KYQ4: Lewes and Charleston House

Entrance to Lewes Castle

A February trip to London for the half term was greeted by a murky, cold and slow moving depression that was not conducive to exploring its attractions. I also felt under the weather with a winter cold and zero energy. On Sunday, we ventured out to West Sussex, a part of the UK that I am unfamiliar with, my only previous visits have been to Brighton and a ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe. As always, leaving London was a struggle through ten miles of continuous urban development passing through Croydon, Purley, before hitting the M23.

It was to be an artsy day. Our first stop was Charleston House, a ramshackle museum and home of Vanessa Bell, sister of Virginia Woolf, that was frequented by the Bloomsbury set. It is a shrine to British Modernism, every surface in the house has been subjected to paint and tiles, and every space has been filled with books or objects that speak of a collector's curiosity. The house is nothing special unless as an example of a country retreat with an adjoining duck pond. The cold interior of houses of this vintage was palpable. the walls were of rough plaster with patterns painted on, the simple tables were painted, the floors were creaking, and the furniture was randomly acquired, auction room chic. The five bedrooms reflected the love triangles that were part of the Bloomsbury set as they indulged in their open and brutal wokeism. Nevertheless, the staff were on hand to forbid any touching of exhibits of paintings, book collections and hints of hedonistic weekends. The chert-walled garden had lapsed into winter decline and was littered with statues and heads. We considered lunch in the cafe but it was not enticing. The adjoining exhibition required a separate entrance fee on top of the hefty charges for visiting the house.

We retreated to the nearby town of Lewes, which was heaving with Sunday visitors and discovered the repurposed Needlemakers factory that had become an Italian restaurant and craft shopping centre. We had lunch and explored the shops. Mike Bell Tube Maps was a fascinating way of capturing the history of popular music or political events as seen in his Map of Brexit below. Lewes had a fading opulence with many independent shops, a town hall and other edifices of former civic pride. It is famous for its Pagan rituals on Bonfire night when effigies of the Pope are burnt. There were 27 witches according to the 2021 census and there were accusations of racism that hit the national press 15 years ago. It barely seemed possible that this tranquil town could host such events and prejudices.

Lewes' most famous son, Thomas Paine, had emigrated to America where he penned 'The Rights of Man', and a pub in the town had adopted this treatise as its name. His pamphlet, 'Common Sense' was also a key document in establishing America as the Land of the Free. Paine argued that a "government's purpose was to serve the people and a necessary evil, which existed to give people a structure so they could work together to solve problems and prosper. But it had to be responsive to people’s needs." The British system failed at that because it gave the monarchy and nobles in Parliament too much power to thwart the people’s elected representatives. “The constitution of England is so exceedingly complex, that the nation may suffer for years together without being able to discover in which part the fault lies, some will say in one and some in another, and every political physician will advise a different medicine.”

One of Paine's quotes was, "I prefer peace, but if trouble must come, let it come in my time so that my children can live in peace." As we watched a slow procession of elderly folk, dogs and children trundle along the narrow pavements carrying Ukrainian flags in solidarity and assembling at the war memorial, Lewes seemed to have come to peace with itself. On a cold, miserable Sunday, we drifted around the streets which have a fine urban feel. The supermarkets have been eased into the centre and this has helped ensure a busy presence of shoppers and pedestrians. The South Downs were not visible in the murky conditions. It was time to head back to the smoke.

I caught the train home the next day, enjoying a walk through St Pancras Station. It had been announced that the station would extend its services to accommodate trains to far more locations in Europe from France to Switzerland and Germany. My LNER train from King's Cross kept to schedule to Scotland and was comparatively quiet compared to recent journeys. It was certainly faster than flying with a lot less hassle than negotiating through airports that just add time, cost and anxiety to travel. Why we need to expand them defeats not only the prospect of reaching net zero but also the cost of living. Government expenditure should be spent on sustainable transport infrastructure, not air travel, and for the whole of the UK, not just London and the Home Counties.