Lewes

Coordinates: 50°52′32″N 0°01′04″E / 50.875627°N 0.017855°E / 50.875627; 0.017855

Lewes /ˈluːᵻs/ is the county town of the administrative county of East Sussex, in England, and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-orientated town. At the 2001 census it had a population of 15,988.

History

Archaeological evidence points to prehistoric dwellers in the area. Scholars think that the Roman settlement of Mutuantonis was here, as quantities of artefacts have been discovered in the area. The Saxons built a castle, having first constructed its motte as a defensive point over the river; they gave the town its name.

After the Norman invasion, William the Conqueror rewarded William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, with the Rape of Lewes, a swathe of land along the River Ouse from the coast to the Surrey boundary. He built Lewes Castle on the Saxon site; and he and his wife, Gundred also founded the Priory of St Pancras, a Cluniac monastic house, in about 1081. Lewes was the site of a mint during the Late Anglo-Saxon period and thereafter a mint during the early years after the Norman invasion. In 1148 the town was granted a charter by King Stephen. The town became a port with docks along the Ouse River.

Lewes (surname)

Lewes is a surname, and may refer to:

See also

Lewes District

Lewes is a local government district in East Sussex in southern England covering an area of 113 sq mi (290 km²), with 9 miles (14.5 km) of coastline. It is named after its administrative centre, Lewes. Other towns in the district include Newhaven, Peacehaven, Seaford and Telscombe. Plumpton racecourse is within the district. There are 28 parishes in the district.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, and was a merger of the former borough of Lewes along with Newhaven and Seaford urban districts and Chailey Rural District.

Politics

Elections to the council are held every four years, with all of the 41 seats, representing 21 wards, on the council being filled. After being controlled by the Liberal Democrats since 1991, the Conservative party regained a majority at the 2011 election. Although, subsequent defections of Conservative councillors to UKIP and the Liberal Democrats left the council in no overall control. However in the Council election on the 7th May 2015 the Conservatives regained control with an increased majority and heavy loses for the Liberal Democrats. The current composition is as follows.