Saturday 11th October 2025, 10am-5pm
Between 10am and 5pm at Kings Church, Brooks Road, Lewes BN7 2BY. Lewes is accessible on level land from the bus stops and Lewes railway station. Free Car parking available to delegates a short walk away.
Organisers: Sussex Archaeology and History
An exploration of how much Sussex changed between 1940 and 1914. Aided by the railway, Sussex was transformed from a rural county into an urbanised one, dominated by the development of the seaside resorts to which many rural workers moved. The Weald of Sussex became an important centre for small leisure estates, some famous for their plants. The resorts undermined the role of the county towns, which grew very slowly.
09.15-10am REGISTRATION, time to browse the bookstalls
10.00 Welcome by David Rudling
10.05 The establishment and impact of the railway – setting the scene.
John Minnis
10.50 “ A man may have constant employ”: The changing industrial landscapes of Sussex
Geoffrey Mead
11.35 COFFEE BREAK, bookstalls
11.55 Resort development at the Sussex seaside
Kathryn Ferry
12.40 Riot and Respectability in a seaside town
Chris Hare
1.25 LUNCH BREAK
2.15 Still a Remote Backwater – the slow development of Chichester
Alan H J Green
3.00 Complementary or competitive? Agricultural progress and the search for a rural idyll in Sussex 1840-1914
Brian Short
3.45 TEA BREAK, bookstalls
4.05 The railways, rural recession, and the Country House – Wealden new builds and Downland decline.
Sue Berry
4.50- 5pm Conclusion and Finish
£28 Full Price, £25 Concessions (subscribers and students), £18 online.
TO BOOK on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1260935565219
Price includes teas and coffees and a copy of the handbook for those who attend on the day, but not food. There is a Tesco and Costa nearby and Lewes coffee shops in nearby Cliffe.
Friends of Lewes 