The barbican gate in Lewes dates to the fourteenth century and was designed to protect the main Norman castle.
Taken from the castle side of the barbican’s inner wall.
The barbican itself, there are two rooms above the gateway.
Inside the barbican.
Category: Lewes
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Lewes – Bowling Green
That’s some history, this bowling green has been in use since 1640 and was previously used as a tilting, or jousting, ground. The bowling green was once larger, but they’ve lost some of their land to building over the centuries.
The Bowling Green Society was founded here in May 1753 and it seems that the Lewes bowling club has some rather different rules to other clubs. They have a different jack because their green is uneven, although I do wonder why they haven’t levelled it out a bit, given they’ve had over 250 years. Apparently there is a fee of £1 for every session, but there’s a surcharge of 50p each for those on the losing team. That seems to make things a bit competitive for my liking, but it seems to have worked well in Lewes.
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Lewes – Anne of Cleves House
This property is named Anne of Cleves House and it might, at first hearing, be assumed that this is the house that Anne of Cleves lived in. Or perhaps visited. She did neither, although it did form part the divorce settlement with King Henry VIII, so there is a link. It’s not though some sort of fake name to tempt visitors in, as the property has historically been known as Anne of Cleves House.
From Herald Magazine in 1926.
I didn’t go in as I was irritated that the site decides to off-load tickets cheaply on Groupon. I don’t like that sort of set-up where people, who may not have much money, can turn up on the door and have to pay a lot more money than those who happened to have seen it on Groupon. And, Groupon charge a lot of money, so, and in just my opinion, it all seems a rather botched set-up to me. So, I changed my mind and didn’t go in.
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Lewes – 22 Station Street
Continuing the theme of 23 Station Street and 25 Station Street, this is 22 Station Street and it was the Jolly Anglers pub between 1825 and 1955. It was originally known as the Coach and Horses, but it changed its name in 1874.
The article in the Sussex Agricultural Express in November 1955 confirming the closure of the pub. It’s in a rather good location, a short walk from the railway station, and also between the station and the town centre.
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Lewes – 25 Station Street
Next to 23 Station Street is, well, 25 Station Street. The signage on the street explains that there was an outbreak of smallpox here in 1794, but the family refused to go to the pest house located at the former Saint Nicholas Hospital. So, helpfully, the local authorities put some fences up around their house, and also at the end of the road, in an attempt to warn others. Unfortunately though the smallpox spread and it was ultimately necessary to inoculate everyone in Lewes.
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Lewes – 23 Station Street
There’s a fascinating information board on Station Street in Lewes, detailing the history of the street which was once known as St. Mary’s Lane before the arrival of the railways. It gives details about the history of the street, but also some background about some of the individual houses. This is a great idea, turning what was otherwise just another street in an historic town into something much deeper.
This house is the birthplace of Gideon Mantell and he lived here with his four brothers and two sisters. Mantell started his career as a doctor in Lewes, but it is his work as a palaeontologist that has gained him recognition. Amidst much mockery at the time, Mantell was able to prove the existence of what he named the Iguanodon.
A report of Mantell’s work published in the local newspaper in October 1826. Mantell went on to live in a grander house in Lewes, before later on moving to London.
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Lewes – St. Anne’s Church
St. Anne’s Church is the oldest church in Lewes and although it looks interesting from the exterior, it has a much more fascinating interior than I had anticipated.
The chancel of the church, with the aisle to the right being a later addition in the twelfth century. This visit was lifted by a lovely Canadian lady who showed me round and that included areas that I might not have otherwise have seen. She also explained the church is located on what was once a pilgrimage route, which explains its grandeur.
I’ve visited hundreds of churches over the years, but none better than this as an experience. The welcome was everything that a church should be, with an extensive guidebook available on the church’s history. There are also panels with the history of the building and the passion of the church volunteers is clear, it’s a delightful place. And the church is rightfully proud of its history.
The font dates to the twelfth century has a basket-weave pattern to the stone. It’s still in use today, that’s a lot of generations who have been baptised here.
Looking back towards the slightly more modern tower. I had a little look in here and noticed the scary looking ladders fixed to the wall which went up to the belfry.
The wooden pulpit is magnificent with its carvings, dating to 1620.
This is the oldest memorial brass remaining in the church and is dedicated to Dr. Thomas Twyne. He was a doctor in Lewes for thirty years and he died in 1613, with a rather interesting epitaph (English translation provided).
I’ve never seen one of these before, this is the area where an anchoress would have lived. This is someone who is devout and who effectively walls themselves up in an area by the side of the church. There’s no record of how long this cell was used for, perhaps just once or maybe for generations, although a burial has been found here. They have a reasonable amount of space, well for someone who has been walled up anyway, and it was for those who wanted to dedicate themselves to prayer.
There’s another opening, now in a wardrobe and so not accessible to the public, where the anchoress would have sat to dispense wisdom to those who wanted it. The kind lady at the church showed me in the wardrobe, it’s a fascinating piece of history which has been retained. Above is the what is now the other side of the wall.
The first three of these cast iron leaping board grave markers are dedicated to children from the Medhurst family who died at an early age. I think there are more markers than this noting the deaths of more children from the family (there were a total of eleven children who died, an incredibly loss for any parents), and the markers themselves are now listed as Grade II listed monuments.
The churchyard at the rear of the church.
If there is such a thing as a perfect English church, it’s this one.
