The Royal Pavilion, Brightongoldenvalleyprobus.org.uk/gallery/events 2018/Information Pack...

The Royal Pavilion, Brighton

MINIBREAK 2018

INFORMATION PACK FOR THE HOLIDAY IN EAST SUSSEX

Monday 3rd September to Friday 7th September 2018

Organised for its Members and their Spouses & Friends by THE GOLDEN VALLEY PROBUS CLUB

OF HEREFORDSHIRE

with the assistance of the Tour Operator NORMAN ALLEN GROUP TRAVEL LIMITED

OF HEREFORD

Peter: 07836-‐610590 Jackie: 07932-‐024113 Hotel: 01323-‐720643

GOLDEN VALLEY PROBUS CLUB – MINIBREAK 2018 – INTRODUCTION

1.1

INDEX 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Index 1.2 Welcome 1.3 Coach seating plan 1.4 The Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne 1.5 Eastbourne 1.6 (a) Probus Minibreaks – Past, Present and Future

(b) Norman Allen Group Travel Limited 1.7 Health & Safety 2. DAY ONE: MONDAY, 3RD SEPTEMBER – OUTWARD JOURNEY 2.1 Timetable for the day 2.2 Petworth 3. DAY TWO: TUESDAY, 4TH SEPTEMBER – BATTLE ABBEY & GREAT DIXTER 3.1 Timetable for the day 3.2 Battle (the town) and Battle Abbey 3.3 Great Dixter House & Gardens 4. DAY THREE: WEDNESDAY, 5TH SEPTEMBER – MICHELHAM & LEWES 4.1 Timetable for the day 4.2 Michelham Priory 4.3 Lewes 1 – The Town and the Castle 4.4 Lewes 2 – The Anne of Cleves House Museum 5. DAY FOUR: THURSDAY, 6TH SEPTEMBER – BRIGHTON 5.1 Timetable for the day 5.2 Brighton 1 -‐ The town 5.3 Brighton 2 -‐ What to do 5.4 Brighton 3 -‐ The Royal Pavilion 6. DAY FIVE: FRIDAY, 7TH SEPTEMBER – GOING HOME 6.1 Timetable for the day At back: Flyer produced by Norman Allen Group Travel in February


1.2

WELCOME

Welcome to our Probus Minibreak 2018. I am looking forward to this and hope you are too. There are fewer of us than last year but that just means that we are the lucky ones! This Information Pack has been prepared to help everyone prepare for each day. It may also act as a memento after the trip.

Last year we had a good time but the hotel where we stayed was not blessed with good lounges where people could relax together and enjoy being amongst friends. For this year, having a comfortable hotel with good lounges was a key consideration. I think we have found a good place to stay – The Hydro Hotel in Eastbourne (see page 1.4). To help us make the most of it, we will normally get back to the hotel in the evenings a bit earlier than we did last year, around 5pm ** instead of around 6pm, and so are making sure that we do not drive too far away (the longest journey during the middle 3 days will take about 1 hour). ** We should not be inflexible! During the trip we will discuss whether or not to extend the time in Lewes & Brighton a little. That would lead to our getting back to the hotel a little later.

Recognising that some of us are more active/adventurous than others, I have tried to find places to visit that offer both interesting things to see and opportunities to wander at your own pace. I do hope you will enjoy the days out. I view our days in Lewes on Wednesday and Brighton on Thursday as potential highlights. ‘Free time’ has been set aside for both those days but some suggestions are included in this pack to help you decide what to do there, perhaps staying together in one or more groups or ‘doing your own thing’ as you wish.

Our coach provider is Astons Coaches Limited of Worcester (01905-‐820201). I will introduce our driver to you before we leave Ewyas Harold. Astons are new to us but come with the recommendation of our Tour Operator, Norman Allen Group Travel Limited (“NAGT”). This is not the first time that we have used NAGT (see page 1.6) but this is the first time they have played such an important role in the trip. Many thanks to Craig Rose, Becky Kroese and Andy Holmes who helped with the early preparations but particular thanks are due to Hilary Christmas who kept it going when numbers fell. Without her assistance & co-‐operation, it is very likely that we would have had to cancel the trip.

Peter Barns-‐Graham

Housekeeping -‐ In case of emergency, feel free to contact me at any time of the day. I am sure that the Hotel Reception (or the coach driver, if more appropriate) will also be prepared to help as required and NAGT have also offered to provide assistance if needed (contact details on page 1.6). -‐ We will be visiting some ‘tourist areas’ so please remember that pickpockets may be around. -‐ Probus does not involve itself with insurance matters. If circumstances for a claim arise, do check the terms of your insurance policy ASAP. In some cases these may require you to report the loss to local police for you to obtain a case/crime number; in other cases, to support a claim you may have to obtain & keep medical or other receipts. -‐ Each evening, before we leave the coach, I will summarise what is going to happen the next day. At the start of each stage of a day, after we have got onto the coach, I will provide more detail on what we will be doing next. For each meet-‐up time & place mentioned, please ensure that you are at the relevant place no later than the given time. -‐ If you are likely to stray from the group at any time, please let me have your mobile phone number (if you have one) to ensure that I can contact you if necessary. My number is 07836-‐610590 which I hope will work better in Sussex than it does in Herefordshire! -‐ I like to make a permanent record of these annual Minibreaks by reporting on them in the Club’s web site. Please feel free to take photos on the trip (with permissions as appropriate) and send copies to me after the trip so that I can use (some of) them in my report on the trip.


1.3

COACH SEATING PLAN

A seating plan has been produced to keep things simple, particularly for the first morning. However, given that there will be many spare seats on the coach (there are just 15 of us on a 32-‐seater coach), and as our reduced numbers means that checking that everyone is on board will be easier than it would otherwise have been, in practice there will be almost complete flexibility on where people sit -‐ so do feel free to move around if you wish to, as long as you don’t sit in someone else’s allocated seat without their agreement!

TOILET

DRINK MACHINE

31.

32.

29.

28.

25.

26.

27.

28.

21. 22.

23.

24.

17. Gwen Moore

18.

19.

20. Ruth Richardson

13. Joyce Lacey

14.

15. Sally Whittle-‐Williams

16. Julia Wright

9. Vicky Green

10.

11.

12. Lorna Hollom

5. Anne Belcher

6. Fred Belcher

7. Don Davies

8. Pat Davies

1. Martin Foster

2. Dianne Foster

3. Peter Barns-‐Graham

4. Jackie Barns-‐Graham

DRIVER

DOOR


1.4

THE HYDRO HOTEL, EASTBOURNE Mount Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN20 7HZ

Telephone: 01323-‐720643 ; Email: [email protected] www.hydrohotel.com

We have great hopes for our stay at The Hydro Hotel in Eastbourne. It is a 4* hotel which has a good reputation for comfort and food. Opened in 1885, it has become one of the town’s favourite venues for wedding and other events because of its sea views and its indoor & outdoor facilities. It attracted our attention not least because it offers several different places where we can meet and chat -‐ a range of comfortable lounges (“providing comfortable spaces throughout the main floor of the hotel”) plus a sun terrace – and it has a heated outdoor swimming pool, a beauty salon, a snooker room, a croquet lawn, a putting green, and free WiFi. Expect some challenges, if the weather permits. Peter will set the rules for the croquet!

We are staying at the hotel on a half-‐board basis – Bed & Breakfast & Dinner. As you may expect, we will not be offered their most expensive menu but the groups menu we will have for dinner, in the Crystal restaurant at 7.30pm, will offer 3 courses with at least 3 choices per course. [The sample menu looked very good!] Breakfast will be from 7.00am to 9.30am, also in the Crystal restaurant.

The hotel is a 20-‐minute walk from the centre of Eastbourne


1.5

EASTBOURNE

According to Wikipedia, an online directory, “With a seafront consisting largely of Victorian hotels, a pier and a Napoleonic era fort and military museum, Eastbourne was developed at the direction of the Duke of Devonshire from 1859 from four separate hamlets”. The architect Henry Currey was appointed “to design a street plan for the town, but not before sending him to Europe to draw inspiration. The resulting mix of architecture is typically Victorian and remains a key feature of Eastbourne “. Although we may think of it as just a town, its population is quite a bit greater than Hereford’s and, of course, that population swells during the tourist season.

It is about 1 mile from the hotel to the centre of

Eastbourne and to its pier, each a 20-‐25 minute walk for

most of us.

A brochure found on VisitEastbourne.com reports that “With three miles of pristine palm tree-‐lined

seafront, an iconic Victorian pier, and elegant 1930’s

Bandstand and the breath-‐taking beauty of our coastal landmarks at Beachy Head and beyond, our town is the perfect escape at any time of year.” It is likely that many of us will enjoy a pleasant stroll along the seafront on at least

one of the evenings.

Local Taxi Services We do not have personal experience of using the taxi services in/around Eastbourne but expect that The Hydro Hotel will help anyone get a taxi should the need arise.


1.6

PROBUS MINIBREAKS – PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

2006 – Belgium 2007 – Dublin 2008 – Isle of Man 2009 – Northumberland 2010 – Norfolk 2011 – Isle of Wight 2012 – Kent 2013 – Paris 2014 – Galway 2015 – Jersey 2016 – York 2017 – Suffolk 2018 – East Sussex

The Annual Minibreak has become a regular feature of our Probus Club’s calendar. Perhaps its main attractions are the companionship of friends with reliable accommodation & main meals provided and a variety of places to visit. That’s a good combination!

Planning a trip like this requires some compromises. We want a balance between seeing enough different places so that there is something special for most of us, spending enough time there to make those visits worthwhile, and making sure that it is not too tiring. As our group has become a little older, having a comfortable hotel with good lounges to relax in has increased in importance. For this year we initially considered going to West Sussex, as several interesting places there had been suggested for visits, but we could not find a hotel there as good as The Hydro in Eastbourne. We hope it will live up to expectations!

Destination possibilities being considered for the next few years include North Wales, Devon and/or Cornwall, and the Peak District. Other suggestions would be welcome. Over the last few years we have held the trips in early September, just after the grandchildren have gone back to school but before schools have started to visit potential venues, but we are open to suggestions for alternative times of the year, length of the break, etc.. We hope to keep these Minibreaks going for many years to come, as long as enough people want us to.

NORMAN ALLEN GROUP TRAVEL LIMITED (“NAGT”)

Portfield House, Daw’s Road, Hereford HR1 2JJ (Tel: 01432-‐277666) Contacts: Andy Holmes, Hilary Christmas, Samantha Williams, Nicolas McCutcheon

NAGT was founded in 1972 to harness the experiences of a certain Mr Norman Allen who had been organising tours around Europe since the early 1950s. Based in Hereford, NAGT is still a family owned company focused on supporting group travel in Britain & Ireland, Continental Europe, and Worldwide. Probus has used them before (they helped us with the trip in 2014 to Galway) but we are now developing our relationship with them not least in the hope of increasing our options for minibreaks and other short holidays in the future.

NAGT have asked us to remind you that they operate under ‘The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992’ which, inter alia, require them to provide security for the monies that you pay for the package holidays booked with them. When you buy a coach holiday package from them (or any other package which does not include air travel) they provide financial security by way of a bond held by ABTA (membership W9928).


1.7

HEATH & SAFETY

Left: sign seen at various CADW

places (e.g. Conwy & Caerphilly Castles)

Right: sign seen at Trevase Farm

during the Probus visit in May 2017

It is fair to say that the participants of this trip are all ‘mature’. Consequently, it is surely unnecessary to go-‐on much about ‘Health & Safety’. However, brief mention of it is in order given the wish of the trip’s organisers to avoid liability should any of you get yourself into trouble! We aim to keep clear of any dangerous activities (!) and will try to give warning of potential hazards (though please note that we have not ourselves previously visited most of the places we are going to) – but, most of all, we will be relying on you to use your own common sense in looking after yourself not least in your using appropriate clothing & footwear.

Please remember to take note of and comply with any Fire and/or Safety Precautions that apply wherever we go, particularly at the Hotel. We shall be visiting different sorts of places: cities & towns (with roads to cross and traffic to avoid), countryside (with paths that may be uneven or slippery) and gardens which may contain toxic herbs or plants (caution: no nibbling); old buildings (with worn steps to climb, thresholds to cross, mantels to duck under, etc.) and open spaces (with puddles & potholes to avoid); animals that might bite; etc. etc.. As far as we know, we are not going anywhere that is particularly hazardous but, of course, places can get slippery when wet. Although there will be opportunity for exercise for those who want it, we will not take you anywhere particularly strenuous though, given that “strenuous” is relative, it should be recognised that an occasional incline is unavoidable.

We have organised a few guided tours during the trip. As there are less than 20 of us, it is probable that we will not have to be divided into groups as has happened before but, if we are, then it is likely that there will be a ‘modest pace group’ and a ‘slower pace group’ (which may take a shorter route than the other group). In that situation, it will be up to you to decide which group to join.

If you decide not to come with us on any part of the trip then please liaise beforehand with Peter on how & where you will meet up with the rest of us afterwards.

GOLDEN VALLEY PROBUS CLUB – MINIBREAK 2018 – DAY ONE – MONDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER

2.1

TIMETABLE FOR THE DAY – MONDAY 3RD

(a) Depart from Ewyas Harold by 9.00 am. Before we start, Peter will summarise some of the arrangements for the trip … and, if needed (which it will hopefully not be!), he will report any significant changes made to the information given in this Information Pack. (b) Have a break at about 10.45am, for about 45 minutes, at Membury Services on the M4. Leave Membury at/by 11.30am. (c) Should arrive at Petworth House by 1.15pm. Petworth is operated by The National Trust. We should leave about 4.15pm. The 3 hours there should be enough time for us to have a look around the house, have lunch there, and have a stroll around the gardens. The cost of entry has been included within the charge for the trip so participants who are Members of The National Trust and who bring their NT Membership cards with them should be able to obtain a refund of the cost of entry after the end of the trip. (d) Drive to our hotel, The Hydro Hotel in Eastbourne. Depending on traffic, we should get there around 6.00pm. For more on the hotel, see page 1.4. (e) Dinner at the hotel. As with the other evening meals, we should be in the restaurant in time to start at 7.30pm.

Ewyas Harold to Membury Services about 100 miles (about 1¾ hours if traffic OK) Membury Services to Petworth about 75 miles (about 1¾ hours) Petworth to Hotel about 55 miles (about 1½ hours + up to ½ hour for traffic) Total travelling in day about 230 miles (5 to 5½ hours)

GOLDEN VALLEY PROBUS CLUB – MINIBREAK 2018 – DAY ONE – MONDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER

2.2

PETWORTH

Petworth, West Sussex GU28 9LR

The manor of Petworth was gifted by the widow of King Henry I to her brother, Joscelin of Louvain, who later married the Percy heiress and adopted the surname Percy. The Percys lived mainly at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland until Queen Elizabeth I, who had become suspicious of their support for Mary, Queen of Scots, confined them to Petworth. The 11th Earl of Northumberland’s daughter & heiress Elizabeth married 3 times but had children only by her 3rd husband, Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset. He rebuilt Petworth House in 1688. Eventually, Petworth (along with the Earldom of Egremont) passed through his daughter Catherine into the Wyndham family. Petworth was handed over to the nation in 1947 since when it has been managed by the National Trust. The famous art collection built up by the 3rd Earl is one of Petworth’s attractions not least because of its large number of oil paintings by Turner.

Throughout 2018, many National Trust properties are celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the passing of the Representation of the People Act, hosting events & exhibitions under the banner “Women and Power” to commemorate various women who played a part in or otherwise inspired the struggle for women’s suffrage. Petworth is celebrating the life of Elizabeth Ilive (1769-‐1822), for many years the mistress and eventually the wife of the 3rd Earl of

Egremont, a notorious philanderer and art collector. Whilst mistress of Petworth, Elizabeth not only brought-‐up a large family, she was also a pioneering scientist who had her own laboratory at Petworth and she developed the cross-‐bar lever to help her workers lift heavy rocks. That lever is still in much use today not least in bicycle brakes.

GOLDEN VALLEY PROBUS CLUB – MINIBREAK 2018 – DAY TWO – TUESDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER

3.1

TIMETABLE FOR THE DAY – TUESDAY 4TH

(a) As with the other mornings, breakfast will be available in the Crystal restaurant from 7.00am to 9.30am.

(b) Leave the hotel at about 9.30am. About 40 minute journey to …

(c) Battle. Collect tickets then enter or disperse for short time but meet at 10.30am for tour of the Abbey Ruins (lasts about 1 hour). Otherwise have free time for walking around the Battle Abbey grounds and/or the town of Battle. There is a café within the Battle Abbey grounds but there is also a range of cafés and restaurants in the town. Leave Battle at about 1.30pm. * For more information on Battle (the town) and Battle Abbey, see page 3.2. In essence, Battle (the town) comprises a long High Street with the Abbey at its Southern end. * The costs of entry and the tour have been included within the charge for the trip. Battle Abbey is operated by English Heritage which has an arrangement with CADW such that participants who are Members of CADW and who bring their CADW Membership cards with them should be able to obtain a refund of part of the cost of entry (but not the tour) after the end of the trip.

(d) Short journey to Great Dixter House & Gardens (see page 3.3). Have about 2 hours there. Leave at about 4pm. Please stay in the coach until we have been ‘met & gret’ by the House Staff. The cost of entry has been included within the charge for the trip.

(e) Return to hotel about 5pm.

Hotel to Battle Abbey about 17 miles (40 minutes) Battle Abbey to Great Dixter about 11 miles (25 minutes) Great Dixter to Hotel about 28 miles (1 hour) Total travelling in day about 56 miles (just over 2 hours)


3.2

BATTLE (THE TOWN) AND BATTLE ABBEY

Battle Abbey, High Street, Battle, Essex TN33 0AD Battle the town took its name from the famous Battle of Hastings in 1066 which led to William of Normandy becoming better known as ‘William the Conqueror’. It is reported that, before the battle, William vowed to build an abbey should he win it. He did … so he did. The town grew up around the Abbey (of St. Martin) and the high altar is believed to have been positioned where Harold fell.

“Battle has some notable Georgian buildings along its High Street. The cottages and houses near the Abbey date from around 1700. The parish church of St Mary was built in Norman times and for the most part is 12th century in construction. It offers the visitor rare 14th century wall paintings and a Norman font amongst other things. At the Northern end of the High Street can be found the Almonry which was built in 1090 and now houses the Town Council and the Battle Museum of Local History.” from www.battlesussex.co.uk

BATTLE ABBEY 1. Gatehouse entrance with Ticket Office and Shop. 2. Visitor Centre with Toilets, Café and 1066 Exhibition. 3. Medieval Gatehouse, with monastic exhibition and Gatehouse roof views. 4. Terrace Walk with Undercroft. 5. Dormitory Range first floor roof access. 6. Dormitory Range with Novices and Common Room.

What is the difference between a Monastery, a Priory and an Abbey? A monastery is simply a place where people live together as a community following a set of religious vows. A priory is a monastery recognised by the religious authorities as being led by a Prior or Prioress, a junior position in the hierarchy. An abbey is a large monastery recognised by the religious authorities as being led by an Abbot or Abbess, a senior position in the hierarchy.


3.3

GREAT DIXTER HOUSE & GARDENS

Northiam, Rye, East Sussex TN31 6PH Great Dixter was the family home of the plantsman & gardening writer Christopher Lloyd (1920-‐2006) who inspired many gardeners around the world, including Raymond Treasure at Stockton Bury Gardens which Probus visited on 18th July 2018. To quote from its web site at greatdixter.co.uk, it is “a place of pilgrimage for horticulturists from across the world”. The web site also reports that “the present Great Dixter is actually three houses, one built here in the mid-‐15th century with slightly later additions, the second a yeoman’s house from Benenden, across the border in Kent, built in the early 16th century and moved here in 1910, and the third combines the two with additional accommodation, completed in 1912. It was at this time that the house, hitherto called merely Dixter, was renamed Great Dixter, to distinguish it from Little Dixter next door”. The famous Edward Lutyens was the architect used for the work in 1910-‐12.

GOLDEN VALLEY PROBUS CLUB – MINIBREAK 2018 – DAY THREE – WEDNESDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER

4.1

TIMETABLE FOR THE DAY – WEDNESDAY 5TH

(a) We will leave the hotel at about 10.00am. It should be only ½-‐hour to …

(b) Michelham Priory House (which opens at 10.30am, see page 4.2). We have booked a tour of the House to start at 10.45 am. The tour will last about an hour, leaving only a little time for a look at its shop & gardens. We will leave Michelham at about 12.30pm. * The costs of entry and the tour have been included within the charge for the trip. Members of CADW who bring their CADW Membership cards with them should be able to obtain a refund of part of the cost of entry (but not the tour) after the end of the trip. * There is a café at Michelham but we have assumed that people will not eat lunch there as we are going on to Lewes afterwards where a wider choice will be available.

(c) We should get to Lewes about 1pm and will be dropped-‐off in the centre of the town, not far from its Tourist Information Centre. We could leave Lewes at about 4.15pm but, as that would give us only about 3 hours to have lunch and explore the town, we can set a later time if we wish to. We can discuss this on the day. * The coach drop-‐off and pick-‐up points are identified on page 4.3. The maps on that page also show the locations of the Tourist Information Centre and the following places which are all recommended for a visit: Lewes Castle (see just below), Anne of Cleves House Museum (see page 4.4),’The Needlemakers’ and the famous Lewes Flea Market. * Lewes Castle, with its interesting museum, is at the top of a hill (“the view of the surrounding area is outstanding”). It “requires some energy to fully appreciate as there are many steps and stairs to negotiate”. It is managed by the Sussex Archaeological Society which also manages Anne of Cleves House and offers a discount should you visit both. * Whilst everyone will be free to do what they wish, the following route is suggested (leaving you to stop for lunch wherever takes your fancy): walk up past the Information Centre and the Food Market to spend time first at ‘The Needlemakers’ and then at the Flea Market. When you have had enough there, walk back through the town, possibly stopping at the Southover Grange Gardens on the way, and end up at the Anne of Cleves House Museum, possibly having a cup of tea in its café until it is time to walk down the road to the coach pick-‐up point. Without stopping, walking from the Flee Market to the Anne of Cleves House should take less than 20 minutes.

(d) If we leave at about 4.15pm then we should get back to the hotel at about 5pm. If we leave later than 4.15pm then we will get back to the hotel later than 5pm!

Hotel to Michelham about 12 miles (25 minutes) Michelham to Lewes about 12 miles (25 minutes) Lewes to Hotel about 18 miles (40 minutes) Total travelling in day about 42 miles (about 1½ hours)


4.2

MICHELHAM PRIORY

Upper Dicker, Hailsham, East Sussex BN27 3QS The Augustinian Priory was founded at Michelham in 1229 by Gilbert de Aquila as a daughter house of Hastings Priory but was “in a ruinous condition” by 1398. As part of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries, the Priory was seized in 1537 and granted to Thomas Cromwell. After Cromwell’s execution in 1540, it was one of the many properties granted to Anne of Cleves following the annulment of her marriage to King Henry. Its history since then is somewhat complicated, with some buildings being demolished and others added. Throughout most of the 17th and 18th centuries it was owned by the Sackville Earls & Dukes of Dorset. It was one of the properties that was restored by the architect Walter Godfrey (1881-‐1961) who also worked on the restoration of the Anne of Cleves House in Lewes. The Sussex Archaeological Society have managed it since 1959.

Features of this fascinating place include: -‐ “Europe’s longest medieval water filled moat”, -‐ its watermill (there was a watermill there by the 1260s though that was “in ruins” by 1478, the existing one dates from the mid 16th century and was restored in 1972/1996), -‐ an “interactive medieval gallery in the 14th century gatehouse.

1. Gatehouse 2. Dovecote shop 3. House 4. Kitchen garden 5. Nature room 5. Playground 7. Physic garden 8. South lawn 9. Bronze age roundhouse 10. Elizabeth Great Barn 11. Toilets 12. Café 13. Watermill 14. Forge


4.3

LEWES 1 – THE TOWN AND THE CASTLE

Lewes was the county town of all Sussex until the boundary changes in 1974 since when it has had to make do with just East Sussex. Lewes is not a huge place but its medieval streets and alleyways (known as “twittens”), and a good range of shops, cafés & pubs, make it popular with tourists.

The Tourist Information Centre is at 187 High Street and is the ‘i point’ in the upper map and the red marker (“Stay Lewes”) in the lower map. The coach will drop us off on the High Street (below the Castle) and pick us up at Southover High Street (see marker on the upper map). ‘The Needlemakers’ (“with one of the best Cafés in the south-‐east and several individual specialist shops”) and the ‘Flea Market’ (“a bit like an Alladins Cave”) are both reputedly worth visiting more than once!

Soon after invading England, William the Conqueror split Sussex into five administrative units, each called a ‘rape’. The rapes were at Lewes, Arundel, Bramber, Pevensey and Hastings. Chichester was added later. They all had their own castles. One of the best examples of a motte & bailey castle in the UK, Lewes’s was one of the first built after the Conquest. It is unusual as it has 2 mottes, the first (‘Brack Mount’) raised in about 1067, the second (made “for reasons unknown”) in about 1100. It stands on a hill with modern Lewes surrounding it.

The Battle of Lewes took place on 14th May 1264. Success there against King Henry III (and his son Edward “the Black Prince”) marked the pinnacle of the career of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, who had led the rebellion against the unpopular King. That success was reversed the next year at the Battle of Evesham.

There are plenty of things to see in Lewes apart from those mentioned above and the Anne of Cleves House Museum (mentioned on page 4.4), not least the splendid 16th century Grange, now Lewes’s Register Office, which was built of stones take from the nearby ruins of the old Priory. The Grange has the (free-‐to-‐enter) Southover Grange Gardens, “a hidden gem” and “a true delight in any season”.


4.4

LEWES 2 -‐ THE ANNE OF CLEVES HOUSE MUSEUM

52 Southover High Street, Lewes BN7 1JA

Whilst visiting this property may no longer be a booked-‐in part of our day in Lewes, it is still a place worthy of a visit and its café & Tudor tea garden will act as a good gathering place before we get back onto the coach. The Museum has a modest charge to enter (the normal concession price is £5.80 but it may be possible to obtain a group discount on the day) but the café & garden has separate access and is free to non-‐museum visitors.

The museum is not about the life of Anne of Cleves though it may well provide some information about her. It is primarily a museum about life in Tudor and later times and has an interesting collection of furnishings & exhibits with information about the town of Lewes and the local iron industry. Referred to as an “alluring building” with “the genuine stamp of that delightful type of late medieval house”, it is reputedly a good place to visit but do not expect to find Anne’s ghost here. She died at Chelsea Manor in London. ‘Anne of Cleves House’ was one of her many properties but it is believed that she never lived in it and she may never have even visited it. It has passed through many hands since her time and has undergone changes and restoration. It is now owned by Sussex Archaeological Society.

This portrait of Anne was painted about 1539 by Hans Holbein the Younger. She was born in Dusseldorf on 22nd September 1515, the second daughter of John, Duke of Cleves, a powerful and well-‐connected nobleman who supported Erasmus’s attempts to reform the Catholic Church. Thomas Cromwell (portrait also by Hans Holbein), Henry VIII’s First Minister and a keen advocate of the English Reformation, arranged her marriage to the King in order to cement England’s relationship with the Duke. Unfortunately, Henry was “disappointed” when he met her. Henry urged Thomas Cromwell to find a legal way to avoid the marriage but, by this point, doing so was impossible without endangering the alliance with the

Germans. Despite Henry's very vocal misgivings, the two were married on 6th January 1540. The marriage lasted just 6 months, being annulled (with Anne’s agreement) on 9th July on the grounds of non-‐consummation and a pre-‐contract to Francis, son/heir of the Duke of Lorraine, even though that pre-‐contract (made in 1527 when he was 10 and she was 11) had been cancelled in 1535. The failure of the marriage led to the fall of Cromwell. Anne, who kept on good terms with the King and was “given precedence over all women in England save his own wife and daughters”, received a generous settlement including Richmond Palace and Hever Castle, formerly home of the Boleyns. Although she did not get on so well with her elder step-‐daughter, Queen Mary, it appears that Anne led a peaceful & content life until she died on 16th July 1557.

Henry VIII (r. 1509-‐1547) married 6 times: 1. (1509) Catherine of Aragon (1485-‐1536, divorced, mother of Queen Mary who r. 1553-‐1558) 2. (1533) Anne Boleyn (1501-‐1536, beheaded, mother of Queen Elizabeth I who r. 1558-‐1603) 3. (1536) Jane Seymour (1508-‐1537, died, mother of King Edward VI who r. 1547-‐1553) 4. (1540) Anne of Cleves (1515-‐1557, divorced) 5. (1540) Catherine Howard (1523-‐1542, beheaded) 6. (1543) Catherine Parr (1512-‐1548, survived).

GOLDEN VALLEY PROBUS CLUB – MINIBREAK 2018 – DAY FOUR – THURSDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER

5.1

TIMETABLE FOR THE DAY – THURSDAY 6TH

(a) We will leave the hotel at about 9.30am. Unless we have already done so the day before, before we leave the hotel we will agree a time for us to leave Brighton at the end of our visit there. As the journey between Brighton and Eastbourne should take about 1 hour (depending on traffic), if we aim to get back to the hotel at about 5pm then we will have to leave Brighton at about 4pm. However, if the majority of us want to stay longer in Brighton then there is nothing to stop us from doing so – though we should leave by no later than 6.00pm to ensure that we are back in the hotel in time for dinner. Anyone who wants to stay in Brighton for dinner may, of course, do so but they will have to make their own way back to Eastbourne. According to an online search (made in July), a normal taxi fare for that is likely to be £45-‐£60. If you are likely to want this, please advise Peter the evening before if possible (so that he may advise the hotel not to expect you for dinner) and in any event make sure he knows before the end of our Ghost Walk.

(b) It should take just under an hour to get to the dropping-‐off and pick-‐up place in Brighton which, subject to what the coach driver has to say on the day, will be at the pier end of Madeira Drive (see map on page 5.3.). There are public loos and a café just past the Sea Life Centre on the north side of Madeira Drive. Alternatively there are several cafes close to the Druid’s Head.

(c) At 11.00am, our guided ‘Ghost Walk’ will start from The Druid’s Head (9 Brighton Place, see map on page 5.3). That should last about 75 minutes, ending in the Lanes with a choice of nearby places to eat and shop. Whilst joining this walk is of course not obligatory, our reduced numbers and the committed minimum cost mean that it will not be possible to make a refund to anyone who does not come.

(d) For the afternoon, you have various options as there are many things to do and see in Brighton. You may ‘do your own thing’ as long as you meet up with the rest of us at the coach stop at the pier end of Madeira Drive (see map on page 5.3), to be ready to leave at whatever time we have agreed. Some suggestions for places to visit are included on page 5.3 but those who want to join the visit to the Royal Pavilion should note that, unless we defer the leaving time, there will not be a lot of time to do much more than (say) have lunch then a wander around the Lanes. Feedback on this before or during the trip may change this but Peter hopes to meet up with whomever wants to go to visit the Royal Pavilion at 2.30pm in front of the Royal Pavilion.

(e) Unless agreed otherwise, see (a) above, we will leave Brighton at about 4.00pm and should get back to the hotel about 5pm. Unless you have been advised otherwise in the morning, the pick-‐up point will be at the Pier end of Madeira Drive, near the Sea Life Centre (see map on page 5.3).

The distance between Eastbourne and Brighton is about 20-‐25 miles, depending on the route chosen by the driver. That should take just under 1 hour as long as the traffic is not too bad.

GOLDEN VALLEY PROBUS CLUB – MINIBREAK 2018 – DAY FOUR – THURSDAY 6H SEPTEMBER

5.2

BRIGHTON 1 -‐ THE TOWN

In the 18th century, Brighton (known as Brighthelmstone until 1810) began to attract visitors following improved road transport to/from London and its becoming a boarding point for boats travelling to France. The town became popular as a health resort when

sea bathing was reported to be a cure for various illnesses. Brighton became fashionable because of the patronage of the Prince Regent, later King George IV, who spent much time in the town and constructed the Royal Pavilion. Following the arrival of the railways in 1841, Brighton became an even more popular destination for day-‐trippers from London. Many of the attractions were built in the Victorian era, including the Metropole Hotel

(now Hilton) Grand Hotel, the (now derelict) West Pier, and the Brighton Palace Pier.

According to Wikipedia, in 1724 a traveller wrote: “I passed through a ruinous village called Hove which the sea is daily eating up and is in a fair way of being quite deserted; but the church being quite large and a good distance from the shore may perhaps escape”. The towns of Brighton and Hove were formed into a unitary authority in 1997 which was granted city status in 2001. "Brighton" is often referred to synonymously with the official "Brighton and Hove" although many locals still consider the two to be separate towns. At over 288,000, the population in the district is almost half-‐as-‐much-‐again as Herefordshire’s (which, according to Wikipedia, is about 191,000). In 2015/16, Brighton attracted 7.5 million day visitors and just under 5 million overnight visitors. It is the most popular seaside destination in the UK for overseas tourists. Brighton has been called the UK's "hippest city", the "unofficial gay capital of the UK" (because of its large LGBT+ population and its ‘Pride Festival’ in early August), and also "the happiest place to live in the UK".

Brighton has about 250 restaurants, many in or around the ‘Lanes’ and the (bit more residential) ‘North Laine’, which are both famous for their small shops and friendly atmospheres. Note that, even though ‘North Laine’ is just north of ‘The Lanes’, that is not in fact the north part of ‘The Lanes’ but the remnant of an area, called a laine, which was an arable field that was let (loaned or leased) to a tenant farmer. Confused? If so, you are not alone!


5.3

BRIGHTON 2 -‐ WHAT TO DO

As long as the weather is kind, most of us could happily spend at least 2 full days roaming around Brighton, enjoying its many attractions. However, we will have only a few hours there so some planning of how to spend those hours would be worthwhile. Browsers, shopoholics and museumphiles will find plenty of things to do in the Lanes & North Laine. However, for many of us, being with a group of friends is one of the attractions of this Minibreak so it is expected that many of us will go together to The Royal Pavilion (see page 5.4). That will not leave a lot of time for other things.

Whilst the rides & trampolines may not attract many of us, and we may not have time to sample the fish & chips there, the Brighton Palace Pier is surely worth a visit if you have not been there before. According to Wikipedia, in 2017 it “was said to be (Britain’s) most visited tourist attraction outside London”. Access is free.

At the north end of the Royal Pavilion Estate is the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery with its interesting exhibitions & displays. If you are bored with shopping, or the weather is poor, you might find this to be the best value-‐for-‐money £4.20 you have spent for a long time. Just north of the North Laine, but still in walking distance from the beach, is Brighton Open Market which “boasts over 45 permanent independent retail units, 12 artist’s studios and an exciting mix of plaza traders”.

Places to look for in map: * The Druids Head Inn (where we will start our Ghost Walk). * The Old Police Cells Museum (free/donation, “a hidden treasure”).

* The Royal Pavilion (see page 5.4). * Mechanical Memories Museum (free entry? penny arcade machines, may not be open!). * The Sea Life centre (not cheap but good for a visit). Not shown here: * Brighton Toy and Model Museum (£6.50 entrance, 52-‐55 Trafalgar Street, on north-‐west corner of the North Laine area).


5.4

BRIGHTON 3 -‐ THE ROYAL PAVILION

The Royal Pavilion was built as King George IV’s pleasure palace when Brighton was at the heart of fashionable society. It remains one of Britain’s most eccentric and extravagant palaces. It has been restored to its original 1823 splendour with Indian-‐style architecture contrasted with interiors inspired by China.

Enough people have expressed interest in visiting the Pavilion to make it worth our going together as a group even though there will not be enough of us to obtain ‘group discount’. Entrance will cost £12.00 per person if paid for on the day, £10.80 if booked online in advance. Reference to this is made in Peter’s ‘Final Letter’ dated 17th August. There is a pleasant garden outside which “was restored following John Nash’s 1820 plans and conform as closely as possible to the original lists of plants supplied to George IV.”


6.1

TIMETABLE FOR THE DAY – FRIDAY 7TH

(a) Leave the hotel no earlier than 10.00am but not later than 10.30am. (b) Arrive at Longacres Garden Centre by 12.15pm. Lunch there. Leave about 1.35pm.

* Opened in 1979, this garden centre has grown to what is believed to be “the largest independent garden centre in the south east of England”. It has “an on site food hall, bakery, café and butchers.” * The café is ‘Caffe Amore’ which is “our interpretation of a modern continental caffe”. “The menu is Italian influenced, offering an appetizing range of dishes to suit all tastes including traditional”.

(c) Have a break at about 2.45pm, for about 30 minutes, at Membury Services on the M4. Leave Membury by 3.15pm. (d) Get back to Ewyas Harold about 5.00pm.

Hotel to Longacres Garden Centre about 90 miles (about 1¾ hours) Longacres to Membury Services about 60 miles (about 1¼ hours) Membury Services to Ewyas Harold about 100 miles (about 1¾ hours) Total travelling in day about 250 miles (a little under 5 hours)

The Royal Pavilion, Brightongoldenvalleyprobus.org.uk/gallery/events 2018/Information Pack...

Documents

Transcript of The Royal Pavilion, Brightongoldenvalleyprobus.org.uk/gallery/events 2018/Information Pack...