Barbican House

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Barbican House
Lewes Castle entrance and Barbican House 2018.jpg
Barbican House (on the right) in 2018
East Sussex UK location map.svg
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Location in East Sussex
General information
TypeHistoric house, museum
Architectural styleVernacular (16th-century timber construction with later brickwork)
LocationLewes, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates 50°52′21″N0°00′30″E / 50.8726°N 0.0084°E / 50.8726; 0.0084
Current tenantsBarbican House Museum (Museum of Sussex Archaeology)
Construction started16th century
Renovated18th century (enlarged and refronted)
OwnerSussex Archaeological Society
Technical details
MaterialTimber, red brick
Floor count3 plus basement

Barbican House is a sixteenth century house next to Lewes Castle. It is now used as a museum, and is the headquarters of the Sussex Archaeological Society. The house is a Grade II* listed building.

Contents

History

The Barbican House was constructed in the 16th century out of timber, with a stone fireplace dated 1579. [1] During the 18th century the house was enlarged and refronted. [1] [2] The house now consists of three floors plus a basement, and is now mainly constructed from red brick. [2] The left front of the house faces the gate of Lewes Castle. [2] A 1907 fire in Lewes High Street which spread for an hour and a half was contained before damaging Barbican House. [1] In 1952, the house became a Grade II* listed building. [2]

The building is now the headquarters of the Sussex Archaeological Society, [1] who also run the Barbican House Museum (also known as the Museum of Sussex Archaeology) in the house. [3] The museum contains pottery from an excavation of the grounds of Battle Abbey, as well as floor tiles from Wilmington Priory, and green tiles from a property in Rye. [4] It tells the history of Sussex life from the Stone Age, and contains a model village of Lewes in the 1880s. [5] In 2020, the museum was believed to be at risk of closure due to Sussex Archaeological Society's lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Cairns, Bob (August 2015). Lewes: The Postcard Collection. Amberley Publishing. ISBN   9781445641409.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Barbican House". Historic England . Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Historic East Sussex museums and properties at risk of closure". Sussex Express . 17 June 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  4. ↑ Hare, J N (January 2013). Battle Abbey: The Eastern Range and the Excavations of 1978-80. English Heritage. ISBN   9781848021341.
  5. ↑ Cook, Samantha; Saunders, Claire (May 2013). The Rough Guide to Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Rough Guides UK. ISBN   9781409330110.
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