Viva Lewes Issue #159 December 2019

INSIDE LEFT
THE DRIPPING PAN
There aren’t many sporting arenas in the country
that have been in continuous use for longer
than The Dripping Pan.
One plausible theory was that the ground was
laid out at the same time as the grassy mound
behind it was erected, in the Tudor period, to
be used for jousting and other such events.
We know for certain that some of the first-ever
organised cricket matches were played there in
the 18th century. There is record of a match
between a 2nd Duke of Richmond’s XI and a
Sir William Gage’s XI, as early as August 1730.
Of course, the ground has been used by
Lewes FC since 1885, and both the Men’s and
Women’s teams still attract three or fourfigure
crowds nearly every week.
In the early part of the 20th century, as the
above photo shows, the Dripping Pan was the
venue for the annual ‘Fire Brigades Competition’
in which brigades from round the county
ran through their drills, against the clock, to
see which could achieve the fastest time.
A contemporary report from the Sussex Agricultural
Times describes the 1906 competition,
which is pictured here. Events included the
Horse Cart Drill, the Four Man Manual Drill,
the Five Man Steamer Drill and the Escape
Drill, in which a dummy was rescued from the
top of a scaffold tower.
This picture, we presume, shows the Four Man
Manual Drill, which was won by the Brighton
Volunteer Brigade. Most of the spectators are
at ground level, but some are perched on the
fence above: we are particularly taken by the
fancy hat of the girl near the centre of the
picture.
Interestingly, the newspaper refers to the Dripping
Pan as ‘Mountfield’, thanking the Mayor
and the Corporation for ‘throwing open the
ground’. As the term ‘Dripping Pan’ was already
well established, we can only assume that
the two terms were both simultaneously in use
to describe Lewes’ historic gathering place.
Alex Leith
Thanks to Edward Reeves, 159 High Street,
01273 473274
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