Upcoming events
Fitzroy House, Lewes, image from C. Wycherley
Societies Fair – Saturday Sept 5th – 10:00 to 13:00
( Admission Free)
Keeping Lewes special
Friends of Lewes is the civic society of the historic town of Lewes. A Council for British Archaeology 1965 paper included Lewes in a list of 51 historic towns which are “so splendid and precious that ultimate responsibility for them should be a national concern”. Friends of Lewes aims to keep Lewes special. We have played a major part in ensuring that this is the case.
Our activities centre on both the Built Environment, and the Natural Environment which includes the Lewes Urban Aboretum. This is a town-wide arboretum project managed by the Trees Committee of Friends of Lewes and is an internationally recognised level 1 accredited Arboretum with ArbNet.
In 2024 The Telegraph gathered together a group of travel experts to rank towns across the country based on a number of factors, from shopfront aesthetics and historic architecture to traffic levels, litter volume and the number of viewpoints. Each town was then given a score out of 50. Top of the ranking was Lewes. Our town got an overall score of 46 thanks to our medieval history, quirky cobbled streets, panoramic views of the South Downs and the beautiful eleventh-century Priory Park.
About us – who we are and what we do