East Sussex Towns
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.
The ancient kingdom of Sussex has had separate county administrations since the 12th century, with the county town of the eastern division being Lewes [1]. This situation was formalised by Parliament in 1865, and the two parts were given distinct elected county councils in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888.
In East Sussex there were three self-administered county boroughs: Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings. In 1974 East Sussex was made a ceremonial county too, and the three county boroughs became districts within the county. At the same time the western boundary was altered, so that the Mid Sussex region (including Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath) was transferred to the county of West Sussex.
In 1997, the Brighton & Hove district of East Sussex became a self-administered unitary authority and was granted city status in 2000. It remains part of the ceremonial county of East Sussex.