Editing Lewes (section)

==Geography==
{{blockquote|''You can see Lewes lying like a box of toys under a great amphitheatre of chalk hills ... on the whole it is set down better than any town I have seen in England.''|[[William Morris]] (1834–1896)}}
{{wide image|Lewes wiki.jpg|850px|Panoramic view of Lewes}}

Lewes is situated on the [[Greenwich Meridian|Greenwich]] or [[Prime Meridian]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Dolan |first=Graham |title=The Greenwich Meridian |url=http://www.thegreenwichmeridian.org/tgm/location.php?i_latitude=50.873169&i_type= |access-date=17 November 2013 |archive-date=4 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904074022/http://www.thegreenwichmeridian.org/tgm/location.php?i_latitude=50.873169&i_type= |url-status=live}}</ref> in a gap in the [[South Downs]], cut through by the [[River Ouse, Sussex|River Ouse]], and near its confluence with the Winterbourne Stream. It is approximately seven miles north of [[Newhaven, East Sussex|Newhaven]], and an equal distance north-east of [[Brighton and Hove|Brighton]].

The South Downs rise above the river on both banks. The High Street, and earliest settlement, occupies the west bank, climbing steeply up from the bridge taking its ancient route along the ridge; the summit on that side, {{convert|2.5|mi|km}} distant is known as Mount Harry. On the east bank there is a large [[chalk]] [[cliff]], [[Cliffe Hill]] that can be seen for many miles, part of the group of hills including [[Mount Caburn]], Malling Down (where there are a few houses in a wooded area on the hillside, in a development known as Cuilfail) and Golf Hill (home to the Lewes Golf Club). The two banks of the river are joined by Willey's Bridge (a footbridge), the Phoenix Causeway (a recent concrete road bridge, named after the old Phoenix Ironworks) and Cliffe Bridge (an 18th-century replacement of the [[mediaeval]] crossing, widened in the 1930s and now semi-pedestrianised).

The High Street runs from Eastgate to West-Out, forming the spine of the ancient town. Cliffe Hill gives its name to the one-time village of Cliffe, now part of the town. The southern part of the town, Southover, came into being as a village adjacent to the Priory, south of the Winterbourne Stream. At the north of the town's original wall boundary is the St John's or Pells area, home to several 19th-century streets and the Pells Pond. The [[Pells Pool]], built in 1860, is the oldest freshwater ''lido'' in England. The Phoenix Industrial Estate lies along the west bank of the river and contains a number of light industrial and creative industry uses, as well as car parks and a fire station. A potential regeneration project (formerly "The North Street Quarter", renamed "The Phoenix Project" by the Lewes-based eco-development company Human Nature which took on ownership of the land in December 2020) for the area would be the largest in Lewes since the South Malling residential area was developed in the 1950s and 1960s and in the South Downs since it became a National Park.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://southdowns.gov.uk/planning/planning-applications/north-street-quarter-lewes/ |title='North Street Quarter Lewes'; |publisher=South Downs National Park Authority |access-date=24 March 2015 |archive-date=21 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321022426/http://southdowns.gov.uk/planning/planning-applications/north-street-quarter-lewes/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Phoenix Project, Lewes |url=https://humannature-places.com/phoenix-project/ |access-date=11 January 2022 |website=Human Nature |language=en-GB |archive-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113093117/https://humannature-places.com/phoenix-project/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Malling lies to the east of the river and had 18th- and 19th-century houses and two notable breweries. Road engineering and local planning policy in the 1970s cleared many older buildings here to allow the flow of traffic; the main road route east from the town now goes along Little East Street, across the Phoenix Bridge and through the Cuilfail Tunnel to join the A27.

The town boundaries were enlarged twice (from the original town walls), in 1881 and 1934. They now include the more modern housing estates of Wallands, South Malling (the west part of which is a previously separate village with a church dedicated to St Michael), Nevill, Lansdown and Cranedown on the Kingston Road.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=56908 "The borough of Lewes: Introduction and history"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525235404/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=56908 |date=25 May 2011 }}, ''A History of the County of Sussex'': Volume 7 (1940), pp. 7–19, Accessed: 19 May 2008</ref>

Countryside walks can be taken starting from several points in Lewes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lewes Walks |url=https://denmans3.wixsite.com/lewes-walker/ |access-date=30 June 2020 |archive-date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703124301/https://denmans3.wixsite.com/lewes-walker/ |url-status=live }}</ref> One can walk on [[Mount Caburn]] to the village of [[Glynde]] starting in Cliffe, traverse the [[Lewes Brooks]] (an [[RSPB]] reserve) from Southover, walk to [[Kingston near Lewes]] also from Southover, head up Landport Bottom to Mount Harry and [[Blackcap, East Sussex|Black Cap]] along the edge of the old Lewes Racecourse, or wander up along the Ouse to [[Hamsey Place]] from the Pells. The [[South Downs Way]] crosses the Ouse just south of Lewes at Southease and hikers often stop off at the town. A new route reaching the town at the [[Railway Land, Lewes|Railway Land]] – the Egrets Way – initially conceived in 2011 by the Ouse Valley Cycle Network, has been designed as a network of walking and cycling paths linking Lewes and Newhaven with the villages in between.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Egrets Way |url=https://www.egretsway.org.uk/ |access-date=3 January 2020 |archive-date=3 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103163029/https://www.egretsway.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Natural sites===

Three [[Sites of Special Scientific Interest]] lie within the parish: [[Lewes Downs]], [[Lewes Brooks]] and [[Southerham Works Pit]]. Lewes Downs is a site of [[biological]] interest, an isolated area of the South Downs.<ref>{{cite web|title=SSSI Citation – Lewes Downs |publisher=Natural England |url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002952.pdf |access-date=12 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030112238/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002952.pdf |archive-date=30 October 2008}}</ref> Lewes Brooks, also of biological importance, is part of the floodplain of the [[River Ouse, Sussex|River Ouse]], providing a habitat for many invertebrates such as water beetles and snails.<ref>{{cite web|title=SSSI Citation – Lewes Brooks |publisher=Natural England |url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003002.pdf |access-date=12 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030112240/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003002.pdf |archive-date=30 October 2008}}</ref> Southerham Works Pit is of [[geological]] interest, a disused [[chalk]] pit displaying a wide variety of fossilised fish remains.<ref>{{cite web|title=SSSI Citation – Southerham Works Pit |publisher=Natural England |url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/200061.pdf |access-date=12 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030112203/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/200061.pdf |archive-date=30 October 2008}}

</ref> The Railway Land nature reserve is on the east side of the town next to the Ouse, and contains an area of woodland and marshes, which now includes the Heart of Reeds, a sculpted reed bed designed by local land artist [[Chris Drury (artist)|Chris Drury]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Heart of Reeds |website=The Railway Land Project |url=http://railwaylandproject.org/Heart%20of%20Reeds |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515131810/http://www.railwaylandproject.org/Heart%20of%20Reeds |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 May 2009 |access-date=3 February 2015}}</ref> The Winterbourne stream, a tributary of the Ouse, flows through it. This stream flows most winters and dries up in the summer, hence its name. It continues through Lewes going through the Grange Gardens and often travelling underground. The Heart of Reeds is one of the sites in [[East Sussex]] and [[Kent]] home to the [[marsh frog]], an introduced species. It is popular with pond-dippers and walkers. A centre for the study of environmental change is due to be built at the entrance to the nature reserve.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://railwaylandproject.org/ |title=Railway Land Project |publisher=Railwaylandproject.org |date=28 July 2011 |access-date=1 August 2011 |archive-date=27 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727200905/http://railwaylandproject.org/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 21 August 1864, Lewes experienced an [[earthquake]] measuring 3.1 on the [[Richter magnitude scale]].
{{Geographic location
| title     = '''Neighbouring areas'''
| Northwest = [[Ditchling]], [[Burgess Hill]]
| North     = [[Barcombe Cross]]
| Northeast = [[Ringmer]], [[Uckfield]]
| West      = [[Falmer]]
| Centre    = Lewes
| East      = [[Hailsham]]
| Southwest = [[Brighton]]
| South     = [[Newhaven, East Sussex|Newhaven]], [[Peacehaven]]
| Southeast = [[Seaford, East Sussex|Seaford]], [[Eastbourne]]
}}

===Climate===
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The [[Köppen Climate Classification]] subtype for this climate is "[[Köppen climate classification#Group C: Temperate/mesothermal climates|Cfb]]" (Marine West Coast Climate/[[Oceanic climate]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=591153&cityname=Lewes%2C+England%2C+United+Kingdom&units= |title=Travel Weather Averages (Weatherbase) |work=Weatherbase |access-date=9 July 2013 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123085249/https://www.weatherbase.com/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Weather box
|location = Lewes, UK
|single line = Yes
|metric first = Yes
|Jan high F = 46
|Feb high F = 46
|Mar high F = 48
|Apr high F = 52
|May high F = 59
|Jun high F = 63
|Jul high F = 66
|Aug high F = 68
|Sep high F = 64
|Oct high F = 57
|Nov high F = 52
|Dec high F = 46
|year high F = 
|Jan low F = 41
|Feb low F = 39
|Mar low F = 43
|Apr low F = 45
|May low F = 50
|Jun low F = 54
|Jul low F = 59
|Aug low F = 59
|Sep low F = 55
|Oct low F = 50
|Nov low F = 45
|Dec low F = 41
|year low F = 
|Jan precipitation days = 12
|Feb precipitation days = 10
|Mar precipitation days = 9
|Apr precipitation days = 7
|May precipitation days = 7
|Jun precipitation days = 6
|Jul precipitation days = 8
|Aug precipitation days = 8
|Sep precipitation days = 9
|Oct precipitation days = 10
|Nov precipitation days = 11
|Dec precipitation days = 11
|year precipitation days = 
|source 1 = Weatherbase <ref name=Weatherbase>
{{cite web |url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=591153&cityname=Lewes-England |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130710025455/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=591153&cityname=Lewes-England |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 July 2013 |publisher=Weatherbase |title=Weatherbase.com |year=2013}}
Retrieved on 9 July 2013.
</ref>
|date=July 2013
}}