[5] Elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 to take over the administrative business of the quarter sessions.

[6] The first elections were held in January 1889 and West Sussex County Council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1889.

It held its first official meeting on 4 April 1889 at the Assembly Rooms in the Council House, Chichester.

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, a Conservative peer, was appointed the first chairman of the council.

The lower tier of local government was rearranged at the same time, with the county being divided into seven non-metropolitan districts.

[9] District-level services are provided by the area's seven district councils: Much of the county is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.