Knight's Excursion Companion

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: covered in their original leaden coffins when the priory ground was exeavated, in 1845. The chief event in the history of Lewes was the battle fought there betwcen the Royal army of Henry III., commanded by the King in person, with his brother Richard, King of the Romans, and his son, Prinee Edward, against the army of the Confederated Barons, under Simon Montfort, on the 13th of May, 1264, which ended in the defeat of the Royal army and the eapture of the King of the Romans. When William IV. and Qucen Adelaide visited Lewes in 1830, they were told, in the address presented to them by the townsmen, that that was the first time Lewes had bcen visited by the Sovereign sinee the Battle of Lewes. The Castle is perhaps, to a stranger, the most interesting building in the town. It is of Norman date, and may have bcen ereeted by the first Earl do Warcune. The chief remaining portions are the gatehouse and the kcep?both of massive proportions, but much changed from their primal condition. The interior, which is now being fitted up as a loeal muscum, is open to visitors. From the eastle leads, may be had an excellent view of the town and surrounding country, and it is a view well worth sceing. Of the Priory the remains are in a very dilapidated condition. No portion of it is left suffieiently perfeet to exhibit the charaeter of the arehiteeture. As was mentioned, it was founded by William Earl of Warenne, and his wife Gundreda, in the latter part of the eleventh century. It was for Cluniac monks, and was from the first a large and wealthy establishment. The building is situated just outside the town, in the suburb of Southover. The railway is earried through the priory preeinets, and in construeting it, a place of interment, besides the priory burial-ground, was cut through: thirtcen wa...