Viva Lewes Issue #126 March 2017
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BOOKS AND BOBS<br />
BOOK REVIEW: SECRET LEWES, BY TERRY PHILPOT<br />
I hate to dust off the provocative<br />
theory that Brighton was invented<br />
by <strong>Lewes</strong>ians, but a number of<br />
entries in the latest publication<br />
rounding up <strong>Lewes</strong> personalities and<br />
landmarks - (Secret <strong>Lewes</strong>, by Terry<br />
Philpot, £14.99) - brought it to<br />
mind. Potted biographies are given<br />
to Dr Richard Russell, who encouraged<br />
the ‘salt water cure’ and thus<br />
made Brighthelmstone a popular<br />
tourist resort; Amon Wilds, responsible<br />
for much of the Georgian<br />
architecture which joined Brighton<br />
to Hove; and Thomas Kemp, who<br />
developed Kemptown. All three are <strong>Lewes</strong> men.<br />
Secret <strong>Lewes</strong> is part of a series - there are books by<br />
West Midlands publisher Amberley about ‘secret’<br />
Leeds and High Wycombe,<br />
too - but in reality it doesn’t<br />
really unveil anything about<br />
the town which isn’t included<br />
in other histories. That said<br />
it’s a concise enough collection<br />
of interesting stories about<br />
<strong>Lewes</strong>, some of which we have<br />
written about in these pages<br />
over the years: there are entries<br />
on Piltdown Man hoaxer<br />
Charles Dawson, mathematical<br />
tiles and Eamon de Valera’s<br />
spell in <strong>Lewes</strong> Prison, for<br />
example. A present, perhaps,<br />
for a newcomer who’s just moved here… or any<br />
Brightonian friends you might have who need<br />
reminding what’s what. Alex Leith<br />
Forget me not<br />
Mothering Sunday 26th <strong>March</strong><br />
delivering to <strong>Lewes</strong>, Haywards Heath<br />
and Brighton & Hove<br />
www.gobotanica.com<br />
01273 486948
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