The Location: Lewes

The story takes place in and around the borough of Lewes, whose crest appears at right. Lewes (pronounced the same as "Lewis") is in East Sussex. It is situated on the River Ouse, near the south coast of England (see map of medieval Sussex). Running just to the south of it is a series of "hump-backed" hills called the Downs (see Lewes and vicinity ). Lewes was founded in Anglo-Saxon times, but became a center of activity under the Normans. William the Conqueror appointed one of his lieutenants, William de Warenne, Lord of Lewes (as well as Earl of Surrey) and directed him to build a castle there. De Warenne also founded a Cluniac priory (the Priory of St. Pancras) just across the river and south of town. Though the map below is of Lewes in 1926, the basic layout of the town was the same. The castle is situated on the highest ground in the area, and the market and dwellings were clustered along High Street running roughly east and west through the town. The road running west goes to the town of Arundel, but it is also the direction one would in order to get to the hunting grounds of Lord Warenne.

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A view of Lewes and its castle from the northwest:

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