Search for a place
Search for a place
In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Birling Gap like this:
BIRLING GAP, a depression and an artificial cut in the bold high coast of Sussex; 1½ mile W of Beachy Head. The cut was made to afford means of escape to shipwrecked mariners; and was, for some time, defended by an arch and portcullis, vestiges of which still exist.
Birling Gap is now part of WEALDEN District. Click here for graphs and data of how WEALDEN has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Birling Gap itself, go to Statistics.
How to reference this page:
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Birling Gap, in Wealden and Sussex | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/25362
Date accessed: 09th April 2026
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Birling Gap".
