England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Lewes St Anne

The Parish

Lewes is a market town and the administrative capital of East Sussex, the town is divided into 6 parishes of which St Anne is just one albeit the largest in terms of area at the time of this transcript. Lewes is located within a gap in the chalky ridge of the South Downs at the point where the River Ouse has created a breach on its way to the English Channel at Newhaven. Lewes is about 8 miles inland from the coast and roughly the same northeast of the seaside town of Brighton. Lewes is also an important junction where the major routes A27 (east to west) meets the A26 (north to south). The parish of St Anne covers not only the western portion of the town but also a substantial area of the countryside to the west of Lewes. Much of the area covered by the parish has seen housing appear as the town has spread although the steep slopes of the chalk downlands has acted as somewhat of a brake on that. The parish centre stands at about 40 metres above sea level but land quickly rises to the west to above 200 metres as the South Downs encroach onto the town. The main drainage is the River Ouse which has created (probably in the Late Ice Age) a large breach in the eastern end of the South Downs. St Anne's was Lewes' least populous parish supporting only just below 800 parishioners. In Domesday times Lewes was held jointly by the King and the Archbishop of Canterbury but the entry is surprisingly lacking in detail beyond stating there were 127 households across the 6 parishes

The Church

St Anne's church lies to the south of Lewes' main street (here Western Street) just before that road leaves the urban area. The church is a very early building with many features dated by Pevsner to the Norman period. He places The tower, nave and south transept to that period immediately after the conquest, probably commenced in the early 12th century. The chancel he dates, as it is in the Early English style, to the later 12th century. The church is thus one of the earliest in Sussex and a wonderful survival. The nave shows later work notably a new roof structure from the 16th century and of course the Victorian restorers played there part albeit sympathetically too. St Anne's has a corner site at the junction of Western St and a narrow lane. The site is quite elevated with the surface of the graveyard several feet above road level, a low knapped flint and brick wall protects and retains. Access it through a shady lych gate at the eastern end of the site from the entrance to the lane. The site has many trees on the town side of the building, the southern aspect is much more open and permits easy photography.