Lewes History Group

The Friends of Lewes is pleased to support the appeal by St Thomas à Becket Church in Cliffe to improve access up the church tower – and to invite local residents to join a volunteer team to wind its turret clock every day.

Nearly £25,000 had to be raised to make the church tower’s 15^th-century spiral staircase safe, and meanwhile the clock has been out of action for over a year. Now it will be re-started, at midday on Friday 25 November 2022.

The clock dates to 1670 and is reputed to be the second oldest in Sussex, so this is an opportunity for volunteers to literally get a hand on their history. The church is aiming to engage with local people by creating a team of clock-winders, and is also planning guided tours of the clock and belfry, starting early next year.

The daily hand-winding that is required is a five-minute job, and St Thomas is aiming to establish a rota of winders who live nearby and would like to be hands-on to their town’s history. Interested members can get more information from parochial church council member Peter Varlow, peter@varlow.org.uk

More on the history of this clock

Come and enjoy a medieval feast, with entertainment by the Paddock Singers, and support Lewes Priory Trust!

On Saturday 19th November, Southover Church will be transformed into a venue fit for a King. There will be hog roast with all the trimmings, good wine and spiced apple and quince crumble. (Vegetarian options available).

All this, plus entertainment, for £26, plus the booking fee.
Booking essential at www.ticketsource.co.uk/Lewes-Priory-Trust.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Please support this exciting event, have fun and raise vital funds for Lewes Priory Trust

Click image to enlarge

A Zoom Webinar

John Bleach: The History of Cliffe – an Overview

John Bleach’s talk will suggest answers to some basic historical questions about Cliffe.

Cliffe, like Southover, is today part of Lewes but it has not always been the case. In 1560, Alice Howlter of St Michael’s parish, Lewes, bequeathed £10 for the repair ‘of the west part of the bridge of Lewes’. She was concerned only with the part of the bridge that was the responsibility of those living on the Lewes side of the river. The upkeep of the eastern half of the bridge fell to people living in Cliffe. In the 16th Century Cliffe and Lewes were in different jurisdictions, had been so for centuries, and continued to be so for centuries more.

John comments, “What, then, was Cliffe, and where did it belong? We will identify its location and extent, consider its topography and landscape, look into its likely origins, early days and development from chapelry to parish, and close with some thoughts on its livelihood and material fabric. We will not be plumbing depths as this is an overview, but we might very well be coming across some little-known and surprising history.”

Image: Painting of Cliffe crossroads, by Victoria Hine (1840-1926), undated

To join this talk, you need to
1) register your intention in advance
2) receive our confirmation email with a link to the talk
3) click on that link to attend the talk 10 minutes before it starts

LHG Members can attend our talks for free. We will send members emails with a link to Zoom registration. Then please follow steps 1, 2, and 3 as above. 

Non-members can buy a ticket (£4) from TicketSource. The ticket will provide a link to Zoom registration. Then please follow steps 1, 2, and 3 as above.

Please join the webinar at 7:20pm.

We would recommend a computer screen or an iPad as a minimum screen-size for viewing our webinars.

Our presenters will be speaking live, and you can ask questions by typing in the Q&A box in Zoom.

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