Rape of Hastings

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

Rape of Hastings

Hastings Castle, once the administrative centre of the Rape

The Rape of Hastings shown within Sussex
Area
 • 1821154,069 acres (623.50 km2)
 • 1831154,069 acres (623.50 km2)
Population
 • 182144,311
 • 183150,239
Density
 • 18210.29 inhabitants per acre (72/km2)
 • 18310.33 inhabitants per acre (82/km2)
History
 • CreatedBy 11th century
 • Succeeded bySussex (eastern division)
StatusRape (county subdivision)
 • HQHastings

Emblem of the Rape and town of Hastings
Subdivisions
 • TypeHundreds
 • UnitsBaldstrow, Battle, Bexhill, Foxearle, Gostrow, Guestling, Hawkesborough, Henhurst, Netherfield, Ninfield, Shoyswell, Staple

History

Rapes are territorial divisions, peculiar to Sussex, that were used for administrative purpose. The Rape of Hastings was one of six such divisions.[1]

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[2]

William the Conqueror granted the rape of Hastings to his cousin, Robert, Count of Eu, shortly after the Norman Conquest.[3]

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. Lower, Anthony (1911). "Rape". Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 900. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  2. Armstrong, J.R. (1971). A History of Sussex. Sussex: Phillimore. p. 39. ISBN 0-85033-185-4.
  3. "Hastings Castle". Retrieved 20 March 2012.

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