A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



to summon that parliament known as ' The Good ParHament ' he was 

 opposed both by the Commons and the nobles and suffered a complete 

 temporary defeat. To this parliament Sussex' sent as knights of the 

 shire William Fifhyde and Robert de Ore, both men of good family, 

 but not otherwise noteworthy nor of previous parliamentary experience ; 

 the leader of the four lords chosen by the Commons to sit with them, 

 Henry Percy, was also connected with Sussex, in which county he held 

 the lordship of Petworth, When parliament had to be summoned 

 again in January 1 377 the Duke took care to ensure its subservience by 

 causing the sheriffs to return, without election, members favourable to 

 his interest ; accordingly Sir John St. Clare and Robert Dalingrugge 

 were sent up for Sussex, which they had represented on several previous 

 occasions. The death of Edward deprived John of Gaunt of much of 

 his power, and the opportunity of the assembling of Richard's first 

 parliament in October 1377 was taken by many counties to return the 

 members previously elected to the Good Parliament,^ but this was not 

 done by Sussex, which chose William Percy and Nicholas Wilcombe. 



The reign of Richard II. opened disastrously for England and 

 more especially for Sussex. The French had obtained command of the 

 Channel and even captured the Isle of Wight, no doubt to the great 

 alarm of the authorities at Chichester, who had just received orders to 

 repair their walls, towers and gates and complete the new fosse.^ The 

 enemy, however, chose the eastern portion of the county for their attack, 

 and, in spite of commissions to array archers and men-at-arms granted to 

 the Earl of Arundel, the Abbot of Battle, John Montague, William 

 Batsford, William Percy and Nicholas Wilcombe,* landed at Rye, 

 which they took without much trouble ; and after a stay of several days 

 there, marched on Winchelsea and summoned the town to surrender. 

 The gallant Abbot of Battle, however, who had taken command of the 

 defence, refused the summons and offered so stout a resistance to the 

 French that they gave up the assault and made their way to Hastings, 

 which they found deserted and left in flames. Then not daring to 

 advance inland they completed the sack of Rye and burnt it also to the 

 ground. About the same time Rottingdean was the scene of another 

 landing, but as the invaders were marching inland they were met by a 

 small force under John of Cherlieu, prior of Lewes, Sir John Fallesley, 

 Sir Thomas Cheyney and John Brocas ; a desperate fight ensued, in 

 which about a hundred of the defenders fell and all their leaders were 

 captured, but the enemy had lost so heavily that although, according to 

 Froissart,^ their ships sailed up the estuary of the Ouse and actually 

 anchored within sight of Lewes, they retired without attacking the 

 town. The latter would have had to trust entirely to its walls and the 

 gallantry of its burgesses, for the Earl of Arundel had fled, leaving the 

 castle unprotected, and when the townsmen applied to him for aid 



> Suss. Arch. Coll. xxxi. 97. 2 Trevelyan, England in the Age of Wycliffe, 73. 



3 Pat. I Ric. II. p. 2, m. 20. « Ibid. I, m. 28d. 



6 Froissart, CA;-on. (ed. Johnes), ii. 182. 



510 



