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The history of local government in Sussex is unique and complex. Founded as a kingdom in the 5th century, Sussex was annexed by the kingdom of Wessex in the 9th century, which after further developments became the Kingdom of England. It currently corresponds to two counties and districts. After the Reform Act of 1832 Sussex was divided into the eastern division and the western division, these divisions were coterminous with the two archdeaconries of Chichester and Lewes.〔Horsfield. The History, Antiquities and Topography of the County of Sussex. Volume II. Appendix pp. 23-75.〕 In 1889, following the Local Government Act 1888, using those same boundaries, Sussex was divided into two administrative counties, East Sussex and West Sussex together with four self-governing county boroughs, Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings and Worthing. On 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the county boundaries were revised with the mid-Sussex area of East Grinstead, Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill and Hassocks being transferred from East Sussex into West Sussex along with Crawley and the Gatwick area that was formerly part of Surrey. The county boroughs were returned to the control of the two county councils but in 1997 the towns of Brighton and Hove were amalgamated as a unitary local authority and in 2000, Brighton and Hove was given City status.〔John Godfrey. Local Government in the 19th and 20th Century ''in'' An Historical Atlas of Sussex. pp. 126–127.〕 There continue to be a range of organisations that still operate within the ancient borders of Sussex although it is now the two counties of East and West Sussex, such as the Diocese of Chichester, Sussex Police, the Sussex Archaeological Society the Sussex History Society and the Sussex Wild Life Trust Association. In 2010 the Sussex Association was established as a branch of the Association of British Counties, which is a society dedicated to promoting awareness of the continuing importance of the 86 historic (or traditional) Counties of Great Britain. ==Saxon period== Sussex originated in the 5th century as the Kingdom of Sussex, which in the 9th century was annexed by the Kingdom of Wessex, which with further expansions became the Kingdom of England. While Sussex retained its independence it is likely that it would have had a regular assembly or ''folkmoot''. Sussex seems to have had a greater degree of decentralisation than other kingdoms. For a period during the 760s there may have been as many as four of five kings based within the territory, perhaps with each ruling over a distinct tribal territory, perhaps on a temporary basis. It seems possible that the people of the ''Haestingas'' may have had their own ruler for a while, and another sub-division may have been along the River Adur.〔 At some stage in the Saxon period Sussex was divided into administrative areas which became known as 'Rapes'. It is possible that the rapes represent the shires of the ancient kingdom of Sussex, especially as in the 12th century they had sheriffs of their own.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Encyclopedia Britannica 11th edition, 1911, Online Version )〕 Another possibility is that the rapes may derive from the system of fortifications, or ''burhs'' (boroughs) devised by Alfred the Great in the late ninth century to defeat the Vikings. Various local ''folkmoots'' would have been held in Sussex, for instance at Ditchling, Tinhale (in Bersted) and Madehurst. Placename evidence for early assemblies in Sussex comes from Tinhale (from the Old English ''þing'' (thing) meaning hold a meeting, so 'meeting-hill') and Madehurst (from the Old English ''maedel'' meaning assembly, so 'assembly wooded hill'). There is also a location in Durrington that had the name ''gemot biorh'' meaning a moot barrow or meeting barrow, a boundary barrow. The early hundreds often lacked the formality of later attempts of local government: frequently they met in the open, at a convenient central spot, perhaps marked by a tree, as at Easebourne. Dill, meaning the boarded meeting place, was one of the few hundreds in Sussex that provided any accommodation. From the 10th century onwards the hundred became important as a court of justice as well as dealing with matters of local administration. The meeting place was often a point within the hundred such as a bridge (as in the bridge over the western River Rother in Rotherbridge hundred) or a notable tree (such as a tree called Tippa's Oak in Tipnoak hundred).〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of local government in Sussex」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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