Rape (Sussex)

Map of Sussex in 1832 showing the six rapes

Rape is the traditional name for the political subdivisions of the English county of Sussex . The origin of the structure is unknown, but appears to date back to before the Norman conquest of England . The origin of the term is controversial. Each rape was in turn divided into several hundred groups.

At the time of the Norman conquest there were four rapes: Arundel , Lewes , Pevensey and Hastings . The Rape Arundel comprised Sussex west of the River Adur . At the time of the Domesday Book , William the Conqueror had created the Rape of Bramber from parts of Arundel and Lewes so that the mouth of the Adur could be better defended.

The masters of the rapes at the time of Henry I's accession to the throne in 1100 were:

Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury , for Arundel (confiscated in 1102 and directly ruled by the Crown)
Wilhelm, Count von Mortain , Roberts nephew, for Pevensey (confiscated in 1102 and given to Gilbert de l'Aigle)
William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey , for Lewes
Heinrich I, Earl of Eu , for Hastings, and
Philip de Braose for Bramber

Between 1250 and 1262, the Chichester rape was created from the western half of Arundel. Since then, Sussex has been divided - from west to east - into the rapes Chichester, Arundel, Bramber, Lewes, Pevensey and Hastings.

Each rape was now centered around a castle, can be seen as a military district in support of the castle, and had its own sheriff . Each rape was a strip of land from north to south, from the border with Surrey and Kent to the English Channel . Arundel Castle , Bramber Castle and Lewes Castle ruled the rivers Arun , Adur and Ouse , respectively , Chichester Castle , Hastings Castle and Pevensey Castle ruled the coast.

Individual evidence

↑ The pre-Norman origin was disputed until 1942. (Helen Maud Cam (preface 1942), Liberties & communities in medieval England: Collected Studies in Local Administration and Topography , 1944, p. 193)
↑ Peter Brandon, Sussex (2006)
↑ For the history of the relationship between Heinrich and the Lords of the Rapes see: Judith A. Green, The Government of England Under Henry I 1989, p. 115.
^ Green 1989
^ Green 1989
↑ Eleanor Searle: Lordship and community: Battle Abbey and its banlieu, 1066-1538, 1974, p. 208.

[1] The pre-Norman origin was disputed until 1942. (Helen Maud Cam (preface 1942), Liberties & communities in medieval England: Collected Studies in Local Administration and Topography , 1944, p. 193)

[2] Peter Brandon, Sussex (2006)

[3] For the history of the relationship between Heinrich and the Lords of the Rapes see: Judith A. Green, The Government of England Under Henry I 1989, p. 115.

[4] Green 1989

[5] Green 1989

[6] Eleanor Searle: Lordship and community: Battle Abbey and its banlieu, 1066-1538, 1974, p. 208.