Lewes

Lewes lies among the chalk hills of the South Downs, beside a crossing of the River Ouse. Its Norman castle overlooks the town, while the remains of the Cluniac priory of St Pancras stand to the south. The priory was a wealthy religious house and a landmark in the valley for centuries before its buildings were dismantled.

In 1264 the forces of Simon de Montfort defeated Henry III at the battle of Lewes; the king's troops had occupied the priory before the fighting began outside the town. The monastery survived that conflict but not Henry VIII's dissolution. Its prior surrendered it in 1537, and the following year the government employed the Italian engineer Giovanni Portinari to demolish the church and other buildings.