Gifts for all the family - Viva Lewes

i n s i d E L E F t
M Y L E W E S
THREE LEGS GOOD
In the 1880s one of the best-loved celebrities in Lewes – and indeed around the south of England – was a Jack
Russell terrier called Railway Jack. Jack belonged to a Mr FG Moore, master of Lewes railway station when
it was based on Friars Walk. The dog enjoyed making solo trips on trains, going up and down the various
branches, getting off at such stations as Brighton, London Victoria and Eastbourne. Nobody knows why he
chose a particular destination on a particular day – off he’d go, and he’d be back in time for tea. He became a
well-known and popular figure for miles around.
Even a personal catastrophe didn’t stop him. In 1882, he was hit by a train while making a visit to Norwood
Junction, and broke his left foreleg. He was transported back to Lewes, and immediately taken to see a local vet
in Cliffe High Street, a Mr Robert Stock. Stock amputated the injured leg. Jack made a good recovery, and continued
his travels on three legs. It is said that he was patted on the head by the Prince of Wales at Ascot in 1887.
Count Jack’s legs in this picture, and you can work out that it was taken in or before 1882. This makes it one of
photographer Edward John Bedford’s earliest works. Bedford, a grocer’s son, was to become Principal of Lewes
School of Art, and took photographs in and around Lewes for many decades, from the 1880s onwards. He died,
aged 88, in Lewes, in 1953. Thanks to Dr Sally White from the Sussex Archaeological Society for her research
on this piece. The SAS, also known as Sussex Past, have a vast stock of historical pictures taken in and around
town. If you are interested in obtaining prints of this, or other pictures we have published in this space, you can
contact them at 405736. The SS are currently raising money to refurbish the Castle and Barbican House. If you
are interested in making a donation, please call the same number.