Battle of
Lewes
If you don’t like reading
about battles, please don’t
stop reading about this one
because I can assure you,
it is a particularly interesting
piece of history and you will
(hopefully) enjoy the read.
I have tried to keep it short
and to the point but there is
a lot of information available
if you wanted to research
further.
18
If you are a Lewisian (or live in Lewes
- I like to plug the “Lewisian” as I am
proud of being one) you may already
know The Battle of Lewes celebrates its
750th anniversary in May this year and
there are many organised celebrations
to be held in the town leading up to the
anniversary and if you can’t join in one
of these then why not have a Battle of
Lewes barbecue or drinks party - I am
sure your family, friends and the children
would love to dress up in Medieval
costumes so bring out the food and
drinks and let battle commence!
The Battle of Lewes was one of the
two main battles in the conflict known
as the Second Barons War and took
place on 14th May, 1264. Henry III was
an unpopular monarch because of his
autocratic style and he would often
refuse to negotiate with his Barons. So
upset with Henry, the Barons imposed
a constitutional reform upon him known
as the Provisions of Oxford. This allowed
the Barons to call meetings led by Simon
de Montfort, who married King Henry
III’s widowed sister, Eleanor, in 1238 to
discuss matters of government. Henry
sought to escape the restrictions of the
Provisions and appealed for help from
Louis IX of France during the dispute.
This of course upset and angered de
Montfort and he rebelled against the
King along with the other Barons.