Lewes History Group

We plan to make many metres of bunting featuring the sights and symbols of The Pells, such as ducks, trees, fish and swimmers – for the Pells centenary in June 2020. You can pick up ‘Swim and Sew’ packs at the Pells Pool kiosk, but we want to involve the whole Pells neighbourhood and other residents of Lewes.

Come to the Elephant & Castle on Wednesday 31st 2019 at 7.30pm to have a go at making your own piece of bunting. There’ll be samples to look at and templates to use. All ages and levels of skill are welcome. See you there!

The Pells Centenary team

Over the last few years, the residents of the Nevill Estate in Lewes have been assembling a large collection of photos, cuttings, and spoken memories about their lives on the Nevill.

We are fortunate that Ann Holmes and her team have decided to make this remarkable material accessible to everyone, by putting it on the Lewes History Group website as part of our Lewes Street Stories series.

We have Ann’s illustrated history of how the Nevill estate came to be built; together with six unique collections of photos and cuttings illustrating life in the Nevill over the years from the 1920s to the 1970s. We also have fascinating stories from five residents who share their memories of living on the Estate from 1929 to the 1950s.

Thank you to everyone who contributed their material  – I am told that there is more to come!

Start here for the Nevill story

Nevill VE Day Party, 1945. Photo courtesy of the late Alan Brown

An event at The Keep, Falmer

Brian Phillips

Women began to vote and stand for parliamentary election in 1918, and in local elections in the late 19th century. However, holdings at The Keep show women voting for Brighton’s Improvement Commissioners earlier, and there were similar instances elsewhere.

Documents also reveal a wider range of attitudes in Sussex and nationally towards women voting and taking public office in the 18th century than usually assumed.

In this illustrated talk, Brian Phillips will explore the evidence, highlighting further possibilities of research that remain.

A small display of original material from our archives will be available to view from 5pm on the day of the talk.

Brian Phillips’ interests range from women’s history to the pre-modern history of Uckfield, where he is often seen leading historical walks. He is also a key member of The Keep’s public service team.

Image at The Keep website

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

Entry:  £5, book at The Keep website