Lewes History Group

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.

An Uckfield Bridge Cottage Heritage Centre talk

Mick Harker

Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 and the changes in Uckfield mirrors the growth and achievements synonymous with her reign.

This talk looks at the changes as the Town moved from a small village to a bustling market town all captured by the new technology of the age – the camera!

Venue: Bridge Cottage Heritage Centre, High Street, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 1AZ

Entry: UDPS Members £5, Non-members £8

Tickets: www.bridgecottageuckfield.co.uk or 01825 760734

Southeast England Regional Conference, King’s Church, Brooks Road, Lewes, BN7 2BY

Speakers:

Matt Pope, (Institute of Archaeology at UCL), ‘New Discoveries from the Archaeological Record of Palaeolithic People in Southeast England’

Geoffrey Mead, ‘Southeast England in the early 18^th Century: Defoe’s Tour of 1722’

Ellinor Michel & Charlotte Wightwick (Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs), ‘Conserving the Victorian Vision of Dinosaurs, at Crystal Palace’

Matthew Slocombe (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings), ‘The Work of SPAB in Southeast England, and its ‘Old House’ Project’

Kathryn Ferry, ‘Seafront Structures of Southeast Seaside Resorts’ 

Chris Hare, ‘Hilaire Belloc and the South Country: landscape, people and myth’

Ruth O’Keeffe (Chair, Friends of Lewes Civic Society), Conserving the Heritage of an Historic County Town’

Conference Fee for the day is £30 per person, which includes coffee/tea, packed lunch and Conference publication

Conference details and booking form