Rape of Hastings

Rape of Hastings

Hastings Castle, once the administrative centre of the Rape
Area
 • 1821 154,069 acres (623.50 km2)
 • 1831 154,069 acres (623.50 km2)
Population
 • 1821 44,311
 • 1831 50,239
Density
 • 1821 0.29 inhabitants per acre (72/km2)
 • 1831 0.33 inhabitants per acre (82/km2)
History
 • Created By 11th century
 • Succeeded by Sussex (eastern division)
Status Rape (county subdivision)
 • HQ Hastings

Emblem of the Rape and town of Hastings
Subdivisions
 • Type Hundreds
 • Units Baldstrow, Battle, Bexhill, Foxearle, Gostrow, Guestling, Hawkesborough, Henhurst, Netherfield, Ninfield, Shoyswell, Staple

The Rape of Hastings is one of the rapes, the traditional sub-divisions unique to the historic county of Sussex in England.

History

Medieval sources and place name evidence suggest that there were people living in what became the Rape of Hastings by the late 8th century. The people who were known as the Haestingas were a separate group to those of the South Saxons. The Haestingas became a sub-kingdom of the Kingdom of Sussex before being annexed by the Kingdom of Wessex[1]

William the Conqueror granted the rape of Hastings to his cousin, Robert, Count of Eu, shortly after the Norman Conquest.[2]

Location

Hastings rape is the easternmost of all the Sussex rapes and it borders the rape of Pevensey to the west. To the north and east of the rape lies the county of Kent, while to the south lies the English Channel. The rape of Hastings includes the towns of Battle, Hastings and Rye. At 197 metres (646 ft) tall, Brightling Down in the High Weald is the highest point in the rape.

Sub-divisions

The rape is traditionally divided into the following hundreds:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Armstrong, J.R. (1971). A History of Sussex. Sussex: Phillimore. p. 39. ISBN 0-85033-185-4.
  2. ↑ "Hastings Castle". Retrieved 20 Mar 2012.

External links

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