Lewes History Group

Jeff Southgate and Francis Burrows (with Battle of Lewes re-enactors)

For its return to physical talks, Lewes History Group welcomes Jeff Southgate and Francis Burrows with their fellow re-enactors, who will bring back to life the knights, their arms and how they fought the battle at Lewes in May 1264.

The talk will cover the lead up to the Battle of Lewes 1264 and the key participants, Simon de Montfort and Henry III and other key characters who fought in the battle, taking the sides of the royalists and the Barons. The focus will be on the clothing, arms, equipment, and importantly how the weapons were used in combat.

The detailed history will be left behind as the re-enactors show us the fighting styles and brutality of 13^th Century battlefield and street fighting as happened at Lewes. They will describe and demonstrate how the re-enactment will be displayed for the Battle of Lewes event in the town 14^th and 15^th May 2022 – the UK’s only battle re-enactment on the streets where the battle took place!

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

Entry: Due to limited seating, admission will be by advance ticketing only – no payments on the door. Please book in advance at https://ticketsource.co.uk/lhg

Tickets are FREE for LHG members, and £4 for non-members. We will have lists of ticket-holders at the door, so please bring your Ticketsource booking reference code along.

Member tickets will be available from 21 March, non-members from 1 April. Ticket sales will close at 6:30pm on the day of the talk.

Covid precautions: We would prefer it if you wore a mask while in the hall. We will provide hand-gel dispensers at the door, but we will not be able to serve tea/coffee.

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

Via Zoom

You can book a free pilot session on parish records which will be held on Saturday 2^nd April 1.30 – 4.30pm via Zoom.

This online workshop will provide an introduction to parish records and show how they can be used to explore your family history. Key record series will be introduced and attendees will be encouraged to look ‘beyond’ the parish registers for information.

The workshop will include a case study and attendees will be asked to examine a number of documents in order to gather information about an individual and think about which other records they could use to find out more about their West Sussex ancestors.

Even if you are already familiar with parish records it will be an interesting experience and will help the Record Office.

Anyone who would like to take part in this pilot session should email record.office@westsussex.gov.uk so that the Zoom link can be sent in due course.

The trial workshop is described in more detail on page 3 of the January Researcher.

Thank you from the WSAS Committee on behalf of Nichola Court and Jennifer Mason at WSRO.

Online talk

Hamish MacGillivray: The Sterns of Highdown: Cocktails, Campaigns and Chromosomes

What happens when you find the Highdown visitors book revealing forgotten Anglo-Jewish aristocrats, plant hunters and scientists?

Hamish MacGillivray stumbled into this scenario while working for Highdown Gardens researching at West Sussex Record Office (WSRO) in Chichester. This was part of a Heritage Lottery funded project (2019 to 2021) to discover more about Sir Frederick and Lady Sybil Stern, who created the unique chalk Highdown Gardens at Goring-by-Sea.

The Sterns are highly respected in the horticultural world, but the evidence of their other obsessions and their famous and not so famous visitors disappeared for over 50 years. This talk is a peek into some of the stories surrounding the Sterns and lockdown research networking, all inspired by the Highdown Visitors Book.

Your speaker Hamish has worked in the museum and heritage sector for over 30 years in many roles including toy curator, exhibitions project manager, oral historian, and Visitor Experience consultant for the National Trust.

He was the freelance researcher/writer for the new Highdown Gardens website and visitor centre displays. He is not a gardener, but enjoys trimming ivy hedges.

The talk will last up to an hour, with an opportunity to ask questions via the chat box.

Tickets: £5.00 from Eventbrite