135-544: Lewes Bonfire , or Bonfire for short, describes a set of celebrations held in the town of Lewes in Sussex , England, that constitute the United Kingdom 's largest and most famous Bonfire Night festivities, with Lewes being called the bonfire capital of the world. Always held on 5 November (unless the 5th falls on a Sunday, in which case it is held on Saturday the 4th), the event not only marks Guy Fawkes Night –
270-409: A Roman settlement on the site, and he identified it with the otherwise unlocatable town of Mutuantonis . Another antiquarian, John Elliot, even suggested that central Lewes's distinctive network of twittens was based on the layout of a Roman legionary fortress ; however modern historians are rather more cautious about the possibility of a Roman Lewes, as there is as yet no archaeological evidence for
405-700: A built-up area dating back to the Roman period. The earliest phase of Anglo-Saxon settlement in Sussex was concentrated between the Rivers Ouse and Cuckmere , and Anglo-Saxon finds begin to appear in Lewes from the sixth century. The town of Lewes was probably founded around this time, and it may have been one of the most important settlements in the Kingdom of Sussex , along with Chichester and Hastings , though
540-746: A by-election to the Northern Ireland Parliament , Paisley, standing on behalf of the Protestant Unionist Party , won the Bannside seat formerly held by Prime Minister Terence O'Neill. Another PUP candidate, William Beattie , won the South Antrim seat. In the 1970 UK general election , Paisley won the North Antrim seat. These elections were "further evidence of the break-up of the unionist block and
675-475: A civil rights march in Armagh , Paisley and Ronald Bunting arrived in the town in a convoy of cars. Men armed with nail-studded cudgels emerged from the cars and took over the town centre to prevent the march. The RUC halted the civil rights march, sparking outrage from activists. On 25 March 1969, Paisley and Bunting were jailed for organising the illegal counter-demonstration. On 6 May, they were released during
810-771: A commentary on the Epistle to the Romans . Paisley set up his own newspaper in February 1966, the Protestant Telegraph , as a mechanism for further spreading his message. In the 1960s, Paisley developed a relationship with the fundamentalist Bob Jones University located in Greenville, South Carolina . In 1966, he received an honorary doctorate of divinity from the institution and subsequently served on its board of trustees. This relationship would later lead to
945-650: A compromise with the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). The attempt was made via then British Cabinet Secretary, Sir Burke Trend . The papers show that Paisley had indicated he could "reach an accommodation with leaders of the Catholic minority, which would provide the basis of a new government in Stormont." It appears that the move was rejected once it became clear to the SDLP that it would have created
1080-794: A crowd of followers that "this Romish man of sin is now in Hell !". He organised protests against the lowering of flags on public buildings to mark the Pope's death. In 1988, having given advance warning of his intentions, Paisley interrupted a speech being delivered by Pope John Paul II in the European Parliament . Paisley shouted "I denounce you as the Antichrist !" and held up a poster reading "Pope John Paul II ANTICHRIST" . Other MEPs jeered Paisley, threw papers at him and snatched his poster, but he produced another and continued shouting. He
1215-684: A defiance of lawful authority no less serious in essence than that of the IRA". On 22 July 1966, Paisleyites clashed with the RUC outside Crumlin Road Prison , where Paisley was being held. The next day, Protestant mobs several thousand strong "rampaged through the city, smashing windows and trying to damage businesses owned by Catholics". In response, the authorities banned all meetings and marches in Belfast for three months. On 30 November 1968, hours before
1350-590: A gap in the South Downs , cut through by the River Ouse , and near its confluence with the Winterbourne Stream. It is approximately seven miles north of Newhaven , and an equal distance north-east of Brighton . The South Downs rise above the river on both banks. The High Street, and earliest settlement, occupies the west bank, climbing steeply up from the bridge taking its ancient route along
1485-627: A general amnesty for people convicted of political offences. In March–April 1969, the Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV) bombed water and electricity installations in Northern Ireland, leaving much of Belfast without power and water. Paisley and the UPV blamed the bombings on the dormant IRA and elements of the civil rights movement. Paisley's Protestant Telegraph called them "the first act of sabotage perpetrated by
SECTION 10
#17327721917951620-643: A large group of followers who were referred to as Paisleyites. Paisley became involved in Ulster unionist / loyalist politics in the late 1950s. In the mid-late 1960s, he led and instigated loyalist opposition to the Catholic civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. This contributed to the outbreak of the Troubles in the late 1960s, a conflict that would engulf Northern Ireland for the next 30 years. In 1970 he became Member of Parliament for North Antrim and
1755-570: A pub. The local church is St. Anne 's. Southover has roots in the mid-19th century but it disbanded in 1985, and then reformed in 2005. It represents the Cranedown and St. Pancras areas as well as the old village of Southover. Located on Southover High Street, the local church is St. John the Baptist 's, where there is a war memorial, and the headquarters is The Swan Inn. Their guernseys are red and black and their pioneers are monks (representing
1890-456: A quarter hundredweight (over 12 kilos) was carried in the procession for the first time. The same key is still carried today in the Borough's processions and is a symbol that on 5 November the 'Borough Boys' are given the freedom of the streets of Lewes. Representing the western half of Lewes and located on Western Road, their headquarters is St. Mary's Social Club, which unlike the others, is not
2025-571: A standstill. Loyalist paramilitaries helped to enforce the strike by blocking roads and intimidating workers. On 17 May, the third day of the strike, loyalists detonated four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan , in the Republic of Ireland. The bombs killed 33 civilians and injured 300, making it the deadliest attack of the Troubles, and the deadliest terrorist attack in the Republic's history. In an interview nine months before his death, Paisley said he
2160-651: A strongly Puritan faction in the reign of Charles I , and during the English Civil War it was one of the most important Parliamentarian strongholds in Sussex. As such it became the target of a royalist attack in December 1642, but the royalist army was intercepted and defeated at the Battle of Muster Green by Parliamentarian forces commanded by Herbert Morley , one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for Lewes. Lewes recovered relatively quickly after
2295-401: A very one-sided alliance. Speaking about the deal in 2002 Paisley said: The SDLP did not want to go along the road that we would have wanted them to go. I wouldn't say there were talks, there was an exchange of views between us, but it never got anywhere. We were prepared to try and seek a way whereby we could govern Northern Ireland and that people of both faiths could be happy with the way it
2430-480: Is a Free Presbyterian minister; Ian was a DUP MP ; and Rhonda, a retired DUP councillor. He had a brother, Harold, who is also an evangelical fundamentalist. Paisley saw himself primarily as an Ulsterman . However, despite his hostility towards Irish republicanism and the Republic of Ireland , he also saw himself as an Irishman and said that "you cannot be an Ulsterman without being an Irishman". When he
2565-462: Is a site of biological interest, an isolated area of the South Downs. Lewes Brooks, also of biological importance, is part of the floodplain of the River Ouse , providing a habitat for many invertebrates such as water beetles and snails. Southerham Works Pit is of geological interest, a disused chalk pit displaying a wide variety of fossilised fish remains. The Railway Land nature reserve
2700-679: Is a terrible step to the total demoralisation of any country". Save Ulster from Sodomy was a campaign launched by Paisley in 1977, in opposition to the Northern Ireland Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform, established in 1974. Paisley's campaign sought to prevent the extension to Northern Ireland of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 , which had decriminalised homosexual acts between males over 21 years of age in England and Wales. Paisley's campaign failed when legislation
2835-588: Is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Cfb " (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate ). The Roman Catholic church is dedicated to St. Pancras in memory of the Priory and is a red-brick building over the street from St Anne's. In 2001 the service industries were by far the biggest employers in Lewes: over 60% of the population working in that sector. A little over 10% are employed in manufacturing, mostly in
SECTION 20
#17327721917952970-551: Is based. The pioneers are Native Americans (this theme was picked after Lewesians visited the US in the 19th century and realised their hardships) and American Civil War soldiers, and the smugglers wear gold and black jumpers. The society also claims the Wallands Park and Landport suburbs. The local church is St John sub Castro . Lewes Borough is the joint oldest society with Cliffe, formed in 1853. Until 1859 they were known as
3105-504: Is due in 2027. Since 2010, the town has been included within the South Downs National Park . The National Park Authority has therefore taken over some functions from the local councils, notably relating to town planning . There are also a number of local political groups without council representation. The far-left group Lewes Maoist Action has operated in the town since 2013, frequently handing out leaflets at
3240-656: Is equal to £1. Like the similar local currency in Totnes , the initiative is part of the Transition Towns movement. The Lewes Pound and the Transition Towns movement have received criticism for a failure to address the needs of the wider Lewes population, especially lower socio-economic groups. Such local currency initiatives have been more widely criticised in light of limited success stimulating new spending in local economies and as an unrealistic strategy to reduce carbon emissions. The Lewes Pound can be exchanged for
3375-623: Is on the east side of the town next to the Ouse, and contains an area of woodland and marshes, which now includes the Heart of Reeds, a sculpted reed bed designed by local land artist Chris Drury . The Winterbourne stream, a tributary of the Ouse, flows through it. This stream flows most winters and dries up in the summer, hence its name. It continues through Lewes going through the Grange Gardens and often travelling underground. The Heart of Reeds
3510-541: Is one of the sites in East Sussex and Kent home to the marsh frog , an introduced species. It is popular with pond-dippers and walkers. A centre for the study of environmental change is due to be built at the entrance to the nature reserve. On 21 August 1864, Lewes experienced an earthquake measuring 3.1 on the Richter magnitude scale . Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there
3645-499: Is unworkable and destroys the very principle of my Unionism, which is that we are part of the UK and cannot in any way bring into government those who want to destroy Northern Ireland. In one interview during the referendum campaign following the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement , he declared that he was 'opposed to power-sharing with nationalists because nationalists are only power-sharing to destroy Northern Ireland' clearly meaning
3780-477: The August 1969 riots . The 1969 Northern Ireland riots , Divis Street were the worst in Belfast since the 1930s. Catholic Irish nationalists clashed with the police and with loyalists, who invaded Catholic neighbourhoods and burned scores of homes and businesses. This led to the deployment of British troops and is seen by many as the beginning of the Troubles. Journalists Patrick Bishop and Eamonn Mallie said of
3915-616: The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2007 to 2008. Paisley became a Protestant evangelical minister in 1946 and remained one for the rest of his life. In 1951 he co-founded the Reformed fundamentalist Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster and was its leader until 2008. Paisley became known for his fiery sermons and regularly preached anti-Catholicism , anti- ecumenism and against homosexuality . He gained
4050-559: The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster , with Paisley, who was just 25 years old at the time. Paisley soon became the leader (or moderator ) of the Free Presbyterian Church and was re-elected every year, for the next 57 years. The Free Presbyterian Church is a fundamentalist , evangelical church, requiring strict separation from "any church which has departed from the fundamental doctrines of
4185-619: The House of Lords . The following January, an act entitled 'An Acte for a publique Thanksgiving to Almighty God ever year of the Fifth day of November' was passed, which held that 5 November should be held in perpetual remembrance of the plot, with a special service held in every Church of England parish church. Celebrations in Lewes were not planned or carried out annually, but were more random events that more closely resembled riots. They continued until they were banned by Oliver Cromwell during
Lewes Bonfire - Misplaced Pages Continue
4320-757: The Republic of Ireland in Northern Irish affairs. His efforts helped bring down the Sunningdale Agreement of 1974. He also opposed the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, with less success. His attempts to create a paramilitary movement culminated in Ulster Resistance . Paisley and his party also opposed the Northern Ireland peace process and Good Friday Agreement of 1998. In 2005, Paisley's DUP became
4455-636: The Roman Catholic Church in 1605. In addition, each of the six main local societies creates a topical "tableau"(a large three-dimensional model packed with fireworks), and the Cliffe and Southover societies display on pikes the heads (also in effigy) of its current "Enemies of Bonfire", who range from nationally reviled figures to local officials who have attempted to place restrictions on the event. In 2001 effigies of Osama bin Laden were burned by
4590-564: The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) did not remove the tricolour he would lead a march to the office and take it down himself. The Flags and Emblems Act banned the public display of any symbol, with the exception of the Union Flag , that could cause a breach of the peace. In response, armed officers arrived at the building, smashed their way inside and seized the flag. This led to severe rioting between republicans and
4725-486: The Second Barons' War , King Henry III was ambushed at Lewes by a force of rebel barons led by Simon de Montfort . Henry marched out to fight de Montfort, leading to a pitched battle on the hills above the town (roughly in the area of modern Landport Bottom). The king's son Prince Edward , commanding the right wing of the royal army, succeeded in driving off some of the baronial forces, but he got carried away with
4860-607: The Ulster Protestant Volunteers (UPV). At the time, Irish republicans were marking the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising . Although the IRA was inactive, loyalists such as Paisley warned that it was about to be revived and launch another campaign against Northern Ireland. At the same time, a loyalist paramilitary group calling itself the " Ulster Volunteer Force " (UVF) emerged in the Shankill area of Belfast, led by Gusty Spence . Many of its members were also members of
4995-728: The Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) to mobilise loyalist workers against the Agreement, while the loyalist paramilitary groups ( UDA , UVF etc.) formed the Ulster Army Council (UAC) to co-ordinate their response. Addressing an anti-Agreement rally in January 1974, Paisley declared: Mr Faulkner says it's 'hands across the border' to Dublin. I say if they don't behave themselves in the South , it will be shots across
5130-524: The twin town of Blois attend, vending on Cliffe Bridge. From 1794 beers, wines and spirits were distributed from Lewes under the Harveys name, and the town is today the site of Harvey & Son 's brewery celebrated as one of the finest ale producers in England. In September 2008, Lewes launched its own currency, the Lewes Pound , in an effort to increase trade within the town. One Lewes Pound
5265-613: The 'Lewes Town Bonfire Society' so they are really not considered the oldest consistantly named society. That mantel belongs to Cliffe. They have been marching the streets of the town for over 150 years. Borough's First Pioneer Group is that of the celtic warrior and the Tudor era is the Society's Second Pioneer Group. Their jumpers are blue and white. In 1863 the famous Monster Iron Key of the Ancient Borough of Lewes weighing nearly
5400-564: The Agreement. Specifically, they opposed sharing political power with nationalists and saw the Council of Ireland as a step towards a united Ireland . Paisley, along with anti-Agreement Ulster Unionist Party leader Harry West and Ulster Vanguard leader William Craig , formed the United Ulster Unionist Council (UUUC) to oppose the Agreement. Its slogan was Dublin is just a Sunningdale away . Loyalists formed
5535-718: The Archbishop of Canterbury rather than the Bishop of Chichester like every other parish in Sussex. Malling would retain this anomalous status until as late as 1845. Information about Lewes becomes much more plentiful from the reign of Alfred the Great onward, as it was one of the towns which he fortified as part of the network of burhs he established in response to the Viking raids . The peace and stability brought by Alfred and his successors evidently stimulated economic activity in
Lewes Bonfire - Misplaced Pages Continue
5670-419: The Bible, expose the Papacy, and to promote, defend and maintain Bible Protestantism in Europe and further afield." Paisley's website describes a number of doctrinal areas in which he believes that the "Roman church" (which he termed 'Popery') has deviated from the Bible and thus from true Christianity. Over the years, Paisley would write numerous books and pamphlets on his religious and political views, including
5805-416: The Civil War, and prospered during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It had always been one of the principal market towns of Sussex, as well as an important port, and by the end of the Georgian era it also had well-developed textiles, iron, brewing, and shipbuilding industries. The severe winter of 1836–7 led to a large build-up of snow on Cliffe Hill, whose sheer western face directly overlooks
5940-406: The Cliffe, Commercial Square and Lewes Borough bonfire societies, causing the Lewes Bonfire to receive more press attention than usual, being featured on the front page of some national newspapers, as did the Firle Bonfire Society's 2003 choice of a gypsy caravan. In 2014 police investigated complaints about plans to burn two effigies of Alex Salmond , the First Minister of Scotland , and one model
6075-461: The Commonwealth . However, they were reintroduced when King Charles II returned, but still on a random basis. Interest waned by the end of the 18th century but in the 1820s large groups of Bonfire Boys started celebrating with fireworks and large bonfires. The celebrations became rowdier and rowdier until 1847, when police forces were drafted in from London to sort out the Bonfire Boys. There were riots and fighting, and restrictions were clamped down on
6210-404: The Conqueror rewarded his retainer William de Warenne by making him Earl of Surrey and granting him the Rape of Lewes , a strip of land stretching along the Ouse valley from the coast to the Surrey boundary. De Warenne constructed Lewes Castle within the walls of the Saxon burh , while his wife Gundreda founded the Priory of St Pancras , a Cluniac monastic house, in about 1081. During
6345-614: The IRA since the murderous campaign of 1956", warning that it was "an ominous indication of what lies ahead for Ulster". Many people believed these claims of IRA responsibility. The loyalists also hoped that the bombings would weaken confidence in Prime Minister Terence O'Neill. Unionist support for O'Neill waned, and on 28 April he resigned as Prime Minister. Paisley's approach led him, in turn, to oppose O'Neill's successors as Prime Minister, Major James Chichester-Clark (later Lord Moyola) and Brian Faulkner . The civil rights campaign, and attacks on it by loyalists and police, culminated in
6480-440: The Lewes Bonfire celebrations began. According to historian Jeremy Goring, "Paul V was a peaceable man who happened to be Pope at the time of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 and who cannot be held responsible for the Gunpowder Plot or the persecution of Protestants in the reign of Mary I, which were linked at this time by a misunderstanding of the past." In 1893 William Richardson, rector of the Southover district of Lewes, held sermons on
6615-444: The Lewes Borough Bonfire Society agreed to end the tradition of blackface and wearing skulls and horns as part of its Zulu costumes. To mark the demise of the 17 Lewes Martyrs , 17 burning crosses are carried through the town, and a wreath-laying ceremony occurs at the War Memorial in the centre of town. Ladies' and men's races take place, pulling flaming tar barrels in a "barrel run", which takes place along Cliffe High Street at
6750-399: The Lewes Dispensary and Infirmary in 1855. In October 2000, the town suffered major flooding during an intense period of severe weather throughout the United Kingdom. The commercial centre of the town and many residential areas were devastated. In a government report into the nationwide flooding, Lewes was officially noted the most severely affected location. As a result of the devastation,
6885-424: The Lewes Flood Action group formed, to press for better flood protection measures. There are three tiers of local government covering Lewes, at parish (town), district and county level: Lewes Town Council, Lewes District Council and East Sussex County Council . The town council is based at Lewes Town Hall on the High Street. The county council has its headquarters at County Hall on St Anne's Crescent in
SECTION 50
#17327721917957020-493: The Phoenix Bridge and through the Cuilfail Tunnel to join the A27. The town boundaries were enlarged twice (from the original town walls), in 1881 and 1934. They now include the more modern housing estates of Wallands, South Malling (the west part of which is a previously separate village with a church dedicated to St Michael), Nevill, Lansdown and Cranedown on the Kingston Road. Countryside walks can be taken starting from several points in Lewes. One can walk on Mount Caburn to
7155-405: The RUC. Thirty people, including at least 18 officers, had to be hospitalised. In 1964, a peaceful civil rights campaign began in Northern Ireland. The civil rights movement sought to end discrimination against Catholics and those of Catholic background by the Protestant and unionist government of Northern Ireland . Paisley instigated and led loyalist opposition to the civil rights movement over
7290-407: The SDLP as well as Sinn Féin. The Sunningdale Agreement of December 1973 set up a new government for Northern Ireland in which unionists and nationalists would share power. It also proposed the creation of a Council of Ireland, which would facilitate co-ordination and co-operation between the governments of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Paisley and other hardline unionists opposed
7425-418: The Sunday before 5 November warning about the perils of Catholicism. Many attendees were members of the newly-formed Orange Lodge in Lewes. There is a history of religious antagonism and anti-popery around the bonfire celebrations in Lewes. In the 1930s the mayor of Lewes requested that 'no popery' banners be removed and an end to the burning of effigies of Pope Paul V. In the 1950s the Cliffe Bonfire Society
7560-416: The Sussex martyrs was instigated at a time of the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in England, bolstered by an increase in the Irish Catholic population, as well as the high-profile conversion to Catholicism of members of the Oxford movement, including Cardinal Newman and former Archdeacon of Chichester , Henry Edward Manning . In the mid 19th century the practice of burning an effigy of Pope Paul V at
7695-407: The Swedish philologist Rune Forsberg on the grounds that the loss of the initial ⟨h⟩ in hlæw would be unlikely phonologically in this context. He suggested that the name Læwe instead derives from the rare Old English word lǣw ("wound, incision"), and reflects the fact that from the top of School Hill Lewes overlooks the narrow, steep-sided "gash" where the River Ouse cuts through
7830-406: The UCDC and UPV, including UCDC secretary and UPV leader Noel Doherty. Paisley publicly thanked the UVF for taking part in a march on 7 April. Paisley forced the Stormont government to mobilise B-Specials for the entire month of April with the hope of outlawing public commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising . Paisley failed in this objective but did succeed in pressuring
7965-423: The UPA increasingly came to focus on the defence of 'Bible Protestantism' and Protestant interests where jobs and housing were concerned. The UPA also campaigned against the allocation of public housing to Catholics. As Paisley came to dominate UPA, he received his first convictions for public order offences. In June 1959, Paisley addressed a UPA rally in the mainly-Protestant Shankill district of Belfast. During
8100-432: The Word of God." At the time of the 1991 census , the church had about 12,000 members, less than 1 per cent of the Northern Ireland population . Paisley promoted a highly conservative form of Biblical literalism and anti-Catholicism , which he described as "Bible Protestantism". The website of Paisley's public relations arm, the European Institute of Protestant Studies , describes the institute's purpose as to "expound
8235-484: The area include the Glyndebourne festival, the Lewes Bonfire celebrations and the Lewes Pound . The place-name "Lewes" is first attested in an Anglo-Saxon charter circa 961 AD, where it appears as Læwe . It appears as Lewes in the Domesday Book of 1086. The addition of the <-s> suffix seems to have been part of a broader trend of Anglo-Norman scribes pluralising Anglo-Saxon place-names (a famous example being their rendering of Lunden as Londres , hence
SECTION 60
#17327721917958370-400: The area, for in the late Anglo-Saxon period Lewes seems to have been a thriving boom town – during the reign of Alfred's grandson Æthelstan it was assigned two royal moneyers , more than any other mint in Sussex, and according to Domesday Book it generated £26 of revenue for the Crown in 1065, almost twice the amount of any other town in the county. After the Norman Conquest , William
8505-422: The battle is often seen as an important milestone in the development of English democracy. The de Warenne family died out with Earl John in 1347, whereupon lordship of the Rape of Lewes passed to his sororal nephew Richard Fitzalan, 4th Earl of Arundel . Fitzalan preferred to reside at Arundel Castle rather than at Lewes, and the town therefore lost the prestige and economic advantages associated with being
8640-465: The border! On 15 May 1974, the UWC called a general strike aimed at bringing down the Agreement and the new government. A co-ordinating committee was set up to help organise the strike. It included Paisley and the other UUUC leaders, the leaders of the UWC, and the heads of the loyalist paramilitary groups. Its chairman was Glenn Barr , a high-ranking member of Ulster Vanguard and the UDA. In its first meeting, Barr arrived late and found Paisley sitting at
8775-409: The celebrators, their locations moved to Wallands Park, at that time fields, not the suburb it is today. However, in 1850 they were allowed back to the High Streets. By this time the former riots had become much more like the processions carried out today. In 1853 the first two societies, Cliffe and Lewes Borough were founded, and most of the others were founded later in the same century. The cult of
8910-442: The centralising reforms of the Yorkist and Tudor kings. The English Reformation was begun by one of these Tudor monarchs, Henry VIII , and as part of this process the monasteries of England were dissolved ; Lewes Priory was consequently demolished in 1538 and its property seized by the Crown. Henry's daughter Mary I reversed the religious policy of England, and during the resulting Marian Persecutions of 1555–1557, Lewes
9045-512: The date of the uncovering of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 – but also commemorates the memory of the seventeen Protestant martyrs from the town burned at the stake for their faith during the Marian Persecutions . Lewes is home to the largest and most celebrated of the festivities in the Sussex bonfire tradition . There are seven societies putting on six separate processions and firework displays throughout Lewes on 5 November. As well as this, 25–30 societies from all around Sussex come to Lewes on
9180-553: The death of the Pope and we would want in no way to interfere with their expression of sorrow and grief at this time." Paisley and his followers also protested against what they saw as instances of blasphemy in popular culture, including the stage productions Jesus Christ Superstar and Jerry Springer: The Opera , as well as being strongly anti-abortion . Paisley preached against homosexuality, supported laws criminalising it and picketed various gay rights events. He denounced it as "a crime against God and man and its practice
9315-434: The duration of the event due to foreseeable overcrowding. Lewes has seven bonfire societies, whereas other towns and villages in Sussex have a single bonfire society each, even large ones like Eastbourne . These other societies hold their own bonfire celebrations in the weeks leading up to November the Fifth, and each of the Lewes societies sends out parties to these "outmeetings" or "outfires" (the nomenclature varies between
9450-412: The edge of the town, where there is a large bonfire and firework display, and effigies are burned. The societies then return to their headquarters for Bonfire Prayers . Whilst marching nearly all members carry torches, some ignite and drop bangers (locally called "rookies", short for rook scarers), and some carry burning crosses, banners, musical instruments or burning letters spelling out the initials of
9585-413: The establishment of the Free Presbyterian Church of North America in 1977. His honorary doctorate, along with his political obstinacy, led to Paisley's nickname of "Dr. No". When Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother met Pope John XXIII in 1958, Paisley condemned them for "committing spiritual fornication and adultery with the Antichrist ". When Pope John died in June 1963, Paisley announced to
9720-568: The evidence for this early period is very sketchy. By the ninth century, the Kingdom of Sussex had been annexed to the Kingdom of Wessex , and in 838 Ecgberht, King of Wessex donated the estate of Malling, on the opposite side of the Ouse from Lewes, to the Archbishop of Canterbury . As a result, the Parish of Malling became a ' peculiar ', which means that the parish was directly subject to
9855-579: The fifth to march the streets. This can mean up to 5,000 people taking part in the celebrations, and up to 80,000 spectators attending in the county market town with a population of just over 17,000. The history of bonfire celebrations on 5 November throughout the United Kingdom have their origins with the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, where a group of English Catholics , including the now infamous Guy Fawkes , were foiled in their plot to blow up
9990-630: The first in the UK, was started in the 1990s by Common Cause Co-operative Ltd and is a popular re-invention of Lewes as a market town. The Farmers' Market takes place in pedestrianised Cliffe High Street on the first and third Saturdays of every month, with local food producers coming to sell their wares under covered market stalls. A weekly food market in the Lewes Market Tower was established in July 2010 by Transition Town Lewes to allow traders to sell local produce. Occasionally French traders from
10125-487: The following year he founded the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which he would lead for almost 40 years. In 1979 he became a Member of the European Parliament . Throughout the Troubles, Paisley was seen as a firebrand and the face of hardline unionism. He opposed all attempts to resolve the conflict through power-sharing between unionists and Irish nationalists / republicans , and all attempts to involve
10260-466: The governance section, the town is also where three tiers of local government have their headquarters, and the head office of Sussex Police is also in Lewes. The town's most important annual event is the Lewes Bonfire celebrations on 5 November, Guy Fawkes Night . In Lewes this event not only marks the date of the uncovering of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, but also commemorates the memory of
10395-502: The government to ban trains from the Republic transporting people to Northern Ireland for the ceremonies. In May and June, the UVF petrol bombed a number of Catholic homes, schools and businesses. It also shot dead two Catholic civilians as they walked home. These are sometimes seen as the first deaths of the Troubles . Following the killings, the UVF was outlawed and Paisley denied any knowledge of its activities. One of those convicted for
10530-522: The head of the table. Barr told him "you might be chairman of the Democratic Unionist Party but I'm chairman of the co-ordinating committee, so move over". Paisley moved from the head of the table but carried the chair away with him and the two argued over the chair itself, with Paisley eventually allowed to keep it as he claimed to need a chair with arms due to back pain. The strike lasted fourteen days and brought Northern Ireland to
10665-542: The killings said after his arrest "I am terribly sorry I ever heard of that man Paisley or decided to follow him". Paisley would later establish two other paramilitary groups: Third Force in 1981 and Ulster Resistance in 1986. On 6 June 1966, Paisley led a march to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church against what he claimed to be its "Romeward trend". The authorities allowed
10800-921: The largest unionist party in Northern Ireland, displacing the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), which had dominated unionist politics since 1905 and had been an instrumental party in the Good Friday Agreement. In 2007, following the St Andrews Agreement , the DUP finally agreed to share power with republican party Sinn Féin . Paisley and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness became First Minister and deputy First Minister , respectively, in May 2007. He stepped down as First Minister and DUP leader in mid-2008, and left politics in 2011. Paisley
10935-520: The line of the South Downs. This theory was endorsed in 2011 by A Dictionary of British Place Names . A third possibility has been advanced by Richard Coates , who has argued that Læwe derives from lexowia , an Old English word meaning "hillside, slope" (of which there is no shortage in the Lewes area). This unusual word was borrowed into Old English from Old Welsh , the Modern Welsh spelling being llechwedd . The immense strategic value of
11070-503: The local church is St. Thomas à Becket 's. Currently the only society to march under a "No Popery" banner and to continue in the tradition to "burn" (more accurately explode with fireworks) an effigy of Pope Paul V at Bonfire. Founded in 1855, they represent the St. John's area north of Lewes Castle, based on Commercial Square, which is where their headquarters, the Elephant and Castle pub,
11205-527: The local planning council to make way for roads. Waterloo's jumpers are red and white and their pioneers are Mongols and Ancient Greeks and Romans . Their headquarters is the Royal Oak. Founded in 1967 specifically for children, Nevill has remained a juvenile society and represents the Nevill Estate. Their headquarters is St. Mary's Social Centre. They hold their celebrations a week or two before
11340-534: The main branch of the Fitzalan family died out in 1439, the Rape of Lewes was subsequently partitioned between the three sororal nephews of the last earl , namely John Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk , Edward Neville, 3rd Baron Bergavenny , and Edmund Lenthall. As a result of this dismemberment the district became even more neglected by its lords, although feudal politics was starting to become less important anyway due to
11475-488: The marchers to go through the Catholic Cromac Square neighbourhood carrying placards with anti-Catholic slogans. Catholic youths attacked the march and clashed with the RUC. Many were injured and cars and businesses were wrecked. Following the riots, Paisley was charged with unlawful assembly and sentenced to three months in prison. The Belfast Telegraph declared that Paisley's organisations "represent
11610-512: The modern French name for London ). The traditional derivation of Læwe , first posited by the Tudor antiquarian Laurence Nowell , derives it from the Old English word hlæw , meaning "hill" or " barrow ", presumably referring to School Hill (on which the historic centre of Lewes stands) or to one of the five ancient burial mounds, all now levelled, in the vicinity of St John sub Castro . However, this etymology has been challenged by
11745-520: The next few years. He also led opposition against Terence O'Neill , Prime Minister of Northern Ireland . Although O'Neill was also unionist, Paisley and his followers saw him as being too 'soft' on the civil rights movement and opposed his policies of reform and reconciliation. In April 1966, Paisley and his associate Noel Doherty founded the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee (UCDC) and its paramilitary wing,
11880-816: The north, south and east to two railway stations. The development of Newhaven ended Lewes's period as a major port. During the Crimean War , some 300 Finns who had served in the Russian army during the Åland War and been captured at Bomarsund were imprisoned in the naval prison at Lewes. Lewes became a borough in 1881. Lewes Town Hall opened in 1893 in premises converted from the former Star Inn and in 1913 Council Offices were added in Arts-and-Crafts style. Lewes Victoria Hospital opened in 1909 in its current premises, as Victoria Hospital and Infirmary, having previously been on School Hill where it opened as
12015-401: The other societies with help from those six. Their pioneers are Suffragettes, Valencians , Medieval, and British Military (1900–1950), and their jumpers are green and white. Lewes Lewes ( / ˈ l uː ɪ s / ) is the county town of East Sussex , England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider district of the same name . It lies on the River Ouse at
12150-426: The point where the river cuts through the South Downs . A traditional market town and centre of communications, in 1264 it was the site of the Battle of Lewes . The town's landmarks include Lewes Castle , Lewes Priory , Bull House (the former home of Thomas Paine ), Southover Grange and public gardens, and a 16th-century timber-framed Wealden hall house known as Anne of Cleves House . Other notable features of
12285-541: The police presence on the night has increased to deal with the large crowds attracted to the event. The events are organised by each of the local bonfire societies in conjunction with Sussex Police , Surrey Police and East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service , SE Ambulance Service and St John Ambulance has treatment centres and ambulances around procession routes and bonfire sites to care for anyone who has been injured. In recent years, railway stations at Lewes , Falmer , Glynde and Southease have had planned closures for
12420-560: The pursuit, which took him as far as Offham . In Edward's absence the remainder of the royal army was attacked by de Montfort and Gilbert de Clare and decisively defeated. The king's brother Richard of Cornwall was captured, and the king himself was forced to sign the Mise of Lewes , a document which does not survive but was probably aimed at forcing Henry to uphold the Provisions of Oxford . Despite this uncertainty about its consequences,
12555-799: The remains of the Priory of St. Pancras nearby) and buccaneers . Southover march with the British Imperial Marching Band and the Pentacle Drummers. Southover's firesite is at the Convent Field, behind Lewes Football Club. South Street was formed in 1913 as a society for the children of members of the Cliffe; however, both Cliffe and South Street now accept members of all ages. Their jumpers are brown and cream, and their pioneers are (first) Colonial Period (mid-18th century) and (second) English Civil War (mid-17th century) soldiers. They are based on South Street and
12690-483: The ridge; the summit on that side, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) distant is known as Mount Harry. On the east bank there is a large chalk cliff , Cliffe Hill that can be seen for many miles, part of the group of hills including Mount Caburn , Malling Down (where there are a few houses in a wooded area on the hillside, in a development known as Cuilfail) and Golf Hill (home to the Lewes Golf Club). The two banks of
12825-593: The rioting in Belfast: "Both communities were in the grip of a mounting paranoia about the other's intentions. Catholics were convinced that they were about to become victims of a Protestant pogrom ; Protestants that they were on the eve of an IRA insurrection". After the riots, Paisley is reported to have said: Catholic homes caught fire because they were loaded with petrol bombs; Catholic churches were attacked and burned because they were arsenals and priests handed out sub-machine guns to parishioners. On 16 April 1970, in
12960-538: The river and contains a number of light industrial and creative industry uses, as well as car parks and a fire station. A potential regeneration project (formerly "The North Street Quarter", renamed "The Phoenix Project" by the Lewes-based eco-development company Human Nature which took on ownership of the land in December 2020) for the area would be the largest in Lewes since the South Malling residential area
13095-504: The river are joined by Willey's Bridge (a footbridge), the Phoenix Causeway (a recent concrete road bridge, named after the old Phoenix Ironworks) and Cliffe Bridge (an 18th-century replacement of the mediaeval crossing, widened in the 1930s and now semi-pedestrianised). The High Street runs from Eastgate to West-Out, forming the spine of the ancient town. Cliffe Hill gives its name to the one-time village of Cliffe, now part of
13230-478: The same amount of pounds sterling in several shops in Lewes and can be spent in a wide range of local businesses. Many of the notes were sold on eBay at a higher amount. Early numbers and sequenced notes fetched very high prices from foreign collectors. Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside , PC (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of
13365-613: The same united Ireland road as Sinn Fein, so they are fellow travellers. We will be taking on the Sinn Fein frontmen for the IRA and are determined to smash them at the polls. Speaking at the launch of the DUP's policy proposals for devolved government for the briefly revived Northern Ireland Assembly in September 1984, Paisley echoed the document's position on power-sharing with the SDLP: I am totally opposed to power-sharing because it
13500-537: The seat for 18 years until defeated in 2015 by Conservative Maria Caulfield , who retained her seat in the 2017 and 2019 general elections. As of July 2024, Liberal Democrat James MacCleary is the MP. You can see Lewes lying like a box of toys under a great amphitheatre of chalk hills ... on the whole it is set down better than any town I have seen in England. Lewes is situated on the Greenwich or Prime Meridian , in
13635-613: The seat no. 666 in the European Parliament is reserved for the Antichrist. Paisley continued to denounce the Catholic Church and the Pope after the incident. In a television interview for The Unquiet Man , a 2001 documentary on Paisley's life, he expressed his pride at being "the only person to have the courage to denounce the Pope". However, after the death of Pope John Paul in 2005, Paisley expressed sympathy for Catholics, saying "We can understand how Roman Catholics feel at
13770-613: The seat of an important magnate. This was only the beginning of a series of misfortunes that struck Lewes, for in 1348 the Black Death arrived in England and later on in the century the Hundred Years War led to a series of French and Castilian raids on Sussex, which badly disrupted trade. On one occasion in 1377 the Prior of St Pancras , John de Charlieu, was abducted by the raiders and held to ransom. Furthermore, after
13905-757: The seventeen Lewes Martyrs , Protestants burnt at the stake for their faith during the Marian Persecutions . The celebrations, which controversially involve burning an effigy of Pope Paul V , who was pope during the Gunpowder Plot, are the largest and most famous Bonfire Night celebrations in the country. The Lewes Chamber of Commerce represents the traders and businesses of the town. The town has been identified as unusually diversified with numerous specialist, independent retailers, counter to national trends toward 'chain' retailers and large corporate retail outlets. Lewes Farmers' Market, one of
14040-725: The site, which is able to command traffic between the Channel coast and the Sussex interior, was recognised as early as the Iron Age , when a hill-fort was built on Mount Caburn , the steep-sided hill that overlooks the Ouse (and the modern town of Lewes) from the east. During the Roman period, there was an aristocratic villa at Beddingham , at the foot of Mount Caburn, and there have been several finds of Roman coins and pottery sherds in Lewes itself. The Victorian historian Thomas Walker Horsfield therefore reckoned that there must have been
14175-535: The small area to the west between it and the River Ouse , and their headquarters is The Snowdrop, South Street. Their firesite is on the Railway Land. Waterloo was reformed in 1954 and represents the area just to the east of the main Commercial Square part (there is a fair bit of overlap between the two) based on Market Street, a quarter of Lewes with little population as it was heavily destroyed by
14310-482: The smaller industrial units. The town is a net daytime exporter of employees with a significant community working in London and Brighton whilst it draws in employees of the numerous local government and public service functions on which its local economy is strongly dependent. An important part of the town's economy is based on tourism, because of the town's many historic attractions and its location. As referenced in
14445-570: The societies) to march with the local society. On the Fifth, the Lewes societies process separately around their own particular areas before all except the Cliffe and South Street join together in Western Road to parade down St. Anne's Street, the High Street and School Hill, followed by the societies from elsewhere in Sussex. After several processions, including acts of Remembrance for the war dead, each society marches to its own fire site on
14580-419: The society. The Cliffe, founded in 1853, traditionally represents the Cliffe and Lansdown areas of Lewes (centred around Cliffe High Street), but recently they have also claimed the South Malling suburb with the addition of the "Malling Bonfire Society". Their smugglers' jumpers are black and white, and the pioneer fronts are Vikings and French Revolutionaries. The Dorset Arms is the society's headquarters, and
14715-442: The speech, he shouted out the addresses of some Catholic-owned homes and businesses in the area. These homes and businesses were then attacked by the crowd; windows were smashed, shops were looted and " Taigs out" painted on the doors. During the 1964 UK general election campaign, an Irish republican candidate displayed an Irish tricolour from the window of his office in a republican area of Belfast. Paisley threatened that if
14850-514: The start of the evening. A flaming tar barrel is then thrown into the River Ouse ; this is said to symbolise the throwing of the magistrates into the river after they read the Riot Act to the bonfire boys in 1847. The festivities culminate in five separate bonfire displays. A number of large effigies are drawn through the streets before being burned at the bonfires. Each year these include Guy Fawkes , as well as Pope Paul V , who became head of
14985-635: The successful Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) candidate in Belfast West , the Church of Ireland minister James Godfrey MacManaway . Independent Unionist MP Norman Porter came to lead the National Union of Protestants, while Paisley became treasurer, but Paisley left after Porter refused to join the Free Presbyterian Church. Paisley first hit headlines in 1956 when Maura Lyons, a 15-year-old Belfast Catholic doubting her faith, sought his help and
15120-414: The town hall, including a new frontage to High Street, which was completed in 1893. The municipal borough of Lewes was abolished in 1974 when the larger Lewes District was established. A successor parish was created covering the area of the former borough, with the parish council taking the name Lewes Town Council. Following the 2023 election the composition of the town council was: The next election
15255-471: The town was made a municipal borough . The town was then run by a corporate body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Lewes", informally known as the corporation or town council. The last constable became the first mayor. In 1890, the town council acquired the former Star Inn at 189 High Street, parts of which date back to the fourteenth century, and the adjoining corn exchange. The buildings were converted and extended to become
15390-419: The town's administration were recognised in 1806 when separate improvement commissioners were established to pave, light and repair the streets and provide a watch . When local government in towns was reformed across the country in the 1830s, Lewes was one of the boroughs left unreformed , and so it continued to be run by its jury and improvement commissioners. The situation was finally regularised in 1881 when
15525-541: The town, which is also used by Lewes District Council as its meeting place. Lewes was an ancient borough , although the structure of its early government is obscure. For much of the Middle Ages the town was run by a closed aristocratic organisation known as the "Fellowship of the Twelve", which was gradually eclipsed by a body known as the jury in the seventeenth century, presided over by a constable. The limitations of
15660-598: The town. A new route reaching the town at the Railway Land – the Egrets Way – initially conceived in 2011 by the Ouse Valley Cycle Network, has been designed as a network of walking and cycling paths linking Lewes and Newhaven with the villages in between. Three Sites of Special Scientific Interest lie within the parish: Lewes Downs , Lewes Brooks and Southerham Works Pit . Lewes Downs
15795-533: The town. On Tuesday 27 December 1836 this snow cornice collapsed, and the resulting Lewes avalanche was the deadliest ever recorded in Britain. The avalanche struck the cottages on Boulters Row (now part of South Street), burying fifteen people, of whom eight died. A pub in South Street is named The Snowdrop in memory of the event. In 1846, the town became a railway junction, with lines constructed from
15930-526: The town. The southern part of the town, Southover, came into being as a village adjacent to the Priory, south of the Winterbourne Stream. At the north of the town's original wall boundary is the St John's or Pells area, home to several 19th-century streets and the Pells Pond. The Pells Pool , built in 1860, is the oldest freshwater lido in England. The Phoenix Industrial Estate lies along the west bank of
16065-543: The train station and running a cake stall at weekends outside Lewes Castle . In 2020, the group claims to have infiltrated the council and Harvey's brewery, although they have never contested a local or parliamentary election. Lewes gives its name to the Lewes parliamentary constituency . The constituency was held by the Conservatives from the 1870s until 1997, when it was won by Liberal Democrat Norman Baker . He held
16200-460: The unease among a large section of Protestants about the reform measures introduced under Chichester-Clark ". On 30 September 1971, Paisley and Desmond Boal founded the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). From the 1960s, one of his main rivals was civil rights leader and co-founder of the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), John Hume . British Government papers, released in 2002, show that in 1971 Paisley attempted to reach
16335-532: The village of Glynde starting in Cliffe, traverse the Lewes Brooks (an RSPB reserve) from Southover, walk to Kingston near Lewes also from Southover, head up Landport Bottom to Mount Harry and Black Cap along the edge of the old Lewes Racecourse, or wander up along the Ouse to Hamsey Place from the Pells. The South Downs Way crosses the Ouse just south of Lewes at Southease and hikers often stop off at
16470-740: Was "shocked" by the bombings, but claimed that the Republic's government provoked the attack. The strike led to the downfall of the Agreement on 28 May. In 1977 the United Unionist Action Council (UUAC) was formed out of the UUUC. The council was chaired by Joseph Burns and included Paisley, Ernest Baird (leader of the United Ulster Unionist Movement ), members of the Ulster Workers' Council, and leaders of loyalist paramilitaries including
16605-763: Was a teenager, Paisley decided to follow his father and become a Christian minister. He delivered his first sermon aged 16 in a mission hall in County Tyrone. In the late 1940s he undertook theological training at the Barry School of Evangelism (now called the Wales Evangelical School of Theology ), and later, for a year, at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Hall in Belfast . By June 1950 Paisley
16740-532: Was admonished by Parliamentary President Lord Plumb , who formally excluded him. He was then forcibly removed from the chamber. Paisley claims he was injured by other MEPs—including Otto von Habsburg —who struck him and threw objects at him. Paisley believed the European Union is a part of a conspiracy to create a Roman Catholic superstate controlled by the Vatican . He claimed in an article that
16875-545: Was banned from the Bonfire Council from taking part in the United Grand Procession for its refusal to stop carrying a 'no popery' banner and banners commemorating the 16th century Protestant martyrs burned at Lewes. In 1981 Ian Paisley visited Lewes on Bonfire Night and tried to fan the flames of conflict by handing out anti-Catholic pamphlets. His intervention back-fired and the following year he
17010-455: Was being governed, but it all rested on the key point – the person with power would be the person that the people gave the power. Promoting the DUP's manifesto at a launch event ahead of the 1983 United Kingdom general election Paisley made clear that the core message of the party's campaign would be to "expose and oppose Provisional Sinn Fein and its fellow travellers, the SDLP." Responding to reporters, Paisley said: [The SDLP] are going down
17145-476: Was burned in effigy. Today, anti-Catholic attitudes are rare and the militant Calvinism that continues in Northern Ireland is all but extinct in Lewes. In the 21st century, controversy continues to be associated around the Bonfire societies and competing definitions of tradition and bigotry. For instance, the burning in effigy of Pope Paul V was described in 2012 as "a scandalous piece of stone-cold bigotry". In 2017
17280-400: Was developed in the 1950s and 1960s and in the South Downs since it became a National Park. Malling lies to the east of the river and had 18th- and 19th-century houses and two notable breweries. Road engineering and local planning policy in the 1970s cleared many older buildings here to allow the flow of traffic; the main road route east from the town now goes along Little East Street, across
17415-646: Was made a life peer in 2010 as Baron Bannside. Ian Richard Kyle Paisley was born in Armagh , County Armagh, and brought up in the town of Ballymena , County Antrim, where his father James Kyle Paisley was an Independent Baptist pastor who had previously served in the Ulster Volunteers under Edward Carson . His mother was Scottish . Paisley married Eileen Cassells on 13 October 1956. They had five children, daughters Sharon, Rhonda and Cherith and twin sons, Kyle and Ian . Three of their children followed their father into politics or religion: Kyle
17550-534: Was passed in 1982 as a result of the previous year's ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Dudgeon v United Kingdom . In 1949, Paisley formed a Northern Irish branch of the National Union of Protestants , the group being led in the UK by his uncle, W. St Clair Taylor. Paisley's first political involvement came at the 1950 general election when he campaigned on behalf of
17685-583: Was preaching at an 'Old Time Gospel Campaign' on waste ground off Moore Street in the lower Ravehill Road area of Belfast. A year later a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) was forbidden by church authorities to hold a meeting in their own church hall at which Paisley was to be the speaker. In response, the leaders of that congregation left the PCI and began a new denomination,
17820-422: Was smuggled illegally to Scotland by members of his Free Presbyterian Church. Paisley publicly played a tape of her religious conversion but refused to help with the search for her, saying he would rather go to prison than return her to her Catholic family. Lyons eventually returned both to her family and Catholicism. In 1956, Paisley was one of the founders of Ulster Protestant Action (UPA). Its initial purpose
17955-419: Was subsequently withdrawn from the event. In 2015 effigies of David Cameron with a pig , Jeremy Clarkson and Sepp Blatter were burned. The Daily Telegraph has described the night as "a head-on collision of Halloween and Mardi Gras ". Up to 80,000 people have been known to attend this local spectacle, coming from all over the South and sometimes further afield. As the event has grown in recent years,
18090-519: Was the site of the execution of seventeen Protestant martyrs , most of them actually from the Weald rather than Lewes itself, who were burned at the stake in front of the Star Inn (now the site of Lewes Town Hall ). Commemoration of the martyrs is one of the main purposes of Lewes Bonfire , and a stone memorial to the martyrs was unveiled on Cliffe Hill in 1901. Lewesian politics was dominated by
18225-448: Was to organise the defence of Protestant areas against anticipated Irish Republican Army (IRA) activity. It carried out vigilante patrols, made street barricades, and drew up lists of IRA suspects in both Belfast and rural areas. The UPA was to later become the Protestant Unionist Party in 1966. UPA factory and workplace branches were formed, including one by Paisley in Belfast's Ravenhill area under his direct control. The concern of
#794205