How to date a historic building walk

This walk will involve a stroll around the town centre looking at the exteriors of the many interesting buildings within the historic core of the town. We will look at the different styles and building techniques which allow us to date the buildings. The town is rich in local building materials such as mathematical tiles, and local bricks. A lot of the timber came from the Baltic and slates from Wales. The skilled builders used design books for their more expensive houses and their own expertise for the smaller cheaper ones. We will discuss their building techniques. Many houses were built to last twenty-five years or so. Be prepared to accept that they were mostly built to let and to be rebuilt when required, and lacked facilities that we take for granted! A lot of the bricks were fired in primitive clamps and so were very uneven - with consequences as we will see.
You will have a handout to help you to look at how they built roofs and other parts of houses. and a picture of a brick clamp .....it was the Victorians who got bricks 'squared'.

Timings & Tours

Saturday 13 September:

1430

Sunday 14 September:

1230

Location & directions

Lewes House, 32 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2LX

Directions:

The walk starts from Lewes House situated at 32 High Street, on the south side just below the war memorial. Participants are asked to go through Lewes House to the garden where the leader of the walk and stewards will be there to greet you. There are toilets at Lewes House and refreshments are being served by the Lewes House Garden Group. Within the house there are exhibitions prepared by the Friends of Lewes about its work in the town and also Lewes History Group who have an exhibition about its activities and a display showing the results of street stories work undertaken by its members, some of which will reflect the architectural theme of the festival.

Contact on day:

Peter Earl

Telephone number:

+447772031269

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking required

Booking conditions:

You can book the free of charge by clicking on the appropriate link to the Eventbrite website. You will need to set up a user name and password if you have not booked through Eventbrite before. Booking opens on 21 August and closes the day before the event. For venue tours which happen more than once, you will be able to select the day/time you want during the booking process. You will receive confirmation of your booking by email. Please let us know at [email protected] if you cannot come.

Booking website:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-date-a-historic-building-tickets-1556753865719

Accessibility details

The walk takes place along public streets where there are areas of unevenness and narrow pavements. Being outside, inclement weather may be encountered and all participants should wear suitable clothing and footwear.

Additional information

The walk will be led by Dr Sue Berry, formerly a Principal Lecturer in a University. She has been a trustee of two national and one regional heritage charity. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Society of Antiquaries. Sue is a lecturer and researcher in the 18th and 19th century , specialising in landscape change. She has published many historical articles in research journals which include those of the Georgian Group, Garden History Society, and the Sussex Archaeological Society. These have mainly focussed on the development of Georgian and Victorian period in Sussex.

Max no of people per tour:

12

Est. tour duration:

1 hour(s) 15 minute(s)

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