Viva Lewes Issue #134 November 2017
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BITS AND BOBS<br />
TOWN PLAQUE #32<br />
The Normans built many motte & bailey castles in England, but only<br />
two have twin mottes – <strong>Lewes</strong> and Lincoln. The elevated mound was<br />
usually created by material dug out from a surrounding ditch, thus doubling<br />
the obstacle. <strong>Lewes</strong> Castle is unusual in that the keep stands on a<br />
high mound, constructed of chalk blocks. Brack Mount gave a vantage<br />
point north over the valley.<br />
Castle Ditch Lane is exactly what one would expect – from the barbican<br />
it follows the old bailey wall round to the junction with Mount Place. Now a cul-de sac, it comprises buildings<br />
old, new and ruined and the ‘prisoners’ entrance’ round the back of the Crown Court. It is also part<br />
of a circular walk – from the Castle Precincts, round the bowling green, through the Maltings car park and<br />
‘Magic Circle’ area and back via Popes Passage to the High Street. Check it out. Marcus Taylor<br />
LEWES IN NUMBERS: LEWES POPULATION<br />
The population changes through births, deaths and moves into and out of an area. In <strong>Lewes</strong> District, for every<br />
1,000 people in 2015, 54 moved into the district, 48 moved out, 9 were born and 11 died, totalling 12.2%<br />
of the population which has been replaced. The number of people moving in and out of the district is a little<br />
lower than in 2014, which we featured in December. In <strong>Lewes</strong> Town, only births and deaths are available.<br />
They show a total of 143 births and 138 deaths for 2015. Sarah Boughton<br />
GHOST PUB #37: THE STATION HOTEL, COOKSBRIDGE<br />
We are going to briefly sneak out of <strong>Lewes</strong> for this<br />
latest ‘ghost pub’. Many of you may remember the<br />
Pump House at Cooksbridge. This was originally<br />
the Station Hotel (aka the Station Inn or Railway<br />
Hotel). When the railway came to Cooksbridge in<br />
1847, Henry Henderson of the Rainbow Inn was<br />
quick to promote the village’s only pub in the Sussex<br />
Advertiser. It took well over ten years before a new<br />
inn was built nearer the station, and in March 1861<br />
John Satcher beat George Thomas at a sparrow<br />
shooting match ‘in connection with the new Station Inn’. Landlord Adam Oram offered food, accommodation<br />
and stabling, which must have seriously affected trade at the Rainbow. The Station Hotel had a large<br />
dining hall, or ‘club room’, adjoining the main building. This allowed various landlords to play host to annual<br />
club and society dinners, including those for the Victoria Cycling Club, and the Cooksbridge Cricket Club.<br />
They also hosted the annual fête, and clearly played a significant role in the social life of the village. During<br />
the 1970s and 80s the pub was known as ‘The Hop Leaf’, before changing its name again in the 1990s to ‘The<br />
Pump House’. It was around 2006 when the pub called its final “last orders at the bar”. The building stood<br />
derelict for some years before finally being demolished to make way for new housing. Many thanks to Sue<br />
Rowland for the photograph. Mat Homewood<br />
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