With an area of 228,930 acres (926.4 km2) it is the largest of the Sussex rapes.

William the Conqueror granted the rape of Pevensey to his half-brother Robert, Count of Mortain shortly after the Norman Conquest.

The rape of Pevensey includes the towns of Crowborough, Eastbourne and East Grinstead.

At 242 metres (794 ft) tall, Crowborough Beacon in the High Weald is the highest point in the rape.

The rape is traditionally divided into the following hundreds: