Historic Lewes

Historic Lewes which began life as a Saxon village back in the 5th century teems with interesting relics including Lewes Castle, built by the Normans after their conquest in 1066 and the ruins of the Priory of St. Pancras, also founded by the Normans.

Now a museum, the house of Anne of Cleves, 4th wife of King Henry VIII is another historic landmark. Lewes’ Medieval streets nestle beautifully among the surrounding green hillsides, and whilst exploring its ancient buildings and twittens (one-person wide lanes) you’ll come by independent galleries, artist studios and lots of small individually-owned shops you won’t find anywhere else.

The Bloomsbury Group laid down roots near Lewes at Charleston, home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, while Virginia Woolf wrote several books at her summer retreat, Monk’s Cottage. There are many other things to do and see during your visit, such as:

Glyndebourne
The world-famous opera house launched in 1934 by land-owner and opera-lover, John Christie & his wife Audrey Mildmay. This year's festival opens on 18th May with Le damnation de Faust by Hector Berlioz. For details of other performances: https://www.glyndebourne.com

The South Downs
Lewes rests between the South Downs which roughly run from Winchester to Eastbourne. This region became the UK’s newest national park in 2011: https://www.southdowns.gov.uk

Southover Grange
Just seconds away from Lewes Station, Southover Grange was built in the 1570s using ashlar stone from the recently dissolved Lewes Priory. The house was visited by the Prince Regent in the 1790s when he came for the Lewes Races: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southover_Grange

Monk's House
In the village of Rodmell, three miles south of Lewes is the 17th-century weatherboard cottage owned by Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard as a country retreat. They purchased Monk’s House in 1919 and while staying here entertained luminaries from the Bloomsbury Group like E. M. Forster, T. S. Eliot, Lytton Strachey and Roger Fry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monk%27s_House

Barbican House Museum
The official name for this attraction is the Museum of Sussex Archaeology and there’s a spectrum of artefacts to view from the Stone Age to Medieval times. Among the finds are flint tools, pieces of pottery, jewellery and weapons: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbican_House

Needlemakers
Once a factory that manufactured candles before switching to hypodermic needles during the First World War. Today the brick building in the town centre on West Street has been taken over by a set of one-of-a-kind shops and craft studios: https://www.needlemakers.co.uk
 
Harvey's Brewery
Established in 1790, Harvey’s Brewery makes traditional English cask ales that are sold across the South East of England: https://www.harveys.org.uk