A coat of arms has been associated with the historic county of Sussex since the seventeenth century. The device, displaying six martlets or heraldic swallows on a shield, later formed the basis of armorial bearings granted to the county councils of East and West Sussex. A modern coat of arms is derived from the medi val practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ... The historic counties of England are ancient subdivisions of England. ... This article refers to the historic county in England. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... A martlet is a type of heraldic bird similar to the swallow, but having no feet. ... In the British Isles, a county council is a council that governs a county. ... East Sussex is a county in South East England. ... West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex (with Brighton and Hove), Hampshire and Surrey. ...

Origins of the arms

The earliest recorded use of the arms appears to be in the atlas Theatrum Imperii Maganae Britanniae produced by John Speed in 1622. The book displays arms for each of the seven kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy, and that shown for the Kingdom of the South Saxons was six golden martlets on both a blue (azure) or red (gules) shield. In both cases the arms were ensigned by an ancient crown. It is possible that the device had a much earlier origin, as arms were attributed to other Saxon kingdoms by the heralds in the later Middle Ages. These attributed arms were a prochronism, as heraldry did not develop until some centuries after the existence of the kingdoms. The arms later used by local authorities in Essex, Middlesex, Kent, Northumberland and County Durham all owe their origins to the medieval heralds.^[1] Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps or manifolds, traditionally bound into book form, but also found in multimedia formats. ... John Speed (1542-1629) was a historian, now best remembered as the cartographer whose maps of English counties are often found framed in homes throughout the UK. He was born at Farndon in Cheshire, and went into his fathers tailoring business where he worked until he was about 50... For other uses, see Anglo-Saxon. ... A map showing the general locations of the Anglo-Saxon peoples around the year 600 Britain and Ireland around the year 802 Heptarchy (Greek: seven + realm) is a collective name applied to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the south and east of Great Britain during late antiquity and the early... The Kingdom of Sussex, (Suth Seaxe, i. ... Heralds, wearing tabards, in procession to St. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Look up Anachronism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. ... For other meanings of Essex, see Essex (disambiguation). ... The Middlesex Guildhall at Westminster Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England and was the second smallest (after Rutland). ... For other uses, see Kent (disambiguation). ... Northumberland is a county in the North East of England. ... County Durham is a county in north-east England. ...

Adoption by county authorities

By the nineteenth century the blue shield bearing gold martlets had become accepted as an emblem of the county of Sussex. The seal of the clerk of the peace of the county bore the arms, as did the badges of the East Sussex Constabulary and the Sussex Yeomanry.^{[2] [3]} Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Yeomanry were units of mounted volunteers, first raised in Britain during the Napoleonic Wars, to defend against invasion from abroad or revolution at home. ...

1889 - 1974

The Local Government Act 1888 introduced administrative counties each governed by an elected county council. Sussex was divided into two administartive counties: East and West Sussex. Each county council was required to adopt a common seal. The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. ... An administrative county is an administrative area in the British Isles. ...

Coat of arms granted to West Sussex County Council in 1889

West Sussex County Council promptly applied to the College of Arms for a grant of arms, which were granted on May 18, 1889.^[4] The cost of the grant was met by the Duke of Norfolk, a member of the council and titular head of the College of Arms. West Sussex was the first county council to become armigerous. The entrance of the College of Arms. ... is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Most Noble Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk (27 December 1847–11 February 1917) was an English nobleman and philanthropist. ...

The arms were the same as those associated with the historic county with the addition of a gold "chief" or band at the top of the shiled. The blazon or technical description was: Azure, six martlets, three, two and one a chief or.^[5]
This is an article about Heraldry. ...

Coat of arms granted to East Sussex County Council in 1937

East Sussex County Council adopted a seal in 1889. The seal bore a quartered shield.

• The first quarter bore the traditional six gold martlets on blue of Sussex,
• The second quarter consisted of gold and blue checks from tha arms of the De Warenne family, Earls of Surrey and lords of the barony of Lewes.
• The third quarter was gold with a red displayed eagle, arms of the De Aquila family, lords of Pevensey
• The fourth quarter bore the arms of the Cinque Ports.

These unofficial arms remained in use until 1937 when an a grant of arms from the College of Arms was obtained on September 10. A red shield was adopted and a gold Saxon crown was added for heraldic difference. The arms were blazoned as: Gules, six martlets three, two and one, and in chief a Saxon crown or^[6]
This is about Lewes in England. ... Pevensey is a small village (1991 pop. ... Flag of the Cinque Ports Formally, in Kent and Sussex there are five Head Ports making up the Confederation of the Cinque Ports, often pronounced as the anglicised sink ports, and meaning five ports (cinque in French means five and ports is to be connected to the Italian word porto... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Since 1974

The Local Government Act 1972 reorganised councils throughout England and Wales from 1974. In Sussex two new non-metropolitan counties of East Sussex and West Sussex were created, but with different boundaries to the administrative counties abolished by the 1972 Act. Accordingly the two county councils had to apply for new arms. Both county councils were granted arms in 1975, based on those previously used. The Local Government Act 1972 (1972 c. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article is about the country. ... A shire county or non-metropolitan county in England, is a county level entity which is not a metropolitan county. ...

Coat of arms granted to West Sussex County Council in 1975

West Sussex County Council was granted arms on January 14, 1975. The gold chief of the 1889 shield was modified by being given an "indented" edge. A crest was added, shown atop a helm and decorative mantling. The crest represented the areas transferred from East Sussex and Surrey in 1974: the Saxon crown was taken from the East Sussex arms and the acorns from those of Surrey.^[7] Image File history File links Arms of West Sussex This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... Image File history File links Arms of West Sussex This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the English county. ...

The blazon of the arms is: Azure six martlets three two and one and a chief indented or, and for a crest on a wreath of the colours a sprig of oak proper fructed with two acorns or within a Saxon crown also or.^[8]

Coat of arms granted to East Sussex County Council in 1975

East Sussex County Council was granted a new coat of arms on August 29, 1975. The arms are identical to the 1937 grant with the addition of a silver wavy line, representative of the coastal county boroughs of Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings added to the county in 1974.^[9] Image File history File links E_Sussex_arms. ... Image File history File links E_Sussex_arms. ... is the 241st day of the year (242nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... County borough was a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom to refer to a borough or a city independent of county administration. ... For other places with the same name, see Brighton (disambiguation). ... For other places with the same name, see Eastbourne (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Hastings (disambiguation). ...

Other Sussex organisations

Badge of the Sussex Police

The Sussex Police Authority was granted arms on May 30, 1969: a blue shield bearing a gold tower between five gold martlets.^[6] The Sussex County Cricket Club uses the traditional county arms as its badge.
Sussex Police is the police force covering East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton and Hove in southern England. ... is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Sussex field against Derbyshire at Hove on 24 April 2005 The Arthur Gilligan stand at Hove The Pavilion at Hove Leaving the County Ground at Hove Sussex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county...

See also

• List of English counties' coats of arms

This is a list of the coats of arms of various county councils (current and former) in England. ...

References

1. ^ Charles Wilfrid Scott-Giles, The Romance of Heraldry, London, 1929
2. ^ Francis W Steer, The arms of the County Councils of East and West Sussex and the Diocese of Chichester, jointly issued by the two county councils, 1959
3. ^ A L King and H L Kipling, Head-dress badges of the British Army, Volume 1, reprinted Uckfield 2006
4. ^ Letters Patent sealed by Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy Kings of Arms.
5. ^ Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, The Book of Public Arms, 2nd edition, London 1915
6. ^ ^{a b} Geoffrey Briggs, Civic and Corporate Heraldry, London, 1971
7. ^ West Sussex County Council Archive Gallery, accessed August 24, 2007
8. ^ Civic Heraldry of England and Wales - West Sussex, accessed August 24, 2007
9. ^ Letters Patent dated August 29, 1975