OIt may become a little tradition that when I make my little Sussex adventures I drop my stuff off at base in Haywards Heath and head to Lewes. This was the case Tuesday when I visited Lewes Castle. I didn't get long to look around but I had enough time to get a sense of what it was like.
Lewes Castle isn't very large, in the sense of say a Porchester or Pevensey but it's compactness is what makes it so endearing. It is not obvious walking down the street towards the castle that it is there but when you turn to see the gatehouse and look up towards the castle you know history has taken place here. The Battle of Lewes in 1264 was fought nearby.
Looking over Lewes it is one of two Motte and Bailey castles with two Mottes, the other being at Lincoln. The brother-in-law of William the Conqueror William de Werenne built the castle in 1069. The mound on which it stats was made using chalk blocks to raise it even higher about the Lewes skyline.
De Werenne was the first earl of Surrey and the castle staid part of the earls of Surrey until 1347 with the death of the 7th earl and was then passed to Richard Fitzalan who's Arundel estate was far bigger. As a result Lewes Castle went into decline. The castle was broken into during the peasants revolt and all the wine was drunken or destroyed.
In many ways it is a shame that buildings like this were allowed to go into ruin but the upkeep of such just weren't seen as worth it. Luckily we now regard these heritage sites as important. They not only shaped to way our town and cities look but also tell us something about the way the country was shaped as well.
I will hopefully be back in Lewes in May to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the battle of Lewes, and will devote a bit more time to this wonderful little county town, and maybe spend a little more time exploring this castle.
