Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England. The following is a list of those people who were either born or live in Lewes, or had some important contribution to make to the town.

A John Agard (born 1949), poet, playwright and children's author, lives in Lewes Russell Ash (1946–2010),Russell Ash author of Top 10 of Everything and other non-fiction books Daisy Ashford (1881–1972), juvenile novelist B. T. S. Atkins (1931–2021), lexicographer Lucy Atkins (Born 1968), novelist John Authers, financial journalist and writer

B Marina Baker (born 1967), former actress/model, journalist, children's author and politician Norman Baker (born 1957), former Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes Wynne Edwin Baxter (1844–1920), lawyer, translator, antiquarian and botanist Honor Blackman (1925–2020), actor Asa Briggs (1921–2016), English Historian, second vice-chancellor of University of Sussex and created Baron Briggs of Lewes in 1976 Michael Brooks (born 1970), science writer Arthur Brown (born 1942), musician, best known for his 1968 hit "Fire" Ralph Brown (born 1957), actor Anthony Buckeridge (1912–2004), children's author, noted for his Jennings series, lived near Lewes from 1962 until his death

C Anna Campbell (born 1991), first British woman to die fighting for the Women's Protection Units Philip Carr-Gomm (born 1952), leader of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids Richard Challoner (1691–1781), Roman Catholic bishop Thomas Cobham (died 1327), archdeacon of Lewes Shirley Collins (born 1935), folk singer and collector John Conolly (1794–1866), physician Henry William Crosskey (1826–1893), geologist and Unitarian minister

D Nick Davies (born 1953), investigative journalist and author of Flat Earth News, uncovered the News of the World phone hacking affair Roger Dean (born 1944), artist Alice Dudeney (1866–1945), author and diarist Henry Dudeney (1857–1930), author and mathematician

E John Ellman (1753–1832), farmer and stockbreeder John Evelyn (1620–1706), writer, gardener and diarist

F Julian Fane (1927–2009), author Barry Fell (1917–1994), zoologist John Fitzalan, 1st Baron Arundel (c. 1348–1379) David Ford (born 1978), singer/songwriter Julia Foster (born 1943), actress

G Eve Garnett (1900–1991), author and illustrator Walter Godfrey (1881–1961), architect, historian and antiquarian John Sparkes Goldsmith (1878–1942), founder and first editor of The Ringing World Sarah Gordy (born c. 1968), actress with Down syndrome Sir William Gull, 1st Baronet (1816–1890), physician Edward Castres Gwynne (1811–1888), Australian lawyer and politician

H Denzil Dean Harber (1909–1966), ornithologist and Trotskyist Ed Harcourt (born 1977), singer/songwriter Julius Charles Hare (1795–1855), theologian and archdeacon of Lewes Edward Hargraves (1816–1891), Australian gold prospector Hugh Harris, musician: guitarist with The Kooks Jonathan Harvey (1939–2012), composer John Berry Haycraft (1859–1923), professor of physiology George Hutson (1889–1914), Olympic runner

I James Iredell (1751–1799), American lawyer and associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

J Alison Jolly (1937–2014), primatologist Arthur M. Jolly (born 1969), writer Sir Richard Jolly (born 1934), development economist

K Peter Kellner (born 1946), journalist, political commentator, polling expert and president of YouGov Paul Austin Kelly (born 1960), opera singer Dame Grace Kimmins (1871–1954), social activist

L Eleanor of Lancaster (1311–1372), wife of Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel Sean Lock (1963–2021), comedian and actor Peter Love (died 1610), pirate, said to have been born in Lewes

M Gideon Mantell (1790–1852), obstetrician, geologist and palaeontologist Joan Maude (1908–1998), actress John Maynard Smith (1920–2004), evolutionary biologist and geneticist William McCrea (1904–1999), astronomer Reginald Medhurst (1920–2009), cricketer

N Grace Nichols (born 1950), poet, lives in LewesMargaret Busby (ed.), Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent (1992), London: Vintage, 1993, p. 796. William Nicholson (born 1948), writer

O Patrick O'Brian (1914–2000), author, novelist and translator, known for the Aubrey/Maturin series of sea stories, spent his childhood in Lewes

P Thomas Paine (1737–1809), revolutionary, inventor and intellectual John Peckham (c. 1230–1292), archbishop of Canterbury Pleasance Pendred (1864–1948), suffragette and activist for women's rights Brenda Pye (1907–2005), landscape artist

R Dick Rees (1894–1951), five-time champion jumps jockey Edward Ayearst Reeves (1862–1945), geographer; born in Lewes James Reeves (1909–1978), writer and poet Thomas 'Clio' Rickman (1760–1834), brewer and pamphleteer Richard Russell (1687–1759), physician (water cure)

S Louis Francis Salzman (1878–1971), economic historian Sir George Shiffner (1762–1842), politician Professor Alasdair Smith (born 1949), economist and former vice-chancellor, University of Sussex Anthony Stapley (1590–1655), member of Parliament; one of the regicides of King Charles I Noel Streatfeild (1895–1986), children's author

T Lesley Thomson (born 1958), crime writer Sir John Tomlinson (born 1946), opera singer Polly Toynbee (born 1946), journalist and writer Nicholas Tucker (living), academic and writer

W Edward Perry Warren (1860–1928), art collector Margaret Weedon (1854–1930), archer, competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London John Jenner Weir (1822–1894), civil servant, entomologist and ornithologist Barbara Willard (1909–1994), children's novelist Mark Williams (born 1959), actor and comedian Kenneth Woodroffe (1892–1915), first-class cricketer and British Army officer, killed in action in World War I Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), novelist and essayist

Y Nicholas Yonge (c. 1560–1619), singer and publisherDavid Brown, "Nicholas Yonge": The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke (1690–1764), politician

See also List of people from Sussex

References