Lewes Lewknor

Sir Lewes Lewknor (c.1560–1627) was an English courtier, M.P. writer and soldier who served as Master of the Ceremonies to King James I of England. M.P. for Midhurst in 1597 and for Bridgnorth 1604-10. His career has been described as a "tortuous trajectory rich in false starts, byways and rather nebulous interludes...[with] slippery religious and political allegiances".

He was noted for his translations of courtly European literature. Particularly important was the translation of Gasparo Contarini's account of the Venetian republic, The Commonwealth and Government of Venice, which influenced contemporary writers including Shakespeare.

He is also widely believed to be the author of an original work, The Estate of English Fugitives, a polemic attacking the Spanish and the machinations of Catholic clergy, while also defending the rights of English Catholics.

Early career

He was the son of Thomas Lewknor of Tangmere and Selsey and his wife Bridget Lewes. He studied at Cambridge and the Middle Temple, working for a short time as a lawyer with his uncle, Richard. His uncle Edmund Lewknor was tutor to the Jesuit priest John Gerard (Jesuit). In the 1580s he was in Low Countries, apparently as an exile, possibly due to his Catholic sympathies. He attempted a career as a soldier, serving as a captain in the Duke of Parma's army, but suffered a disabling injury to his right arm. Lewkenor would later acknowledge the debt he owed to the General under whom he served, Jan Baptista del Monte, and his brother Camillo del Monte. In 1587 he was living in Antwerp with his wife, but returned to England after experiencing financial problems. He reported to Lord Burghley about the activities of English Catholics working for the Spanish. He became a member of parliament for Midhurst in 1597. Lewknor served as a Gentleman Pensioner in Ordinary from 1599 to 1603.

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.

Lewknor

Coordinates: 51°40′19″N 0°58′01″W / 51.672°N 0.967°W / 51.672; -0.967

Lewknor is a village and civil parish about 5 miles (8 km) south of Thame in Oxfordshire, Close to the borders of nearby Buckinghamshire. The civil parish includes the villages of Postcombe and South Weston. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 663.

Early history

Iron Age and Roman era

Two ancient roads pass through the parish: the ancient Icknield Way at the foot of the Chiltern Hills escarpment and The Ridgeway along the top. Both have been roads since at least the Iron Age.

Early in the 1970s archaeological investigations prior to building of the M40 motorway through the parish found traces of a Romano-British settlement near the village and a Romano-British cemetery near Icknield Way.

Saxon era and Middle Ages

Lewknor is a Saxon spring line settlement near the foot of the Chilterns chalk escarpment.

The toponym is derived from the Old English name of its owner Leofeca, recorded in a lawsuit in AD 990. In the 11th century the manor of Luvechenora was held by Edith of Wessex, who in 1045 became queen consort of Edward the Confessor. The manor then passed to a Danish thegn of King Edward called Tovi, who bequeathed it to Abingdon Abbey. For most of the Middle Ages the abbey leased out Lewknor manor, until the abbey was suppressed in 1538 in the dissolution of the monasteries.All Souls College, Oxford had become a major landowner in the parish before the end of the 17th century and has remained so until modern times.