Could not be so close to Lewes Castle and not visit
1066 - 1100
After the Norman conquest King William decided to copy the way land was owned in France. The King owned all the land but leased it to his barons in return for military service, money and an oath of loyalty.
He granted Lewes to William de Warenne, one of his closest advisers.
William de Warenne had to build a castle quickly. This was to show his dominance over the local people. It was also to provide somewhere safe for him and his family if the castle was attacked.
We have parked the car quite a distance away, having managed to find a space, and are now walking towards the castle through the narrow winding streets of the town, uphill all the way
We pass what was obviously a poor house in times gone by but now a privately owned cottage
and make our way towards the castle entrance
I tell you it is freezing cold and taking my gloves off to use the camera is painful!
under the archway and we will be nearly there
passing a couple of houses to the right
and one to the left
before arriving at the castle entrance
with lots and lots of steps to climb
the Barbican to the right
up and up with a good view of the snow covered downs
just before we go inside and ascend the towers
we pass this old fireplace
and inside looking down on what is left of the original spiral stone staircase
Arrows fired from here
and now we are at the top looking down on the
Barbican and town
viewing the other side of the town
In the next post I will take you a walk around the town
(plenty of good exercise today)
17 comments:
Whew, I am out of breath and freezing cold after reading of your journey up to the castle. You needed a warm fire in that fireplace.
What a wonderful view it was from the top!!!
What a brave soul you are to go adventuring out on such a cold day. Up hill like that couldn't have been easy either. I'm not very good at all on hills but love walking on flatter land. The view there seems to have been a wonderful reward there for all your efforts. Just lovely for sure!
I loved, loved , loved this post. If those walls to talk! I loved where the old fireplace used to be. Thanks for sharing Barbara!
I learn so much reading your blog, Barb. What a view - it's good to be the king... or one of his knights. Thanks for sharing!
Hugs!!
Barbara,
Thanks for sharing this. Such an interesting place. You have so many wonderful old castles in England!
Hope your winter is going well.
Diane
Gosh, it looks cold!
I love this part of the world. I was at Sussex University many moons ago!
Brrrr...the photo's even look cold! Beautiful pics as always and I was also getting the feeling to stand back from the edges on some of those as I am not a heights person.
I do love the way you take us on your walks with us. You have a real knack for it.
I'm a wimp - I wear quite thin leather gloves that manage to keep me warm but allow me to operate the camera without taking them off. Sneaky.
Loved these pictures and felt like I was there!
Thank you for the views. The castle reminds me of the Disney movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks(recently on You Tube).
Thank you for braving the weather to give us such an insightful tour! Incredible stonework. It makes me shiver as I think of how cold it would have been to live there, inside the castle these months of the year. The town below looks lovely, so I'll be back to tag along on your walk through the streets.
Thanks for taking us along on this walk. I had to stop for breath a couple of times on all those steps. But the view was worth it!
I always love going on your journey with you. That is a stunning castle, I love the fireplace and the views from the top. I hope it warms up a bit for you all soon.
This is a place I have never been, thank you for taking me on a virtual visit :-)
Wow, Barbara--what a fascinating place with rich history. I can see that the lord built his castle primarily for protection...I'm sure that there are so many stories those old stones could tell.
The fantastic views from the top would be worth the climb!
~Adrienne~
You are doing very well to be out and about in the cold taking photos, too. Fun for me to see the snow on the surrounding hillsides, though I am sure that you are waiting for a proper spring with eagerness.
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