Lewes Matters
Lewes, Sussex
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England, a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-orientated town. At the 2001 census it had a population of 15,988.
Lewes Landmarks
The town is the location of several significant historic buildings, including Lewes Castle, the remains of Lewes Priory, Bull House (the former home of Tom Paine), Southover Grange and public gardens, and a sixteenth century timber-framed Wealden hall house known as Anne of Cleves House because it was given to her as part of her divorce settlement from Henry VIII, though she never lived there. Anne of Cleves and the Castle are owned and maintained by the Sussex Archaeological Society (whose headquarters are in Lewes). The Round House, a secluded former windmill in Pipe Passage, was owned by the writer Virginia Woolf.
The steep and cobbled Keere Street is home to many historic buildings, including a timber framed antiquarian bookshop. The gardens of the buildings on the east side of the street border the old Town Walls. The Prince Regent once drove his carriage down the Street, and a sign at the bottom commemorates this event.
Lewes Culture
Located four miles outside of Lewes is Glyndebourne opera house. Founded in 1934, the venue draws large audiences for its Summer Festival and has attracted a host of international talent throughout its history.
The principal town museum is Barbican House Museum at Lewes Castle, which hosts the Lewes Town Model as well as four galleries of Sussex archaeology. Anne of Cleves House has various collections relating to the history of Lewes. There is also the Star Gallery in Market Street and occasional art exhibitions mounted at the Town Hall.
The website of the local civic society, The Friends of Lewes, refers to the "... beauty, history and character of the town ...". Lewes is also the headquarters of the Sussex Archaeological Society. Local arts organisations include theatre, literary, philosophical and cinema societies.
Bright 106.4 FM radio station, based in Burgess Hill, broadcasts to an area which extends to Lewes. Lewes has its own RSL radio station, Rocket FM, which broadcasts via FM and the Internet for three weeks in October/November each year, covering the Bonfire period. Radio Lewes is an online broadcast by members of the Oyster Project a Lewes based charity founded and run by people with disabilities www.radiolewes.org.uk
The Lewes Forum is a website dedicated to "news from the county town of East Sussex". Viva Lewes is a "What's On" web magazine with a similar purpose.
The Lewes Film Club produces short movies (including the recent adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm), and Lewes Cinema is based in the All Saints' Church.
Local dance schools and clubs include Wendy Baker, Lewes Dance Club, East Sussex Dance and ballet groups. Starfish Youth Music is based at Priory School and the young bands who take part regularly perform in local venues such as the Paddock and the All Saints' Centre. Annual events include the Lewes Guitar Festival, ArtWave and the children's Patina procession.
Lewes has been influenced by its close proximity to Sussex University and Brighton University in terms of significant numbers of academics and students living in the town.