» Independent state of mind
Ian Trevett admires the feisty Lewes attitude
When the streets of Lewes are aflame with burning stakes held aloft by charred-faced bonfire boys, it is a peculiar and disturbing sight. Much has been written about the provocative ‘No Popery’ banners displayed by the Cliffe Bonfire Society (although the Bonfire Societies are quick to point out that the popery in question is only that demonstrated by Pope Paul V, head of the Catholic Church at the time of the Gunpowder Plot). However, the banner that really sums up the Lewes philosophy is the simple ‘For Independence’ motto proudly flown by the Commercial Square Bonfire Society.
Only eight miles from Brighton, it would be easy for the tiny county town to be overwhelmed by the burgeoning influence of its imposing neighbour, but this would underestimate its stubborn local identity. Lewes’ bloody-mindedness was evident in a rather bolshy excise officer called Thomas Paine, who, in 1772, rallied his fellow workers to protest about their lot, years before trade unionists had even been invented. He printed up 4,000 copies of his rant about pay and conditions entitled ‘The Case Of The Officers Of Excise’, and spent the winter distributing copies to MPs. By spring, his bosses noted that Thomas wasn’t exactly applying himself to the job and fired him.
Soon after he emigrated to America and became the intellectual inspiration behind the War Of Independence. It was Paine who dreamt up the title United States Of America, and helped rouse the natives against the British colonial rulers.
He then turned his attention back to Europe, writing pieces that were highly critical of monarchies and European social institutions, including one of the first proposals for a progressive income tax. The British government put Paine on trial in his absence for seditious libel. The French, on the other hand, grateful for his inspirational role in the French Revolution, elected him to the National Convention, despite the fact he couldn’t speak the language.
In hindsight, after seeing the loss of a major colony and watching the fall of their aristocratic peers across the channel, the British authorities probably wished they had increased Paine’s wages when he was just a rebellious tax collector in Lewes. His best-known work was the revolutionary Rights Of Man, a seminal work embodying the ideas of liberty and human equality.
Today in Lewes, the townsfolk continue to assert their rights, although it is now directed towards the right to set fire to things, write rude things about a long dead pope, and insist that local pubs stock their favourite beer.
As much as it is a firework town, Lewes is staunchly protective of its beer. The Harveys brewery is the town’s most famous landmark, more so than the castle that is hidden from view from the High Street. If you visit the town on the right day, the sweet and sticky aroma from the brewery overwhelms the senses. This is a Harveys town and the locals don’t like anyone threatening this. When the Suffolk-based brewers, Greene King, took on the Lewes Arms in the town centre, they assumed they’d be able to decide what beers they could stock in their own pub. With Harveys Best off the pumps, the locals organised a boycott of the pub, and they weren’t about to give in until the brew was restored. In the end, Greene King relented and rolled in the barrels of Best.
Lewes High Street has largely resisted the march of the national multiples, with plenty of independent retailers thriving in the town centre – shops that are worth supporting to maintain the welcome diversity. However, the big coffee chains have encroached, to the annoyance of some of the more traditional bonfire boys.
Commercial Square, the independence-championing bonfire society, often uses its annual programme to feature cartoons lampooning the advance of the cappuccino brigade. They love a good underdog. During the late 1800s, a handful of society members went to America to work on the big railway projects. During their time there, they observed the dreadful treatment of the Native American population. Ever since, Commercial Square has marched in traditional North American Indian dress, complete with chief’s feathers in solidarity.
For a small town, Lewes has so much character, and the locals protect their heritage with passion. They don’t always get it right. Their politicians seemed to be intent on mounting a petty campaign against Brighton and Hove Albion’s plans for a new home at Falmer, a move that they have to complete to survive as a viable club. That aside, the town’s spirit of independence shows a unique sense of civic pride, and that is something to be applauded.
