Pubs & Clubs
Beers & Breweries
Pubs & Clubs
Beers & Breweries
Join Us

Lewes Arms, Lewes

You have visited this venue
View all visits

Directions

You want to visit - You have this in

In the heart of the county town, the pub is a traditional alehouse popular with visitors and locals alike. Fullers beers are served plus Harvey's Best and sometimes a guest. It is home to the world pea-throwing championship, dwyle flunking, spaniel racing and other unusual events. A three-day music festival is hosted in August. Home-made food is available every day; times vary. The 7 handpumps are all located in the atmospheric front bar which has its own door off the corridor.

Historic Interest

The Lewes Arms controversy was a dispute between the Greene King Brewery and the regulars of the Lewes Arms pub in Lewes, East Sussex, England from 2006 to April 2007, when the brewery withdrew from sale a local beer.

The dispute prompted a change in Greene King's policy that may well have repercussions for other pubs that have lost the right to sell local beers. One of the Greene King directors, Mark Angela, left the company amid a shake up of all Greene King houses in which the managed house operations were split into two divisions.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewes_Arms_controversy

Information for this venue is provided by the Brighton & South Downs Branch of CAMRA
Previous Names
Local Authority
Lewes District
Last updated
26/01/2025
Last surveyed
11/01/2024
Leasehold owner
unknown
Freehold owner
Fuller Smith & Turner
Pub ID
BRI/24
Asset of Community Value

Three star - A pub interior of outstanding national historic importance

Listed status: II

Superb pub with a surviving three-room layout and a central servery; fixtures and fittings include the old counter, wall panelling, and cast-iron fireplaces.

Rebuilt in the early nineteenth century, the Lewes Arms is a superb three-room pub. The front door declares ‘Lewes Arms’ in an etched glass panel and leads through into a passageway, with a hatch to the servery. Pride of place goes to the two right-hand rooms, the front one being a small snug, that behind rather larger. The left-hand room, which houses a rare example of the toad-in-the-hole game, is an amalgamation of two rooms in the mid-1950s: the tiny one at the front was known as the smoking room behind which was a games room. The fittings are hard to date. The snug has a curved bar counter which may be interwar but probably not older: oddly, it also has a blocked doorway, now straddled by the bench seating.

General information about historic pub interiors

Superb pub with a surviving three-room layout and a central servery; fixtures and fittings include the old counter, wall panelling, and cast-iron fireplaces.Rebuilt in the early 19th century, the superb pub has three rooms. The front door has an old 'Lewes Arms' etched glass panel and a passageway, with a hatch to the servery, runs to the rear where there are steps to a smoking terrace. On the right is the snug. This tiny room has a bare wood floor, old curved counter at least 70 years old with a modern top, bare wall bench seating on two sides, only bar stools and no tables. Note the panelling which unusually runs horizontally, not vertically. There is a hatch in the passageway for service.

The small rear bar has a counter with old glazed panels in the partition above it so service is through a wide hatch. The wood panelling may be 1930s work, now painted deep pink. The left-hand room has dado panelling on the tiny front section and could have been amalgamated with former private quarters at some time to create a larger room. The rear section has a Victorian tiled and cast-iron fireplace and there is a toad in the hole game in the front section. An upstairs room, formerly two small rooms, has been brought into use in recent years and has a Victorian tiled and cast-iron fireplace and on the walls is some dray horse tack from Beards Brewery stables.

The Lewes Arms controversy - an entry on Wikipedia - details the protests by locals at Greene King's decision in December 2006 to remove Harveys Best Bitter from sale involving a 133 day boycott of the pub. The pub is famous for playing the most unusual of all pub games - Dwyle Flunking - just outside the pub. Also, an annual pea throwing contest, pantomime and poetry; and Lewes is famous for the largest celebration of Guy Fawkes Night with its 'Lewes Bonfire' which attracts 80,000 spectators.

General information about historic pub interiors
Premium Access Required

You must be a Digital Subscriber or CAMRA Member to be able to view specially curated GBG descriptions

Premium Access Required
Friday
Noon - 11:00pm
Saturday
Noon - 11:00pm
Sunday
Noon - 11:00pm
Monday
Noon - 11:00pm
Tuesday
Noon - 11:00pm
Wednesday
Noon - 11:00pm
Thursday
Noon - 11:00pm
Friday
Noon - 10:00pm
Saturday
Noon - 10:00pm
Sunday
Noon - 9:00pm
Monday
No Service
Tuesday
No Service
Wednesday
Noon - 10:00pm
Thursday
Noon - 10:00pm

Current beers

This Pub serves 2 changing beers (usually Fullers) and 5 regular beers.

Regular and recently seen
Dark Star - Hophead
Dark Star - Hophead Session Golden Ale • 3.4% Spotted 4 times
Dark Star - Hophead
Dark Star - Hophead

Session Golden Ale

Dispense: Handpump
ABV: 3.4%
Vegan: No
Gluten Free: No
This beer is served regularly.
Spotted 4 times
Gales - HSB
Gales - HSB Premium Bitter • 4.8% Spotted once
Gales - HSB
Gales - HSB

Premium Bitter

Dispense: Handpump
ABV: 4.8%
Vegan: No
Gluten Free: No
This beer is served regularly.
Spotted once
Gales - Seafarers
Gales - Seafarers Session Bitter • 3.6% Spotted twice
Gales - Seafarers
Gales - Seafarers

Session Bitter

Dispense: Handpump
ABV: 3.6%
Vegan: No
Gluten Free: No
This beer is served regularly.
Spotted twice
Fuller's London Pride Pumpclip
Fuller's - London Pride Session Bitter • 4.1%
Fuller's London Pride Pumpclip
Fuller's - London Pride

Session Bitter

Dispense: Handpump
ABV: 4.1%
Vegan: No
Gluten Free: No
This beer is served regularly.
Sussex Best Bitter - Harvey's
Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter Session Bitter • 4% Spotted 10 times
Sussex Best Bitter - Harvey's
Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter

Session Bitter

Dispense: Handpump
ABV: 4%
Vegan: No
Gluten Free: No
This beer is served regularly.
Spotted 10 times
Dark Star - American Pale Ale
Dark Star - American Pale Ale Premium Pale Ale • 4.7% Spotted 3 times
Dark Star - American Pale Ale
Dark Star - American Pale Ale

Premium Pale Ale

ABV: 4.7%
Vegan: No
Gluten Free: No
Spotted 3 times recently. Last spotted 4 days ago

Source: Regional


Your scores

Join CAMRA to access beer scoring and view scores for other pubs. Become a member.
Retrieving scores
You have no beer scores submitted.

Facilities
Lunchtime Meals Lunchtime Meals
Evening Meals Evening Meals
Live Music Live Music
Garden Garden
Patio area at upper level
Family Friendly Family Friendly
Dog Friendly Dog Friendly
Function Room Function Room
Games Games
Newspapers Newspapers
Real Fire Real Fire
Separate Bar Separate Bar
Smoking Smoking
Wi Fi Wi Fi
Features
Real Ale Real Ale
Real Heritage Pub Real Heritage Pub
LocAle LocAle
Cask Marque Cask Marque
Quiet Quiet
Cask Marque Beer and Cellar Hygiene rating
Cask Marque: Beer and Cellar Hygiene rating 5 out of 5
Transport
Close to bus routes (100m)
28, 29
Nearby Station (550m)
Lewes

Help keep our information accurate!

Notice an error or missing details? Help us keep our pub & club information accurate by sharing any corrections or updates you spot.

Suggest an edit

Nearby

View All
Exterior. (External, Key). Published on 26-09-2014
Open
Elephant & Castle
Pub, in Lewes
1 Regular, 4 Changing Beers
0.1 miles from you
  • CAMRA discount scheme
(Pub, External). Published on 30-12-2012
Open
Rights of Man
Pub, in Lewes
1 Regular, 3 Changing Beers
0.1 miles from you
Exterior. (Pub, External). Published on 02-05-2019
Open
Patch
Pub, in Lewes
REAL ALE not available
0.1 miles from you
Exterior. (Pub, External). Published on 02-05-2019
Open
White Hart Hotel
Pub, in Lewes
1 Regular, 3 Changing Beers
0.1 miles from you
Exterior. (Pub, External). Published on 02-05-2019
Open
Royal Oak
Pub, in Lewes
1 Regular, 3 Changing Beers
0.1 miles from you
Old photo. (Pub, External). Published on 02-05-2019
Open
Lansdown Arms
Pub, in Lewes
3 Regular, 1 Changing Beers
0.2 miles from you
Street frontage ground floor. (Pub, External, Key). Published on 20-04-2023
Open
Brewers Arms
Pub, in Lewes
1 Regular, 4 Changing Beers
0.2 miles from you
Inn sign. (Pub, External). Published on 23-06-2013
Open
Volunteer
Pub, in Lewes
1 Regular, 1 Changing Beers
0.2 miles from you
Exterior. (Pub, External). Published on 02-05-2019
Closed • Opens in 18 minutes
Lewes Constitutional Club
Lewes Constitutional Club Club, in Lewes
1 Regular, 1 Changing Beers
0.2 miles from you
Exterior. (Pub, External). Published on 16-11-2018
Open
Kings Head
Pub, in Lewes
1 Regular, 2 Changing Beers
0.3 miles from you

Need accommodation?

 

 

© Campaign for Real Ale 2023 - 2025 (ce-11)
Home