Living in Tudor and Stuart Sussex c.1500-1700 – a study day organised by the Sussex School of Archaeology and History – 12th October 2024

Saturday 12th October 2024. Kings Church, Brooks Road, Lewes, BN7 2BY

An exploration of how people in the Tudor and Stuart periods made a living, what they wore, where they lived and worshipped, and how they were helped if they became very poor. The associated handbook will include a brief overview of key events such as the closure of the monasteries by Henry VIII, and the emergence of England as a Protestant nation, the attempt by Spain to invade England and the failure of the Spanish Armada, the English Civil War and Commonwealth, and the restoration of the Stuarts as monarchs.

BOOKING: via website of the Sussex School of History and Archaeology – conferences. http://www.sussexarchaeology.org/tudor-stuarts-programme

Fee: £30 in person, £25 students, £15 on line.

10.00: A brief introduction to the day – Dr David Rudling

10.05: Living in a provincial town – Elizabethan Chichester

Dr Caroline Adams.  Retired Archivist – Independent palaeographer and historian specialising in Sussex and the early modern period Independent Historian specialising in the Tudor period.

10.45: Living in a new town – Brighton a  fishing and coastal carrying town 1540-1700.

 Dr Sue Berry FRHistS   Independent historian and writer.

11.25: Break with refreshments [provided]

11.45: Social attitudes in Tudor and Stuart Chichester: the evidence of the wills.

Dr James McInnes. Independent historian with a particular interest in the ‘plaine country fellow.’

12.20Tudor and Stuart Great Houses in an age of religious upheaval

Maurice Howard OBE, FSA, FSA (Scot), Professor Emeritus of Art History, University of Sussex

13.00: Lunch [not provided] You are welcome to bring your own lunch or there are shops and cafes where you can purchase refreshments nearby.

14.00: Vernacular buildings in Sussex: some impacts of changes in design from c1500-1700

Joe Thompson Conservator, researcher and lecturer on historic timber-framed building.

14.40:  Clothing in Seventeenth century Sussex  

Dr Danae Tankard,  FRHistS Reader in Social History University of Chichester.

15.20: Break with refreshments [provided]

15.40: The poor and the impact of the Elizabethan Poor laws 

Dr Mary Rudling, Independent Historian, expert on the Poor Law.

16.20: The impact of the Reformation on parish churches and worship

Dr Andrew Foster, FRHistS  Visiting Fellow at the Universities of Southampton and Kent.

17.00 – 17.15: Q&A

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Lewes History Group Talk: Monday 14th October 2024 at 19:30 – Builders, designers and decorators of interiors – the Georgian Craftsmen of Lewes and local country houses 1710-1820

Builders, designers and decorators of interiors – the Georgian Craftsmen of Lewes and local country houses 1710-1820,   Sue Berry

The talk explores the impact of patronage and its decline and other influences on the work of craftsmen in Lewes , especially Arthur and John Morris snr. It also puts them into the broader context of rivals in Lewes at the time, asking whether Arthur and John were unique in the amount of work that they did on local country houses as well as in Lewes by exploring what we know about rivals such as Joseph and Amon and Amon Henry Wilds.

Whilst there are a lot of examples of local craftsmen working on country houses in eastern Sussex between the 1720s and the 1760s, such work then seems to fall away. Archives show little during the later period. And the houses seem to freeze. The craftsmen of Lewes had to find other sources of income.

That the way in which craftsmen sought work had changed is reflected in the work undertaken by craftsmen based in Lewes from the 1780s. The leading families of craftsmen moved to speculative housing and incomers found plenty of work in Lewes and Brighton, both of which had building booms. Of which Brighton’s is the greatest and lasts longest. The resort becomes a magnet for builders from the 1750s. When Dr Poole wished to revamp his substantial house overlooking the Steine in the 1760s, he used builders from the resort apart from John Morris who built his stables (HOOK 23/1/13). 1 This suggests that Brighton was so well supplied with craftsmen that Lewesians struggled to become established there without good contacts. The Wilds of Lewes initially depended on the patronage of Thomas Kemp of Lewes who moved to Brighton to develop land that he had inherited and that helped them make contact with other clients.

We will look at country houses and churches where the Morris dynasty of Lewes made their mark and the work by them and other craftsmen in Lewes.

LHG Members can attend our talks for free.

Non-members can buy a ticket (£4) from TicketSource.co.uk/lhg

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

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Lewes Archaeology Group meeting – Friday 18 October: The landscape and archaeology of the Cuckmere Valley

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