Lewes Priory — Attraction in Lewes

The Priory of Saint Pancras.

The Priory was founded between 1078 and 1082 by William and Gundrada de Warenne, who also built Lewes Castle.

The Priory had international importance as it was the first Priory in England linked to the influential Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy, France and also was first Cluniac Priory.

Cluniacs, originated from the Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy, France, followed the Rule of St. Benedict (Benedictines).

The Cluniacs placed great emphasis on elaborate ritual and lavish architectural decoration.

The large complex of buildings behind the precinct walls housed both religious and domestic activities and would have brought prosperity to Lewes.

The Priory became the centre of a powerful Europe - wide order with over 1000 daughter priories all directly accountable to the Abbot in Cluny.

The Priory was also one of the largest and most wealthy monasteries in England, with land and churches in Sussex, London, East Anglia and Yorkshire, including what was then the village of Halifax.

What you will see there today are the ruins of this once magnificent establishment.

After nearly 500 years most of it was deliberately destroyed in 1538 during the Reformation on the orders of Henry VIII.

It is hard to imagine how imposing the Priory and its precinct were.

Although, the trails there will help you to understand how grand it was and give a glimpse of what life would have been like for the monks who lived there.

After the Priory was destroyed the site became a quarry for building materials, many of which can still be seen in buildings throughout Lewes. A great house was built where the Priory's lodgings had been but this was demolished in the late 17th century.

In October 1845 workmen digging the line for the Brighton to Lewes railway discovered the lead caskets containing the bones of the founder and his wife. These are now in the Gundrada chapel of St. John the Baptist church, Southover.

Truly impressive ruins and would recommend it to visit.

There is car park near by.

If you feel peckish, you can pop in to the Caffe Lazzati, which located just outside of the main entrance for lunch of dinner, where you will find great selection of food, drinks and...

The Priory, which was dedicated to St Pancras, is now ruins within a park.

The ruins are free to view and there is adequate signage, so visitors are aware of what they are viewing.

There is additional information on the signs that really help being the place to life.

Highly recommended and an ideal place to take a picnic.

Dog friendly.

Lewes has many other sites and attractions to make this an ideal day out within easy reach of London, approximately 1hr by train from London Victoria.

Additional pla es of interest are Anbe of Cleves House following her divorce from Henry Vlll, she was his 4th wife.

There is also Lewes Castle and a beautiful high St in terms of architecture. Buildings from the 14th century through to the Georgian period line the High St.

Unfortunately, there is a great number of charity shops on the High St . Although these help very worthy causes, they demonstrate on the other hand the impact of Covid 19 and Brexit on the UK economy.

Lewes is a great day out, a genteel town on...

Ample interpretative boards help visitors to visualise and understand what was demolished in the 16th century. Whilst the main Priory church is completely lost, its stones to be seen recycled in many present-day Lewes buildings, the rest of the ruins, dating back as far as the 11th century, make for pleasant exploration on foot. Thanks to some properly maintained footpaths, the monument is accessible to wheelchair users. Look for the QR codes that you can scan on a smartphone to activate an...