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| Lewes Castle |
He said:
We choose to take a trip to the historic town of Lewes rather than walk on the top of the downs on a cold, wet, and windy day. This decision now creates the first gap in our journey along the path, but on a positive note, we gained a chance to see Lewes, a town with a long history.
The town of Lewes dates from Saxon times 2000 years ago, but it was the Norman invasion under king William that made the greatest lasting changes to the settlement after the Normans won the battle of Hastings in 1066. Lewes Castle was constructed next to and incorporating an existing Saxon Gate, the castle was added onto more over the years. The castle is situated on the top of a hill that overlooks the River Ouse, which at the time, 1000 years ago, was navigable all the way from the sea. So, like the other castles they built, the Normans intended to secure their newly gained lands by building strategically located castles so as to maintain control, and they were ruthless in subduing the people who were now their subjects and slaves.
We arrived by bus, and after a trip the the pharmacy to find a solution to a bothersome hand, we wandered out the the tourist information center to find out what was up. The Lewes Castle was first on the agenda, we paid our way in and climbed up the various towers. This castle is actually quite small, especially compared to Arundel Castle, but it is also much farther from the sea.
After going through all of the castle and its museum, we walked over the Anne of Cleves House, an 15th century historic house given to queen Anne by Henry VIII as part of an annulment agreement in 1541. Unfortunately, the house was closed to tours, so we had to go back to the castle to get refunds on our tickets.
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| Anne of Cleves House |
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| River Ouse, Lewes |
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| friends waiting at the pub |
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| Thomas Beckett Church, Lewes |
We continued to poke around parts of the city, visiting shops the Thomas Beckett church and various odd shops before catching a bus back to Alfriston and a dinner in a good restaurant yay!
She said:
Alfriston, The Riverdale House
Rained like crazy last night with lingering showers this morning.
We made the unanimous decision to not walk the Downs today in the wind and rain. We set out by bus (I love the bus) for Lewes, a village with a castle about a 30 min. bus ride away.
The castle in Lewes is smaller than most, but has parts well-preserved. The Barbicon, a fortification outside the main fortification, is tall and thick and spiral staircase-y. We climbed and walked around and true to English weather form, it started raining. We ducked in here and there in the castle:
Viewed a terrific tapestry made by townspeople to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the Battle of Lewes in 1264, which is widely considered the beginning of British democracy as the Parliamentarians won. The townspeople that wanted to participate had to take classes to learn the knots and stitches and pass a test by producing a sampler to prove their competency.
We learned about the Southdown sheep breed, famous because they could produce lambs in record time! And, they also had fleece with a short staple so very suitable for carding and spinning on the great spinning wheel, coming to use in Britain at the time - 1300s.
Painted tiles of the time (same, 1300s) were made in a two-step process - a carved wood block pressed into soft clay, fired, a different color clay pressed into the pattern, fired again.
Stiletto rapiers were used because they could piece chain mail.
A Sepulchral Urn is a strange pot with a tight fitting lid that contains the heart and other internal organs of a body that was interned elsewhere.
Thomas Paine lived in Lewes and was key in both British radical thinking and spreading democratic thinking to America. While in Lewes, he belonged to The Headstrong Society. Is that a great name for an organization of progressives, or what?
Now Lewes is famous for huge parades and celebrations of Guy Fawkes Day and May Day.
We left the castle and headed towards Anne of Cleves house (her property given to her by her ex, Henry VIII.) We walked down a tiny, lovely "twitten" (supposedly a lane that is betwixt and between) and walked past a beautiful blue door and a cat named Poppy, whose young girl owners were trying to coax him back into the house. Poppy, a cat with leopard markings (!) took his time and greeted most everyone else he met before sauntering back home.
Anne of Cleves house was closed for a wedding. Bummer for us as we now had to walk back to the castle to get a refund on our ticket as we had bought a two-fer. Accomplished that and walked down a pedestrian shopping lane and to the oldest part of Lewes. Popped into Saint Thomas a Becket Church and met serendipity. A local parishioner was just finishing up arranging the flowers for the church and I commented to her how lovely they looked. As we walked around the church, she took a special interest in us and pointed out a couple of things we never would have seen:
A Leper's Squint - a small portal (more like a window) where the lepers could stand outside the church and still see the alter and experience the Mass. Weird but interesting.
A very old stained glass window that incorporates a picture of the church. Not a regular occurrence.
We caught the bus back from Lewes and ate at the Wingrove House, recommended by our innkeepers. Fantastic meal. Walked back to our B+B along the footpath from the village - very local.
Tomorrow we walk our final day along the South Downs Way. Looking forward to the dramatic views of the chalk cliffs and the ocean.
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