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.
History Rapes are territorial divisions, peculiar to Sussex, that were used for administrative purpose. The Rape of Hastings was one of six such divisions.
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.
William the Conqueror granted the rape of Hastings to his cousin, Robert, Count of Eu, shortly after the Norman Conquest.
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 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:
Baldstrow Battle Bexhill Foxearle Goldspur Gostrow Guestling Hawkesborough Henhurst Netherfield Ninfield Shoyswell Staple
See also History of Sussex List of hundreds of England and Wales
References
External links GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, Hastings Rape (Rape) through time, A Vision of Britain through Time. The Sussex Subsidy of 1327 - The Rape of Hastings, British History Online