59 
SATURDAY, APRIL 11TH, 1908. 
EXCURSION TO LEWES. 
VisITING THE Priory AND NEWMARKET HILL. 
By kind permission of Mr. F. G. Courthope, J.P., the ruins 
of the once great Priory were thrown open to the members. An 
account of the ancient building was given by Mr. Frederick 
Harrison. Taking his stand near the spot where the envoys from 
De Montfort and the Barons at Fletching offered terms to Henry 
III, Mr. Harrison told his hearers that so effective had been the 
destruction of the Church in the time of the dissolution of 
monasteries by Henry VIII., that the only vestige which remained 
was a few stones, and not until the railway was cut in 1845 was 
even the site known. The present ruins were chiefly the remains 
of the domestic offices. 
THE GUNDRADA CHAPEL. 
The original building, dedicated to St. Pancras, and begun 
in 1077 and added to up to 1500, must have been in extent and 
beauty equal to any of our modern cathedrals. It must have 
been similar to the present monastery of Cluny, in France. The 
grounds covered 40 acres. The party, having inspected the 
ruins, adjourned to the Church, and at the invitation of the 
Rector, the Rev. Harcourt S. Anson, inspected the Gundrada 
Chapel and tomb. Here Mr. Harrison explained that the Chapel 
was a good specimen of modern Norman work. The slab in the 
centre had been taken to Isfield at the dissolution of the monas- 
tery, and kept there for about two centuries. When, however, 
the remains of William de Warrenne and Gundrada were unearthed 
during the railway excavation in-1845 they were deposited in the 
‘Chapel built for the purpose, and the slab was returned by Sir 
Walter Burrell. The party having expressed thanks to Mr. 
Courthope and the Rector’s son, Mr. Wilfrid Anson, who con- 
ducted them to the chapel, returned to Brighton, the majority 
walking to Falmer over Newmarket Hill. 
