Albion Russell (1821 – 1888)
opened a boot and shoe shop
here in 1861.
In 1873 he was joined by
George Bromley which led to
the founding of
today’s
Russell and Bromley. — — Map (db m129653) HM
Anchor
This iron anchor was caught in the net of a Newhaven trawler that was fishing about two miles offshore in October 1932.
It is probably about 300 years old. — — Map (db m129662) HM
Battle of Lewes 1264
On 14th May 1264 Simon de Montfort’s army of 5000 barons and Londeners defeated royalist forces of twice that size under Henry III on the downs northwest of Lewes. The Mise of Lewes, signed next day led to the first English . . . — — Map (db m129644) HM
Battle of Lewes 14th May 1264
Led by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, the rebel army, with Londoners on the left flank, occupied the high ground. Henry III and his brother Richard, King of the Romans, . . . — — Map (db m129646) HM WM
Brack Mount
Brack Mount is the oldest part of Lewes Castle. William de Warenne built a motte and bailey castle here in the late 11th century.
He started with a mound overlooking the River Ouse and made it higher, using chalk blocks. When the . . . — — Map (db m129688) HM
Bull House Westgate
In ancient times the Bull Inn within the Westgate was held of the Barony of Lewes at the yearly rent of a race of ginger. It was sold in 1583 by Thomas Matthew to Sir Henry Goring who built the house which is now the Westgate . . . — — Map (db m129783) HM
County Hall 1812
Built to replace the old Town Hall and Sessions House which stood in the middle of High Street. Demolished in 1810.
1981 — — Map (db m129823) HM
Dr. Gideon A. Mantell F.R.S.
Surgeon and Geologist
Born in Lewes 1790. Died in London 1852
Lived Here
He discovered the fossil bones of
the Prehistoric Iguanodon
in the Sussex Weald — — Map (db m129822) HM
Fireplace
From the Great Hall
Excavations suggest that the hall was rebuilt in the 13th century, up against the wall of the Shell Keep.
This large fireplace would have helped to heat the room. The fireplace is backed with re-used tiles . . . — — Map (db m129690) HM
Lewes Market Tower 1792
Erected to house the Old Town Clock and 16th century Bell Gabriel taken from St. Nicholas Church demolished 1761. From 1881 to 1893 it served as Town Hall.
1981 — — Map (db m129649) HM
A new, larger prison was needed in Lewes in the mid-19th century and opened in 1853. The Prison is now old but still houses over 500 prisoners.
Mick Jagger, of the pop group The Rolling Stones was one of its most famous residents. In 1967 he . . . — — Map (db m129708) HM
Lewes Racecourse was open by 1712. The first grandstand was built in the 1770s. Lewes races were very fashionable. In 1806 two horses, Pancho and Pavilion, raced for a prize of over £2000. The Prince Regent and 3000 people watched the race. The . . . — — Map (db m129714) HM
In Memory Of
The Men of Lewes
Who Died
For Their Country
And for Mankind
In the Great War
1914 — 1918
Likewise
Remember
Those Of
This Town
Who Gave
Their Lives
In The War
1939 — 1945
Names of the . . . — — Map (db m129651) WM
This Tablet
Is Erected to Record the Loyal Feeling
of
The Inhabitants of the Borough of Lewes
as expressed at the
Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Reign
of
Her Majesty Queen Victoria
And their Gratitude for the Great . . . — — Map (db m129650) HM
There was an Iron Age hillfort on Mount Caburn about 1000 years before Lewes Castle was built. The hillfort dominated the valley of the River Ouse from the east. Lewes Castle was built to control the valley from the west. — — Map (db m129711) HM
In the 1550s, during the reign of the Catholic Queen, Mary, 17 Protestants were burned to death in Lewes. They died in front of the Star Inn, now the Town Hall, in the High Street. This Obelisk was built in 1889 as a memorial to the martyrs. It . . . — — Map (db m129712) HM
In the vaults beneath this building were imprisoned ten of the seventeen Protestant martyrs who were burned at the stake within a few yards of this site 1555 – 1557. Their names are recorded on the memorial to be seen on Cliffe Hill. — — Map (db m129652) HM
Russian Cannon
This cannon is a trophy from the Crimean War and was never used by soldiers in this castle.
Britain, France and Turkey fought against Russia in the Crimean War from 1854-6. After the Siege of Bomarsund in Finland (then part of . . . — — Map (db m129663) HM WM
Southover was one of the earliest suburbs of Lewes. The Priory was built here on low land between the River Ouse and the Winterbourne stream. King Henry VIII ordered the Priory to be destroyed in 1537-8. Some of the Caen Stone from the Priory . . . — — Map (db m129710) HM
St Michael’s Church is one of the oldest in Lewes. It was built just inside the West Gate of the town. The oldest surviving part of the church is the round tower, which may have been built in the 12th century. There are only three round church . . . — — Map (db m129709) HM
Stocks
Minor criminals used to be punished by being put in the stocks. They sat on the bench with their legs held straight in front of them by the wooden beam, which was locked in place. Sitting in this position soon became very uncomfortable. . . . — — Map (db m129664) HM
The Battle of Lewes, 1264
A violent clash between the barons and the King
Standing here on 14th May 1264 you would have witnessed one of the most important battles between rebel barons and King Henry III.
The King had a reputation for . . . — — Map (db m129689) HM
The Curtain Wall and Castle Moat
The Curtain Wall stretched out to either side of the Norman Gatehouse. To one side it went across to the second motte and up to the Shell Keep.
On the other side the wall and dry moat went along the line of . . . — — Map (db m129665) HM
The Norman Gatehouse and the Barbican
The Norman Gatehouse
The Norman Gatehouse was probably square, but only one wall is left. From the Gatehouse, part of the Curtain Wall, which enclosed the Castle, went up to the top of the motte.
The . . . — — Map (db m129687) HM
The Shell Keep and Angled Towers
The second motte towers 20 metres above the High Street. It was built around 1100 and topped with a shell keep. This was basically a wall around the top of the motte. The most secure and important buildings, where . . . — — Map (db m129666) HM
The Weald is an area surrounded by chalk hills called the North and South Downs. Lewes is on the South Downs. In the distance you can see the sandstone ridge of the High weald.
Closer to Lewes is the Low Weald. For many years the Weald was . . . — — Map (db m129713) HM
Here expounded his revolutionary politics. This inn is regarded as a cradle of American Independence which he helped to found with pen and sword. — — Map (db m199203) HM
1768 — 1774. In this house lived Thomas Paine, Writer and Revolutionary. ( the marker text is inscribed along the bottom of the upper storey ) — — Map (db m129782) HM
What Happened Where?
The de Warenne family lived inside the safest part of the Castle, the Shell Keep. Most of the Castle's occupants lived and worked in the Bailey.
This was a large, roughly oval area between the two mottes and inside the . . . — — Map (db m129694) HM
