Wunt be Druv! A Salute to the Sussex Dialect

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There are many different Bonfire Societies each holding their own event and attending each others. Celebrations last from the start of September to almost the end of November! See our Event calendar East Grinstead was part of this urban area for the 2011 census but it was not for previous censuses. In the 2001 census this urban area included Reigate and Redhill in Surrey but in the 2011 census it did not. Sussex has been a single diocese of the established church since the eighth century, after St Wilfrid founded Selsey Abbey on land granted by King Æðelwealh, Sussex's first Christian king. The Normans moved the location of Sussex's cathedral to Chichester in 1075. Since 1965 Arundel Cathedral has been the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishops of Arundel and Brighton, which covers Sussex and Surrey. The established church and the Catholic Church were historically strongest in western and southern areas. In contrast, Protestant non-conformity was historically strongest in areas furthest from diocesan authorities in Chichester, in the south-west. This included in the Weald and in the east, where there were also links to Protestant northern Europe. St Richard of Chichester is Sussex's patron saint. The coast has towns such as Bognor, Brighton, Bexhill-on-Sea, Chichester, Eastbourne, and Hastings, Hove and Worthing. Newhaven and Rye are ports, although the latter is also of historical importance.

Despite originating in the Weald of Sussex, the phrase has gone on to represent the entire county, for example it was used as the motto of the Amberley Village Parliament in the Downs at the end of the 19th Century. The statement has been utilised by the Royal Sussex Regiment, upon ‘Sussex Pigs’ made of Rye Pottery and bonfire societies across Sussex, stern on maintaining the strong traditions of Bonfire in Sussex. “We Wunt be Druv” has also been recently taken up by Harveys Brewery in Lewes. You won’t hear this statement muttered outside the county’s boundary, it is another compelling indication to the pan-Sussex identity and culture. There is nothing about the River Ouse to make it the best or most beautiful waterway in the country. It doesn’t have the Turner painting bend of the Thames, the spectacle of the Severn Bore or the steep valleys of the Wye. But it is charming all the same, and quite perfectly embodies the somnolent, quiet appeal of East Sussex. During World War I, on 30 June 1916, the Royal Sussex Regiment took part in the Battle of the Boar's Head at Richebourg-l'Avoué. The day subsequently became known as The Day Sussex Died. Within five hours the 17 officers and 349 men were killed, and 1,000 men were wounded or taken prisoner. In 1918 the terms of the armistice to be offered to Germany at the end of World War I were agreed at a meeting at Danny House, Hurstpierpoint. With the declaration of World War II, Sussex found itself part of the country's frontline with its airfields playing a key role in the Battle of Britain and with its towns being some of the most frequently bombed. Sussex was garrisoned by multiple British and Canadian Army units from 1940 until at least May 1942. During the lead up to the Dieppe Raid and D-Day landings, the people of Sussex were witness to the buildup of military personnel and materials, including the assembly of landing crafts and construction of Mulberry harbours off the county's coast.The kingdom of Sussex emerged in the 5th century from the Roman canton of the Regni, and continued to exist as a kingdom until about 827 when Wessex conquered Sussex shortly after the Battle of Ellendun. By 927, Wessex had conquered various other Anglo Saxon kingdoms to form the kingdom of England. In 1974, the Lord-Lieutenant of Sussex was replaced with one each for East and West Sussex, which became two separate ceremonial counties. Pier2Peer is an event organised by Together Co charity, taking place on Sussex Day at Brighton Palace Pier in the Palm Court restaurant. This year the day falls during National Loneliness Week so the charity will be hosting an afternoon tea with entertainment. Bob Smytherman, Worthing’s town crier will be there alongside councillor Lizzie Deane, the mayor of Brighton and Hove and TV presenter Gail Porter.togetherco.org.uk Shortly after John Harvey's death in 1862, Henry and Edwin died within days of each other, leaving William alone to run the business. He was not a brewer, so he hired Henry Titlow-Barrett from Wethereds Brewery in Marlow to take over the company's beer production and also went into business with John Maxfield-Smith, the husband of his daughter (Alice Harvey). William too died unexpectedly in 1868.

The climate of the coastal districts is strongly influenced by the sea, which, because of its tendency to warm up slower than land, can result in cooler temperatures than inland in the summer. In the autumn months, the coast sometimes has higher temperatures. Rainfall during the summer months is mainly from thunderstorms and thundery showers; from January to March the heavier rainfall is due to prevailing south-westerly frontal systems. Note late arrivals may find we have run out of some food, but we have done our very best to estimate numbers based on PPR requests.The towns of Sussex have grown with fishing along the coast, and latterly holiday resorts, and agriculture and iron mining on the Weald. Sussex is therefore most heavily populated along the south coast and along the main routes between Brighton and London; the M23 - A23 corridor. Sussex has a strong local identity. The county's unofficial anthem is "Sussex by the Sea" by William Ward-Higgs, inspired by a poem by Rudyard Kipling, and which became a regimental march of the Sussex Regiment. The county's motto, "We wunt be druv", reflects the strong-willed nature of its people in past centuries. The county day, Sussex Day, is the 16 June, the feast day of St Richard of Chichester.