Lewes History Group

1. Annual General Meeting

2. Alison Jolly: Telling Lewes History for Children

“Lewes is old. Of course it is haunted.”  That is the opening of Alison Jolly’s series of children’s books about a little girl who can see people of historic times still walking round Lewes’ streets.

For the Lewes History Group she will talk about the challenge of inventing stories which are true to history even though they are fiction for ten-year-olds. Cromwell and the Priory, Tom Paine and the smugglers, Every’s Iron Works and the first Lewes workhouses — with scary made-up adventures for Fiddle and her friends.

Alison Jolly is a primatologist specialising in lemur biology, and a visiting scientist at the University of Sussex. She is the author of both academic and popular books on her subject, but has now moved on to non-lemur children’s fiction with her new ‘Fiddle’ series of children’s books, based on real events in Lewes history.

Agenda: All are welcome from 7.00pm for festive mince pies and mulled wine, and updates on the Group’s activities. The AGM will begin promptly at 7:30pm, followed by Alison Jolly’s talk.

Entry for this meeting, incorporating the AGM, is free to Lewes History Group members, and £3 for non-members, payable at the door.

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

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Sarah Hitchins will be leading a discussion on Oral History technique.

Sarah is a specialist in life history interviewing, and oral history training. Together with Jenny Stewart, Sarah runs Spoken Memoires, which helps individuals to tell their stories and to share and preserve them.

Lewes History Group research meetings are for Members (or potential Members) interested in doing their own research, or helping with current projects. Meetings are held at the King’s Church Building, Brooks Road, Lewes, BN7 2BY

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David Rudling: Cowrie Shells to Credit Cards – the Archaeology of Money

David Rudling is an excavator of Roman villas at Beddingham and Barcombe, and an authority on Roman coinage. He is now co-director of the Sussex School of Archaeology following many years as convenor of archaeology programmes at the University of Sussex.

Venue: Lecture Room, Lewes Town Hall, Fisher Street Entrance

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