Excerpt from A History of the Castles, Mansions, and Manors of Western Sussex As this volume is likely to be in the hands Of those chiefly who, by hereditary, or other ties, are attached to the county, it is unnecessary to prove that Sussex is peculiarly rich, not only in historical associations, but also in sites and Objects Of antiquarian interest. From its proximity to the Continent of Europe it would naturally suggest itself as a landing place for the foreign invader, and there is good reason to believe that Duke William only followed the example given by Julius Caesar in debarking his troops at Pevensey, and striking his first blow within the limits of the South Saxon kingdom. Less easy is it to understand why Sussex should have been converted to Christianity at a later date than the rest of England, and, in order to account for the fact, we have to bear in mind that the little kingdom Of the South Saxons had but little intercourse with Kent, the cradle of English, Christianity, and was never visited by St. Augustine and his band of missionaries. Sussex was, in fact, so inferior in importance to the neighbouring kingdoms of Kent and Wessex, that its influence on the course Of events was insignificant. It was not worth while for the pioneers Of religion or civilisation to penetrate the great forest of Ande rida, and expend their energies upon men who were practically more remote than the inhabitants Of Mercia or Northumbria. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.