A talk on Zoom

Trevor Beattie: The Role of the South Downs National Park Authority

Trevor Beattie became the first permanent Chief Executive of the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) in January 2012.

The South Downs National Park covers an area of over 1,600 km2 and is home to more than 117,000 people. The National Park Authority is responsible for conserving and enhancing the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area, promoting opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the Park.

Working in partnership with Local Authorities and others, the Authority fosters the economic and social well-being of the communities within the National Park. The SDNPA is also the planning authority for the National Park.

This talk is free to members of the Friends of Lewes, and £4 to non-members. Non-members can buy a ticket (£4) from TicketSource, which will provide a link for this Zoom talk.

Our members will have received emails with this Zoom link on 27 May 2023.

If you would like to become a Member of FoL, and attend our talks free of charge, please find details on our Membership page.

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

 

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A live talk at King’s Church

Philip Taylor: The History of Gorringe’s Auction Galleries

Philip Taylor takes a look over almost 100 years of Gorringe’s Auction Galleries’ history, from a local Sussex saleroom, to an internationally known business at the forefront of the online auction experience.

As with a number of successful provincial auction rooms, Gorringe’s largely owes its origins to one famous sale; theirs being the contents of Lewes House, conducted by Rowland Gorringe in 1929. The sale aroused international interest, resulting in Rowland becoming ‘’the man’’ to consult for the sale of Art and Antiques in Sussex.

Philip Taylor, a partner since 1981, will discuss and trace the firm’s journey through almost 100 years, from periodic ‘’on the premises’’ house sales, to the eventual opening of Gorringe’s Galleries, in North Street, Lewes, in 1945.

Philip will cover outside sales of the contents of country house, private schools, as well as looking at a host of remarkable individual sale results, including £24,000 for a lock of John Lennon’s hair and the £82,000 for Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London.

We will hear how sales ledger accounting has progressed to state-of-the-art digital online sales, which now expose every sale to over 3,000,000 potential buyers.

Gorringes Auction Galleries, Lewes

Venue: The King’s Church building on Brooks Road, Lewes, BN7 2BY. (Between Tesco car park and Homebase). Please don’t park in Homebase’s car park: they take deliveries in the evenings.

Entry: Entry is FREE for LHG members, and £4 for non-members. Due to limited seating, admission will be by advance ticketing only – no payments on the door. Please book in advance at https://ticketsource.co.uk/lhg. Tickets available until 5:30pm of the day of the talk. We will have lists of ticket-holders at the door and will check you in.

Covid precautions: Limited seating to allow for some spacing; no refreshments.

See the Talks page for a list of  forthcoming monthly events organised by the Lewes History Group.

 

Find out about:

• Growing trees and hedges in your garden
• Why Lewes needs more trees
• Volunteering opportunities
• Trees and Climate Change: a talk by Peter Thurman at 2pm

 

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A Coffee Time Zoom talk

Peter Thurman: Designing and Working with Trees
(Talk re-scheduled from 14 March 2023)

Peter’s talk will illustrate the beauty and tenacity of trees, explain their benefits and threats, and show examples of how they can be used in the landscape.

Peter Thurman is a member of The Trees Committee of Friends of Lewes, (Lewes Urban Arboretum Project). A Kew-trained landscape and garden designer and a tree, environmental and horticultural consultant with over 30 years’ experience, he is also a published author, writer and teacher.

He is a fellow of the Arboricultural Association and the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, and has chartered status in trees, forestry, horticulture and the environment.

UK-based (living in North Chailey), Peter often works abroad with commissions as far afield as Italy, Japan, Dubai, Hong Kong, Finland, Germany, France and Belgium. He teaches and is an examiner at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the London College of Garden Design. He writes regularly for various professional journals and magazines and is in demand as a speaker at conferences, seminars and workshops.

This talk is free to members of the Friends of Lewes, and £4 to non-members. Non-members can buy a ticket (£4) from TicketSource, which will provide a link for this Zoom talk.

We have sent members an email (on 1.5.23) with a link to this Zoom talk.

If you would like to become a Member of FoL, and attend our talks free of charge, please find details on our Membership page.

 

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A Zoom talk, followed by Friends of Lewes AGM

Michael Blencowe: Wildlife in Lewes

We welcome popular naturalist, author, speaker, and wildlife guide Michael Blencowe who will tell us about some of the amazing species that can be found around our town and surrounding countryside.

In addition, Michael will provide advice on what we can all do to improve biodiversity in our gardens and our local area.

Brimstone butterfly, by Michael Blencowe

This talk is free to members of the Friends of Lewes, and £4 to non-members. Non-members can buy a ticket (£4) from TicketSource, which will provide a link to register for this Zoom talk.

Members will have received an email on 29 March 2023 with a link to Zoom registration.

Once you have registered, you will receive our confirmation email with a link to the talk. Please click on that link to attend the talk 5 minutes before it starts.

The Friends of Lewes AGM will follow the talk, at about 8:20pm. The AGM is for Members only.

Members are invited to request a copy of the 2022 Accounts from enquiries@friends-of-lewes.org.uk ahead of the AGM.

We would recommend a computer screen or an iPad as a minimum screen-size for viewing our Zoom talks.

Our presenter will be speaking live, and you can ask questions by typing in the Chat box in Zoom.

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

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On Saturday 6th May, Lewes Urban Arboretum – the Trees Committee of Friends of Lewes, is hosting a “Tree Day” at Lewes Climate Hub, Lewes House, 32 High Street, from 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.

Come and join us to share your ideas for places where we could plant more trees, find out why Lewes needs more trees, and learn about local volunteering opportunities!

Children are welcome and will be invited to make a tree to add to the “Wild Wall” collage we are making with Wildflower Lewes and Lewes Swift Supporters.

Peter Thurman, Arboricultural, Horticultural and Environmental Consultant and Landscape Designer, (and valued member of our Trees Committee), will be giving a talk on “Trees and Climate Change” from 2.00 p.m. to 3.00 p.m.

Lewes Urban Arboretum team plants trees on Fitzgerald Green, Lewes

 

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The Aquifer Partnership (TAP), has been working with schools to create Rainscapes, by transforming underused play areas into inspirational and interactive blue-green spaces promoting outdoor learning, while protecting the precious groundwater beneath our feet.

Rainscapes are a nature-based solution that promotes water health. These rainscapes provide play and educational opportunities while reducing flooding, cleaning water, and increasing biodiversity.

TAP has been working with expert designers to create functional and fun rainscapes at three schools, including Wallands Primary School in Lewes. Members of The Friends of Lewes are invited to visit the new Rain Garden at Wallands Primary School, on Saturday 22 April 2023, at 10am.

The event will be led by Aimee Felus, Programme Delivery Manager of TAP, who will explain how the new Rain Garden at the School has slowed down the runoff from the playground by letting it soak into the ground close to where it has fallen. This safeguards our aquifer, and helps wildlife to flourish, while also protecting against local flooding.

The Project was funded by the Community Infrastructure Levy from the South Downs National Park Authority, the Environment Agency and Southern Water.  It is managed by The Aquifer Partnership (TAP).

Image of rainscape at Wallands Primary School, © The Aquifer Partnership

Where and when: Wallands Primary School, Gundreda Road, Lewes BN7 1PU, on Saturday 22 April 2023, at 10am.

Booking your place: This is a free visit for FoL Members, and booking is essential. We will send further information to registered attendees ahead of the visit. Please click to book at Ticketsource.

Please book by Friday 21 April 2023 at 10am

Become a member of the Friends of Lewes for free access to our visits and talks

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Lewes Priory was once one of the largest and wealthiest monasteries in the kingdom with as many as a hundred monks devoting their lives to prayer, while many of the townspeople of Lewes were employed by the Priory to grow and cook their food, tend their livestock, mill their flour, build and maintain their fine buildings and much else besides.

Following the success of last year’s sell-out tours, Lewes Priory Trust is once again running walking tours of the Priory ruins, and Southover Church, which houses the bones of William and Gundrada de Warenne who founded the Priory in the 11th century, and was once the guest house of the Priory.

The tours, led by a member of Lewes Priory Trust who is a professional guide, tells the story of the rise and fall of this magnificent Priory, which was such an important part of Lewes life for 450 years.

Booking is essential. Tickets are available from the Tourist Information Centre, 187 High Street, Lewes, BN7 2DE. Tel 01273 483448.

 

 

Please click to enlarge the poster for more details, or visit the Priory Trust’s website

 

 

A live talk at King’s Church

This talk has been moved to the first Monday of April, as the second Monday is Easter Monday Bank Holiday

Anthea Arnold and Alison Grant – The Fitzroy Library Story: from gargoyles to Virginia Woolf and beyond

Fitzroy House occupies a prominent position in the now pedestrianised part of Lewes high street; “a jewel today in a rather bland crown” (John Eccles Sussex Express 2012). It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott for Hannah Fitzroy (nee Rothschild) as a memorial to her husband Henry Fitzroy, MP for Lewes for 22 years.

Anthea Arnold will explain how the library came to be built, its original use by the Library Society of Lewes and its life as a public library from 1897 – 1952 which gave rise to some interesting and unusual stories.

In addition, Alison Grant, the current owner of Fitzroy House, will introduce the key players as well as reveal some hidden architectural details in this gothic gem. The building has been saved once from demolition and has always been a prominent and appreciated feature in Lewes’s history and in the current landscape.

Fitzroy House, Lewes, image from C. Wycherley

Venue: The King’s Church building on Brooks Road, Lewes, BN7 2BY. (Between Tesco car park and Homebase)
(Please don’t park in Homebase’s car park: they take deliveries in the evenings)

Entry: Entry is FREE for LHG members, and £4 for non-members. Due to limited seating, admission will be by advance ticketing only – no payments on the door. Please book in advance at https://ticketsource.co.uk/lhg. Tickets available from 1 March 2023 until 5:30pm of the day of the talk. We will have lists of ticket-holders at the door and will check you in.

Covid precautions: Limited seating to allow for some spacing; no refreshments.

See the Talks page for a list of  forthcoming monthly events organised by the Lewes History Group.

 

Friends of Lewes is one of over thirty groups affiliated to Lewes Climate Hub and we are very excited about the Hub opening in new, larger premises in Lewes House, 32 High Street, on Saturday 18th March 2023.

To celebrate the opening, we have been invited to take part in a Pavement Parade from the Linklater Pavilion to Lewes House. Anyone from Friends of Lewes may join in, provided they are carrying carrying a picture, placard or banner which represents Friends of Lewes. It could be a copy of our logo, a photograph of a tree, or a representation of something else which makes Lewes special, perhaps with our strapline – “Keeping Our Town Special”.

We are meeting at the Linklater Pavilion, on the Railway Land, at 11.00 a.m. After photographs and a short opening speech at Lewes House at midday, you will be able to have a first look inside the Hub and see the opening exhibition on the theme of “Water”. Free refreshments will be available and there will be activities for children during the day until 3.00 p.m.

If you are not able to visit on the opening day, Lewes Climate Hub will be open every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.

Image from Lewes Climate Hub website

 

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