Lewes, East Sussex

Lewes
Lewes viewed from Lewes Castle
Shield of Lewes
Lewes
Lewes shown within East Sussex
Area	11.4 km² (4.4 sq mi)
Population	17,297 (Parish-2011)
• Density	3,679/sq mi (1,420/km²)
Demonym	Lewesian
OS grid reference	TQ420104
• London	44 miles (71 km) N
Civil parish	Lewes
District	Lewes
Shire county	East Sussex
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LEWES
Postcode district	BN7
Dialling code	01273

Police	Sussex
Fire	East Sussex
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Lewes
Website	http://www.lewes-tc.gov.uk/
List of places UK England East Sussex 50°52′32″N 0°01′04″E / 50.875627°N 0.017855°E / 50.875627; 0.017855Coordinates: 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 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. The town was the site of the Battle of Lewes in 1264. The town has landmarks including Lewes Castle and a 15th-century bookshop. At the 2001 census it had a population of 15,988, increasing to 17,297 at the 2011 Census.

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.

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