"The Paddock, Lewes, East Sussex, England" Top 5 Page for this destination Lewes by AdamPinkworth

This is where we live - a narrow street beneath the Castle by the Paddock in the heart of Lewes, county town of East Sussex, near the coast in the South East of England. It's a very beautiful and special place. We formed the Paddock Residents Association in January 2004 to preserve, protect and improve the environment of Paddock Road and its immediate surroundings. Visit our website at www.paddock.ods.org for more info.

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Paddock Road, which leads into Paddock Lane, is a very old and narrow one-way street right in the heart of Lewes. It's in the Conservation Area. It connects the Offham Road to the High Street, passing beneath the Castle and beside the Paddock, a unique and beautiful piece of land which to this day has remained unspoilt by development. It is a route favoured by pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders (and sadly motorists).

Starting at its eastern end, the Paddock contains a children's playground, a sports ground used by local schools, several allotments, a paddock with horses, and Baxter's Field, formerly a private sports ground and now the property of a charitable trust which has opened the field to the community. Currently, the children's playground is a building site, where Southern Water is installing a new sewer to combat Lewes' perennial flood problem.

There are terraced cottages up one side of Paddock Road, facing the allotments, and then a terrace of town houses on one side of Paddock Lane, facing the paddock - about 50 households in total.

Paddock Lane also contains the Paddock Art Studios, where for many decades artists have come to draw, paint and attend classes, and a rear entrance to Lewes Old Grammar School.

A steep twitten (footpath) links Paddock Lane to Westgate Street, the Castle and further paths into the Town Centre.

View from Bradford Road

Baxter's Field is part of the Paddock, and has its entrance at the top end of Paddock Lane. It is bounded by The Avenue to the north, Bradford Road to the south-west, Wycherley's paddock to the east, and Paddock Lane to the south-east. It is the former sports ground of Baxters, the old Lewes printers, taken over some years ago by Fulmar plc.

The Baxter's Field Company was formed to act as a vehicle to both purchase and participate in the general upkeep and maintenance of Baxter's Field, together with fundraising and other such events and activities that will benefit the field for the people of Lewes.

The company was incorporated on the 1st of October 2003 based upon the original concept of The Baxter's Field Trust, which acted on an informal basis, until such time that the field became available for sale. After a public meeting, held in Lewes on the 10th of September 2003 , and subsequent soundings, a bid value of £78,000 was drawn up and submitted to Clifford Dann (agents for the vendor Fulmar plc) on the final date. This bid was formed on the basis of pledges received from many people who either live in the vicinity of the field or who have had a long-term interest in it.

After a period of nail-biting anticipation the company was informed that its bid had been successful and contracts were exchanged on the 6th November 2003 with completion on 22nd December 2003.

Now, after lots of hard work cleaning up the field, cutting the grass, making the trees safe and fencing off the old burnt-out pavilion, it is open to the public!

• Pros:Peaceful, friendly, historic, beautiful, lots of good pubs
• Cons:Can't think of any
• In a nutshell:A place to call your home