The Sussex School of Archaeology and History

Saturday 12th October 2024

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​Living in Tudor and Stuart Sussex

c.1500 - 1700

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The two hundred years when England was ruled by the Tudor and Stuart dynasties were a period of great changes. Between 1500 and 1700, England emerged from being a backwater state on the edge of Europe to begin a long period as an important and wealthy country. The life of many people at the start of the period was different from that at the end. By 1700 England was no longer a Roman Catholic country, monasteries and convents were closed and, many demolished, disappearing from the landscape of Sussex.

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During the sixteen and seventeenth century we traded further afield and also adopted new ideas and technologies from Europe such as more up to date ways of making iron and glass, we learnt to make better wool clothe and export the finished goods and less wool. We exported grain and other goods and imported high value to bulk produced such as wine, exotic fruits and flavourings. All of these developments affected life in Sussex.