 and went on to play a pivotal role in America's independence movement. The town pays homage to him on its alternative currency, the Lewes Pound, which has its own Twitter account. Revolutionary heroes, free thinkers, religious diss){kind=link}
The country has its fair share of idiosyncratic places, but they don’t come much quirkier than this town – especially on Bonfire Night
Research can take you to some curious places. Graveyards, twittens, a football pitch called the Dripping Pan and an upstairs room at the Lewes Arms, where I’m reminded that a view or building rarely captures the essence of a place – it’s a chance meeting, conversation or, in this case, a merging of eccentricities. On the wall are two framed posters documenting events hosted by the pub: the Dwyle Flunking International and the World Pea Throwing Championship.
Visitors shouldn’t underestimate the noble art of pea-throwing. “I’m a past winner,” says my companion, before going on to explain why in a few days’ time he will stand on a podium wearing the robes of an archbishop while hand-launched firecrackers rain down on his mitre.
East Sussex has its fair share of idiosyncratic towns and villages, but they don’t come much quirkier than Lewes. Tucked under an inland chalk cliff and hugged by the South Downs it feels a world apart from seaside Brighton, just 15 minutes down the railway track. Brighton takes visitors unconditionally to her bosom; Lewes is polite but reserves judgement.
But Brighton’s buttoned-up cousin is no shrinking violet. In the mid-Noughties a boycott at the Lewes Arms eventually saw off a brewer who tried to remove Harvey’s Best from the pub’s pumps. Stout of spirit, feisty, and at times plain dogged, the town’s rebellious streak and fissiparous tendencies have been landing it in trouble for centuries.