It is bounded to the west by Hampshire , north by Surrey , northeast by Kent , south by the English Channel , and divided for many purposes into the ceremonial counties of West Sussex and East Sussex. Brighton and Hove , though part of East Sussex, was made a unitary authority in , and as such, is administered independently of the rest of East Sussex. Brighton and Hove was granted City status in Until then, Chichester was Sussex’s only city. Sussex has three main geographic sub-regions, each oriented approximately east to west. In the southwest is the fertile and densely populated coastal plain. North of this are the rolling chalk hills of the South Downs , beyond which is the well-wooded Sussex Weald. Around , it was absorbed into the kingdom of Wessex and subsequently into the kingdom of England. It was the home of some of Europe’s earliest known humans, whose remains have been found at Boxgrove. It was invaded by the Romans and is the site of the Battle of Hastings.