Sussex 1550 quiz
How well do you know Sussex? Answer 10 quick questions on all things Sussex, then press Finish for your score. Every visit picks a fresh 10 from our growing question bank.
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#1. Which of the following is NOT one of the ‘Seven Sisters’?
Did you know? The Seven Sisters are actually eight chalk cliffs! The name “Seven Sisters” comes from the traditional counting of the seven main peaks, while erosion has continually changed the coastline.
#2. What is the Long Man of Wilmington?
Did you know? The Long Man of Wilmington sits on Windover Hill, and is approximately 72 metres (235ft) tall.
#3. A Sussex countryman’s ‘cutty’, sometimes ‘kitty’, is which bird?
Did you know? The term is a shortened form of “cutty-wren”, which refers to the bird’s notably short or “cut-off” tail.
#4. In Sussex dialect, what is a ‘twitten’?
Did you know? You will still find ‘twittens’ right across the county today.
#5. What is a Sussex trug?
Did you know? On 1st May 1851, Queen Victoria visited the display of Herstmonceux man Thomas Smith, at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, and bought several trugs for the Royal Family.
#6. In Sussex dialect, what is an ‘ammot’?
Did you know? This stems directly from the Old English word for ant, ǣmete. In some central parts of the county, ‘ammut-castes’ referred to anthills.
#7. In Tudor times, the Sussex Weald was famous for which industry?
Did you know? The Weald’s furnaces cast the cannons for the English Navy, during Tudor Times.
#8. Beachy Head is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain. Which town sits beside it?
Did you know? This famous cliff’s name does not come from the English word “beach,” but is instead an English corruption of the old French words ‘beau chef’, meaning “beautiful headland”.
#9. If you were walking a ‘bostal’, where would you be?
Did you know? Some South Downs paths are still called bostals, such as Steyning Bostal.
#10. Which Sussex town is considered the ‘Birthplace of British Motorsport’?
Did you know? On 16th May 1902, Bexhill-on-Sea hosted Britain’s first official motor race on a public road. The event was backed by the 7th Earl De La Warr, whose family owned much of Bexhill.
#11. In which small village is an annual Horn Fair held, on St James’s Day, 25th July?
Did you know? Every year, The Ebernoe Horn Fair is celebrated on the village common with a cricket match against a neighbouring village. The batsman who scores the most runs is awarded a rather unusual prize – a set of horns!
#12. What creature was a ‘flittermouse’?
Did you know? The word is thought to be related to the German “Fledermaus – flying mouse.
#13. In Sussex dialect, what is a ‘rife’?
Did you know? The term refers to a natural or channeled stream running through flat a coastal area, such as the Ferring Rife or Aldingbourne Rife.
#14. What would a Sussex countryman have called a ‘dumbledore’?
Did you know? Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series is named after the dialect word for the bumblebee.
#15. Which of these sports or games is NOT traditionally associated with Sussex?
Did you know? The bat-and-ball game, Stoolball, is thought to date back to at least the 15th century. One theory is that players originally used a milking stool as the wicket, giving the game its wonderfully literal name.
#16. Who were the ‘pork-bolters’?
Did you know? Historically, towns along Sussex Coast gave unique colloquial names to their local communities, such as Brighton’s ‘Jugs’, Hastings’ ‘Chop-backs’, Rye’s ‘Mudlarks’, and Seaford’s ‘Shags’.
#17. Brighton’s North Laine takes its name from an old Sussex word. What was a ‘laine’?
Did you know? The word comes from an old Saxon legal term for a landholding, loan, or lease used in the feudal open-field farming system.
#18. Which famous pudding was invented at the Hungry Monk restaurant in Jevington?
Did you know? A commemorative blue plaque marks the historic birthplace of the pie on the corner of Jevington Road and Willingdon Lane in Jevington.
#19. What is a ‘snag’ in Sussex dialect?
Did you know? The word is a direct linguistic descendant of the Saxon word ‘snægl’ – a snail or slug. This has a Proto-Germanic root *snag- or *snog-, meaning “to crawl” or “to creep”.
#20. Landport, St Anne’s and Sun Street, are all defunct bonfire societies from which town?
Did you know? In 1853, Lewes’s first organised Bonfire Societies were founded – the Lewes Town (now Borough) and The Cliffe societies, each representing opposite sides of the River Ouse.
#21. Which Sussex word describes feeling giddy and faint?
Did you know? The word Swymy stems from the same linguistic roots as the standard English adjective ‘swimmy’ – a sensation where everything feels like it is swirling around you.
#22. Sussex Day is celebrated every 16th June. Which saint’s feast day does it mark?
Did you know? St Richard is the Patron Saint of Sussex, and 16th June marks the day in 1276 when his remains were moved to a shrine in Chichester Cathedral.
#23. Brighton’s Royal Pavilion was built as a seaside palace for which king?
Did you know? King George IV began it when he was still Prince Regent, and architect John Nash gave it its Indian style.
#24. Fishbourne Roman Palace lies just outside which Sussex city?
Did you know? It’s the largest Roman home found north of the Alps.
#25. You hear a ‘yaffle’ in the woods. What is it?
Did you know? The term became widely known through the character Professor Yaffle, the grumpy wooden bookend in the classic children’s television series Bagpuss.
#26. Who traditionally releases cuckoos in Heathfield on 14th April to mark the beginning of Spring?
Did you know? The Heffle Cuckoo Fair, traditionally held on 14th April, dates back to 1315, when the Bishop of Chichester granted Heathfield a charter for an annual fair. ‘Heffle’ is Sussex Dialect for Heathfield.
#27. Sussex’s motto is ‘We Wunt be Druv’. What does it mean?
Did you know? The phrase has been adopted as the universal motto of Sussex bonfire celebrations, by several Sussex bonfire societies.
#28. Who is the first recorded Queen of Sussex?
Did you know? Eabæ is recorded as being the queen to Æðelwealh, King of Sussex, from c.660 until c.685.
#29. The Battle of Hastings in 1066 wasn’t actually fought in Hastings itself. Which town grew up on the battlefield?
Did you know? King William I built Battle Abbey directly on the traditional site of the 1066 Battle of Hastings.
#30. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says Ælle landed with his 3 sons and founded the Kingdom of the South Saxons. In which year?
Did you know? From 477 to 2027 is 1,550 years, which is where Sussex 1550 gets its name.
#31. What is unusual about Chichester Cathedral’s bell tower?
Did you know? It’s the only surviving detached cathedral medieval bell tower in England.
#32. ‘Pharisees’ and ‘Pooks’ refer to what, in Sussex Folklore?
Did you know? “Pook” comes from Old English ‘pūca’, meaning a goblin, sprite or mischievous spirit. Sussex place names such as Pookhill (Alciston), Puckstye (Hartfield) and Pook Hole Pook Hill, Pookstye and Pook Hole (Fairlight) preserve this old folklore.
#33. In which Sussex village was the world’s first identified plant-eating dinosaur discovered, in 1822?
Did you know? In 1822, Dr Gideon Mantell and his wife Mary Ann Mantell, of Lewes, discovered fossilised dinosaur teeth at Whitemans Green, Cuckfield. The fossils helped lead to the identification of Iguanodon, one of the first dinosaurs ever scientifically recognised.
#34. How many golden martlets are on the Sussex flag?
Did you know? Tradition states that the 6 martlets represent the 6 subdivisions of Sussex, known as ‘rapes’ – Chichester, Arundel, Bramber, Lewes, Pevensey, and Hastings.
#35. The Ashdown Forest inspired which children’s stories?
Did you know? You can still play poohsticks at the ‘Poohsticks Bridge’ in the forest.