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The Sussex Declaration

The Sussex Declaration

The Sussex Declaration. West Sussex Record Office Add Mss 8981.
 

Key Facts:
 

  • Housed at the West Sussex Record Office in Chichester, UK; uncovered by the Declaration Resources Project in August 2015
  • The only known parchment manuscript copy of the Declaration of Independence apart from the engrossed and signed parchment in the National Archives (referred to herein as the Matlack Declaration). Both words—"parchment" and "manuscript"—are important. There are other parchment copies that were printed; these are the only two parchment copies that were handwritten. There are also other handwritten copies of the Declaration, for instance, with the text written out on letter-sized paper for private circulation. The Matlack Declaration and the Sussex Declaration are the only two parchment manuscript copies of the Declaration.
  • Measures 24" x 30", the same size as the Matlack Declaration, but oriented horizontally
  • Interesting features include marginal ruling, decorative penwork around the titling, evidence of nail holes, and justified, round hand script
  • The list of the names of the signers is not in state order, as was typical; the names are scrambled, and several are misspelled
  • Material evidence dates the parchment manuscript to the late 18th century
     

April 2017 Press Release     |     July 2018 Press Release

Click here for images of the Sussex Declaration and related documents (see the "Please Read" document for image permissions and credits).
Please direct all all press inquiries to Peter Reuell, and all inquiries about the Sussex Declaration to Emily Sneff.
 

Materials Related to July 2018 Press Release:
 

British Library - Scientific Imaging Technical Report 

British Library - XRF Technical Report

Library of Congress Report

Memo - Declaration Resources Project, Summary of Research Trip, August 2017

 

Our research on the Sussex Declaration includes three components:
 

  1. Dating the parchment manuscript using material evidence
    "The Sussex Declaration: Dating the Parchment Manuscript of the Declaration of Independence Held at the West Sussex Record Office (Chichester, UK)"
    The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, vol. 112, no. 3 (September 2018)
     
  2. Determining who commissioned the parchment manuscript and why
    "Golden Letters: James Wilson, the Declaration of Independence, and the Sussex Declaration"
    Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy, vol. 17, no. 1 (Winter 2019)
     
  3. Identifying when and how the parchment manuscript moved from the United States to the United Kingdom
    Research currently in progress: The Sussex Declaration was possibly held by the Third Duke of Richmond (1735-1806). Known as the "Radical Duke" for his support of the Americans during the Revolution, his county seat is in Sussex in the UK. The parchment manuscript was deposited at the West Sussex Record Office with other papers from the Dukes of Richmond's law firm. The parchment is, however, American and, given its dating, is most likely to have been produced in New York or Philadelphia. While the parchment may have moved to the UK in the 1780s or 1790s, when the Third Duke could have received it, it is also possible that it moved to the UK only after 1836. An engraving was made from it, or from an identical text, in Boston in that year.