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Lewes Priory guided walking tours
NEW - the first in a series of guided walking tours of the Lewes Priory Park and the Gundrada Chapel at Southover church - on Sunday 22nd May at 2.30pm. For tickets see below.
Over a period of 450 years between c.1080 and 1538, Lewes Priory became the richest religious house in Sussex and the most important of the English Cluniac foundations – in architecture, influence, art and learning.
The tour brings to life the history and splendour of the Priory during a walk through the remains of its massive buildings. Then, at the Gundrada Chapel, visitors will see the bones of the priory founders, Gundrada and William de Warenne, discovered in two lead boxes (‘cists’) in 1845 when the railway was dug through the remains of the Great Church.
William had fought alongside The Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings. Also on show is his wife Gundrada’s tomb slab; its Tournai marble top, blackened with wax or resin, is one of the finest Romanesque carvings to survive in England or even in Europe. It was brought back from Isfield church in 1775 to Southover and is thus reunited with her bones.
Tour dates (all at 2.30pm):
Sunday 22 May, Saturday 4 June, Sunday 17 July, Sunday 21 August, and Sunday 18 September.
Over a period of 450 years between c.1080 and 1538, Lewes Priory became the richest religious house in Sussex and the most important of the English Cluniac foundations – in architecture, influence, art and learning.
The tour brings to life the history and splendour of the Priory during a walk through the remains of its massive buildings. Then, at the Gundrada Chapel, visitors will see the bones of the priory founders, Gundrada and William de Warenne, discovered in two lead boxes (‘cists’) in 1845 when the railway was dug through the remains of the Great Church.
William had fought alongside The Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings. Also on show is his wife Gundrada’s tomb slab; its Tournai marble top, blackened with wax or resin, is one of the finest Romanesque carvings to survive in England or even in Europe. It was brought back from Isfield church in 1775 to Southover and is thus reunited with her bones.
Tour dates (all at 2.30pm):
Sunday 22 May, Saturday 4 June, Sunday 17 July, Sunday 21 August, and Sunday 18 September.
Booking essential, £5 (children under 12 free).
Buy in person or by phone with credit/debit card, from:
Lewes Tourist Information Centre
187 High Street, Lewes, BN7 2DE
Tel 01273 483448
Sorry, no refunds, all income to Lewes Priory Trust
Assemble at 2.30pm prompt at Mountfield Road Car Park (limited spaces), Lewes BN7 2XA.
Tour duration approx 2 hours. Sturdy walking shoes advised. Wheelchair access on paved slopes. No public toilets. Bring umbrella if wet. Dogs on leads.
Buy in person or by phone with credit/debit card, from:
Lewes Tourist Information Centre
187 High Street, Lewes, BN7 2DE
Tel 01273 483448
Sorry, no refunds, all income to Lewes Priory Trust
Assemble at 2.30pm prompt at Mountfield Road Car Park (limited spaces), Lewes BN7 2XA.
Tour duration approx 2 hours. Sturdy walking shoes advised. Wheelchair access on paved slopes. No public toilets. Bring umbrella if wet. Dogs on leads.
Assemble at Mountfield Road Car Park, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2UR
Sun 22 May to Sun 17 Jul 2022
Website:
www.lewespriory.org.uk
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