Viva Lewes Issue #122 November 2016

122
VIVALEWES
EDITORIAL
About six months ago we decided that the theme of this issue should
be ‘High Street’, to celebrate the wealth of interesting shops, and
other businesses, operating in that colourful ribbon running from St
Thomas’ Church to Western Road (and beyond). It’s ironic, then, that
since that decision we learnt that two of the longest-serving top-oftown
institutions would be shut by the time the magazine came out: the
Post Office, which had been in the same space since 1876 (we are all
scandalised that its demise has been passed through by the authorities) and gentlemen’s outfitter
Hugh Rae, which had been outfitting gentlemen from nos 75 and 76 since 1923.
This led us to wondering what the top of town would have looked like in 1923, and a trip to the
library to check that year’s town directory was actually fairly reassuring: Reeves was there, of
course, and Wycherley’s, and Shelley’s, and Lewes Old Grammar. Plus, of course, the White Hart,
and the Crown Court (then County Hall) and Barbican House and, perhaps most surprisingly, a
shop called Flint at the top of Station Street, run by a Mr B Flint, and largely selling tea.
Change, of course, is inevitable and necessary; continuity and tradition on the High Street are also
extremely important if we want to keep Lewes feeling like Lewes. Let’s hope that the transferral of
the Post Office from its current location to a corner of WH Smith’s won’t accelerate the slippage
of footfall down the hill that has been occurring over the last few decades. In the meantime, here’s
a ‘keep up the good work’ to all our shopkeepers and retail workers. Enjoy the issue…
THE TEAM
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EDITOR: Alex Leith alex@vivamagazines.com
SUB-EDITOR: David Jarman
STAFF WRITER / ACTING ART DIRECTOR: Rebecca Cunningham rebecca@vivamagazines.com
ADVERTISING: Sarah Jane Lewis, Amanda Meynell advertising@vivamagazines.com
EDITORIAL / ADMIN ASSISTANT: Steve Ramsey admin@vivamagazines.com
PUBLISHER: Becky Ramsden becky@vivamagazines.com
CONTRIBUTORS: Jacky Adams, Michael Blencowe, Sarah Boughton, Mark Bridge, Emma Chaplin, Barry Collins,
Mark Greco, Anita Hall, John Henty, Mat Homewood, Paul Austin Kelly, Chloë King, Dexter Lee,
Lizzie Lower, Carlotta Luke, Marcus Taylor
Viva Lewes is based at Pipe Passage, 151b High Street, Lewes, BN7 1XU, 01273 434567. Advertising 01273 488882