Lewes is the county town of East Sussex close to the South Downs.
The town has a lot of history and historical buildings.
Anne of Cleaves House was given to her as part of her divorce settlement from Henry VIII although she never lived in it.
The Priory Ruins, of which a large amount of ruins remain in parkland, are interesting although for preservation purposes the ruins are fenced off from the public.
Lewes Castle was originally built on a mound of chalk blocks. It now houses a souvenir shop and there is a museum in the rooms over the gate. Occasional concerts are held in the grounds. The castle lies close to the high street and can be seen from most of the surrounding area.
Several of the historical buildings in the town have been turned into workshops and specialist retailers such as the Riverside Building, a Georgian warehouse now home to shops and cafes that overlook the River Avon. The Old Needlemakers Factory houses a craft centre. The Star Brewery Building is an art gallery and working craft centre with potters, a glass blower and other crafters.
The town is home to three Auction Houses worth a look round and a great way to spend an hour or two if there is an auction being conducted.
There is always property available for rent in Lewes and average prices would be £610pcm for a l bed flat, £780pcm for a 2 bed flat, £765pcm for a 2 bed house and £1045pcm for a 3 bed house.
There are numerous shops in Lewes including antique shops and markets, book shops, art galleries and specialist chocolate shops. Most of the shops lie in the three High Street with other down little lanes. Some of the shop names you can find in town are Lazybones, Renwick Clarke, Flint, Delilah, New Look, Bone and Hugh Rene.
Lewes was the first UK town to have a farmers market. It was so popular that is has bought Lewes back to being a market town again.
There are plenty of pubs around, one being the Snowdrop in South Street, that is named in memory of the 1836 avalanche that killed eight of the town’s residents.
The town is renowned for its November 5th displays and has a Bonfire Society. They organise great celebrations but with some controversial effigies such as a gypsy caravan and Osama bin Laden. Around 80,000 people come from all over to see the fires and fireworks.
Lewes has a professional football team and several weekend league teams. One of which is Bridgeview Football Club they run a Saturday and a Sunday league for adults along with a large youth section.
|
