England · Geographic county

Sussex county flag

Flag artwork supplied by the Flag Institute UK Flag Registry; reproduced as the registered public flag. Optimised to WebP without changing the design. Artwork and public-use information.

Registered county flag

County	Sussex
Geographical grouping	England
Registration recorded by British County Flags	20 May 2011
Design attribution	Traditional
Status checked	24 October 2026

Design and symbolism

Six golden martlets, arranged three, two and one, appear on blue. Martlets are stylised heraldic birds conventionally shown without feet.

History and use

The emblem’s recorded county associations include John Speed’s early-seventeenth-century cartography. Its more remote origins are less certain and should not be presented as a documented flag of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom. The registered design represents the whole geographic county of Sussex.

Sources and acknowledgements

County geography follows the Historic Counties Standard, published by the Historic Counties Trust, as used by RealCounties. Read our source and status guidance.

Flag-profile text: Historic Counties Institute, CC BY-SA 3.0, drawing on the credited research. Artwork has its own credit above.