Lewes is the county town of East Sussex,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The following is a list of those people who were either born or live in Lewes, or had some important contribution to make to the town.

A

John Agard John Agard FRSL (born 21 June 1949 in British Guiana) is an Afro-Guyanese playwright, poet and children's writer, now living in Britain. In 2012, he was selected for the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.

(born 1949), poet, playwright and children's author, lives in Lewes. *

Russell Ash Russell Ash (18 June 1946 – 21 June 2010) was the British author of the '' Top 10 of Everything'' series of books, as well as ''Great Wonders of the World'', ''Incredible Comparisons'' and many other reference, art and humour titles, most nota ...

(1946–2010), author of '' Top 10 of Everything'' and other non-fiction books *

Daisy Ashford Margaret Mary Julia Devlin (née Ashford; 3 April 1881 – 15 January 1972), known as Daisy Ashford, was an English writer who is most famous for writing '' The Young Visiters'', a novella concerning the upper class society of late 19th century ...

(1881–1972), juvenile novelist *

B. T. S. Atkins Beryl T. "Sue" Atkins (née Sinclair; 23 January 1931 — 3 September 2021) was a British lexicographer, specialising in computational lexicography, who pioneered the creation of bilingual dictionaries from corpus data. Biography Sue Atk ...

(born 1931), lexicographer *

Lucy Atkins Lucy Atkins is a British author and journalist. Her novels include ''Magpie Lane''. Her books have been published internationally and ''The Night Visitor'' (2017) has been optioned for television. Atkins is the daughter of the lexicographer B. ...

(living), novelist * John Authers, financial journalist and writer

B

Marina Baker Marina Augusta Pepper (''née'' Baker; born 8 December 1967) is an English Liberal Democrat local politician, journalist, children's book author and former model and actress. She was ''Playboys Playmate of the Month for March 1987. Ear ...

(born 1967), former actress/ model, journalist, children's author and politician *

Norman Baker Norman John Baker (born 26 July 1957) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewes in East Sussex from the 1997 general election until his defeat in 2015. In May 2010 he was appointed ...

(born 1957), former Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes *

Wynne Edwin Baxter Wynne Edwin Baxter FRMS FGS (1 May 1844 – 1 October 1920) was an English lawyer, translator, antiquarian and botanist, but is best known as the Coroner who conducted the inquests on most of the victims of the Whitechapel Murders of 1888 ...

(1844–1920), lawyer, translator, antiquarian and botanist *

Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 58. (1962 ...

(1925-2020), actor * Michael Brooks (born 1970), science writer *

Arthur Brown Arthur Brown may refer to: Entertainment * Arthur William Brown (1881–1966), Canadian commercial artist * H. Arthur Brown (1906–1992), American orchestral conductor * Arthur Brown (musician) (born 1942), English rock singer * Arthur Brown, ak ...

(born 1942), musician, best known for his 1968 hit "

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...

" *

Asa Briggs Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (7 May 1921 – 15 March 2016) was an English historian. He was a leading specialist on the Victorian era, and the foremost historian of broadcasting in Britain. Briggs achieved international recognition during his lon ...

(1921-2016), English Historian, second Vice-Chancellor of University of Sussex and created Baron Briggs of Lewes in 1976 *

Ralph Brown Ralph William John Brown (born 18 June 1957) is an English actor and writer, known for playing Danny the drug dealer in ''Withnail and I'', the security guard Aaron (a.k.a. "85") in ''Alien 3'', DJ Bob Silver in ''The Boat That Rocked'' aka ' ...

(born 1957), actor *

Anthony Buckeridge Anthony Malcolm Buckeridge (20 June 1912 – 28 June 2004) was an English author, best known for his ''Jennings'' and '' Rex Milligan'' series of children's books. He also wrote the 1953 children's book ''A Funny Thing Happened'' which was ser ...

(1912–2004), children's author, noted for his

Jennings Jennings is a surname of early medieval English origin (also the Anglicised version of the Irish surnames Mac Sheóinín or MacJonin). Notable people with the surname include: *Jennings (Swedish noble family) A–G *Adam Jennings (born 1982), A ...

series, lived near Lewes from 1962 until his death.

C

* Anna Campbell (born 1991), first British woman to die fighting for the

Women's Protection Units (YPJ) ar, وحدات حماية المرأة , image = File:YPJ Flag.svg , caption = Flag of the YPJ , dates = April 2013–present , commander1 = Nesrin ...

* Philip Carr-Gomm (born 1952), leader of The

Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids or OBOD is a Neo-Druidic organisation based in England, but based in part on the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards. It has grown to become a dynamic druid organisation, with members in all parts of the world. The conc ...

Thomas Cobham Thomas Cobham (died 1327) was an English churchman, who was Archbishop-elect of Canterbury in 1313 and later Bishop of Worcester from 1317 to 1327. Cobham earned a Doctor of Theology and a Doctor of Canon Law Richard Challoner Richard Challoner (29 September 1691 – 12 January 1781) was an English Roman Catholic bishop, a leading figure of English Catholicism during the greater part of the 18th century. The titular Bishop of Doberus, he is perhaps most famous for h ...

(1691–1781), Roman Catholic bishop *

John Conolly John Conolly (27 May 1794 – 5 March 1866) was an English psychiatrist. He published the volume ''Indications of Insanity'' in 1830. In 1839, he was appointed resident physician to the Middlesex County Asylum where he introduced the princip ...

(1794–1866), physician *

Shirley Collins Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on ...

(born 1935), folk singer and collector * Henry William Crosskey (1826–1893), geologist and Unitarian minister

D

Nick Davies Nicholas Davies (born 28 March 1953) is an award-winning British investigative journalist, writer, and documentary maker. Davies has written extensively as a freelancer, as well as for ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', and been named R ...

(born 1953), investigative journalist and author of ''Flat Earth News'', he uncovered the ''News of the World'' phone hacking affair *

Henry Dudeney Henry Ernest Dudeney (10 April 1857 – 23 April 1930) was an English author and mathematician who specialised in logic puzzles and mathematical games. He is known as one of the country's foremost creators of mathematical puzzles. Early life ...

(1857–1930), author and mathematician * Alice Dudeney (1866–1945), author and diarist * Roger Dean (born 1944), artist

E

John Ellman John Ellman (17 October 1753 – 22 November 1832) was an English farmer and stock breeder who developed the Southdown breed of sheep. Biography Early life John Ellman was born on 17 October 1753 in Hartfield, Sussex. He moved with his famil ...

(1753–1832), farmer and stockbreeder *

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or ...

(1620–1706), writer, gardener and diarist

F

* Julian Fane (1927-2009), author *

Barry Fell Howard Barraclough Fell (June 6, 1917 – April 21, 1994), better known as Barry Fell, was a professor of invertebrate zoology at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. While his primary professional research included starfish and sea urch ...

(1917–1994), zoologist *

John Fitzalan, 1st Baron Arundel John Fitzalan, 1st Baron Arundel (c. 1348 – 1379), also known as Sir John Arundel, was an English soldier. Lineage He was born in Etchingham, Sussex, England to Richard Fitzalan, 3rd Earl of Arundel (c. 1313 – 1376), and his second wi ...

(c. 1348–1379) * David Ford (born 1978), singer/songwriter *

Julia Foster Julia Foster (born 2 August 1943) is an English stage, screen, and television actress. Life and career Foster was born in Lewes, Sussex. Her first husband was Lionel Morton, once the lead singer with the 1960s pop band The Four Pennies. She is ...

(born 1943), actress

G

* Eve Garnett (1900–1991), author and illustrator *

Walter Godfrey Walter Hindes Godfrey, CBE, FSA, FRIBA (1881–1961), was an English architect, antiquary, and architectural and topographical historian. He was also a landscape architect and designer, and an accomplished draftsman and illustrator. He was ...

(1881–1961), architect, historian and antiquarian * John Sparkes Goldsmith (1878–1942), founder and first editor of ''The Ringing World'' *

Sarah Gordy Sarah Gordy, MBE (born September 1976) is a British actress who has Down's Syndrome. She is best known for her roles as Katie Thorne in ''The A Word'', Orlando Quine in '' Strike: The Silkworm'', Lady Pamela Holland in the BBC TV series of ' ...

(born c. 1968), actress with

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

Sir William Gull, 1st Baronet Sir William Withey Gull, 1st Baronet (31 December 181629 January 1890) was an English physician. Of modest family origins, he established a lucrative private practice and served as Governor of Guy's Hospital, Fullerian Professor of Physiology ...

(1816–1890), physician * Edward Castres Gwynne (1811–1888), Australian lawyer and politician

H

Denzil Dean Harber Denzil Dean Harber (25 January 1909, Streatham, – 31 August 1966) was an early United Kingdom, British Trotskyist leader and later in his life a prominent British ornithologist. Denzil Dean Harber was born at 25 Fairmile Avenue, Streatham ...

(1909–1966), ornithologist and

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...

Ed Harcourt Edward Henry Richard Harcourt-Smith (born 14 August 1977) is an English singer-songwriter. To date, he has released six studio albums, two EPs, and thirteen singles. His debut album, ''Here Be Monsters'', was nominated for the 2001 Mercury Priz ...

(born 1977), singer/songwriter *

Julius Charles Hare Julius Charles Hare (13 September 1795 – 3 January 1855) was an English theological writer. Early life He was born at Valdagno, near Vicenza, in Italy. His parents were Francis Hare-Naylor and the painter Georgiana Shipley, a daughter of ...

(1795–1855), theologian and Archdeacon of Lewes *

Edward Hargraves Edward Hammond Hargraves (7 October 1816 – 29 October 1891) was a gold prospector who claimed to have found gold in Australia in 1851, starting an Australian gold rush. Early life Edward Hammond Hargraves was born on 7 October 1816 in Gosp ...

(1816–1891), Australian gold prospector * Hugh Harris, musician: guitarist with

The Kooks The Kooks () are an English pop-rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The band consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals/rhythm guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/synthesizer/bass) and Alexis Nunez (drums). Their music is primarily influenced by th ...

Jonathan Harvey (composer) Jonathan Dean Harvey (3 May 1939 – 4 December 2012)"Jonathan Harvey"

John Berry Haycraft (1859–1923), professor of physiology *Phil Hobden (born 1976), film producer * George Hutson (1889–1914), Olympic runner

I

James Iredell James Iredell (October 5, 1751 – October 20, 1799) was one of the first Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was appointed by President George Washington and served from 1790 until his death in 1799. His son, James Iredell ...

(1751–1799), American lawyer and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

J

Alison Jolly Alison Jolly (May 9, 1937 – February 6, 2014) was a primatologist, known for her studies of lemur biology. She wrote several books for both popular and scientific audiences and conducted extensive fieldwork on Lemurs in Madagascar, primari ...

(1937–2014), primatologist *

Arthur M. Jolly Arthur M. Jolly (born 1969) is an American playwright and screenwriter. In 2006, he was awarded an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for his comedy ''The Free Republic of Bobistan''. Early life ...

(born 1969), writer *Sir Richard Jolly (born 1934), development economist

K

Peter Kellner Peter Jon Kellner (born 2 October 1946) is an English journalist, former BBC ''Newsnight'' reporter, political commentator, and former president of the YouGov opinion polling organisation in the United Kingdom. He is known for his appearances on ...

(born 1946), journalist, political commentator, polling expert and president of

YouGov YouGov is a British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm, headquartered in the UK, with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. In 2007, it acquired US company Polimetrix, and sinc ...

Paul Austin Kelly Paul Austin Kelly (born 1960) is an American singer. A former rock musician who has sung opera, the tenor also writes, records and performs music for children. Musical beginnings Kelly attended Rondout Valley High School in Accord, New York and ...

(born 1960), opera singer *Dame

Grace Kimmins Dame Grace Mary Thyrza Kimmins, (''née'' Hannam; 6 May 1870 – 3 March 1954) was a British writer who created charities that worked with children who had disabilities. Biography Kimmins was born in Lewes, Sussex, the eldest of four children bo ...

(1871–1954), social activist

L

Eleanor of Lancaster Eleanor of Lancaster, Countess of Arundel (sometimes called Eleanor Plantagenet; 11 September 1318 – 11 January 1372) was the fifth daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth. First marriage and issue Eleanor married first on 6 ...

(1311–1372), wife of Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel *

Peter Love Peter Love (died 1610) was an English pirate, said to have been born in Lewes, Sussex. He was the captain of the ''Priam'', and for a time occupied a base on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, when he entered into an agreement with the Heb ...

(died 1610), pirate, said to have been born in Lewes

M

Gideon Mantell Gideon Algernon Mantell MRCS FRS (3 February 1790 – 10 November 1852) was a British obstetrician, geologist and palaeontologist. His attempts to reconstruct the structure and life of ''Iguanodon'' began the scientific study of dinosaurs: in ...

(1790–1852), obstetrician, geologist and palaeontologist *

Joan Maude Joan Maude (16 January 1908 – 28 September 1998) was an English actress, active from the 1920s to the 1950s. She is probably best known for playing the Chief Recorder in the 1946 Powell and Pressburger film '' A Matter of Life and Death''. Th ...

(1908–1998), actress *

John Maynard Smith John Maynard Smith (6 January 1920 – 19 April 2004) was a British theoretical and mathematical evolutionary biologist and geneticist. Originally an aeronautical engineer during the Second World War, he took a second degree in genetics un ...

(1920–2004), evolutionary biologist and geneticist * William McCrea (1904–1999), astronomer * Reginald Medhurst (1920–2009), cricketer

N

Grace Nichols Grace Nichols FRSL (born 1950) is a Guyanese poet who moved to Britain in 1977, before which she worked as a teacher and journalist in Guyana. Her first collection, ''I is a Long-Memoried Woman'' (1983), won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize. In D ...

(born 1950), poet, lives in Lewes. Margaret Busby (ed.), '' Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent'' (1992), London: Vintage, 1993, p. 796. * William Nicholson (born 1948), writer

O

Patrick O'Brian Patrick O'Brian, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and cent ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1914–2000), author, novelist and translator, known for the Aubrey/Maturin series of sea stories, spent his childhood in Lewes.

P

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

(1737–1809), revolutionary, inventor and intellectual *

John Peckham John Peckham (c. 1230 – 8 December 1292) was Archbishop of Canterbury in the years 1279–1292. He was a native of Sussex who was educated at Lewes Priory and became a Friar Minor about 1250. He studied at the University of Paris under ...

(c. 1230–1292), Archbishop of Canterbury *

Pleasance Pendred Pleasance Pendred (15 July 1864 – 29 September 1948) was a British campaigner for women's rights, an activist and suffragette who during her imprisonment in Holloway Prison went on hunger strike as a consequence of which she was force-fed. ...

(1864-1948), suffragette and activist for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

* Brenda Pye (1907–2005), landscape artist

R

Thomas 'Clio' Rickman Thomas 'Clio' Rickman (1760–1834) was an English Quaker publisher of political pamphlets. He was born into a Quaker family, the youngest son of John Rickman (1715–1789), a brewer and the freeholder of the Bear Inn at Cliffe, near (now in) L ...

(1760–1834), brewer and pamphleteer * Richard Russell (1687–1759), physician ( water cure) * Edward Ayearst Reeves (1862–1945), georgrapher; born in Lewes * James Reeves (1909-1978), writer and poet

S

Louis Francis Salzman Louis Francis Salzman (26 March 1878 – 4 April 1971) was a British economic history, economic historian who specialised in the medieval period. He was born in Brighton in 1878, the son of Dr. F. W. Salzmann, and educated at Haileybury College ...

(1878–1971), economic historian * Sir George Shiffner (1762–1842), politician *Professor

Alasdair Smith Alasdair Smith DL is a former professor of economics and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sussex and is a former Chair of the 1994 Group. He is a noted international economist whose studies (often developed in concert with fellow economist T ...

(born 1949), economist and former Vice-Chancellor,

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

Anthony Stapley Anthony Stapley (born 30 August 1590 – buried 31 January 1655) was one of the regicides of King Charles I of England. Stapley was M.P. for New Shoreham (1624–1625), Lewes (1628), Sussex (1640, 1653–1654). He was colonel and governor of Ch ...

(1590–1655), Member of Parliament; one of the

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

s of King Charles I *

Noel Streatfeild Mary Noel Streatfeild Order of the British Empire, OBE (24 December 1895 –11 September 1986) was an English author, best known for children's books including the "Shoes" books, which were not a series (though some books made references to ...

(1895–1986), children's author

T

* Sir John Tomlinson (born 1946), opera singer * Polly Toynbee (born 1946), journalist and writer * Nicholas Tucker (living), academic and writer

W

Edward Perry Warren Edward Perry Warren (January 8, 1860 – December 28, 1928), known as Ned Warren, was an American art collector and the author of works proposing an idealized view of homosexual relationships. He is now best known as the former owner of the Warr ...

(1860–1928), art collector * Margaret Weedon (1854–1930), archer, competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. * John Jenner Weir (1822–1894), civil servant, entomologist and ornithologist *

Barbara Willard Barbara Mary Willard (12 March 1909 – 18 February 1994) was a British novelist best known for children's historical fiction. Her "Mantlemass Chronicles" is a family saga set in 15th to 17th-century England. For one chronicle, ''The Iron Lily'' ...

(1909–1994), children's novelist *

Mark Williams (actor) Mark Williams (born 22 August 1959) is an English actor, comedian, presenter and screenwriter. He first achieved widespread recognition as one of the central performers in the popular BBC sketch show '' The Fast Show''. His film roles include ...

(born 1959), actor and comedian * Kenneth Woodroffe (1892–1915), first-class cricketer and British Army officer, killed in action in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

(1882–1941), novelist and essayist

Y

Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, (1 December 16906 March 1764) was an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. He was a close confidant of the Duke of Newcastle, Prime Minister between 1754 and 17 ...

(1690–1764), politician *

Nicholas Yonge Nicholas Yonge (also spelled ''Young'', ''Younge''; c. 1560 in Lewes, Sussex – buried 23 October 1619 in St Michael, Cornhill, London) was an English singer and publisher. He is most famous for publishing the '' Musica transalpina'' (1588 ...

(c. 1560–1619), singer and publisherDavid Brown, "Nicholas Yonge": ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed. Stanley Sadie. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980.

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References