Lewes is a picturesque town in the southern county of Sussex and is home to one of England’s oldest castles, Lewes Castle.
Documents dating back to the early 10th century suggest that Lewes was founded by King Alfred the Great, and the first known settlement was a fortified Saxon town. Over the next century, Lewes grew in importance with its own port, and by the reign of Edward the Confessor, emerged as the foremost town in East Sussex.
After the Norman invasion in 1066, William I divided Sussex into five zones that were given to his most trusted companions. Their jobs were to construct castles to secure control of the areas with access to Normandy. Lewes was granted to William de Warenne, a Norman baron who fought in the Battle of Hastings. Around 1067, Warenne commenced work on Lewes Castle to control, and ultimately dominate, the Saxon settlement and its port. This initial castle was an earth and timber motte and bailey fortification, with a wooden keep situated on raised earth (motte) and an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch. Today, the motte is known as Brack Mount.
Around 1100, Lewes Castle was rebuilt in stone and a second motte was added. This second motte supported the newly-built stone keep, which is still visible today. In addition to the keep, a large gatehouse was built to replace the wooden gateway that guarded the entrance to the bailey.
After a Royal grant was awarded to fund repairs to the town walls in 1334, a barbican was added to the castle in 1336 in response to the threat of French raids that preceded the Hundred Years’ War. These were the last upgrades the castle received under the Warenne family — and in 1347, the castle was passed to Richard FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel. The FitzAlan family owned numerous properties, including Arundel Castle, so Lewes Castle was placed under the control of a series of constables. In the 1370s, this position was held by Sir Edward Dallingridge, who served as a solider in The Hundred Years’ War. In 1377, Lewes Castle was raided by the French and a further raid occurred in 1379 when the French sailed up the River Ouse.
In response to the political strife that surrounded the reign of Richard II, and labor shortages caused by Black Death — the populace rioted against the Earl of Arundel and attacked Lewes Castle. During the riots, wine and stone were taken from the castle. In the wake of continuing civil strife, Lewes Castle was re-designed as a prison to house the growing number of prisoners. By the late 1380s, many of England’s powerful magnates grew tired of the tyrannical rule of Richard II, and the Earl of Arundel joined the Lord’s Appellants — a small group of magnates that seized the King’s power and impeached many of his appointees. However, in 1397 Richard II regained power and the Earl of Arundel was arrested, had his properties seized and executed as consequence.
In 1399, Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV, de-throned Richard II and returned Lewes Castle to the FitzAlan family. After the fifteenth century, the castle declined in importance and was used as a warehouse to store wool. However, the castle was visited periodically by the Earls of Arundel. During the seventeenth century, the castle fell into ruins and the stone was removed to be used elsewhere while remaining parts of the castle were sold off. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Keep underwent a series of renovations, which included the refitting of the tower and conversion of the interior to a garden. In 1920, the freehold of the castle was granted to the Sussex Archaeological Society and has remained there since.
Today, visitors can tour Lewes Castle and the adjoining Barbican House, which houses the Museum of Sussex Archaeology. Admission is £8.20 for adults, £4.50 for children (5-17), £7.40 for seniors (65+), £7.20 for students and £22 for families (two adults and up to four children.
