Southover Grange wedding in Lewes

Southover Grange in Lewes would be the ceremony venue for this winter wedding for Laura and James. The wedding reception was in a local pub a short walkaway. But coverage starts down the Sussex coast, in Ferring. Here Laura got ready at her parents’ home. Just her and her parents, no bridesmaids, no flowergirls. But an anxious father, pacing the living room as his daughter was getting ready. He mentioned that he would probably get very emotional, he certainly did when Laura appeared, dressed and ready to head to Lewes. The tears came…

Wedding at Southover Grange

Southover Grange is a sixteenth-century Manor House, just down the hill from the High Street in Lewes – one of Sussex’s most picturesque and historic towns. Built in 1572, using stones from the nearby Lewes Priory which had been smashed up by Thomas Cromwell a few decades earlier. Some of the ruins still remain and Southover Grange is not the only building in Lewes to have been built with chunks of the Priory. Southover Grange became council-owned in 1945 and now houses Lewes Registry Office. I left Ferring way ahead of Laura and her parents and having parked up nearby (a feat in itself in Lewes!) headed to the ceremony venue. I even managed to bump into a friend who lives in the town as I walked to Southover Grange.

Wedding reception at The Royal Oak pub in Lewes

The wedding ceremony concluded at Southover Grange – a few more tears but plenty of smiles – it was time to head to the pub! Laura and James headed off in the wedding car while most guests walked up the hill to The Royal Oak pub. (In the nineteenth century there was a pub for every 100 people living in Lewes) The reception was in the function room above the pub. A small bar at one end of the room and a steady stream of food being carried up the stairs by the pub staff. After the buffet meal and the speeches – more tears (Laura’s dad) – it was a case of DIY. Tables and chairs were moved and a space cleared for the band – The Cavaliers – to set up, with a small dance floor. The smoke machine started up, the band got going, the party started…

Here are a few images from this wedding at Southover Grange in Lewes…