Itineraries:
Literary & Art
This itinerary takes you to places in East Sussex connected with famous names from the worlds of literature and the arts. We suggest you contact the appropriate local Tourist Information Centre for more detailed information about the visits that can be made in connection with a particular writer or artist.
Day one
The most influential of all Lewes residents was the radical philosopher, Thomas Paine. who lived in the 15th century Bull Inn (now the High Street's Bull House) between 1768 and 1774. Paine spent his time in Lewes writing pamphlets in support of American Independance. It was Paine's most famous text, The Rights of Man, which inspired the French Revolution.
Both Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf mention the town in their books. Virginia Woolf settled nearby at Rodmell, and her house, Monk's House (NT), is open to the public.
Lewes also has a connection with Rodin's The Kiss, a version of which was presented to the town but was hidden away for many years as being too erotic for English tastes. To make amends, Lewes is re-establishing itself as a Town of Sculpture.
Those interested in the Art Deco-ish, 1930's Bloomsbury style will be fascinated by Charleston (on the A27 Eastbourne road), where Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant lived and put their ideas on interior decorating into practice.
Day two
After a traditional English breakfast, set off for Burwash, to vist Bateman's, the home (from 1902 to 1936) of the novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling, whose name will always be associated with the British Empire. The rooms in this beautiful 17th century Sussex manor house are just as they were in Kipling's day. See his book-lined study, where he wrote such well-known works as Puck of Pook's Hill and his most famous poem, If. There are many mementoes of his time in India, including illustrations from the Jungle Book. The garden is delightful, with its roses and its working water-mill.
Those who enjoy the strong English tradition of children's literature will appreciate Hartfield, home of A.A.Milne's Winnie the Pooh. All the 'Enchanted Places', including the famous bridge where Pooh played 'Pooh Sticks' are to be found in the Parish of Hartfield, which stretches deep into the picturesque Ashdown Forest. Pooh Corner is the shop which Milne's son, Christopher Robin, visited every week with his Nanny. Now, the little shop, built three centuries ago, has the largest selection of 'poohphernalia' in the world.
Day three
Over in the eastern end of the county, Rye and Hastings have strong literary connections.
Henry James lived in Lamb House in Rye, and E.F.Benson, the creator of the Mapp and Lucia series, lived in Lamb House and wrote most amusingly of provincial middle-class society, calling Rye 'Tilling'.
Hastings has two particularly strong literary connections. Robert Tressell wrote movingly of the plight of the working-class at the turn of the century. His portrait of the town, which he called 'Mugsborough', is perhaps the first socialist novel in English. Catherine Cookson worked in Hastings as manageress of the hospital laundry, married in the town, joined the writers' circle in the local library, and wrote her first novels there, before returning to her native North East.
'Grey Owl', whose life as a Canadian Indian trapper and, later, conservationist has been the subject of a recent film, was actually born Archie Bellaney in Hastings. Hastings Museum has a major exhibition on Grey Owl.
Other visits that may appeal:
All the main towns in the area have art galleries
- The Crypt Gallery, Lewes
- Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
- Rye Art Gallery
- Hastings Museum has Turner oils and water-colours: Turner painted many views in the county.
- De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, is a Grade 1-listed building, a fine Modernist piece by Erich Mendelsohn dating from 1934. It is developing a name for itself as an important cultural centre, with a steady succession of fine-arts exhibitions.
- Hastings & St Leonards is well known for its many small galleries showing the works of local artists. Hastings also boasts the Hastings Embroidery, which illustrates 900 years of British history since 1066.
Individual writers linked with individual towns include:
- Rev. Charles Dodgson (Alice in Wonderland) - Eastbourne
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes stories) - Crowborough
- Graham Greene - Brighton Rock
- Rider Haggard (She) - St Leonards
