The Sussex fowl description originally referred to a type of table bird which was produced by farmers in a district of Sussex from the 16^th Century. In fact Sussex and similar type fowl existed for hundreds of years and where not standardized until around 1904 when the Sussex breed began to be shown.

The light Sussex is the main variety and should be white with neck hackles striped a prominent black. The black is also seen in the flights and when the wing is open an the tail is black