Lewes,

Lewes, the county town of Sussex, 50 miles S. of London, is picturesquely situated on the eastern declivity of one of the South Downs, at the foot of which flows the navigable river Ouse on its course to the sea at Newhaven, 7 miles distant. Pop. (1801) 4909; (1881) 11,199; (1891) 10,997. The chief objects of interest are the ruins of a priory and castle which once stood here, the former built (1072–78) by William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, who with his wife Gundreda, a daughter of William the Conqueror, was buried within its precincts. Of the castle which stood on high ground in the centre of the town, the keep and gateway, the only portions now remaining, are occupied by the Sussex Archaeological Society as a museum. Lewes has seven churches, mostly Perpendicular in style, a county hall (1812), free library (1862), school of science and art (1868), and a town-hall (1872). The chief trade is in corn, malt, coals, and lime, whilst newspaper-printing and tanning are extensively carried on. Till 1867 the town returned two members to parliament, till 1885 one. A charter of incorporation was granted in 1881. Race-meetings are held three times a year near Mount Harry on the Downs, where, on the 14th May 1264, a great battle was fought between Henry III. and the insurgent barons under Simon de Montfort. See works by Horsfield (2 vols. 1824–27), Mantell (1846), and Lower (3d ed. 1880).