Lewes History Group

Mat Homewood: The History of the Lewes Workhouse Building, 1868-1960

Mat tells the story of the impressive (and foreboding) Lewes Union Workhouse building, which once stood by De Montfort Road.

Full of fascinating stories, photographs and plans, this talk takes us from the building’s construction in the 1860s, right up its gradual demolition during the 1950s to make way for the Abergavenny Flats.

Mat will look at life in the workhouse and will also delve into the often turbulent lives of the seven workhouse masters, which included heavy drinking, immoral behaviour and insanity.

The talk will cover the building’s brief time as the Female Inebriates’ Reformatory, and reveal various escape attempts made by some of the inmates.

Mat will go on to discuss the building’s conversion to private flats in the 1920s, and its reputation by the 1950s as the ‘black spot of Lewes’. The talk will finish with a look at the plans made to replace the old workhouse with the collection of flats we see there today.

This well-illustrated talk provides a fascinating insight into this significant, but much forgotten Lewes building.

Photo of the flats in the 1950s, courtesy of Dave & Albert ‘Les’ Scott

All are welcome from 7.00pm for free refreshments and updates on the Group’s activities. The talk will begin promptly at 7:30pm and will finish by 9.00pm.

There is an entry fee for these meetings, payable at the door, of £1 for members, and £3 for non-members.

Venue: The King’s Church building on Brooks Road, Lewes, BN7 2BY. (Between Tesco car park and Homebase)

See the Meetings page for a list of  forthcoming monthly talks organised by the Lewes History Group.

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Debby Matthews: The Station Street Story

Following an earlier Lewes History Group talk when Debby Matthews outlined the early history of what was St Mary’s Lane, she will now update the story from the coming of the railway station to the present day. She will describe the growth of Station Street, its shops and businesses, and some of its characters and events.

Often overlooked, Station Street in fact has many private houses, two pubs, two religious establishments, two restaurants, two cafes and at least a dozen other businesses of differing sorts. The story of its development over the years is likely to throw up information unknown even to locals who recall it when it was a two-way thoroughfare.

This history is a developing ongoing project which has resulted in two previous public exhibitions already and is one of the LHG Street Story projects.

Photo of Station Street, Lewes, from John Kay’s collection

Debby welcomes any new pictures or memories of Station Street. Bring them to the talk, or contact Debby via the Lewes History Group Contact Us page.

All are welcome from 7.00pm for free refreshments and updates on the Group’s activities. The talk will begin promptly at 7:30pm and will finish by 9.00pm.

There is an entry fee for these meetings, payable at the door, of £1 for members, and £3 for non-members.

Venue: The King’s Church building on Brooks Road, Lewes, BN7 2BY. (Between Tesco car park and Homebase)

See the Meetings page for a list of  forthcoming monthly talks organised by the Lewes History Group.

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