Lewes : pubs and their signs

It’s been a while since I blogged any pub signs and, as I photograph them wherever I go, I figured it was time I dipped in to my ‘waiting to be blogged’ album. So, without further ado, let me take you on a tour of some of the many public houses to be found in the charming historic East Sussex town of Lewes, a town which once had as many as 9 breweries and 63 pubs.

Harvey’s Brewery

Actually, this isn’t a public house as such but rather one of the sources of the amber liquid sold in those public houses and the source of that peculiar smell you notice as soon as you arrive in Lewes – the smell of brewing! Though extensively remodelled around 1881, much of this Grade II listed building was originally built in the early 19th century. Harvey’s website provides some excellent information on the brewery’s history, including a selection of wonderful old photographs.

The Brewers Arms

This is another pub with a nice piece about its history on its website. As you can see, the present building is not terribly old – it dates from the early 20th century, but the pub believes there has been an inn on this site since the end of the 17th century, though it has only been named the Brwers Arms since 1769. Its previous incarnations include the Red Lion from 1727 10 1744 and the Ship from 1744 to 1769.

The Gardener’s Arms

I love this sign! It’s not the sign at the front of the pub but is instead attached to the outside wall in the lane at one side of the building. It took me a while to realise that the grubby mark on the gardener’s apron is not actually part of the sign but an addition by a passing bird – I think it adds a note of authenticity!

The Gardener’s Arms is located in Cliffe High Street and housed in a Grade II listed building that dates from the early to mid-19th century. This would originally have been a shop though, according to the local Kelly’s Directories, the location has housed ‘beer retailers’ and ‘beerhouse keepers’, both men and women, since at least 1870.

White Hart Hotel

The white hart (or deer) is a very popular pub name in England, as an article on the History Press website explains:   

In 1393, during the reign of King Richard II, an Act was passed which made it compulsory for pubs and inns to have a sign in order to identify them as official watering holes. Many adopted The White Hart as their sign as it was the personal badge of the King – today it is the fourth most popular pub name in the UK.

As you can tell from the photos, Lewes’s White Hart is not that old, though behind that mid-19th century frontage lurk the remains of a building from the 16th century, if not earlier. Once the town house of the Pelham family, the building became a hotel in the early 1700s, according to the hotel website.     

The pub’s sign is fairly plain but I do really like the statue of the deer that adorns the hotel’s roof, though lichen has changed its colouring from white to some lovely shades of orange.

Rights of Man

Here’s another pub sign that I really like, all the more so because this pub was only established as the Rights of Man in 2012 – it’s great to see new owners maintaining the old signage traditions. Before the change to its present name, this inn had been called Lincolns and before that The Rainbow Tavern but that’s as much as I’ve been able to find out about its heritage.   

The Lansdown Arms

Built in 1827, the Lansdown’s owners proudly announce on its grey brick exterior that it’s ‘an atmospheric drinking den’ – not a claim that would attract me inside but I guess it works for some people. The pub is part of a terrace of buildings that extends along Lansdown Place, with two shops adjoining the pub and then houses next to those. From the layout of the windows on both the pub and the shops, it looks like it was a purpose-built public house but I’m not certain of that.

The coat of arms on the pub’s sign is that of the Marquess of Lansdowne, a peer of Ireland, and doesn’t appear to have any connection to Lewes. I assume, though the spelling is different, that it was chosen because of the name of the adjacent street.

The Red, White and Blue (now a house)

This last building is no longer a pub, nor does it have a pub sign, but it once was and it still retains some wonderful tile decoration along its frontage. The local Kelly’s trade directories show it was a beer retailer / beer house / inn from at least 1867, if not earlier, until it closed its doors for the final time around 1960. I understand those wonderful tiles were once painted over so well done to the house owners who restored them to their former glory.