Catalogue description ARCHIVE OF THE SUSSEX RIVER AUTHORITY

SRA 1 The East Sussex River Board 1950-1965

SRA 2 The Ouse Catchment Board 1931-1950

SRA 3 The Cuckmere Catchment Board 1930-1950

SRA 4 The Old Haven (Pevensey) and Bulverhythe Stream Catchment Board [1889] - 1950

SRA 5 The Ouse Board of Conservators 1876-1950

SRA 6 The Commissioners of Sewers for the Lewes and Laughton Levels 1620-1950

SRA 7 The Commissioners of Sewers for the levels within the Rapes of Pevensey and Hastings 1708-1935

SRA 8 The Trustees of the Newhaven Harbour and Ouse Lower Navigation 1846-1952

SRA 9 The Newhaven and Seaford Sea Defence Commissioners 1912-1944

SRA 10 The Commissioners of Newhaven Piers 1825-[c.1850]

SRA 11 The Company of Proprietors of the River Ouse Navigation 1788-1844

SRA 12 The Trustees of the Ouse Lower Navigation 1824-1847

For the East Sussex County Council water supplies joint advisory committee minutes and files 1934-1957, see C/C12/10 and C/C87. For the deposited accounts of public utilities 1822-1888 and 1889-1972, see QDT/3 and C/C109; for deposited water orders 1921-1960, see C/C114 and for a list of water undertakings 1944, see C/C77/85.

For additional records, see ACC 7891.

Records relating to land drainage have also survived amongst solicitors' archives, principally Dawes and Prentice of Rye (DAP), Lewis Holman and Lawrence of Lewes (LHL) and Raper and Fovargue of Battle (RAF).

Sussex River Authority

Not available for consultation until 30 years from the last date of the document

Records deposited 30 October 1961 (D475), 16 February 1972 (A1461)

Concordance of RA and SRA references. These records were previously temporarily listed as RA.

RA B1 SRA 3/1/1-3

RA B2 SRA 3/6/1-2

RA B3 SRA 3/3/1-13

RA B4 SRA 7/15/6,18,34

RA B5-7 SRA 3/2/1-11

RA B8 SRA 3/5/1

RA B9 SRA 2/1/1

RA B10 SRA 2/2/1

RA B11 SRA 2/6/6

RA B12 SRA 2/3/1-2

RA B13 SRA 2/6/1

RA B14 SRA Destroyed

RA B15 SRA Destroyed

RA B16 SRA 2/6/2

RA B17 SRA 2/6/3

RA B18 SRA Destroyed

RA B19 SRA 2/6/7

RA B20 SRA 2/6/5

RA B21 SRA 2/4/1

RA B22 SRA Destroyed

RA B23 SRA 2/5/1

SRA 2/7/1

RA B24 SRA Destroyed

RA B25 SRA 2/6/8

RA B26 SRA Destroyed

RA B27/1 SRA 5/1/1

RA B27/2 SRA 5/2/1

RA B27/3 SRA 5/3/2

RA B27/4 SRA 5/3/3

RA B28 SRA 4/1/1-6

RA B29 SRA 4/2/1

RA B30 SRA 4/3/1-3

RA B31 SRA 4/8/1

RA B32 SRA 4/8/2-3

RA B33 SRA 4/11/1

RA B34-36 SRA 4/4/1-28

RA B37-39 SRA 4/6/1-29

RA B40-41 SRA 4/4/1-28

RA B42 SRA 4/11/2

RA B43 SRA 4/7/1-6

RA B44 SRA 4/11/3

RA B45 SRA 4/2/1-11

RA B46/1 SRA 4/9/1

RA B46/2 SRA 4/10/1

RA B46/3 SRA 4/10/2

RA C1 SRA 6/2/1-13

RA C2 SRA 6/3/1-7

RA C3 SRA 6/1/1-19

RA C4 SRA 6/14/8

RA C5 SRA 11/3/1-2

RA C6 SRA 6/14/9

RA C7 SRA 6/14/10

RA C8 SRA 11/1/1

RA C9 SRA ?

RA C10 SRA 6/14/16

RA C11 SRA 6/9/10

RA C12 SRA 6/11/2

RA C13 SRA 6/9/12

RA C14 SRA 11/3/5

RA C15 SRA 11/2/1

RA C16 SRA 6/14/23

RA C17 SRA 11/1/2

RA C18 SRA 6/14/24

RA C19 SRA 6/12/4

RA C20 SRA 6/13/21

RA C21 SRA 6/14/32-33

RA C22 SRA 6/14/36

RA C23 SRA 6/13/20

RA C24 SRA 6/14/37-38

RA C25 SRA 6/12/7

RA C26 SRA 6/14/39

RA C27 SRA 6/12/8-9

RA C28 SRA 6/12/10-11

RA C29 SRA 6/14/40

RA C30 SRA 6/14/41

RA C31/1 SRA 6/13/1

RA C31/2 SRA 6/13/2

RA C31/3 SRA 6/13/3

RA C31/4 SRA 6/13/4

RA C31/5 SRA 6/13/5

RA C31/6 SRA 6/13/7

RA C31/7 SRA 6/13/6

RA C31/8 SRA 6/13/8

RA C31/9 SRA 6/13/9

RA C31/10 SRA 6/13/10

RA C31/11 SRA 6/13/12

RA C31/12 SRA 6/13/13

RA C31/13 SRA 6/13/14

RA C31/14 SRA 6/13/15-16

RA C31/15 SRA 6/13/18

RA C31/16 SRA 6/13/19

RA C31/17 SRA 6/13/22

RA C31/18 SRA 6/13/11

RA C31/19 SRA 6/13/17

RA C32 SRA 7/1/1-3

RA C33 SRA 7/4/1-10

RA C34 SRA 7/5/1-2

RA C35 SRA 7/9/1-3

RA C36 SRA 7/10/1-2

RA C37 SRA 7/6/1

RA C38 SRA 7/1, 8/1

RA C39 SRA 7/13/1

RA C40 SRA 7/14/1-25

RA C41 SRA 7/20/22

RA C42 SRA 7/20/3

RA C43 SRA 7/17/3

RA C44 SRA 7/20/11

RA C45 SRA number unused

RA C46 SRA 7/18/1

RA C47 SRA 7/20/1

RA C48 SRA 7/20/16

RA C49 SRA 7/17/2, 4

SRA 7/20/1, 4, 10

RA C50 SRA 7/19/4-5

SRA 7/20/24

RA C51 SRA 7/16/5

SRA 7/20/19, 23

RA C52 SRA 7/15/26

RA C53 SRA 7/20/25

RA C54/1 SRA 7/3/1-2

RA C54/2 SRA 7/15/4-5

RA C54/3 SRA 7/16/2

RA C54/4 SRA 7/15/22

RA C55/1 SRA 7/2/1-2

RA C55/2 SRA 7/11/1-2

RA C55/3 SRA 7/15/18, 38

SRA 7/20/18, 20

RA C56/1 SRA 7/12/1-2

RA C56/2 SRA 7/13/2

RA C56/3 SRA 7/15/3, 21

SRA 7/19/9, 20

RA C56/4 SRA 7/18/2

RA C57/1 SRA 7/19/1

RA C57/2 SRA Destroyed

RA C57/3 SRA 7/19/24

RA C57/4 SRA 7/19/22

RA C57/5 SRA 7/19/3

RA D1 SRA 8/1/1-3

RA D2 SRA 8/2/1-5

RA D3 SRA 8/3/1

RA D4 SRA 8/4/1-31

RA D5 SRA 8/5/1

RA D6 SRA 8/5/2

RA D7 SRA 8/7/1-2

RA D8 SRA Destroyed

RA D9 SRA 8/6/1

RA D10 SRA 8/8/2

RA D11 SRA 8/9/1-5

RA D12 SRA 6/14/28

RA D13 SRA 6/14/29

RA D14 SRA 8/11/10

RA D15 SRA 6/14/30

RA D16 SRA 6/12/16

RA D17 SRA 6/14/30

RA D18 SRA 6/14/43

RA D19 SRA 8/11/16

RA D20 SRA Destroyed

RA D21 SRA 8/8/3

RA D22 SRA 8/11/19

RA D23 SRA 8/11/22

RA D24 SRA Destroyed

RA D25 SRA 8/11/27

RA D26 SRA 6/14/42

RA D27 SRA 8/11/24

RA D28 SRA 8/11/26

RA D29 SRA 8/11/25

RA D30 SRA 6/13/25

RA D31 SRA 6/13/26

RA D32 SRA Destroyed

RA D33 SRA Destroyed

RA D34 SRA 8/11

RA D35/1 SRA10/1/1

RA D35/2 SRA 12/2/2

RA D35/3 SRA 6/12/1

RA D35/4 SRA 6/14/19

RA D35/5 SRA 6/12/2

RA D35/6 SRA 12/1/1

RA D35/7 SRA 8/11/1

RA D35/8 SRA10/1/3

RA D36 SRA 9/1-3

RA D37/1 SRA ?

RA D37/2 SRA 8/10/2-4

RA D37/3 SRA 8/10/6-7

RA D37/4 SRA 6/13/23

RA D37/5 SRA 6/13/24

RA D37/6 SRA Destroyed

RA D37/7 SRA Destroyed

The Sussex River Authority, established in 1964, was the successor to the functions of a number of bodies concerned with drainage and river navigation going back to the 17th century.

The earliest bodies were the commissioners of sewers whose jurisdiction derived from letters patent issued under the Statute of Sewers 1531. In East Sussex there were separate commissions for the Lewes and Laughton Levels, for the levels within the Rapes of Pevensey and Hastings, and the Rother Levels.

However by the 19th century the powers of the sewer commissioners had been fragmented by the creation of competing and overlapping jurisdictions of other bodies concerned with drainage and navigation. On both the Ouse and Rother harbour commissioners for Rye and Newhaven had been in existence since 1731 and 1724 respectively. The situation on the River Ouse was further complicated by the creation in 1790 and 1791 of the Company of Proprietors of the River Ouse Navigation and the Trustees of the Ouse Lower Navigation. The former was largely defunct by the 1860s while the latter was in 1847 merged with the Commissioners of Newhaven Piers to form the Trustees of the Newhaven Harbour and Ouse Lower Navigation. They assumed certain functions with regard to the maintenance of the river as far as Bushy Brook and Hamsey (but left the sewer commissioners in being with their voting powers intact) and responsibility for Newhaven Harbour. In 1878 responsibility for the harbour passed to the Newhaven Harbour Company.

From 1872 boards of conservators for the Rother and Ouse were established to protect fish stocks.

Thus by the beginning of the 20th century the situation in Sussex and elsewhere had become hopelessly confused. The work of the sewer commissioners and kindred bodies continued until the Land Drainage Act 1930 (20-21 Geo V, c44) by which their duties were taken over by internal drainage boards, while overall supervision was exercised by the catchment board for that area. However, the powers of the sewer commissioners continued in force as an internal drainage board unless or until the commission was determined by a scheme under part two of the Act.

Within East Sussex four catchment boards were created: the Ouse Catchment Board, Cuckmere Catchment Board, Old Haven (Pevensey) and Bulverhythe Stream Catchment Board and the Rother and Jury's Gut Catchment Board.

The River Boards Act 1948 abolished the catchment boards and from 1950 established river boards. The East Sussex River Board absorbed all the catchment boards within the county except the Rother and Jury's Gut Catchment Board which went to the Kent River Board.

By the Water Resources Act 1963 the Kent and East Sussex River Boards were in 1964 superseded by the Kent and Sussex River Authorities. In 1974 the unitary water authorities assumed responsibility for both rivers (drainage) and the water supply. However their unitary jurisdiction was broken up under the Water Act 1989 which created a privatized water supply industry under public regulation and transferred responsibility for the quality of inland, coastal and underground waters, controlling pollution, the management of water resources, land drainage, flood protection and fisheries to the newly created National Rivers Authority.