issue 5 - Viva Lewes

i s s u e 5

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E d i t o r i a l 

viva 

LEWES 

They say the British always talk about the weather, 

and it’s true. You overhear people all the time, 

discussing the topic in all sorts of tones, at all sorts 

of different levels: whether they’re agreeing what 

it was like last Friday to hoping what it’ll be like 

next Sunday; from moaning about another spell 

of rain to expressing an opinion as to whether 

the uncertainty of any given day’s meteorological 

constitution has led to an irony-loving stoicism in 

the collective personality of the inhabitants of this 

oft-sodden island. 

After a rotten May and a disastrous June (unless 

you’re a plant) let’s hope that the frontal system will 

clear the skies of rain clouds a little more in July. 

The unusual amount of sunshine we enjoyed this 

spring was soaked up by many in a guilty fashion, 

the pleasure of the feeling of the sun’s warmth on the 

skin tempered by worries about the environmental 

reasons for that pleasant spell of meteorological 

beneficence. It became politically fashionable to 

knock the good weather. “Lovely day we’re having!” 

“Yes, but what does that signify?” 

Now we’re due a bit of sunshine: we deserve it. 

Damn, we need it. Just look at the outdoor events 

that have been planned in and around town: 

from the commedia dell’arte theatre of the Rude 

Mechanicals to the slapstick magnificence of the 

Raft Race; from the musical promise of the Starfish 

kids in the Paddock to the polished prowess of the 

Guitar Festival stars in the Gun Garden. Al fresco 

entertainment? Optimism is a wonderful value. 

That thing about the Brits talking about the weather 

all the time: well what do you expect? Our weather 

is interesting, with all its ifs and buts, its irritating 

nevercantellness, its Hitchcockian twists. It’s like an 

infuriating and manipulative lover who can alter our 

mood at will: of course we talk about it all the time. 

It’s July. Let the summer begin. Please. 

The Viva Lewes Handbook is now printed on 

100% sustainable, 55% recycled paper. 

CONTENTS 

screen printing: Brian Rice (4) 

Art: Gallery round-up (7) 

sculpture: Eric Gill (8) 

Art: Quentin Follies (11) 

Drama: Rude Mechanical Theatre (13) 

Raft Race (15) 

Gigs: Lewes Guitar Festival (17) 

Gigs: Peter Bruntnell, Starfish (21-23) 

Food: The Flying Fish (27) 

Food: Bill Collison on salad (28) 

We try out: Bowls (31) 

Day out: Goodwood Sculpture Park (33) 

Bricks and Mortar: Spences House (35) 

Viva Kids: Moving on parade (37) 

Lewes Districts: Phoenix quarter (38) 

Column: Marina Pepper (41) 

Column: Norman Baker (43) 

Cricket: India and Sri Lanka (45) 

Trade secrets: The Pells (46) 

My Lewes: Chris Drury (62) 

Cover image: ‘Cairnstone’ by Brian Rice 

Graphics by Neil Gower, to whom we are, as 

ever, enormously grateful 

Editor: Alex Leith alex@vivalewes.com Deputy Editor: Emma Robertson emma@vivalewes.com Sub-editor: David Jarman 

Designer: Katie Moorman katie@vivalewes.com Staff writer: Emma Chaplin emmachaplin@vivalewes.com Marketing: Scott Chowen 

scott@vivalewes.com Publisher: Nick Williams nick@vivalewes.com. 

Viva Lewes is based at Pipe Passage, 151b High Street, Lewes, BN7 1XU 

For advertising information or information about events you would like to see publicised, call 01273 488882 or e-mail 

info@vivalewes.com Every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of our content. The Viva Lewes Handbook cannot be held responsible 

for any omissions, errors or alterations.

S C r E E n p r i n t i n g 

The Art of Reproduction 

Screen printing by Artizan Editions brings fine art to the masses 

The unveiling of Damien Hirst’s latest exhibition 

has caused the usual brouhaha in the media about 

the degree to which an artist should be physically 

involved in their art amidst revelations that Hirst 

employs a team of painters to do the work for him. 

it’s not the first time either. “i couldn’t be fucking 

arsed doing it” he replied to the charge that he 

had only painted five of his spot paintings. His own 

efforts he described as “shit compared to... [his 

assistant] Rachel. The best spot painting you can 

have by me is one painted by Rachel.” 

And yet the idea that ‘authenticity’ should be 

measured in terms of graft continues to resurface. 

Particularly in reference to the growing practice 

of print-making. i visited Artizan editions, one 

of the most successful screenprint workshops in 

the country (used by the likes of Bridget Riley) to 

find out more. “People are put off by what they 

see as mass production but they don’t understand 

the way that the artist is involved in the process,” 

says founder, sally Gimson. “We’re here to offer 

technical assistance to allow the artist to experiment 

W W W. V i V a l E W E S . C o M 

creatively. We’re really just another of the artist’s 

tools.” 

so what you actually get from an ‘original edition’ 

is a bespoke print produced in limited supply. This 

roughly translates as an original artwork that up to 

sixty other people have. The artists are physically 

present in the studio, design an original concept 

and make the print themselves with the technical 

assistance of the team. “People often think that a 

print means a reproduction”, continues sally. “They 

will often ask me where is the original. But i tell 

them they’re looking at it”. 

Not all prints are original though. “A lot of people are 

actually dishonest in the way that they sell artworks. 

People think that if something has a signature on 

it that it’s authentic. But a lot of these are actually 

repros and the artist won’t have touched them.” it 

is a point echoed by Brian Rice, this month’s cover 

artist, and another of the Artizan editions stable. 

“There’s a lot of jiggery pokery that goes on with 

so called prints. That’s why we try and refer to what 

we’re doing as ‘original editions’ to distance us from 

reproductions”. 

From Left to right: ‘Landmarks’ by Sally McGill, ‘Ten by Ten VI@ by Sally McGill, ‘Farm Road Suite II’ by Trevor Vickers and ‘Moving by ‘Stella Maris

Printmaking used to be a purely commercial practice 

and it is only fairly recently that it has moved into 

the artistic arena. Brian Rice was one of the first. 

“everyone always says that printmaking was first 

used by Andy Warhol but actually it was a bit earlier 

than that. i was making prints in the early 60s and i 

wasn’t the only one. i was selling thousands of prints 

then especially in the states.” 

For Brian producing original prints is an almost 

political act. “i’ve always thought the most important 

thing about printmaking is the fact that pieces can be 

sold for affordable prices. it means that as an artist 

you can get your ideas out to a wider audience, and 

that a different set of people can own a piece of your 

artwork.” And the price difference is staggering. if 

you want to buy a painting by Bridget Riley, you’re 

looking at stumping up many thousands of pounds. 

if you buy one of her original prints you’re looking 

at a few hundred. 

The image that we have chosen for our cover is 

called ‘Cairnstone’ and it is an original print from 

a series of four. it is inspired by Brian’s interest in 

archaeology (developed during the fifteen years he 


S C r E E n p r i n t i n g 

retreated from the art world and into farming). The 

design has its roots in prehistoric rock art. “it’s one 

of europe’s best kept secrets”, he tells me. “There 

are hundreds of rocks and boulders around, which 

are carved with amazing designs. They’re not easy 

to spot because they are quite weathered. You tend 

to find them in remote places.” 

Whilst the designs form the basis of his inspiration 

they change dramatically in transition. “People 

always ask me about colour”, he says. “Because 

obviously the carvings are just grey. Colour has 

always been important in my work, right back to the 

early stuff in the 60s. i tend to tailor my colours very 

much to my mood.” so what colour are you working 

in now? “Well i had been using muted tones so i 

must have thought i was a bit depressed but all of 

a sudden i found myself adding bright yellow so i 

think i’ve broken out of it.” 

‘Cairnstone’ will be on display at the HQ Gallery 

from July 1 th to August 12th as part of a major 

exhibition of prints from Artizan editions. V 

emma Robertson 

HQ Gallery 01273 487849 

V 

5

www.chalkgallery.org.uk 

4, north street, lewes, east sussex 

bn7 2pa. tel 01273 474477 

open 10.00am - 5.00pm 7 days a week 

Kaleidoscope 

16th July to 24th August 

featured artist every three weeks 

new exhibitions every six weeks 

the friendliest artist-led gallery in town, 

showcasing original, affordable art by 21 

professional artists 

info@chalkgallery.org.uk

Gallery Round-up 

Abstract prints, enigmatic figures and cows with attitude 

Four Square Fine Arts Summer Exhibition ‘Art 

on Paper’ showcases two of Britain’s most famous 

contemporary painters, John Hoyland and Craigie 

Aitchison, (see above) working in a medium 

that is relatively new to them - print-making. 

Producing prints makes a painter more accessible 

to the public, as they can sell more frames 

at cheaper prices. “They have both been helped 

by the London-based company Advanced Graphics, 

which has taught them to apply their techniques 

to print,” says Sonia Crivello, who runs 

the gallery space. She’s particularly excited about 

Hoyland’s work. “He’s one of the most important 

post-war abstract artists,” she says. “At first he 

produced rather formal compositions, but he has 

more recently broken his own mould and moved 

on. His strength is his astute use of contemporary 

colours. You don’t get the texture he achieves 

with his painting, but he’s been able to convey 

the vigour and tone and the boldness of his colours 

very well in his prints.” Aitchison’s work is 

of brightly-coloured New Testament representations 

in a naïve style; a third artist, print-maker 

Trevor Jones, is also on show. 

Throughout the month (and for most of August, 

too) the Charleston Gallery will be filled with the 

fascinating paintings of Patrick Burke. Burke has 

a very quiet public persona, but he can count on 

some influential fans, including the revered critic 

Norbert Lynton, who writes of his enigmatic, 

contextless portraits, ‘There is a fine tradition of 


a r t a n d a b o u t 

imaginative figure painting within modern art in 

spite of all the emphasis on impressionistic and 

expressionistic styles, on abstraction and surrealist 

fantasy. The figures we see here belong to 

this poetic tradition. It is not especially English, 

though a few English painters contributed to it 

brilliantly, among them Edward Burra and John 

Armstrong. It belongs more to the Continent, to 

France and Italy, and to some German painters of 

the Twenties.” 

The group of artists who run the Chalk Gallery 

take it in turns to take the spotlight as ‘featured 

artist’ for three week stretches. This month the 

honour falls to Amy Williams, a pen and ink artist 

who specialises in portraits of farmyard animals, 

and especially cows (see below), in pen and ink. 

If you think this sounds twee, think again. Amy’s 

animals look you straight in the eye, as if to say 

‘what are you looking at?’ You might remember 

her work from our December issue: we commissioned 

her to paint the image we used on the 

cover, of a turkey with attitude. 

Finally it’s worth mentioning the ‘Body of Work’ 

exhibition, arranged by a group of Brightonbased 

artists in the Market Lane Garage. The 

group is an eclectic mix of self-styled ‘cutting 

edge’ artists whose work will fit the dimensions of 

the vast warehouse, an excellent setting for such 

projects.” V 

Alex Leith 

HQ Gallery 012 8 8 9 

Chalk Gallery 012

S C u l p t u r E

Photograph: Alex Leith 

Gill - Sans Controversy 

An Eric Gill exhibition in Ditchling Museum doesn’t 

dwell on the naughty bits 

I’ve been fascinated by Eric Gill, 

and especially the period he 

lived in Ditchling, since I recently 

read his biography, published in 

1989, by Fiona MacCarthy. The 

book, billed as ‘explosively scandalous’ 

in a Sunday Times quote 

on its cover, did much to re-establish 

the artistic reputation 

of the Brighton-born arts-andcraftsman, 

and a lot to destroy 

his moral reputation, too. 

When I’ve since mentioned Eric 

Gill, most of the people who 

have heard of him say things 

like ‘isn’t he the one who buggered 

his daughters?’ And ‘didn’t 

he conduct sexual experiments 

with his dog?’ They rarely mention 

the important role he 

played in the history of sculpting 

in this country: how he influenced 

Jacob Epstein to carve 

straight from stone instead of 

making bronze casts from clay 

models; his own monumental 

works in Leeds city centre and 

Westminster Cathedral. The fact 

that millions of people still read 

his typeface, Gill Sans, every day. 

(You are doing so at the moment). 

Gill lived for nearly 20 years in 

Ditchling, where he established 

his artistic credentials, converted 

to Catholicism, and organised 

a self-styled religious community 

around him, The Order of SS 

Joseph and Dominic. The Order 

was dedicated to hard work, an 

ascetic lifestyle, and the creation 

of sculptures, wood engravings, 

headstones and pamphlets. 

A number of important figures 

from the arts and crafts movement 

joined Gill in the village, 

including Edward Johnston, Desmond 

Chute and Hilary Pepler. 

Gill left the village in 1924; the 

Order didn’t fold until 1989. 

Ditchling is still peppered with 

artists’ and artisans’ studios, and 

still continues to be a refuge for 

those celebrities who can afford 

its exorbitant house prices. 

There’s currently a temporary 

exhibition in the Ditchling Museum 

about the important role 

Gill has played in shaping Ditchling’s 

personality. I arrive in the 

village - my first visit - over an 

hour before the museum opens. 

There’s plenty to occupy me. 

Gill was originally a letter-cutter, 

and you can see examples 

of his work on a sundial outside 

the splendid Norman church, 

on a badly weathered wooden 

board in the graveyard, and on 

a war memorial on the village 

green. I also visit Sopers, his first 

house, in the village centre, and 

Hopkins Crank, his second, a 

big farmhouse two miles down 

the road on Ditchling Common. 

Both now-privately-owned 

houses are adorned, appropriately 

enough, with engraved 

stone plaques, celebrating Gill’s 

time living in them. 

So far, so prosaic. But what of 

the artist’s enigmatic, colourful 

and controversial personality? 

I’m expecting to find more 

about that in the museum, and 

I do. This isn’t an exhibition of 

his sculptures: it’s a collection 

of little tit-bits from his studio, 

some of which are very revealing. 

A self-made calendar to 

help him cross off the days before 

his wedding to Mary. The 

original design for his ‘Stations 

of the Cross’ low-relief panels 

in Westminster Cathedral, with 

a self-portrait as Christ in the 

10th station ‘Jesus stripped of 

his clothes’. One of his smocks, 

and an anecdote about how he 

shocked passers-by by wearing 

no underwear underneath it 

while up a ladder carving Prospero 

and Ariel on the façade of 

BBC building in Langham Place. 

A self-penned, self-designed 

pamphlet called ‘Trousers and 

the Most Precious Ornament’, 

berating the fact that the modern-day 

male organ has come to 

be tucked away inside clothing. 

The original plan for the sculpture 

‘Mulier’, rejected by Roger 

Fry (of all people) for its ‘explicit, 

erotic nature.’ 

There’s nothing, of course, about 

his sexual aberrations, details of 

which biographer MacCarthy 

culled from his own diaries, even 

after they had been censored by 

his wife after his death. Nothing 

about the dilemma voiced by the 

chattering classes after the book 

was published, whether one 

should take an interest in the art 

of a man who would nowadays 

be jailed for his incestuous perversions. 

No matter, you would 

hardly expect there to be. As I 

leave the museum, I spot several 

copies of the biography in its little 

shop. If you go, don’t forget 

to buy one on the way out. V 

Alex Leith 

Eric Gill and Ditchling - The 

Workshop Tradition, Ditchling 

Museum, until October 7 

a r t 

9

�� 

�� 

Summer Exhibition : Art on Paper 19th June – 28th July 2007 

Original limited edition silkscreen and woodblock prints by John Hoyland RA, Craigie Aitchison RA and Trevor Jones 

John Hoyland ‘Space Borne’ 1993 

Craigie Aitchison ‘Indian Crucifi xion’ 2003 

2 Mount Place, Lewes BN7 1YH Tel: 01273 474005 Tues-Fri 10 - 4pm Sat 12 - 4pm www.foursquarearts.co.uk

Duncan Grant’s Studio by D. Manning, 2001 © the artist. 

Quentin Follies 

An art auction and a punk icon at Charleston Farmhouse 

In its time Charleston Farmhouse was the epicentre 

of the arts scene in the county and beyond, and its 

importance was reflected in the magnificent art collection 

that adorned its walls and the murals and 

furniture decorations lovingly applied by its inhabitants, 

especially Vanessa Bell and her lover Duncan 

Grant. 

“After Duncan Grant’s death the house got denuded 

of many of its treasures,” says Cressida Bell, Vanessa’s 

grand-daughter. “The house was actually rented 

from the Firle Estate, and it was Deborah Gage who 

realised its value and decided to try to get it back to 

its former glory. The Charleston Trust was set up, 

and the Quentin Bell Commemoration Fund was 

organised in order to retain the art works that remained 

there, and reclaim others which had been 


a r t 

there, when they came up on the market.” 

Cressida set up The Quentin Follies as a fundraiser 

for the QBCF six years ago. “It was originally 

a revue show, with comedians and singers 

doing acts. The name Quentin Follies seemed 

to sum up the spirit of the whole enterprise,” 

she says. “Quite soon we realised a revue on its 

own would not be enough to break even on the 

project, so we asked a number of artists to donate 

works to be auctioned, to finish the whole 

event off.” 

The Quentin Follies auction has become something 

of an art world institution, with donations 

from a wide variety of artists, which you 

can view and bid for on-line, as well as, in some 

cases, on the night. “Artists have been very generous 

from the start, but we feel that this year 

we’ve got a particularly good batch. There are 

works by Patti Smith, Richard Hamilton, Peter 

Blake, Humphrey Ocean, Chris Drury, Maggie 

Hambling, Tom Hammick and Denis Healey, 

who does us a self-portrait every year. Oh and 

things by Cressida Bell, Julian Bell and Quentin 

Bell, too. And a piece by Duncan Grant. 

The one I’m fondest of is called Chav Finch, 

by David Harrison. It’s a picture of a chaffinch 

wearing Burberry.” 

As we go to press Cressida is finalising the ‘ten 

or so’ acts which will make up this year’s revue. 

“Joanna Neary, who is a fab comedienne from 

Brighton, will be there, as will Richard Dyball, 

a Lewes-based comedian. There will be a balloon 

dancer, and a Hinge-and-Brackett-type 

duo called El ‘n’ Em. There will be a few singers, 

too. I’m working on a surprise appearance 

from a big name from the past.” Later I get 

an e-mail from Cressida confirming who that 

will be: punk icon Kirk Brandon, formerly of 

Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny, playing 

a short set on acoustic guitar. 

Antonia Gabassi 

V 

Quentin Follies, Charleston Farmhouse, Firle, July 

th, 01 2 811265 

1 1

Rude Awakening 

Five get wet in the Gun Garden? Words by Emma Robertson 

Negotiating our unpredictable summer weather for 

a spot of open-air theatre is about as English as, well, 

Enid Blyton. It is fitting then, that this month’s al 

fresco offering is based on some of her best-loved 

characters, the Famous Five. However despite the 

youthful source of its inspiration, this is no ordinary 

children’s entertainment. And nor is it even as 

straightforwardly English as it might sound. In fact 

‘Five Get Famous’ is the latest offering from acclaimed 

touring theatre troupe, The Rude Mechanical 

Theatre Company whose performance techniques 

derive directly from the Italian tradition of the commedia 

dell’arte. 

“It’s definitely a play for adults, although, because our 

style looks a bit like a circus and is full of slapstick 

all our plays are an excellent introduction to adult 

theatre for children who are ready for it”, says writer 

and director Peter Talbot. “There is very mild ‘adult’ 

humour in places but nothing that will corrupt little 

minds”. As to whether Enid Blyton is an unusual 

choice for a commedia dell’arte piece, Peter tells me 

that many of the themes can be found in the most 

English of places. “When I first started the company 

we put on a series of Shakespeare plays”, says Peter. 

“Although most people wouldn’t connect him with 

commedia dell’arte a number of his plays have a lot 

of the same themes like mistaken identities, twins 

and cross dressing.” 

Blyton, Peter discovered, transferred remarkably well 

to the form. “The characters in commedia plays are 

usually based on the traditional Italian family, which 

is headed by the father figure or pantalone. In Enid 


t h E a t r E 

Blyton you have a similar hierarchical structure in the 

English class system”. Set in 1940 the plot contains 

typical Blyton elements. “The children have been 

evacuated to the seaside during the blitz and are on 

their summer holidays”, I am told. “They inevitably 

get caught up in an adventure which includes villains 

and intrigue.” The story is self confessedly a spoof 

and it lampoons a lot of the attitudes towards gender, 

race and class found in her books, however Peter is 

quick to defend Blyton’s name from charges of sexism 

and racism. “It wasn’t that she was particularly 

guilty of these things, it’s just that her work mirrored 

the age. A lot of these issues just hadn’t been thought 

through properly.” 

“It’s Enid Blyton meets Miss Marple meets Dad’s 

Army”, Peter finishes. “But it’s also a deeply poetic 

look at childhood innocence and by implication the 

loss of all these things in the modern world”. Five get 

Famous comes to Lewes Gun Garden on Friday 13th 

and Saturday 14th July. 

Lewes Little Theatre’s (indoor) offering this month 

is an adaptation of The Hostage by Brendan Behan. 

A Brechtian-style music hall piece about the Irish 

Troubles, it is set in a brothel and focuses on the 

capturing of a British soldier by an inept IRA man, I 

am told by director, Mike Turner. “It was originally a 

straight play”, he says, “but it was transformed by the 

left-wing director Joan Littlewood in the 1950s.” It 

is showing from the 14th to the 21st July as part of a 

series about conflict and ethnicity. 

Rude Mechanicals 01323 501260 

Lewes Little Theatre 01273 474882 

1 

1

Photograph: Nick Williams 

Lewes to Newhaven Raft Race 

Start preparing your edible armoury 

A little bit of the anarchic spirit which so characterises 

Bonfire Night comes to the fore every 

summer during the annual Lewes-Newhaven 

raft race, one of the absolute highlights of our 

town’s annual social calendar. 

For the uninitiated, the annual event, organised 

by the Lewes Round Table, constitutes a race 

from Lewes Marina (more or less opposite the 

Snowdrop) to Newhaven between teams of between 

three and twelve men and women who 

have built their own rafts according to strict 

specifications, usually out of plastic barrels, 

planks and pieces of scaffolding. 

So far so humdrum. The real fun starts just 

before the race begins, when competitors attack 

one another with eggs and other sundry 

foodstuffs, as they prepare to embark on their 

journey, trying to demoralise their opponents 

before they set off. “The joy of a direct hit is 

unbridled,” says Gavin Burke, of the Ousing 

Flankers, which entered the race for the first 

time last year. 

But the unmissable mayhem takes place around 

Southease Bridge, where hundreds of specta- 

tors make a day of it, preparing themselves with 

a vast armoury of edible ammunition, and lying 

in wait for their prey. “I was pretty terrified of 

going under the bridge before the race, from 

what everybody had said about it,” says Gavin. 

“The reality of the bombardment was much 

worse than I could have imagined. It was like 

going into a war zone. We were absolutely pulverised 

with everything from eggs and flour to 

a disgusting mixture which seemed to be made 

from Harveys, vomit and spaghetti.” 

“From then on, it’s a bit of an anticlimax, as 

you continue onto Newhaven, though there 

is the odd sniper lying in wait,” he concludes. 

“It hurts a lot when you are hit by an egg fired 

from a two-man catapult. You arrive home 

looking like cake mixture. It’s either to be thoroughly 

recommended, or it’s not. If I go in for it 

again I will think long and hard about devising 

efficient on-board retaliation strategies. And 

defence strategies, too. Umbrellas and dustbin 

lids are an absolute must.” V 

Alex Leith 

sunday 29th July, 12 noon start 


r a f t r a C E 

1 5

& 

Alexis Dove 

JUSTIN SMALL 

Commissions, re-modelling & repairs. 

New express repair service. 

Most repairs carried out within the hour. 

www.alexisdove.com www.justinsmalljewellery.com 

Studio 5, Star Gallery, Castle Ditch Lane, Lewes. T: 01273 478802

Lewes Guitar Festival 

And the odd violin, too, in more venues than ever 

According to organiser Laurence Hill, singersongwriter 

Richard Thompson is ‘the most exciting 

act we have signed up to play in the Lewes 

Guitar Festival. Ever.” The former Fairport 

Convention frontman, who has a vast international 

following of discerning fans, will be headlining 

the Saturday night gig in the ‘Big Top’ 

marquee in the Convent Field in front of what 

will certainly be a sell-out crowd of 1500 people, 

on August 3rd. The weeklong festival, fast 

becoming the most important event of its kind 

in the country, starts on July 30th, and features 

more performers in more venues than ever . 

“We’ve approached Richard’s agent pretty much 

every year, with no response,” says Laurence. 

“But the festival is reaching the level now that 

agents are approaching us rather than vice versa, 

and this is what happened in this case. We’re delighted. 

He’s one of the great guitar heroes.” 

Thompson has never had mainstream appeal, 

but over the years has become an international 

cult figure, whose albums are eagerly awaited 

by guitar cognoscenti. After leaving Fairport 

Convention, more or less, it seems, on a whim 

in 1971, Thompson has gone on to have a solo 

career peppered with surprising twists and turns 

including an act with his former wife Linda 

Thompson, a sojourn in a sufi commune in East 

Anglia, and collaborations with musicians as 

diverse as John Lydon, Michael Stipe and Pere 

Ubu’s David Thomas. His song ‘1952 Vincent 

Black Lightning’ is the most requested song on 

the US National Public Radio. 

The Friday night headliner in the big top is Seth 

Lakeman (above), taking a breather in a year in 

which he is touring with both Jethro Tull and 

Tori Amos. Seth, from Devon, is at the forefront 

of the nu-folk movement, a singer and fiddler 

whose self-penned songs often tell historical tales 

of incidents such as the Gresford mining disaster 

and Childe the Hunter, a figure from Cornish 

mythology who tried vainly to save himself from 

freezing to death by disembowelling his horse 

and sheltering inside the carcass. He is famous 

for his amazing set-closing fiddle-offs with Jon 

Sevink while touring with The Levellers. “We 

see Friday as being more of a party night, with 

Saturday being one for more serious music lovers,” 

says Laurence. 

Other acts worthy of note are spectral nu-folkster 

Kate Walsh, whose album has recently been 

number one in the i-tune charts, Canadian songster 

Bruce Cockburn (with 23 albums under his 

belt) Argentinian classical legend Jorge Cardoso, 

German steel-stringer Peter Finger, and Andalusian 

flamenco soloist Miguel Ochando. Rumours 

of Jimi Hendrix playing a set on the top of the 

Mound are completely unfounded. V 

Alex Leith 

www.lewesguitarfestival.co.uk 01273 486728 



g i g S 

1

78 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1XF 

Tel: (01273) 480480 Fax: (01273) 476941 

admin@knill-james.co.uk www.knill-james.co.uk 

In safe 

hands 

If your tax 

return is too hot 

to handle, or 

your financial 

fingers are getting 

burned, we have four 

Partners and over forty 

players all warmed up 

and ready to go. 

Simply phone 

Sue Foster on 

01273 480480 or email 

sue@knill-james.co.uk 

to shed a little light. 

In business as in life

vivaLEWES 

We got more positive feedback on our last cover - thought up and 

composed by photographer Simon Dale - than any other before it, 

and we know that people have been wondering where the photographs, 

which spelt out the legend ‘Viva Lewes no 9’, were taken. 

So here we go: 

V: Southover High Street 

I: De Montfort Rd 

V: In the Downs above Streat village 

A: Lewes Library (we hadn’t seen the roof of Southover Grange) 

L: The Paddock 

E: St Michael’s Church, High Street 

W: St. Anne’s Terrace off Western Road 

E: High Street 

S: Church Twitten 

N: Scaffolding in Market Street 

O: Keere Street 

9: The Cuilfail Tunnel ‘Ammonite’ (aka Brian the Snail) 

Thanks again to Simon, whose daily photos you can see on 

www.quotidian.me.uk 

South Downs Learning Centre 

The Centre assists students to create their own 

learning programmes in a supportive and caring 

environment. Past students have gone on to 

successful careers – all without attending school 

or going into a large impersonal classroom. Our 

Self Managed Learning approach is a proven 

alternative to mass schooling. 

A REAL ALTERNATIVE TO SCHOOLING 

Young people become more self confident, 

happier and more able to take charge of their own lives. 

‘It’s great to be looked 

at as a whole person 

– and to be with people 

who care’ 

– Former student 


‘When I started college I felt better 

prepared to manage my learning’ 

– Former student 

For more information please contact Professor Ian Cunningham on 01273 703691 or 270995 

Viva Lewes 94x128 

Information events will be held on 7th and 28th July at 2.30pm 

The South Downs Learning Centre, 31 Harrington Road, Brighton, BN1 6RF 

Email: ian@stratdevint.com www.selfmanagedlearning.org/youngpeople 

1 9

SHELLEYS OF LEWES 

The county town’s Country House 

Hotel and Restaurant 

Perfect for Summer Dining 

whatever the occasion 

The High Street, Lewes, East Sussex 

Tel 01273 472361 

info@shelleys-hotel-lewes.com

Starfish, the Lewes-based voluntary organisation which 

gives kids’ bands a helping hand with equipment, rehearsal 

space and advice, is holding its third annual ‘Starfish in the 

Park’ event in the Paddock. 

About twenty acts will be appearing in a blow-up stage 

that the organisation has rented from Littlehampton 

Council (why don’t we have one?), playing an acoustic set 

to an audience of 500-plus people. 

Special guests are Brighton-based fingerpicking guitarist 

Lee Westwood and local musician Dicken Marshall, 

taking a break from the recording studio. Starfish bands 

on offer include Elsa Hewitt, Shed, Ollie and Emily, Zoe 

Williams, Ruby Rose, Sweet Addiction, A-Line, Surrogate 

Plums, Red Skies and the Honeycuts. 

It’s an alcohol-free daytime event, but there will be refreshments, 

as well as kite flying, giant games, drum and 

art workshops, youth information stalls and the inevitable 

bouncy castle. 

sat 21st July, 12-6pm, The Paddock, Lewes. Free entry. 

www.starfish.co.uk 


M u S i C 

s P o R T 

2 1

Bruntnell: a fine act, wherever he’s from 

American rock mag Rolling Stone calls him ‘the UK’s best kept 

secret’ and even though he lives in Devon he’s better known 

across the pond, where he produces his albums, than he is over 

here. He was born in New Zealand of Welsh parentage and 

spent a lot of his formative years in Canada. Ladies and gentlemen, 

welcome to the mixed up origins of alt.country star Peter 

Bruntnell, Neil Young meets Pink Floyd in the 21st century. 

Promoter Mike Lance used to run Greys in Brighton, but when 

that venue shut down he moved his operation to the marquee 

tent outside the Anchor in Barcombe Mills. He generally hires 

US alt.country and Americana bands, so the venue is becoming 

legendary on the other side of the Atlantic. Here it’s quite a 

well-kept secret, one of the most intimate concert experiences 

you’ll ever have. Lance calls Bruntnell ‘one of the best five acts 

I have ever hired’, so get your tickets, which include a free boat 

hire on the river, early. 

Anchor Marquee, Barcombe Mills, Friday 20th July 

012 00 1 


M u S i C 

2


b E S t o f t h E r E S t 

Cinema 

Kondoms plus mystery guests. 

Weekend 6-8. 

Tickets (£10 in advance, £15 

Lewes Cinema presents Mira on the door) includes all you 

Nair’s ‘The Namesake’ (right) can drink. Camping available. 

and Shane Meadow’s brilliant Tickets from Lewes Arms, Gar- 

drama ‘This is England’. 

Literature 

deners Arms and Elephant and 

Castle. Isfield Green, 8pm. 

Tuesday 17. Short Fuse Literary Fair 

Club. A night of stories from Sat 24. Lewes Societies Fair. 

four local writers, with a bar Stalls from 50 Lewes’ myriad 

and music between readings. clubs groups, from Southover 

£4, 8.30pm. 01273 233703. Bonfire Society to the Wireless 

Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck’s film ‘The shield and sword.’ His parting exhortation to the re- 

Lives of Others’ has garnered many 

Broadband 

prizes, not least 

Project. 

cruits 

10am-2pm, 

that he lectures on interrogation techniques is 

Gig the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Town Film, Hall. and two ‘your subjects are enemies of socialism’. 

Friday days before 21. Isfield general Follies. release The in re- this country the writer- Lieutenant - Colonel Anton Grubitz (Ulrich Tukur) 

turndirector of the was popular presented WG with Grace- the Satyajit for more Ray details award of these is, events by contrast, and a ruthless careerist, driven by personal 

many others look at www.vivalewes. 

fully for Best cricket First team Film, fund-raiser, 

at the British Film Institute. ambition. He instructs Mühe to mount a surveillance 

The film is set in East Germany in 

com, 

the 

live 

mid 

every 

with music provided by the 

nine- 

Wednesday 

operation 

night. 

on Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) a 

teen-eighties. There are five main characters. Ulrich rather flaky playwright, flirting with radical friends 

Mühe plays Gerd Wiesler, a captain in Staatssicher- and establishment patrons alike. 

heit (State Security, or ‘Stasi’). He is a political ideo- Mühe comes to realise that the real reason for his aslogue 

who truly believes that the Stasi are the ‘Party’s signment is that Dreyman’s actress partner (played by 

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2 5

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Photograph: Alex Leith- 

The Flying Fish 

Great seafood tucked away in Denton 

It’s my birthday, and I’m being driven to a mystery 

location by my girlfriend, where I am to 

have lunch with my close family. She drives me 

through the Cuilfail Tunnel, turns onto the A27, 

then down the A26 off the Beddingham roundabout. 

Pretty soon we are on the outskirts of… 

Newhaven? I look at her. She smiles. Then she 

turns left into what seems like a residential estate. 

Where the hell are we going? 

The Flying Fish appears on our right, an incongruous 

whitewashed farmhouse building amid 

all the 70s suburban Lego houses. I’ve never 

heard of the place. Suzie did a recce last week. 

“It’s run by this French guy from Dieppe,” she 

says. “He goes on the ferry every week to do a 

lot of the shopping. They do great fish. Cooked 

French style.” We wander in, and have a little 

look around. There are a few rooms, including a 

restaurant section with whitewashed walls, fishrelated 

bric-a-brac and four tables. It looks like a 

seafood restaurant, but it doesn’t look studiedly 

like a seafood restaurant. Which means they’ve 

pulled off their deception well. I immediately 

like the place. 

There’s a deck outside with more tables, overlooked 

by a sloping lawn, but the weather’s iffy 

so we settle inside. The others arrive: we are a 

party of five. Mother, father, brother, girlfriend, 

me. These guys know me pretty well, between 

them. Coincidentally I’m wearing a stripy blue 

and white sweatshirt. We order three portions 

of moules marinieres as starters. I order bream 

as a main course. My brother goes for a steak. 

The others go for a second starter, two cassoulets 

and a pancake with gruyere cheese and 

scallops. 

Mussels are one of the most entertaining things 

to eat. Scooping up the juice with the shell, then 

slurping it down your throat as you pull the 

meat off the bottom shell with your teeth. Then 

you chew: the combination of tastes is great. Dip 

up any surplus juice with French bread, spread 

with unsalted butter. My mother’s particularly 

quick-handed. Luckily she’s soon sated, as I’m 

sharing a bowl with her. 

I’m disappointed with the look of my bream, 

and a mouthful of scales after my first fork-dig 

doesn’t help. The saffron-yellowed rice is too 

dry, as is the spinach on top. Dieppe? It tastes 

like it’s come from Tescos. Sod’s law, then, that 

everyone else’s food is sensational. I try everything 

out. I particularly love the cassoulet: mixed 

seafood in a rich sauce covered by a gratin and a 

lid of Emmental cheese. My parents don’t even 

put on their ‘I could have done it better at home 

for a fraction of the cost’ faces. Which is just as 

well, as they’re paying. £82, with two bottles of 

wine, for the record. The Flying Fish? A wellkept 

secret. Until now, that is. V Alex Leith 

Denton Road, Denton, Newhaven, 

012 515 0 


f o o d 

2

Salad Daze 

Anyone who has ever visited Bill’s will know that salad 

is one of our passions. Working with the seasons, 

I think it’s fair to say we like to mix it up a bit. Raw 

or roasted vegetables, raw, roasted and dried fruit, 

sprouted peanuts, seeds, herbs, leaves and flowers all 

get used. Like children presented with a pick’n’mix 

bag of sweets, hungry customers often take a moment 

to have a good poke around before tucking in 

and many a conversation between strangers starts 

with one person looking curiously at what is on their 

fork and their neighbour suggesting that perhaps it’s 

some sort of radish… 

It’s no wonder my generation took a while to get 

into the whole salad thing. Growing up, it wasn’t 

the soul-stirring feast of colour, texture and flavour 

that we eat nowadays. Celery sticks were stuffed into 

a jug, there was a plate of tomatoes, another plate 

with a cucumber on it and some lettuce, maybe some 

cress and radishes. The salad cream was the best bit, 

poured like gravy over the separate bits and pieces. 

But salad has put on its high heels and lippy and is 

ready to party and many of our suppliers are rising 

to the challenge and bringing in some really amazing 

mixes, full of dazzling colours and new, unusual 

flavours. Leaves, herbs and flowers buzz on the plate 

and every mouthful tastes different. 

Nama Yasai provide us with a range of Japanese-style 

leaves, all grown organically in Lewes and delivered, 

freshly picked, to our stores. Secrett’s, one of our 

long-standing suppliers, is sending in fresh baby 

salad leaves – fantastic blends of flavour and texture, 

including Sorrel, Red Amaranth and Golden Purslane. 

This summer we’re also being supplied by a cooperative 

allotment at Whitehawk. Picked in the 

morning and delivered straight to the stores, I’ve 

never seen anything like it - a jewelled mix of salad 

leaves (including tree spinach - delicate green leaves 

that look like they’ve been spray painted with pink) 

and herbs dotted with flowers including borage, 

marigold, nasturtium and pink rose petals. 

Great suppliers with great produce make our job 

a lot easier - and yours too. Salad with a big wow 

factor doesn’t need anything very fancy to go with 

it - some grilled chicken or fish, goat’s cheese and 

roasted peppers, omelette - whatever you fancy. 

And if you’re starting from scratch and mixing up 

your own salad, there’s not a lot to tell you, apart 

from experiment. Mix up the flavours and colours 

and see what you get. You can add a fancy dressing 

if you like but really a slug of good olive oil and a 

splash of balsamic vinegar are enough when the 

bowl is already packed with flavour. V 

Picture by Laurie Griffiths 

Bill’s Fruit and Veg boxes delivered to your door. order 

in store or call us on 012 6918 


b i l l C o l l i S o n 

Salad used to be something you ate because you knew it was good for 

you, but you can forget all that, says Bill Collison. Today’s salads are 

a feast for the eyes and a joy to the palate, with flavours and textures 

to tempt everyone. 

2 9

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Photographs: Alex Leith 

Flat Earth Bowling 

Emma Robertson can’t see the jack for the woods 

It may be an unfashionable view in today’s youthobsessed 

society but I’ve always regarded the 

prospect of my twilight years with enthusiasm. 

Perhaps it’s because life seems to revert to the 

gentle pace of a fictionalised 1950s, punctuated 

by crosswords, Agatha Christie, 

the Archers and afternoon teas. And the 

icing on the proverbial home-made cake 

is the licence to play bowls. Not the noisy 

ten-pin variety of course, but the dignified 

sport of lawn bowling. 

Not that it’s always been confined to 

such a sedate demographic. Apparently 

Thomas Paine was a regular player at the 

town’s oldest club, the Bowling Green 

Society. And, it is said he was inspired to 

write ‘The Rights of Man’ after a game 

there. Although ironically the club is 

now something of a closed group, acquiring new 

members by such non-egalitarian means as ‘invitation 

only’. 

However, it was the rival organisation, Lewes 

Bowls Club (est. 1922), who were hospitable 

enough to offer us a lesson in the rudiments of 

the game. (An unnamed source had referred to 

them, puzzlingly, as ‘flat earthers’. Not, it turns 

out, a reference to the endurance of archaic beliefs 

but a description of their green.) We arrive 


W E t r y o u t 

in glorious sunshine, although 

an hour before the start it looked 

like torrential rain would stop 

play. A large contingent of club 

members had turned out to be 

our guides at their newly re-laid 

green behind the Dripping Pan. 

First up, they measure our 

hands to see which size ‘wood’ 

we would need. (Lesson one 

is not to call them balls). Next 

we are shown how to stand with 

one foot on the mat, take a step 

forward and cast the wood - underarm, 

like a pendulum - to the 

jack. It’s surprisingly difficult. 

The woods are weighted so they 

travel in a curve rather than a 

straight line. The trick is you 

actually aim slightly to the right 

or the left of the jack, never at 

it. Still there are various terms 

of encouragement designed for people who don’t 

get anywhere near it. A ‘good weight’ means you 

reach the level of the jack. A ‘good line’ means 

it goes the right way but too far. Then there’s 

the retro slang 

-a ‘bit Vera’ as 

in Lynn, which 

means a ‘bit 

thin’ i.e. your 

wood doesn’t 

curve in time 

to land near the 

jack. 

After a couple of 

hours I’m thinking 

that the 

sedentary view 

of the game is a bit misconceived. There’s no 

dropping of pace from the regulars though (aged 

65-96) And there’s a vicious edge underneath all 

that tea and gentility - especially when you get 

to smash your opponent’s woods out (appropriately 

called ‘firing shots’). Exhausted but happy 

I’m rather relieved when Robert suggests a cup 

of tea. Isn’t it about time they made it an Olym- 

pic sport? V 

Lewes Bowls Club 012 2551 

1

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Photographs: Alex Leith 

Goodwood Sculpture Park 

Alex Leith can’t see the wood for the sculptures 

I’ve been looking at the sky with some anxiety 

all journey. We’re on our way to the open-air 

Cass Sculpture Foundation, in Goodwood, an 

hour’s drive westwards from Lewes. It’s definitely 

going to rain, at some point. We haven’t 

got an umbrella. And we’ve got the five year old 

in tow. 

There’s still some blue in the sky when we find 

it, driving through interesting steel gates to the 

car park beyond. We trot down the hill to the reception 

centre, past a number of structures that 

excite all three of us. A funny set of mirrors in 

which you can see yourself five times over. An 

African-looking bronze head, with breasts for 

eyes. A giant sycamore helicopter in a clearing 

in the woods. All in a beautiful bosky setting. 

A pleasant woman gives us tickets and a leaflet. 

She explains the procedure. The CSF is, in effect, 

a giant sculpture gallery. Artists are commissioned 

and given the materials they need by 

the Foundation, which takes a cut of any final 

sale. The park’s contents are constantly changing 

as new pieces are commissioned, and older 

ones are moved to their next destination. It is set 

out as a sculpture trail: the best way to witness 

it is to follow the yellow arrows, and view the 

sculptures in order. There are photos of them in 

the leaflet, with their price. 

Of course, we love some of the pieces, and we 

hate some, too. The shaggy sheep (£19,000) by 

Sally Matthews is a hit. As are a stairway rising 

into the sky by Danny Lane (£140,000), an ‘Icarus 

Palm’ by Douglas White (£22,000) and an 

abstract pair of limestone whirls by Tony Cragg 

(unpriced). We’re all left cold by a scattering 

of brightly painted cubes by Sophie Smallhorn 

(£32,000), four pay-20p-for-a-prayer machines 

by Rose Finn-Kelsey (£110,000), and a yellow 

hunk of steel masonry by Anthony Caro 

(£280,000). 

The rain starts in earnest after our picnic at the 

thoughtfully provided Deer Hut about half-way 

through. Do we run back to the car and abandon 

the trip we have been enjoying so much? 

Do we get soaked for the sake of art? Neither, 

actually. We shelter in a Tardis-like structure, 

called ‘Confessional’ by Cathy de Monchaux. 

It’s a comfortable interlude: the sculpture has 

two leather-cushioned divans inside, and, importantly, 

a roof. It’s not my favourite piece of 

work, and at £104,000 it doesn’t come cheap. 

But sometimes you’ve got to thank heaven for 

the multi-faceted nature of modern art. V 

Cass sculpture Foundation 012 528 9 


d ay o u t

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We specialise in restoration and alteration of old and listed buildings, 

from traditional oak-framed barns to Victorian town houses 

Showroom: 

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Tel: 

01273 401648 

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Spences House 

A seventies apparition in a sleepy Malling cul-de-sac. 

Words by Emma Chaplin, painting by Pearl Bates 

Do you have an image of a 1970s dream house? 

Lots of glass, leather and shagpile, one of those pod 

chairs swinging from the ceiling, swinging of other 

kinds, possibly? An architect in Lewes set out to 

build his ideal home in Malling in 1973, and there it 

still stands, in all its curvaceous glory, even though 

the fate of the architect seems less positive. The 

property is called Spences House, although colloquially 

it is also known as The Round House, The 

Castle or The Turret, perhaps because the design 

seems to echo that of Lewes Castle. 

I went to talk to the current owners, 

Michael and Anthony, arriving 

at the house to be greeted by the 

squint-eyed ginger cat portrayed 

in Pearl’s picture. Michael and Anthony 

were kind enough to give me 

a tour and tell me what they know 

about the history of Spences House. 

They think the architect bought 

two plots at the end of a cul de sac 

on which to build the house. The 

garden walls are intriguingly built 

in different sections, probably as a 

load bearing measure. An ancient 

footpath runs alongside. Spences 

House is detached, surrounded by 

houses from different eras. As we 

walked around inside, I noticed 

that there is something of a snail 

shell design in the way the internal 

rooms and spaces curve, winding 

up and down onto different levels, 

windows exposing wonderful 

views in all directions, with lots 

of wood and exposed brickwork. 

There are almost no straight lines 

in the house. Michael and Anthony 

showed me the blueprints. In the 

original design, there seems to be a 

sunken floor in the oval lounge, not 

present now. It seems the architect 

ran into financial difficulties part 

way through the build. They told 

me they suspect he underestimated 

how much it cost to render curved walls, ended up 

overspending on brickwork, and had to scrimp on 

the rest of the material. Local inhabitants say they 

remember an angry mob of local building suppliers 

outside, protesting at the lack of payment. The architect 

ended up in court, and in jail, apparently. So 

rather sadly, it seems he never did get to live in his 

ideal house. In fact it’s believed that he died falling 

off another house he built. V 


b r i C k S a n d M o r t a r 

5

MESSRS 

Property professionals in 

Lewes for over 150 years 

IVOR C.A. WYCHERLEY FRICS IRRV 

ANNE E. WYCHERLEY B.Sc (Est Man) FRICS 

CHARLES W. WYCHERLEY B.Sc (Est Man) MRICS 

CHARTERED SURVEYORS 

ESTATE AGENTS 

AUCTIONEERS 

56 High Street, Lewes 

East Sussex BN7 1XE 

T: 01273 473329 

F: 01273 473373 

E: charles@wycherleys.co.uk 

www.teamprop.co.uk 

EST 1853

v kids 

i 

va 

a rite of passage for lewes kids 

I can still remember my first day at senior 

school - a mixture of terror and excitement, 

stepping in to the unknown at the tender age 

of eleven. Sadly, no memory remains of an 

equally momentous event - last day at primary 

school. Luckily, thanks to the innovative PATINA 

arts project, set up by local parents in 2001 

to provide high quality creative opportunities 

for kids, this fate doesn’t await Lewes District 

Year Sixes. ‘Moving On’, now in its sixth year, 

has become an important rite of passage for 

Lewes children, whilst the colourful, noisy, traffic-stopping 

parade is rapidly becoming an 

event looked forward to by local residents and 

businesses alike. 

Twenty-one schools are involved this year, and 

each school will be visited by one of six local 

artists involved in the scheme. Raphaella Sapir, 

one of the artists and the overall production 

manager for the event, explained the process 

to me. “Initially we visit the schools and the 

children brainstorm creative ideas for costumes 

based on the carnival’s theme”. (This year the 

theme is ‘Thank you for the music’). “The artist 

then takes the ideas away and adapts them 

so that they can be practically achieved, and 

then returns to the school. There are then three 

full days of intense activity, with the children 

heavily involved in the creative process of 

turning their initial costume ideas into glorious 

reality”. At this stage, they are also 

helped by year nine students 

from P rior y, 

w h o 

assist 

where 

v e r 

needed. Each 

year, six schools are 

also chosen to play music 

in the parade, using a variety of 

fantastic homemade instruments crafted from 

scrap metal. “These schools are also visited by 

our music coordinator, Dicken Marshall, who 

helps them bring even more life to the event.” 

Raphaella was also very keen to highlight the 

unseen effort; “People like Peta King (Kings 

Framers) and Stevie Auden, (Oyster Lingerie) 

work incredibly hard in the background and 

the event simply couldn’t go ahead without 

them.” 

The parade takes place on Friday 13th July, 

starting at 12.30pm in The Paddock. The procession 

winds its way through the town and 

the High St, before returning to the Paddock 

for an hour-long live music festival featuring 

bands from another fantastic local initiative, 

the Starfish Youth Music project. We suggest 

a long lunch, spent on New Road, the High St 

or Fisher Street celebrating the incredible creative 

talent of your children. Also, if you can, 

please dig deep in to your pockets and join 

local businesses like Rees Elliot (overall sponsor), 

Herbert Scott and Bill’s whose financial 

efforts help to make this great event possible. 

Nick Williams 

W W W. V i V a l E W E S . C o M

Photograph: Katie Moorman (left) and Jo Monroe 

Phoenix Industrial Estate 

Can a new quarter rise from the flames of the ironworks’ former furnaces? 

The Phoenix industrial estate is disputed territory. 

Although most people in Lewes seem broadly in favour 

of some kind of regeneration for the sad, asbestos-ridden 

warehouses that blight our riverside, the 

precise form of that development is debated, argued 

about and fought over. 

In fact, the rows about Angel Property’s plans for the 

‘Phoenix Quarter’ have been so dominant in Lewes 

life for the past year, that it’s difficult to visit the 

North Street area without thinking what it could be 

like. It seems to me that there are two Phoenixes: 

the actual and the possible, but as former foundry 

worker Paul Myles takes me on a tour of the ugliest 

neighbourhood in Lewes, a third Phoenix emerges 

- the historical one. 

For most of the 20th Century, the Phoenix Ironworks 

was one of the biggest employers in town. It 

also took up a lot of space. ‘It stretched as far into 

town as Waitrose,’ says Paul as we stand outside one 

of the Phoenix’s handful of residential properties 

in Corporation Villas, ‘and all around here was just 

piles and piles of black sand that had come from the 

furnaces. It was like a slag heap in a mining town, 

and as kids we would come here to play and pick the 

rhubarb that grew on it.’ 

It’s difficult to imagine this part of Lewes before 

the Phoenix Causeway was built and before the 

Uckfield railway was dismantled. As Paul points out 

warehouses that were used for making moulds or assembling 

entire bridges to make sure the parts fitted, 

I struggle to overlay the images of industry he’s 

describing with the silent hangars in front of me. If 

this is Lewes’s industrial heart, it barely seems to be 

beating. 

Paul is now better known in town as a structural steel 

engineer and organiser of exhibitions - including the 

recent David Nash sculpture show at the Town Hall 

- but when he left school, he took a job as an apprentice 

at Phoenix along with several other Landport 

lads. ‘We’d cross the railway on the footbridge, and 

walk through the Pells and be at work in less than 

ten minutes. We built bridges and ships and railways 

and girders. Ironwork from here was used all over 

the world. Someone told me bits of the Sydney Harbour 

Bridge were made here.’ 

As a major employer, the Every factory provided a 

canteen and a social club, and the place was busy 

from dawn to dusk. ‘It was never quiet. Even the dinnerladies 

in the mess would tell you how to do your 

job, but then, that’s because they had actually done 

our jobs during the war before the men came back.’ 

The iron works closed down in 1974, and Phoenix is 

now home to a hodgepodge of businesses from second-hand 

caravan sales, to horse supplies to a recycling 

centre, upholsterers and cabinet makers. Apart 

from a handful of homes - as well as the two houses 

in Corporation Villas, there are a couple more in 

Spring Street - the Phoenix seems to be built entirely 

of corrugated iron, breeze blocks and asbestos. 

‘I just don’t understand why so many people are railing 

against the plans for this place. These buildings 

are past it. I hear the arguments about traffic and 

parking and pressure on schools and services, but I 

honestly believe Charles Style and Angel property 

are dealing with all of those issues.’ 

‘I think if there wasn’t such a focus on retail units, 

maybe people would be more supportive,’ I offer. 

‘I don’t get that argument either. If there was a 

Marks and Spencer here, people would come from 

miles around instead of going to Tunbridge Wells or 

Brighton. That’s got to be good for us, hasn’t it?’ 

We step over litter and hack past weeds that line the 

river wall and look across at Tesco. Paul points out 

the gargoyles on Tesco’s roof. 

‘See over there?’ 

I put my specs on and realise that Tesco’s gargoyles 

are actually little phoenixes. It’s a suprisingly nice 

touch. In Lewes, even corporate giants are forced 

to be just a little bit quirky. Maybe the town could 

cope with a few more? I can’t quite believe I just said 

that. V Jo Monroe 


l E W E S d i S t r i C t S 

9

Painting classes every Tue, Wed & Thurs 

morning £80 for 6 wk course. 

Untutored Life drawing Thursday evening 

LANDSCAPE PAINTING DAYS: 

JULY 5,6,7,8 

WALK’N CHALK: AUG 11 

Young (11+) & Little Artists (8+) 

meet alternate Sunday am, 

Summer Schools throughout August. 

Dairy Studio, Old Malling Farm, Lewes, 

Tel: Susie on 01273 858438 

www.dairystudio-artcourses.co.uk 

Arti-Parties for arti kids! Etch printing, 

felt making, mosaics…. 

DAIRY 

STUDIO 

WALL OF ART 2007 

IN AID OF MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE 

This disease is devastating for all those 

involved; MND is a progressive, fatal condition 

that causes muscle wastage: It is fairly rare 

and unfortunately there is currently no cure, 

and most people with MND die from it within a 

few years. 

If you didn’t make it to Dairy Studio’s WALL of 

ART post card size art sale last September, 

then make sure you donate a card and come 

to the event this September 1 st 

Its fun, lively and all proceeds go to MND 

families in Lewes. 

Please start thinking about donating a post 

card size piece of art again this year: Contact 

Susie Monnington on 

01273 858438 or 07790556420. 

Details are on the newsletter page at: 

www.dairystudio-artcourses.co.uk

Pepper’s 

Revolt 

Marina grins and bares it 

The pretty activist cleared her throat and 

continued: “So we were wondering, would 

you take part in the naked bike ride?” 

Tricky moment. Obviously I, like her, long 

for a system of spatial planning that sees our 

towns and cities transformed into pedestrian/cyclist 

friendly community utopias where 

we happily live work and play with no need 

of motor cars. Failing that, a few decent bike 

lanes and a more integrated transport system 

would suffice. 

My immediate thoughts, however, were 

these: Leaning over handle bars is not 

the best angle for my bits. Just wearing a 

bra would look a bit silly. Could I procure 

matching undies from Oyster Lingerie in 

Lewes? Stevie (said shop owner) has, after 

all, sold me the best bra of my life, lifting and 

separating in ways I never thought possible 

for a double J fitting. 

But is it right, my thoughts continued, as 

an anti-capitalist climate-change activist to 

spend more on my undies than the bike itself? 

Could I get away with a bikini? Is cycling 

while wearing a bikini that controversial 

in a seaside town? 

Noticing I’d gone quiet, the bike ride organiser 

continued: “You don’t have to go naked. 

The idea is to go as bare as you dare.” 

Daring in that department has never been an 

issue. For me, outcomes are all - that’s what 



four years as a councillor does to you. Could 

the sight of my swinging mammaries inspire 

people to trade their car in for a bike? 

Could my pert bottom and toned thighs - or 

indeed anyone else’s - persuade people to cut 

up their supermarket loyalty cards and order 

an organic veggie box? 

“The thing is,” I replied, after some time. 

“I’ve already promised my inaugural naked 

protest to the anti-incinerator lobby. “Over 

my naked woad-painted body,” I’d said when 

the waste local plan fingered Newhaven for 

a burner. “On a horse, probably.” 

My mind was off again. Sitting trot, rising 

trot or canter? Without under-wire support 

a gallop might make best use of centrifugal 

forces. 

Tom Paine said: “We have the power to 

build the world anew.” The naked bike ride 

protest shares this sentiment. However, the 

event was deemed a success merely because 

there were no arrests. 

My housemate, meanwhile informs me her 

workmates missed the environmental message. 

They were however keen to report on 

the variously sized appendages and protuberances 

whizzing past. We might have the 

power, Tom, but I fear all of us are still groping 

for it. V 

C o l u M n 

1

Norman Baker 

The end of an era at the Sussex Express 

Photograph: Katie Moorman 

Rather quietly, and without very much ceremony, 

a little idiosyncrasy of Lewes was lost for ever 

recently. Or rather retired, for I am talking about 

the disappearance of John Eccles from the Sussex 

Express. 

Now he’s gone, I can be nice about him, without 

being accused of trying to curry favour with a 

journalist. Because I like John. 

He had been with the Sussex Express probably 

longer than anyone else. I don’t know anyone - 

including John himself - who call tell me exactly 

when he started, but best estimate is sometime 

in the late 1970s. A bewildering array of editors, 

sub-editors and reporters have come and gone 

through that period, but throughout John remained 

as Chief Reporter for Lewes. 

One of his most endearing qualities as a journalist 

was that he clearly cared very much about 

Lewes - indeed, it was difficult to get him interested 

in anywhere else. I recall once offering 

him a strong story which clearly interested him 

until he discovered that it related to Glynde, not 

Lewes. “But it’s not very far away, “I protested 

in vain. 

John knew the personalities and the history, 

which came through in his writing. Most of all, 

he was instinctively at one with the hidden pulse 

of the town. He 

was also instinctively 

on the side of 

the underdog, the 

independent, the 

maverick, which, 

you might argue, 

reflects Lewes as a 

town. 

He was also, it has 

to be said, a little 

laid back, even 

cavalier, on occasions. 

I recall at 

one election count, 

well into the early 

hours, he produced 

something 

not far removed 

from a box brownie 

to snap myself and one David Bellotti. The 

resulting bad and blurred photograph that made 

it to the paper made us look old, worn out, and 

dishevelled, but John’s spirited defence was that, 

well, that captured the moment. 

On another occasion, he ran a story about a 

Lewes house that had been knocked down, citing 

the history of it in some detail. The next week’s 

paper had a furious letter from a woman called 

Molly pointing out that the story was totally 

wrong, the house hadn’t been demolished, and 

indeed that she was living in it. A difficult moment 

was saved by the sub-editor, who headed 

the letter “Good Golly, Miffed Molly”. 

With John gone, the Sussex Express has lost a 

touch of its charm and bite, not helped by the 

fact that the paper seems to have decided to 

all but stop covering politics, here in the most 

political town I know, instead concentrating on 

so-called human interest stories, a trend that has 

only accelerated since John left. 

In the meantime, we still have Rouser, which 

John writes one day a week, and John is, thankfully, 

still around the Lewes pubs, where, next 

time we bump into each other, he can buy me a 

pint of Harvey’s. V 


C o l u M n

Tel. 01323 490085 | Design and Print 

sales@zetacolour.co.uk 

www.zetacolour.co.uk

Picutre of Ranji courtesy of Sussex CCC 

Indian Summer 

The arrival of the tourists brings to mind a latterday Sussex hero 

This month’s bewildering assortment of both 

cricketing and non-cricketing entertainment at 

the County Ground in Hove begins with the 

undemanding fripperies of Twenty20, the frenetic 

pace of which would have puzzled William 

Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury who described 

cricket as ‘organised loafing’. 

A four day match against the Indian touring 

team begins on Saturday, July 7th. Sussex is the 

only county to play the tourists this summer; appropriate, 

perhaps, considering the illustrious 

line of Indian princes who graced the six martlets. 

Some readers will remember the Nawab 

of Pataudi from the 1960s. KS Ranjitsinhji was 

one of the greats, the first batsman to score 3000 

runs in a season. Among his myriad admirers was 

Brighton-born artist, Eric Gill, who wrote in his 

autobiography, ‘Even now when I want to have a 

little quiet wallow in the thought of something 

wholly delightful and perfect, I think of ‘Ranji’ 

on the County Ground at Hove.’ 

Ranji’s nephew K.S. Duleepsinhji 

scored 333 in a day against Northamptonshire 

at Hove in May 1930. 

His uncle, the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, 

cabled the club, ‘Congratulations 

to Duleepsinhji for his fine 

score, and hope that he will score his 

team many more and that he will uphold 

honour of English cricket and 

Indian name.’ 

Ranji was not always so generous 

in his praise. In the same year, 

Duleepsinhji accumulated 173 for 

England against Australia at Lord’s 

before being caught at long off, at 

a quarter past six, attempting a big 

hit off Grimmett. Ranji, gnawing his 

umbrella handle in the pavilion was 

heard to mutter “the boy was always 

careless.” 

His 333 remained the highest score 

by a Sussex player until Murray 

Goodwin scored 335 not out at Hove 

in 2003. It was not Goodwin, but a 

fellow Zimbabwean who once told 

the Sunday Times, ‘Cricket civilises 

people and creates good gentlemen. 

I want everyone to play cricket in Zimbabwe. I 

want ours to be a nation of gentlemen.’ I suppose 

we accorded Robert Mugabe’s pronouncements 

more respect in 1984. 

The other visitors to Sussex this month are Sri 

Lanka ‘A’. Their first fixture is a three day match 

against MCC at Arundel commencing July 10th, 

and they return to play Sussex at Hove on July 

19th. 

Last and decidedly not least, Hove will be the 

venue for a concert by uber-bland boyband, Mc- 

Fly on July 28th. Not cricket? Well yes, but consider 

the Sheffield Star of September 20th last 

year, which reported that members of McFly 

had set off the fire alarm playing cricket backstage 

before a concert at the Sheffield arena. 

The ball hit the alarm and caused a two hour 

delay in preparations. V David Jarman 


C r i C k E t 

5

t r a d E S E C r E t S 

Trade Secrets 

Every month we ask Lewes personalities about the ins and outs of their 

business. This month Pells Pool manager Phil Ransley 

Name: Phil Ransley 

What do you do? In the summer, between April and 

September, I’m the manager of the Pells Pool Community 

Association. 

What does that entail? Basically, I’m in charge of 

the team at the pool, taking money or checking season 

tickets as people come in, acting as lifeguards and 

running the kiosk. We open from 12-7pm, but the 

staff are here from 10am to make sure that the pool 

and grass area are clean and safe to use. 

How long have you been running the show? I’ve 

been at the pool for the past five summers and in 

charge for three. 

How long has the pool been open? It’s the oldest 

open-air swimming pool in the country - opened in 

1860. Apparently the current 46m long pool is built 

inside a larger original tank, and I believe that our 

grass area was once a second pool. 

Can the pool be used at other times? It can be 

6 

hired by schools and for private parties. Southover 

Bonfire Society recently had a party with a live band, 

so the space is very flexible. 

How much does it cost for a swim? £3.80 a day for 

adults and £2 for kids. 

What about season tickets? £63 for adults, £37 for 

kids and £145 for a family of four. 

What can i buy in the kiosk? Biscuits, crisps, pizza, 

chips, pasta plus hot and cold drinks. We also sell 

loads of ice-creams. There is also a small range of 

goggles and floats. 

Who uses the pool? From 12-3 it’s mainly mums 

and toddlers. From 4-7pm there are more afterschool 

teenagers. At 4pm it’s as if someone turns the 

volume right up… 

is their anything that annoys you about the job? 

Sadly we’ve recently suffered increasing levels of 

vandalism. Over the summer we had a major theft 

of ladders - which will cost over a thousand pounds 

W W W. V i V a l E W E S . C o M

to replace, and more recently it’s been people smashing 

up the changing room doors and leaving broken 

glass around the place. It can be immensely disheartening 

when you find the damage first thing in the 

morning. 

so is that why you don’t open until noon? It’s a 

factor, because we have to make sure the area is safe. 

However, the main reason is our antiquated filtration 

system, which means that seven hours a day is about 

the most time we can guarantee to keep the water 

clean and clear. 

What is your favourite shop in Lewes? I live in 

Eastbourne, so I tend not to shop much in Lewes 

- but I am a fan of Caffé Nero which has a friendly 

atmosphere and staff 

Recommend somewhere to eat out? My last meal 

out was in ASK. 

What sort of business do you think Lewes needs 

to attract? Teenagers using the pool say there’s no 

nightlife. 

Would a redeveloped Phoenix area be good for 

the town? A quality redevelopment and improved 

flood defences can only help. 

Could you do anything to make your business 

greener? We use treatments which are eco-friendly 

as much as we can and the water itself is sourced 

from a local spring. We also encourage our customers 

to recycle their rubbish. 

Any expansion plans? Grand plans will depend 

upon getting a decent grant, but we always try to 

make improvements with the limited money (and 

unlimited goodwill) at our disposal. 

is there anything you always get asked? “Is it 

cold?” and “is it heated?” which is answered with “yes 

- by the sun” 

share a top tip with our readers: It’s never too cold 

to swim at the Pells... V 

interview by Nick Williams 


t r a d E S E C r E t S 

Photograph: Nick Williams

PentoPaper 

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personal letterheads, 

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business cards, change 

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Plus pens and inks 

writing paper 

notebooks & journals 

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made to order 

170A HIGH STREET, LEWES • T. 478847 

www.pentopaperonline.co.uk

The Lewes Directory 

Local tradespeople for your business, home and garden 


d i r E C t o r y 

Welcome to the Lewes Directory, your essential guide to many of the businesses and services on offer in the 

Lewes District. Every month the directory gets bigger, and this month, as well as expanding the health and 

wellbeing pages, we have also started to include a number of business to business and car service companies. 

It is vitally important to us that the services advertised in the Viva Lewes Handbook are offering good value 

and great service. To make sure this is the case, we will be publishing regular reviews of the various services 

on offer. So if you have any feedback, positive or negative, let us know via feedback@vivalewes.com. 

Also, if you are a local business which is currently not represented in the directory, and would like the 

opportunity to advertise from as little as £5 plus VAT per month, then call 01273 488882, or email 

advertising@vivalewes.com. 

Please note that though we aim to only take advertising from reputable businesses, we cannot guarantee the 

quality of any work undertaken, and accept no reponsibility or liability for any issues arising. 

Dr Simonne Carvin 

BSc(Med) MBBS MA 

Minimally Invasive 

Cosmetic Medical Treatments 

at the Lewes Clinic - Fullers Passage - 19b High St - Lewes 

01273 474 428 www.cosmeticmedicineclinic.co.uk 

9

5 0 


Acupuncture 

Richard Mudie 01273 684178 

Roger Murray 01273 473912 

Hanna Evans 07799 417924 

Alexander Technique 

Adele Gibson 01273 473168 

Allergy Testing 

Robin Ravenhill 01273 470955 

Aromatherapy 

Marianna Lampard 

01273 483471 

Baby Massage 

Dafna Bartle 01273 470955 

Beauty & Massage Therapist 

Melanie Verity 01273 470908 

Bowen Therapist 

Rita Eccles 01273 488009 

Chiropractor 

Dr. Trevor Mains .01273 473473 

COUNSELLOR 

Ruth M. Sheen 

BA(Hons); MSW; CQSW; 

Post Grad Diploma Counselling 

01273 486338 

Cranio sacral Therapy 

Natalie Mineau 01273 470955 

Counselling 

Maggie Turner 07944481858 

Lewes Counselling Services 

01273 390331 

Tanya Smart 07790 979571 

Counsellor & integrative Arts 

Camilla Clark 01273 483025 

Cosmetic Treatment 

Simonne Carvin 01273 474428 

DYNAMiC HeALiNG VoiCe 

working with chakra energy 

regular classes and workshops 

Adrienne 0 981 226 568 

www.thevoiceproject.co.uk 

electrolysis and Beauty 

Kim Cook 01273 476375 

emotional Freedom Technique 

Kathy Johnson 01273 487464 

eurythmy 

Harmonizing Body, Mind & 

spirit. Kishu Wong 

012 66 

Facial Rejuvenation Massage 

Angie Asplin 01273 470955 

Homeopathy 

DuNCAN FReWeN Bsc, Lic. 

For CHIROPRACTIC or 

HOMEOPATHY 

At the Equilibrium Clinic 

Tel: 01273 470955 

Nicki Hutchinson 01273 470955 

Amanda Saurin 01273 479383 

Pat Eynon 01273 4883 

Hannah Scarlett 01273 480083 

Sarah Worne 01273 480089 


Hypnotherapist 

Mary O’Keefe 07774 050466 

Richard Morley 01273 470955 

Richard Slade 01273 470955 

Michael Lank 01273 479397 

Life Coaching 

Butterfly 0800 2983798 

Benna Madan 01273 470842 

Zara Tippey 0845 4569816 

Massage Therapist 

Helen Willis 01273 242969 

Pam Hewitt 01273 403930 

Medical Herbalist 

Sherie Gabrielle 01273 473256 

Myo-Reflex Therapist (Physio) 

Birgitt Auer 07966 936390 

Nutrition 

Claire Hicks 01273 470955 

Annie McRae 01273 470543 

Pilates 

Silvia Laurenti 01273 470955 

Bridgette Lee 01273 470955 

osteopathy 

Simon Murray 01273 403930 

Physiotherapy & sports injury 

Physiotherapy and 

sports injury Clinic 

Nigel Baker 

(BSc, MCSP, SRP) 

Southdown Sports Club 

012 806 0 

Psychotherapy and supervision 

Rosalind Field 01273 40116 

Podiatrists 

Clive Jones 01273 475000 

spritual & Crystal 

Healing 

Helen Piniger 

01 2 91 5 

sports Massage Therapist 

Bill Jeffries 01273 471965 

Tai Chi 

Paul Tucker 01273 470955 

Yoga 

Anita Hall 07764 580767 

Lesley Rowe 07791 521736

Health and Wellbeing 

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Bespoke Kitchens 

Hartley Quinn Wislon 

01273 401648 

Peter Rogan 01273 513478 

Building and Landscaping 

Steve Holford 01273 475485 

Building and Decorating 

Marc Cable 0773 9127901 

Building Maintenance 

Ray Shaw 01273 477636 

Building services 

Corey Pegler 01273 486776 

Business services 

Carpentry 

Goodman-Burrows 01273 483339 

Phil Day 07813 326130 

Ceramic Restorer 

Sarah Burgess 01273 479099 

Chimney sweep 

Mark Owen 01273 514349 

Corgi Gas Boiler servicing 

Dereck Wills 01273 472886 

DRuM AND 

PiANo LessoNs 

Beginners to Intermediate 

Call Luke on 01273 479184 

0782 8298507 

electrical Contractor 

Robin Shoebridge 01273 515169 

Glazier 

Castle Glazing 

Dave Dryburgh 01273 472697 

i T / Computer support 

Geeks on Wheels 

0800 107 4111 

David Kemp 01273 475727 

sol Hoch (Apple Mac support) 

012 0155 

Joinery services 

Parsons Joinery 01273 814870 

Landscape Gardening / Design 

Woodruffs 01273 4708431 

Phil Downham 01273 488261 

Alex Hart 01273 401962 

Languages 

Spanish Lessons 

Call Adriana Blair 

41A St. Anne’s Crescent, Lewes 

01273 476982 

Email: napb@fsmail.net 

TREE SURGERY 

& GARDENING 

Martin Ashby 

T: 01273 476539 

Mobile: 07754 041827 


Business, Home & Garden 

oriental Rug seller 

Painter & Decorator 

Steve Dartnell 01273 478469 

P. Moult 01825 714738 

PAINTING & DECORATING 

& general handyman service 

012 2 091 / 0 962 9 0 0 

timmarksmith@hotmail.com 

Plumbing & Heating 

Plumbcare 0845 6421799 

Keri Lindsay & Berty Richer 

01273 476570 

Private Car Hire 

South Coast Executive 

Travel Services 

01273 510184 

Removals & House Clearance 

Benjamin Light 07904 453825 

Roofing services 

Richard Soan 01273 486110

Business, Home & Garden 



5 5

5 6 



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If you are in a conservation 

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VAT No. 891 9033 01 Reg. Office: 55 Russell Row, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2EE



5 9

6 0 



Taxis 

GM Taxis 01273 473 737 

Lewes District Taxis Ltd 01273 483 232 

Lewes Hackney Carriages 01273 474 444 

Len’s Taxies 01273 488 000 

PHOENIX CARS 

NOW WITH AN EIGHT SEATER 

TO BOOK CALL 01273 475 858 

S & G Taxis 01273 476 116 

Yellow Cars 01273 472 727 

To advertise call 

01273 488882 or email 

advertising@vivalewes.com 

Useful Numbers: 

Emergency/Utilities 

Electricity and Gas 0800 783 8866 

Gas Emergency 0800 111 999 

Water Emergency 0845 278 0845 

Floodline 0845 988 1188 

BT Fault Line 0800 800 151 

Lewes Victoria Hospital 

01273 474153 

Sussex Police (non-emergency) 

0845 607 0999 

Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 

Transport 

Gatwick Enq 0870 000 2468 

Heathrow Enq 0870 000 0123 

National Rail 08457 484950 

Public Transport Travel line 

0870 608 2608 

Other 

Childline 0800 1111 

Citizens’ Advice 01273 473082 

Lewes Chamber of Commerce 

01273 488212 

Lewes District Council 

01273 471600 

Lewes Library 01273 474232 

Lewes Tourist Info 01273 483448 

The Samaritans 08457 90 90 90

Restaurants and Take Aways 

shanaz 

in Lewes 

A 

wonderful 

indian Restaurant 

with 

great food 

and 

friendly staff 

012 88028 

Bill’s Produce store 

56 Cliffe High Street 

01273 476918 

Beijing Restaurant 

13 Fisher St, Lewes 

01273 487 654 

Casbah 

146 High Street, Lewes 

01273 472441 

Cheese Please 

46 High Street Lewes 

01273 481048 

Circa 

Pelham House Lane, Lewes, 

01273 471 333 

Dilraj 


01273 479 279 

LAPoRTe’s 

Local and organic Food 

1 Lansdown Place 

012 881 

Lazzati’s Restaurant 

17, Market St, Lewes 

01273 479539 

Lewes spice 

32 Lansdown Place, Lewes 

01273 472 493 

Panda Garden Chinese 

162 High St, Lewes 

01273 473 235 

Pizza express plc 


01273 487 524 

seasons of Lewes 


01273 473 968 

shanaz 


01273 488 028 

south street Fish Bar 

9 South St, Lewes 

01273 474 710 

spring Barn Farm 

Kingston Road, Lewes 

01273 488450 

The Brasserie 

Cliffe High St, Lewes 

01273 472 247 

The Needlemakers Cafe 

West Street Lewes 

01273 486258 

The Friar 


01273 472 016 

Yummy Yummy’s 

38 Western Road,Lewes 

01273 473366 

Pubs 

Abergavenny Arms 

Rodmell, Lewes 

01273 472416 

Black Horse inn 

55 Western Rd, 

Lewes, 

01273 473 653 

Blacksmiths Arms 

Offham, Lewes 

01273 472 971 

Dorset 

22 Mallinsg Street Lewes 

01273 474823 

elephant & Castle 

White Hill, Lewes 

01273 473 797 

Green Man 

Lewes Road Ringmer 

01273 812422 

John Harvey Tavern 

1 Bear Yard t, Lewes 

01273 479 880 



Lewes Arms 

1 Mount Place, Lewes 

01273 473 152 

Pelham Arms 

High St, Lewes 

01273 476 149 

Royal oak 

3 Station Street, Lewes 

01273 474803 

snowdrop inn 

119 South St, Lewes 

01273 471 018 

Tally Ho 

Baxter Rd, Lewes, 

01273 474 759 

The Anchor 

Lewes Road Ringmer 

01273 812370 

The Brewers Arms 

91 High St, Lewes, 

01273 475 524 

The Cock 

Uckfield Road, Ringmer 

01273 812040 

The Chalk Pit inn 

Offham Rd, Offham 

01273 471 124 

The Juggs 

The Street, Kingston, Lewes 

01273 472 523 

The Lansdown Arms 

36 Lansdown Place, Lewes 

01273 480623 

The Kings Head 

9 Southover High St, Lewes 

01273 474 628 

The Meridian 

109 Western Rd, Lewes 

Tel: 01273 473710 

The Lamb 


01273 470 950 

The Rainbow inn 

Resting Oak Hill, Cooksbridge 

01273 400 334 

The Rainbow Tavern 


01273 472 170 

The swan 

30a Southover High St, Lewes 

01273 480 211 

Volunteer inn 

12 Eastgate St, Lewes 

01273 476357 

6 1

M y L E W E S 

6 2 

Name: Chris Drury 

Profession: I call myself an artist, but people who 

like to categorise things refer to me as a Land Artist. 

It was a term coined in the 1960s in America for people 

who went into the landscape and altered things. 

Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty was an early example. 

What work have you done locally? I did the Vortex 

basket weave project in the grounds of Lewes castle 

in 1994. In 2005, we finished work on the Heart of 

Reeds biodiversity project on the old railway land. 

The design of it is taken from patterns of flow in the 

heart. It seems to have entered into Lewes culture. A 

dance festival took place there, and I love that. Then 

there’s the Fingermaze in Hove Park, which I made 

with Drew Cane, the Lewes landscape contractor, in 

2006. 

Are you local? I was born in Sri Lanka, but brought 

up in Burwash and I’ve lived in this area most of my 

life. I’d come through Lewes on the way to Brighton 

as a teenager, see Mount Caburn and wish I lived 

here so I could walk up it. I moved to Lewes, near 

the Grange, in 1982. 

What do you like about Lewes? Weird customs. 

It seems to have that reputation for dead cats and 

witches. I love the compactness, the fact that you 

can walk everywhere. I love the smallville nature of 

the place. I have lots of friends here. My kids were 

brought up in Lewes, and I have a grandchild here. 

What do you dislike about Lewes? I don’t dislike 

anything. I don’t want to live anywhere else. 

What’s your favourite pub? I don’t go to many. The 

Lewes Arms or the Kings Head. Or pubs you can 

reach by walking over the Downs. 

Waitrose or Tesco? Waitrose. I also like the butcher 

at the Riverside, Lansdown Health and Bill’s. 

What do you think about traffic wardens? I don’t 

like getting tickets but we need to be discouraged 

from using cars. I’d like most of Lewes to be pedestrianised. 

Which newspaper do you read? I’m a typical middle 

class Lewes person. I read the Guardian. 

What’s your favourite part of Lewes? I love seeing 

the castle lit up from my house in the evening, 

especially through the trees of the Grange. I also enjoy 

listening to the bells of Southover Church in the 

early evening. 

What’s your favourite view in Lewes? Down 

School Hill and up to the Downs beyond. 

How would you spend a perfect sunday afternoon? 

Breakfast in bed. Eggs, bacon, croissant. Going 

for a long walk to a pub, being back in time for 

an early evening meal. Watching the telly. 

What was the last piece of music you put on? 

Breath by Mercan Dede. Wailing Turkish jazz. It was 

chosen by Kay, my wife. 

Recommend somewhere to eat. I love Seasons, 

they do excellent catering for parties. And the Ram 

at Firle does a great fish pie. 

What does Lewes need? To resist chains creeping 

in round the edges. 

What do you think about the Phoenix development? 

It’s likely to take the heart out of the town, 

but it’s probably inevitable. 

What foreign country you would recommend? 

Chile. Mongolia. Antarctica, but don’t go there! 

www.chrisdrury.co.uk 

interview by emma Chaplin 


Photograph: Katie Moorman

W W W. V i V A L e W e s . C o M 


6

Final Phase 

3 day open event 

AUGUST 2007 

BAXTERS QUARTER 

LEWES 

Contemporary homes in the heart of Lewes 

An exclusive development of apartments, houses and live/work 

homes that combine innovative design and heritage 

Venue: Clifford Dann, Albion House, Albion Street, Lewes, BN7 2NF 

For your personal invitation 

contact Sue on 01273 407909 

www.theprintworkslewes.co.uk 

Features include: 

- Communal rooftop gardens 

- Views towards the South Downs 

- 4 minute walk from Lewes Station 

- Luxury kitchen with integrated appliances 

- Wi-Fi internet 

- Luxury bathroom 

- Satellite TV connection 

- Underfloor heating 

We are holding a 3 day open event for the final phase release 

Thursday 2nd * , Friday 3rd or Saturday 4th August 

between 11am - 4pm 

* Late night Thursday 2nd until 6.30pm 

Luxury 2 bedroom apartments from: £270,000 

Buy now off plan. Over 50% already sold 

JOIN US FOR 

DRINKS 

AND nibbles

issue 5 - Viva Lewes

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