyatt was elected an Academician of the Royal Academy, in later years, he carried out alterations at Frogmore for Queen Charlotte, and was made Surveyor-General of the Works. Between 1805 and 1808 Wyatt remodelled West Dean House in West Dean, wyatt’s work was remarkable because it is built entirely of flint, even to the door and window openings, which would normally be lined with stone. In 1776, Wyatt succeeded Henry Keene as Surveyor to Westminster Abbey, in 1782 he became, in addition, Architect of the Ordnance. The death of Sir William Chambers brought him the post of Surveyor General, Wyatt was now the principal architect of the day, the recipient of more commissions than he could well fulfil. His widespread practice and the duties of his official posts left him time to give proper attention to the individual needs of his clients. In 1804, Jeffry Wyatt told Farington that his uncle had lost many great commissions by such neglect, Wyatt was a brilliant but facile designer, whose work is not characterized by any markedly individual style. It was not until towards the end of his life that he and his brother Samuel developed the severe, meanwhile, Wyatts reputation as a rival to Robert Adam had been eclipsed by his celebrity as a Gothic architect. Every Georgian architect was called upon from time to time to designs in the medieval style. In the following year, however, he was permitted to add F. S. A. to his name by a majority of one hundred, Wyatt was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785, and took an active part in the politics of the Academy. But his election was never approved by the King. Wyatt was one of the founders of the Architects Club in 1791, in 1802 Wyatt built a new house for the 7th Earl of Bridgewater on the Ashridge estate in Hertfordshire which is now a Grade I listed building. In 1803 Thomas Johnes hired Wyatt to design Saint Michels Hafod Church, Eglwys Newydd, in Ceredigion, Wales. He died on 4 September 1813 as the result of an accident to the carriage in which he was travelling over the Marlborough Downs with his friend and employer, Christopher Codrington of Dodington Park
11.
William Chambers (architect)
–
Sir William Chambers RA was a Scottish-Swedish architect, based in London. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, London, and the pagoda at Kew, Chambers was a founder member of the Royal Academy. William Chambers was born on 23 February 1723 in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 1740 and 1749 he was employed by the Swedish East India Company making three voyages to China where he studied Chinese architecture and decoration. Returning to Europe, he studied architecture in Paris and spent five years in Italy, then, in 1755, he moved to London, where he established an architectural practice. He worked for Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales making fanciful garden buildings at Kew and he developed his Chinese interests further with his Dissertation on Oriental Gardening, a fanciful elaboration of contemporary English ideas about the naturalistic style of gardening in China. His more serious and academic Treatise on Civil Architecture published in 1759 proved influential on builders and it included ideas from the works of many 16th- and 17th-century Italian architects then still little known in Britain. His influence was transmitted through a host of younger architects trained as pupils in his office, including Thomas Hardwick, who helped him build Somerset House. He was the rival of Adam in British Neoclassicism. Chambers was more international in outlook and was influenced by continental neoclassicism when designing for British clients, a second visit to Paris in 1774 confirmed the French cast to his sober and conservative refined blend of Neoclassicism and Palladian conventions. From around 1758 to the mid-1770s, Chambers concentrated on building houses for the nobility, in 1766 Chambers was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. His initial plans for an oval courtyard, connected to three smaller, narrow rectangular courts, were soon modified into a simpler rectalinear scheme. On 10 December 1768 the Royal Academy was founded and he was appointed the Academys first Treasurer. Chambers died in London in 1796, also designed two garden temples, similar to those at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Within Kew Gardens, some of his buildings are lost, those remaining being the ten-storey Pagoda, the Orangery, the Ruined Arch, the Temple of Bellona, the Pagoda, in Pagoda Gardens, Blackheath, London is attributed to Chambers. A three-storey house built as a pavilion for the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, caroline of Brunswick lived here after her separation from her husband, the Prince Regent, in 1799. Somerset House in London, his most famous building, which absorbed most of his energies over a period of two decades The gilded state coach that is used at coronations. Hedsor House, Buckinghamshire, the seat of Lord Boston, equerry to George III, for James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont, he designed Charlemont House and the Casino at Marino, as well as the chapel and public theatre in Trinity College, Dublin. He is also associated with Gothic additions to Milton Abbey in Dorset, wick House, Richmond Hill, commissioned in 1771 by painter Sir Joshua Reynolds
12.
West Sussex
–
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering East Sussex to the east, Hampshire to the west and Surrey to the north, and to the south the English Channel. Chichester in the southwest is the county town and only city in West Sussex, with the largest towns being Crawley, Worthing, West Sussex has a range of scenery, including wealden, downland and coastal. The highest point of the county is Blackdown, at 280 metres and it has a number of stately homes including Goodwood, Petworth House and Uppark and also castles such as Arundel Castle and Bramber Castle. Over half the county is protected countryside, offering walking, cycling, although the name Sussex, derived from the Old English Sūþsēaxe, is from the Saxon period between AD477 to 1066, the history of human habitation in Sussex goes back to the Old Stone Age. The oldest hominin remains known in Britain were found at Eartham Pit, Sussex has been occupied since those times and has succumbed to various invasions and migrations throughout its long history. Prehistoric monuments include the Devils Jumps, a group of Bronze Age burial mounds, the Romans used the Weald for iron production on an industrial scale. The foundation story is regarded as somewhat of a myth by most historians, the Kingdom of Sussex was absorbed into Wessex as an earldom and became the county of Sussex. With its origins in the kingdom of Sussex, the county of Sussex was traditionally divided into six units known as rapes. By the 16th century, the three western rapes were grouped together informally, having their own separate Quarter Sessions and these were administered by a separate county council from 1888, the county of Sussex being divided for administrative purposes into the administrative counties of East and West Sussex. In 1974, West Sussex was made a ceremonial county with the coming into force of the Local Government Act 1972. At the same time a part of the eastern rape of Lewes was transferred into West Sussex. Until 1834 provision for the poor and destitute in West Sussex was made at parish level, from 1835 until 1948 eleven Poor Law Unions, each catering for several parishes, took on the job. Most settlements in West Sussex are either along the south coast or in Mid Sussex, the town of Crawley is the largest in the county with an estimated population of 106,600. The coastal settlement of Worthing closely follows with a population of 104,600, the seaside resort of Bognor Regis and market town Horsham are both large towns. Chichester, the county town, has a cathedral and city status, much of the coastal town population is part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. Rustington and Southwater are the next largest settlements in the county, there are several more towns in West Sussex, although they are of similar size to other villages. The smaller towns of the county are Arundel, Midhurst, Petworth, Selsey, the larger villages are Billingshurst, Copthorne, Crawley Down, Cuckfield, Henfield, Hassocks, Hurstpierpoint, Lindfield, Pulborough and Storrington. The current total population of the county makes up 1. 53% of Englands population, West Sussex is bordered by Hampshire to the west, Surrey to the north and East Sussex to the east
