South Street is a long street with a mix of housing and industry. It has a long history, with houses from the 17th century (and possibly earlier), and had a union workhouse, a pest house, shops, pubs, many small cottages, a long-established Rowing Club, and a Bonfire Society.
Industries included timber, boat building, gas, chalk and cement works, and the river provided the transport for these with barges, wharfs and warehouses.
South Street was the site of Britain’s worst avalanche, has suffered from flooding and had terrible traffic problems when, prior to the building of the tunnel, South Street was the main road from Lewes to the east.
Heather Downie and her team have researched the histories of the houses and industries on the street, the lives led by its residents, and shows how all this has changed over time.
Read all about it at Lewes Street Stories: South Street
Postcard showing South Street, supplied by Linda Weller
Friends of Lewes 