Lewes Tourist Information

Lewes Town Guide & Attractions

Lewes is an outstanding historic centre in Sussex, home to a striking Norman Castle, many historic buildings including Anne of Cleves' House & Museum and Lewes Priory. Always an important administrative centre in Sussex, Lewes has existed since the Saxon period and was one of the first towns in which the Normans settled, hence the striking Norman castle courtesy of William De Warenne. Lewes was a major medieval centre too, evident from the large number of historic medieval houses and shop fronts around the town's narrow twittens. There are elegant Georgian townhouses in Lewes, a sign of its importance as administrative centre during the Georgian period. Tudor and gothic Victorian also feature strongly in the architecture of Lewes. Today Lewes is still the major administrative centre for East Sussex.

Lewes had all the ingredients for development from the Saxon period. The town sits in an elevated position on the edge of the South Downs and the Ouse River valley to the south. North would have once been the forests of the High Weald, much more extensive in the Saxon and Norman periods, and indeed the River Ouse was much deeper then making Lewes a port town with ships sailing down the River Ouse to its mouth at Newhaven. Today, much like medieval Rye on the East Sussex coast, Lewes is brimming with charming specialist shops including many antique shops and book shops, fine restaurants, country inns and stylish coffee houses, art galleries and tearooms. Character and often historic B&Bs and small hotels are here aplenty in Lewes which is a real centre for gastro pubs, locally produced food and a monthly farmers market.

An outstanding further choice of attractions are around Lewes in the Lewes South Downs including family farm parks, acclaimed opera at Glyndebourne, festivals and a stately home at Glynde Place and the famous meeting place for the Bloomsbury group of artists, which included Virginia Woolf, at nearby Charleston. Virginia Woolf's Monks House, run by the National Trust, is also within easy reach of Lewes as are the many attractions at nearby main Sussex seaside city Brighton.

Lewes Tourist Information Centre, 187 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2DE. Tel.01273 483448. Lewes Farmers Market takes placed at the Cliffe Pedestrian Precinct on the first Saturday of every month from 9am to 1pm.

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Lewes Castle & the Barbican House Museum

A castle could not be more strategically placed than the Norman Lewes Castle high on a hill rising up from Lewes town centre. From the top of the Towers of Lewes Castle are some of the most spectacular views of the South Downs you'll find anywhere. Lewes Castle, built very soon after the 1066 Battle of Hastings, is essential viewing on the Norman Conquest trail around East Sussex. William de Warenne had Lewes as a Norman stronghold and the flint castle was built rapidly to defend the town after the Battle of Hastings.

The Barbican House Museum adjacent to the castle contains exhibits outlining the castle's history as well as being home to the Sussex Archaeological Society's collections. One changing temporary gallery and a bookshop with a focus on history is on-site. Another interesting fact about Lewes Castle is that it was later owned by Thomas Read Kemp, the famous Regency architect of the Kemp Town area of Brighton. Kemp was also the local MP at Lewes.

Lewes Castle is a popular site for events throughout the summer months including theatre and musical events. Important events in the history of Lewes Castle include the Battle of Lewes in 1264, the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 and post Armada celebrations in 1588.

Lewes Castle & Barbican House Museum, 169 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1YE. Tel. 01273 486290. Open daily from Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10am to 5.30pm and on Sun, Mon & Bank Hols from 11am to 5.30pm. See the Lewes Castle webguide to double check opening times. A combined ticket for both Lewes Castle and the Anne of Cleves House & Museum will save you money.

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Lewes Priory

The Norman William de Warenne together with his wife Gundrada were also responsible for founding Lewes Priory between 1078 and 1082. The priory was located on the site of a former Saxon Church and dedicated to St Pancras with the Benedictine Order of Cluny, which heralded from France, in residence.

Through the 12th and 13th centuries Lewes Priory was one of the richest monasteries in England but by the time of Henry's dissolution of the monasteries it had shrunk to a mere 24 monks. Initial buildings, including a mighty Priory church, were constructed from limestone, built in a Romanesque style. Thomas Cromwell, the main instigator of the dissolution built a large house here - Lords Place which later fell into the hands of the Sackville family who eventually sold it on in 1668. The huge church on the Lewes Priory site was even larger than Chichester Cathedral. What remained of this church was destroyed by the construction of the Lewes to Brighton Railway, but during construction two lead caskets containing the remains of William de Warenne and his wife were discovered in 1845. Today the remains and their tomb are at Southover Church on Southover High Street.

Contact Hiliary Black on 01273 471930 for organised visits and tours and see further details on the priory via the Lewes Priory Trust's webguide.

Copies of the useful guide, 'Lewes Priory, the Site and its History' by Dr.Helen Pool can be purchased from the nearby Anne of Cleves House on Southover High Street.

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Anne of Cleves House Lewes

The historic timber-framed Anne of Cleves House in Lewes on Southover High Street near the Priory is not to be missed. Parts of this beautiful house date from the 15th century and inside sits the Lewes Gallery recounting the story of Lewes from the 15th century through to the present. The exhibition includes some spectacular Railway posters from the early 20th century, advertising Lewes as a historical holiday hotspot as well as details on the Lewes Bonfire and the Wealden Iron Industry.

Also explored within the Lewes Gallery are fascinating details on famous resident Thomas Paine, the radical revolutionary who was appointed to Lewes in 1768. Paine was in residence at the 15th century Bull House in Lewes, a tobacco shop owned by Samuel and Esther Ollive whose daughter Elizabeth Paine later married. Ollive introduced Paine to civic groups within the town and it was here in Lewes that Thomas Paine, who later went on to influence both the American Revolution and the French Revolution and write numerous famous political books and pamphlets, got his first taste of politics.

An exhibition also features on Anne of Cleves who was given the property by Henry VIII as part of her divorce settlement. Anne however never actually lived in the house but both the kitchen and bedroom are furnished in period style. Stunning gardens surround the property, with plenty of seating space from which to admire the blooms. A small gift shop selling a choice of historic books and pamphlets, many pertaining to Lewes, is at the entrance to the house.

Anne of Cleves House, 52 Southover High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1JA. Tel. 01273 474610. Open from beginning of March to end of October, Tues to Sat 10am to 5pm. On Sun, Mon & Bank Hols from 11am to 5pm. From 1st Nov to 29th Feb on Tues to Sat 10am to 5pm, closed Sun & Mon and from 24th to 26th December.

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