Heritage Open Days celebrates England’s architecture and culture by offering free access to properties that are usually closed to the public, or charge for admission.

Eighteen historic Lewes buildings and tours will be accessible over this long weekend. Some are not normally open to the public, and for others, their usual entry charge has been waived for this event.

There are a range of guided tours, and for some, advance booking is essential.

Booking opened on 8 July 2019. Please book by 9 September 2019 for all venues except for: Lewes Prison (book by 6.9.19 Sold out), Lewes Town Hall (by 11.9.19), and Barbican House Library (by 12.9.19) – please check the booking page for details.

Brochure, full details, and how to book your place for tours 

An opportunity not to be missed!

 

The Workshop (Jonathan Swan), The Croft, Edward Reeves

Lewes Heritage Open Days is organised by the Friends of Lewes

 

Tom Reeves: Retail Retold – Life on Lewes High Street

Tom Reeves shows images of the town and people of Lewes taken in the High Street from 1860 to 1960.

The images are from the Edward Reeves Archive, a collection of historic images from the world’s oldest surviving photography studio.

This talk is linked to the new lightbox exhibition which runs from the 5^th to the 29^th September 2019, featuring 80 lightboxes in windows up and down Lewes High Street.

The exhibition will focus on the importance which High Streets – now very much under threat – have in the life of a community.

Special emphasis will be given to the much more sustainable way in which generations before us did their shopping.

Lewes High Street and clock, c. 1936 (detail)
Image courtesy of Edward Reeves Photography

Venue: 7:45pm at Trinity Church Southover, Southover High Street, Lewes BN7 1JH

Entry: Open to all – admission free to Friends of Lewes members, £3 for non-members

Tea & coffee in the interval

See the Diary page for a list of  forthcoming events organised by the Friends of Lewes.

 

 

Rowland Hawke Halls (July 1879 – March 1919) was a Lewes architect working in the Arts and Crafts tradition in the decade before the First World War. To mark the centenary of his death, two events are planned:

Exhibition of drawings and photographs – Tuesday 10 to Monday 16 September 2019, 9:30am to 4:00pm

On display will be Halls’ designs for local buildings, and previously unseen material from the family archive.

Venue: Lewes Town Hall, High Street, BN7 2QS

Entry: Free

 

A talk on Rowland Halls: A Sussex Architect – Wednesday 18 September 2019, 5.30-6.30pm

Event at The Keep, Falmer

Architect Rowland Halls died in a motorbike accident in March 1919, aged 39. He had spent most of his life in Sussex, where he designed many Arts and Crafts style houses, as well as public buildings such as the Council offices in Fisher Street, Lewes.

Halls celebrated traditional crafts; many of his buildings used local materials and were decorated with scenes from Sussex life and nature.

This talk, by his grandson David Scott Cowan, will explore Halls’ life and work, referencing his letters home from France and Belgium in WWI, as well as architectural plans, watercolours and other material from the East Sussex Records Office at The Keep and family archives.

Entry: £5, which includes the parking fee

Booking in advance is essential via The Keep’s website or call 01273 482349

Venue: The Keep, Woollards Way, Brighton,  BN1 9BP

Click image to enlarge

 

 

Sarah Bayliss and Wenda Bradley

Pictures have hung in Lewes Town Hall for more than 120 years and an analysis of the collection helps tell the history of our town. Three of the most important oil paintings have recently been restored with Heritage Lottery funding and their subjects stand out as depicting key moments and influences on local as well as national culture, from The Battle of Lewes to the Protestant Reformers to The Visit of William IV and Queen Adelaide. Other paintings in the Town Hall collection contribute to a rich visual heritage, ranging from images of famous men and two women, shipbuilding, orientalism, cricket, Bloomsbury and Bonfire.

A book has been written about the collection by journalist Sarah Bayliss, with educational materials prepared by Wenda Bradley of Artemis Arts. Their September 2019 talk for Lewes History Group will reveal colourful stories about the paintings’ subject matter, the artists and the generous benefactors who have donated such a variety of art to the people of Lewes.

King William IV ascending the steps of The Friars and being welcomed by Lewes’s MPs and High Constables, 22 October 1830. (Detail from painting by Archibald Archer)

All are welcome from 7.00pm for free refreshments and updates on the Group’s activities. The talk will begin promptly at 7:30pm and will finish by 9.00pm.

There is an entry fee for these meetings, payable at the door, of £1 for members, and £3 for non-members.

Venue: The King’s Church building on Brooks Road, Lewes, BN7 2BY. (Between Tesco car park and Homebase)

See the Meetings page for a list of  forthcoming monthly talks organised by the Lewes History Group.