Coordinates: 50°52′09″N 0°00′58″E / 50.86906°N 0.01624°E / 50.86906; 0.01624

Lewes Priory School is a British co-educational school for 11 to 16 year-olds located on Mountfield Road in the East Sussex town of Lewes. It is a specialist school as an Arts College, Language College, and Science College.

History[link]

The Priory School was originally formed in 1969 when the Lewes County Grammar School for Girls, the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys and the Lewes Secondary Modern School were amalgamated to form a comprehensive school called Priory School. At this point, although the school was comprehensive for children who lived within the town of Lewes, it was also open to children from the surrounding towns and villages who had passed the 11 plus. During this period there was also academic streaming: the names of the streamed groups were based on the letters of the word MOUNTFIELD.

In its early years (from 1969 until around 1980) the school was in three separate locations: the former Girls Grammar School buildings in Potter's Lane housed the Lower School (ages 12–13), while on Mountfield Road the Secondary Modern buildings housed the Middle School (ages 14–15), with the Upper School (ages 16–18) in the former Boys Grammar. Later, in the early 1990s, the school was split into a Sixth Form College (16-19) and the separate Priory School (11-16) on the Mountfield Road site.

Site[link]

The Priory School then became centred on the site of the former Secondary Modern School and new buildings have since been added. The adjacent buildings formerly used by the County Grammar School for Boys and by the Sixth Form College have become part of the Sussex Downs College (Higher Education). The Chapel, of the former Boys Grammar School, was retained by the Priory School. This chapel was built after World War II to commemorate the boys from the school who fought in the war. Next to it is the Music Block, which was rebuilt in 2008 in place of the old temporary one. The new block features improved disabled access, but thin walls and a void beneath the floor make it a rather difficult environment for music lessons.

In 1991, the new revised version of Priory School opened boasting a new wing — the "South Block" — and a heavily refurbished main building. The latter was the home of Lewes Secondary Modern School until 1969, sporting a distinctive copper plated clock tower. The main building included new science labs, a library and design technology rooms, built in anticipation of design technology being in the National Curriculum. The South Block hosts, on the ground floor, the Art, Maths, Modern Foreign Languages, and English classrooms and on the first floor the Humanities classrooms. The Performing Arts Block was built recently next to the Main Hall.

The nearby Leisure Centre is used for indoor sports and the nearby Convent Fields, the Cricket Nets and the Tennis Courts, for outdoor ones. Between the South Block and the Main Building is a playground called The Quad. The tarmac playground continues until the chapel but there are large muddy and grassy areas surrounding it.

The arts[link]

Priory School has a strong tradition of amateur drama that it inherited from the Grammar Schools. The Head of History, Jim Butt and co-writer Colin Burgess wrote an entire musical about the life of local WWI soldier, Private Rupert Freeman, called "In the Pink". The pupils are divided into four "houses" named Fire, Earth, Water and Air. Each pupil is allocated to a house and the houses compete collectively in sport and other activities.

Priory has been awarded Arts and Language College statuses, specializing in these areas with increased funding. The three modern foreign languages taught are Spanish, French and German. There is also a Chinese club. These four languages are represented by the flags of their home countries (along with the Union Flag) outside the entrance of the school. The school will sit, but not teach, an Italian GCSE.

A number of pupils have gone on to make careers in the arts. Eric Goulden, Pete Thomas, Hugh Harris and Tom (Keith) Morley, made their names in the music business. Graeme K Talboys has had a number of books published.

Uniform[link]

The current Priory School uniform is:a navy blue blazer, mid-grey pullover, blue and silver striped tie, mid-grey trousers or skirt, a long sleeved shirt and plain black school shoes.

Present day[link]

At the beginning of the academic year September 2009, a new arrangement for the school day was put into practice consisting of five lesson periods, with half an hour of tutor time per day. The lunch times have been altered to create three lunch sittings. Which lunch a student may be sitting varies from day to day. Each lesson lasts 60 minutes. Break time is 15 minutes long and lunch is 30 minutes. Between these three there are gaps of 5 minutes to give students time to get around.

Priory alumni commonly progress to further education courses at the close by Sussex Downs College, or BHASVIC, Varndean and City Colleges in Brighton. The current Headteacher is Mr. Anthony Smith, who replaced outgoing headteacher Mr Martyn Ofield in September 2010.

Chapel[link]

In 1960 a chapel, designed by Sir Edward Maufe,^[1] was built to honour the boys from the Lewes County Grammar School for Boys who died in World War II. Their names grace the walls of the vestibule to this day. The Latin "Dare Nec Computare" above the door translates to "To give and not to count the cost". Some of the schools assemblies are now held in the chapel, including a weekly collective worship which students attend. These sessions have speakers from various religions, but only Christian.

Notable alumni[link]

• Piers Morgan, Journalist
• Tim Loughton, Politician
• Virginia Nicholson, Writer (granddaughter of painter Vanessa Bell)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lewes Priory School website
• Lewes Sixth Form College website
• Old Lewesians Organisation website

Coordinates: 50°52′32″N 0°01′04″E / 50.875627°N 0.017855°E / 50.875627; 0.017855

Lewes
Lewes viewed from Lewes Castle
Lewes  Lewes shown within East Sussex
Area	11.4 km2 (4.4 sq mi) [1]
Population	16,222 (Parish-2007)[1]
- Density	3,679 /sq mi (1,420 /km2)
OS grid reference	TQ420104
- London	44 miles (71 km) N
Civil parish	Lewes
District	Lewes
Shire county	East Sussex
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LEWES
Postcode district	BN7
Dialling code	01273
Police	Sussex
Fire	East Sussex
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Lewes
Website	http://www.lewes-town.co.uk/
List of places: UK • England • East Sussex

Lewes ( /ˈluːɨs/) is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town. At the 2001 census it had a population of 15,988.^[2]

History[link]

Archaeological evidence points to prehistoric dwellers in the area. Scholars think that the Roman settlement of Mutuantonis was here, as quantities of artifacts have been discovered in the area. The Saxons built a castle, having first constructed its motte as a defensive point over the river; they gave the town its name.^[3]

After the Norman invasion, William the Conqueror gave Lewes to William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey. He built Lewes Castle on the Saxon site; and he and his wife, Gundred also founded the Priory of St Pancras, a Cluniac priory, in about 1081. Lewes was the site of a mint during the Late Anglo-Saxon period and thereafter a mint during the early years after the Norman invasion. In 1148 the town was granted a charter by King Stephen. The town became a port with docks along the Ouse River.

The town was the site of the Battle of Lewes between the forces of Henry III and Simon de Monfort in the Second Barons’ War in 1264, at the end of which de Monfort's forces were victorious. The battle took place in fields now just west of Landport. (Professor David Carpenter gave a lecture about the Battle of Lewes at Lewes Town Hall in the summer of 2010; it can be heard at the following website.^[4] )

At the time of the Marian Persecutions of 1555–1557, Lewes was the site of the execution of seventeen Protestant martyrs, who were burned at the stake in front of the Star Inn. This structure is now the Town Hall. Through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Lewes developed as the county town of East Sussex, expanding beyond the line of the town wall. It was an active port and developed related iron, brewing and ship building industries.

In 1846 the town became a railway junction, with lines constructed from the north, south and east to two railway stations. The development of Newhaven ended Lewes's period as a major port.^{[citation needed]} During the Crimean War, some 300 Finns serving in the Russian army were held captive at Lewes. Lewes became a borough in 1881.

Governance[link]

Lewes became one of the non-county boroughs within the then Sussex, East county under the Local Government Act 1933. In 1974 it became a civil parish with the title of town;^[5] there are three wards, Bridge, Castle and Priory, each being served by six councillors.^[6] The Mayor for 2010/11 is Councillor John Stockdale and the Deputy Mayor is Councillor Michael Chartier.^[7]

For many years, Lewes was dominated by the Conservative Party, both at local and national levels. Since 1991, however, when the Liberal Democrats won the District Council for the first time, there has been a swing away from the Conservatives, although they experienced a revival in the 2007 District Council elections. In the East Sussex County Council elections of 2009 the town returned an Independent in the Lewes Division with an increased majority over the Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats' parliamentary candidate, Norman Baker, won the Lewes constituency in the 1997 general election narrowly, and then again in 2001 with a much increased majority and share of the vote. Baker held the seat in 2005, with a small swing of 1.6% in the Conservatives' favour, although they too saw their share of the vote fall. Baker held Lewes in 2010 with a reduced majority, but 52% of the vote. He was the Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment and Rural Affairs Secretary, until his resignation from the post following the election of Sir Menzies Campbell as party leader.

Lewes is the seat of the East Sussex County Council, whose offices are located at County Hall in St Anne’s Crescent. Lewes District Council, the second tier of local government, is administered from offices in the High Street.^[8]

The head office of Sussex Police is in Lewes.^[9] On 31 March 2009 Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, announced his decision to confirm the designation of the South Downs National Park, which came into being exactly one year later and includes the town of Lewes within its boundaries.

Geography[link]

You can see Lewes lying like a box of toys under a great amphitheatre of chalk hills ... on the whole it is set down better than any town I have seen in England.

—William Morris (1834-1896)

Panoramic view of Lewes

Lewes is situated on the Greenwich Meridian, in a gap in the South Downs, cut through by the River Ouse, and near its confluence with the Winterbourne Stream. It is approximately seven miles north of Newhaven, and an equal distance north-east of Brighton. The Greenwich Meridian runs through the western part of Lewes, where a pub (now demolished) was named after it.

The South Downs rise above the river on both banks. The High Street, and earliest settlement, occupies the west bank, climbing steeply up from the bridge taking its ancient route along the ridge; the summit on that side, 2.5 miles (4 km) distant is known as Mount Harry. On the east bank there is a large chalk cliff Cliffe Hill that can be seen for many miles, part of the group of hills including Mount Caburn, Malling Down (where there are a few houses in a wooded area on the hillside, in a development known as Cuilfail) and Golf Hill (home to the Lewes Golf Club). The two banks of the river are joined by Willey's Bridge (a footbridge), the Phoenix Causeway (a recent concrete road bridge, named after the old Phoenix Ironworks) and Cliffe Bridge (an eighteenth-century replacement of the mediaeval crossing, widened in the 1930s and now pedestrianised).

The High Street runs from Eastgate to West-Out, forming the spine of the ancient town. Cliffe Hill gives its name to the one-time village of Cliffe, now part of the town. The southern part of the town, Southover, came into being as a village adjacent to the Priory, south of the Winterbourne Stream. At the north of the town's original wall boundary is the St. John's or Pells area, home to several nineteenth-century streets and the Pells Pond. The Pells Pool, built in 1860, is the oldest freshwater lido in England. The Phoenix Industrial Estate lies along the west bank of the river. This area is home to the old fire station and subject of a potential regeneration project.

Malling lies to the east of the river and had eighteenth and nineteenth-century houses and two notable breweries. Road engineering and local planning policy in the 1970s cleared many older buildings here to allow the flow of traffic; it now goes along Little East Street, across the Phoenix Bridge and through the Cuilfail Tunnel to join the A27.

The town boundaries were enlarged twice (from the original town walls), in 1881 and 1934. They now include the more modern housing estates of Wallands, South Malling (the west part of which is a previously separate village with a church dedicated to St. Michael), Neville, Lansdown, and Cranedown on the Kingston Road.^[10]

Countryside walks can be taken starting from several points in Lewes. One can walk over Mount Caburn to the village of Glynde starting in Cliffe, traverse the Lewes Brooks (an RSPB reserve) from Southover, walk to Kingston near Lewes also from Southover, or wander up along the Ouse to Hamsey Place from the Pells. The South Downs Way rises just below Lewes and hikers often stop off at the town.

Natural sites and events[link]

Three Sites of Special Scientific Interest lie within the parish: Lewes Downs, Lewes Brooks and Southerham Works Pit. Lewes Downs is a site of biological interest, an isolated area of the South Downs.^[11] Lewes Brooks, also of biological importance, is part of the floodplain of the River Ouse, providing a habitat for many invertebrates such as water beetles and snails.^[12] Southerham Works Pit is of geological interest, a disused chalk pit displaying a wide variety of fossilised fish remains.^[13] The Railway Land nature reserve is on the east side of the town next to the Ouse, and contains an area of woodland and marshes known as the Heart of Reeds. The Winterbourne stream, a tributary of the Ouse, flows through it. This stream flows most winters and dries up in the summer, hence its name. It continues through Lewes going through the Grange Gardens and often travelling underground. The Heart of Reeds is one of the sites in East Sussex and Kent home to the marsh frog, an introduced species. It is popular with pond-dippers and walkers. A centre for the study of environmental change is due to be built at the entrance to the nature reserve.^[14]

On 27 December 1836, an avalanche occurred in Lewes, the worst ever recorded in Britain. A large build-up of snow on the nearby cliff slipped down onto a row of cottages called Boulters Row (now part of South Street). About fifteen people were buried, and eight of these died. A pub in South Street is named The Snowdrop in memory of the event.

On 21 August 1864, Lewes suffered an earthquake shock measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale.^[15]

In October 2000 the town suffered major flooding during an intense period of severe weather throughout the United Kingdom. The commercial centre of the town and many residential areas were devastated. In a government report into the nationwide flooding, Lewes was officially noted the most severely affected location.^[16] As a result of the devastation, the Lewes Flood Action group formed, to press for better flood protection measures.^[17]

Neighbouring areas

	Ditchling, Burgess Hill	Barcombe Cross	Ringmer, Uckfield
	Falmer		Hailsham
		Lewes    East
	Brighton	Newhaven, Peacehaven	Seaford, Eastbourne

Religious buildings[link]

Church of England[link]

• St. Michael's is located at the top of the High Street and like St. Peter's in nearby Southease it has a round tower (with a shingled spire). Its length runs along the street rather than away from it and the cemetery is separated from the High Street by stone walls with iron railings on top. Next to it is a building which is used upstairs as a Sunday School.
• Further west is St. Anne's,^[18] a quiet church surrounded by its graveyard, which gives its name to the street it is on.
• St John sub Castro (Latin for St. John-under-the-Castle) is the northernmost church in the old town. The surrounding town quarter is called St. John's. The church's boundaries are actually protected on one side by the Town Walls, although originally St. John's was a small Saxon building. It was destroyed in the 19th century but the main door was kept and used as an east door for the large new church, built in 1839 by George Cheeseman^[19] in flint and brick. In the graveyard there is a memorial to the Finnish prisoners kept in the old naval prison in the 19th century. St. John's Church Hall is a couple of streets away in Talbot Terrace.
• In Cliffe there is St. Thomas à Becket's, where the Orthodox Community also worship.
• In Southover, St John the Baptist's is located on Southover High Street next to the local War Memorial. The nave incorporates the hospitium of the Priory of St Pancras.^[20] Neighbouring it is Church End and down the road at St. James Street cul-de-sac, the Church Hall.
• St. Michael, South Malling dates from 1628 and was once in a village of its own. The development of the suburbs has connected South Malling to Lewes although the church mainatins its village setting by the River Ouse, with the neighbouring rectory.

Deconsecrated[link]

• All Saints' is next to the site of a Priory of Grey Friars (Franciscan monks) the only relic of which is an archway at the end of the church boundary wall, which is on the line of the town wall. The mediæval tower survives, abutting a later brick nave by Amon Wilds (1806)^[19] and nineteenth century gothic style chancel. This church is now deconsecrated and serves as a community arts space, home to the Lewes Cinema.^[21] Lewes Film Club, the Oyster Project disability charity and many local organisations.

Non-conformist[link]

• The Roman Catholic church is dedicated to St. Pancras in memory of the Priory and is a red-brick building over the street from St. Anne's.
• The Religious Society of Friends (finished 1784) is a Quaker meeting house next to the former All Saints Church (now an arts centre) on Friar's Walk.
• The Jireh Chapel, off Malling Street, is a Grade I listed building,^[22] being a rare survivor of its type dating from 1805. It now houses the Lewes Free Presbyterian Church.
• Westgate Chapel is a sixteenth-century building located in a yard at the top of the High Street (Grade 2 listed). So called because of its position at the old West Gate of the town wall, the Chapel first officially opened for worship as Westgate Meeting in 1700 as English Presbytarian but soon joined by an Independent congregation. Its liberal stance allowed it to become a Unitarian church by 1820 (when the congregation of Southover General Baptist Chapel joined) and is still a Unitarian chapel today.
• Eastgate Chapel is a very different building; a neo Norman design of 1843 in dark flint, it originally had a pepper pot dome but this was removed in favour of a traditional spire in case traffic vibrations below made it fall off. A modern extension was added to the church.
• Christ Church Hall, a modern building, serves both the United Reformed Church and the Methodist worshippers.
• Southover General Baptist Chapel was built in Eastport Lane in 1741. The congregation's views moved towards Unitarianism, and in the 19th century they joined Westgate Chapel. The building has been a house since 1972, but had various religious and secular uses before that.

Demography[link]

In 2001 the service industries were by far the biggest employers in Lewes: over 60% of the population working in that sector. A little over 10% are employed in manufacturing, mostly in the smaller industrial units, particularly those in The Mallings Business Centre.

The town is a net daytime exporter of employees with a significant community working in London and Brighton whilst it draws in employees of the numerous local government and public service functions on which its local economy is strongly dependent.

An important part of the town’s economy is based on tourism,^[23] because of the town's many historic attractions and its location.

Lewes Bonfire[link]

Procession of the martyrs crosses, as part of Lewes' Bonfire Night celebrations

Arguably the town's most important annual event is Lewes Bonfire, or Bonfire Night - Guy Fawkes Night celebrations on the 5th of November. In Lewes this event not only marks the date of the uncovering of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, but also commemorates the memory of the seventeen Protestant martyrs burnt at the stake for their faith during the Marian Persecutions. The celebrations, which controversially involve burning an effigy of the Pope, are the largest and most famous Bonfire Night celebrations in the country.^[24][25]

Economy[link]

The Harveys Brewery in the centre of Lewes

The Lewes Chamber of Commerce represents the traders and businesses of the town.^[26] The town has been identified as unusually diversified with numerous specialist, independent retailers, counter to national trends toward 'chain' retailers and large corporate retail outlets.

Lewes Farmers' Market, one of the first in the UK, was started in the 1990s by Common Cause Co-operative Ltd^[27] and is a very popular re-invention of Lewes as a market town. The Farmers' Market takes place in pedestrianised Cliffe High Street on the first Saturday of every month, with local food producers coming to sell their wares under covered market stalls. Occasionally French traders from the Twin Town of Blois attend, vending on Cliffe Bridge.

From 1794 beers, wines and spirits were distributed from Lewes under the Harveys name, and the town is today the site of Harvey & Son's brewery celebrated as one the finest ale producers in England.

In September 2008, Lewes launched its own currency, the Lewes Pound, in an effort to increase trade within the town.^[28][29] One Lewes Pound is equal to £1. Like the similar local currency in Totnes, the initiative is part of the Transition Towns movement. The Lewes Pound and the Transition Towns movement have received criticism for a failure to address the needs of the wider Lewes population, especially lower socio-economic groups.^[30] Such local currency initiatives have been more widely criticized in light of limited success stimulating new spending in local economies and as an unrealistic strategy to reduce carbon emissions.^[31] The Lewes Pound can be exchanged for the same amount of pounds sterling in several shops in Lewes and can be spent in a wide range of local businesses. Many of the notes were sold on Ebay at a higher amount. Early numbers and sequenced notes fetched very high prices from foreign collectors.

Landmarks[link]

Lewes Castle

The town is the location of several significant historic buildings, including Lewes Castle, the remains of Lewes Priory, Bull House (the former home of Tom Paine), Southover Grange and public gardens, and a sixteenth century timber-framed Wealden hall house known as Anne of Cleves House because it was given to her as part of her divorce settlement from Henry VIII, though she never lived there. Anne of Cleves and the Castle are owned and maintained by the Sussex Archaeological Society (whose headquarters are in Lewes). The Round House, a secluded former windmill in Pipe Passage, was owned by the writer Virginia Woolf.

The steep and cobbled Keere Street is home to many historic buildings, including a timber framed antiquarian bookshop. The gardens of the buildings on the east side of the street border the old Town Walls. The Prince Regent once drove his carriage down the Street, and a sign at the bottom commemorates this event.

The ancient street pattern survives extensively as do a high proportion of the medieval building plots and oak framed houses, albeit often masked with later facades. The eighteenth century frontages are notable and include several, like Bartholomew House at the Castle Gate, that are clad in mathematical tiles which mimic fine brick construction. Numerous streets of eighteenth and nineteenth century cottages have survived cycles of 'slum clearance' as models of attractive town housing.

At the highest point of the old town the Portland stone and Coade stone facade of the Crown Court (1808–12, by John Johnson), the brick Market Tower and florid War Memorial mark the historic centre, although trade has tended to concentrate on the lower land in modern times. At the lowest part of the town, by the river, Harvey & Son's Brewery, 'The Cathedral of Lewes' is an unspoilt nineteenth century tower brewery and is the only one of the town's five original major breweries still in use. The railway station is the other important monument of the industrial era.

Bull House: Thomas Paine's home

Lewes has limited public garden space hence the popular appeal of the Grange Gardens. Southover Grange was built in the sixteenth century of Caen limestone sourced from the demolition of Lewes Priory and is used as a nursery school and as a location for weddings and exhibitions. The gardens are open to the public for most of the light hours of every day of the year. The north wing of the building is home to a craft shop and The Window café (open in spring and summer). The Grange has a strict and lengthy list of rules controlling its visitors and the Winterbourne stream runs through it. A tulip tree was planted there by Queen Elizabeth II and a mulberry tree dating perhaps to the seventeenth century is now enclosed by steel fencing. The history of these significant, historic gardens is under researched.

Pelham House dates back to the sixteenth century and features architecture of all subsequent eras and a private landscaped garden facing the Downs. It now serves as an independent hotel. Shelleys Hotel is likewise of some antiquity with a private garden and family associations with Percy Shelley.

The centre of Lewes is notable for a consistently high calibre of regional vernacular architecture and variety of historic construction materials and techniques.

Transport[link]

Lewes railway station, looking east. South Downs in the distance

Lewes, from its inception, has been an important transport hub.^[32] Its site as a bridging point was probably originally a ford: today the main routes avoid the town centre. The A27 trunk road taking traffic along the south coast between Eastbourne and Southampton passes to the south of the town. The A26 from Maidstone to Newhaven; and the A275 (the London road) both come in from the north. The Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company serve the town. The Bus Station was closed for a while but reopened in late 2008.

Lewes railway station was originally the junction for six routes. The town still enjoys hourly fast trains from London. The two erstwhile rural rail routes to the north, linking to East Grinstead and Uckfield respectively, are both now closed, but the East Coastway Line, connecting Brighton with Eastbourne and Hastings, and the branch to Seaford remain.

The Vanguard Way, a long-distance footpath from London to Newhaven, passes through countryside east of the town.

Education[link]

Primary schools[link]

There are many primary schools including

• Lewes New School^[33]
• Morley House (Lewes Old Grammar School's junior department)^[34]
• Pells School
• St. Pancras School
• South Malling School
• Southover School^[35]
• Wallands School
• Western Road School^[36]

Western Road and Southover School, despite being separate schools, are housed in linked buildings. The original Southover buildings are of red brick in the Queen Anne style, dating back to the early 20th century. The additions to it now forming the Western Road buildings date from after 1945. The two schools share a field.

Secondary schools[link]

There are two secondary schools in the town and one nearby;

• Lewes Old Grammar School,^[37] an independent school which also has a sixth form.
• Lewes Priory School,^[38] specialising in the arts, languages and science.
• Ringmer Community College and Sixth Form, ^[39] about two miles from Lewes town centre, is a school for ages eleven to nineteen; its sixth form provides A Levels and AS Levels as well as Diplomas and vocational courses.

Further education[link]

Sussex Downs College provides a range of courses including A levels, GCSEs and vocational qualifications such as NVQs and BTECs.

Culture[link]

Located four miles (6 km) outside of Lewes is Glyndebourne opera house. Founded in 1934, the venue draws large audiences for its Summer Festival and has attracted a host of international talent throughout its history.

A number of local classical music series operate in the town, including the Nicolas Yonge Society;^[40] the Westgate Series ^[41] based at the Westgate Chapel; and the baroque and early classical Workshop Series.^[42] The Lewes Concert Orchestra^[43] was founded in 1993.

The principal town museum is Barbican House Museum at Lewes Castle, which hosts the Lewes Town Model^[44] as well as four galleries of Sussex archaeology. Anne of Cleves House has various collections relating to the history of Lewes.

There is also the Hop Gallery^[45] in the former Star Brewery in Market Street; St Anne's Gallery^[46] in the High Street and occasional art exhibitions mounted at the Town Hall. The Foundry Gallery^[47] was converted by Artemis Arts from the former Market Lane Garage in 2006 for use for art events.

The Lewes Film Club, which also produces short movies (including the recent adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm), and Lewes Cinema show films based in the All Saints Centre, a former church.

Local dance schools and clubs include Lewes Dance Club,^[48] East Sussex Dance and ballet groups. Starfish Youth Music ^[49] is based at Priory School and the young bands who take part regularly perform in local venues such as the Paddock and the All Saints' Centre.

Popular music gigs take place at a number of venues and pubs across the town including the Lewes Con Club, the Snowdrop Inn, the Volunteer Pub, the Lewes Arms, The John Harvey Tavern, The Pelham Arms. The Royal Oak hosts a regular Thursday night folk sessions which attracts leading musicians.^[50]

A monthly comedy club based at the Con Club was created in 2010.

Annual arts events include ArtWave^[51] and the children's Patina Moving On Parade.^[52] An annual Lewes Guitar Festival which started in 1999 has not operated since the late 2000s.

Lewes has been influenced by its close proximity to the University of Sussex and Brighton University in terms of significant numbers of academics and students living in the town.

The Headstrong Club whose notable members include Thomas Paine was relaunched in 1987^[53] and continues to operate.

A branch of the popular Skeptics in the Pub^[54] movement was created in 2011 in Lewes, based at the Elephant and Castle.

Media[link]

The Sussex Express newspaper, based in Lewes, was established in 1837 and serves much of East Sussex. It has four editions and includes extensive coverage of the local sports scene. It is part of the Johnston Press network of newspapers.^[55]

Viva Lewes was founded as a weekly web magazine in January 2006 and also as a monthly print handbook in October 2006 covering events and activities in and around the Lewes area.^[56]

Bright 106.4 FM radio station, based in Burgess Hill, broadcasts to an area which extends to Lewes.

Lewes has its own RSL radio station, Rocket FM,^[57] which broadcasts via FM and the Internet for three weeks in October/November each year, covering the Bonfire period.

Sport[link]

Lewes Priory Cricket Club are based at the Stanley Turner Ground, Kingston Road. The club were Sussex League champions in 1986 and 1990 and Division 2 winners in 1999, 2006 and 2008. They will play in Division 3 (east) of the Sussex League in 2012.

Lewes Rugby Football Club, founded in 1930, runs several rugby teams at various competitive levels, including the senior men's sides, the women's, girls' and junior teams. Lewes RFC's home turf is the Stanley Turner Ground, Kingston Road.

The local football team is Lewes F.C. (home ground "The Dripping Pan") founded in 1885 who currently play in the Conference South. The town is also home to Lewes Bridge View F.C. which has adult teams competing in the Mid Sussex Football League and Lewes and District Sunday League in addition to a number of junior teams across age groups.

Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club was reconstituted in 1950. The club organises regular time trials throughout the summer.

Lewes Racecourse, located immediately to the west of the town on the slopes of the Downs, operated for 200 years until closed in 1964. It is still used as a training course, and there are several stables nearby.^[58] Race days are held at nearby Plumpton Race Course.

Lewes Athletic Club caters for junior and senior athletes. The club trains at the all weather 400m track at the end of Mountfield Road, and other locations in the area.

There are a number of Service Clubs in Lewes of which one is the Lewes Lions Club which is a member of Lions Clubs International, the largest Service Organisation in the world. The club runs various events including the Christmas Concert in December each year with the LGB Brass and the annual "International 'Toad-In-The-Hole' Competition" and holds street collections to raise funds so as to assist people and organisations in and around Lewes.^[59]

Notable people[link]

Among the many notable former residents of Lewes is Thomas Paine (1737–1809), who was employed as an excise officer in the town for a time from 1768 to 1774 when he emigrated to the American colonies. The Paine association sits at the centre of a radical tradition that is represented today by writers working in the town.^{[citation needed]}

The sciences and natural enquiry are represented by Gideon Mantell who is credited with the first discovery and identification of fossilised dinosaur (iguanodon) teeth. Lewes doctor, Richard Russell, popularised the resort of Brighton.

Lewes is the birthplace of sixteenth century madrigalist Nicholas Yonge and more recently home in the 1960s to Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones as it is now to other musicians, notably Herbie Flowers, Arthur Brown and Tim Rice-Oxley from Keane.

Daisy Ashford lived at Southdown House, 44 St Anne’s Crescent from 1889 to 1896 where she wrote The Young Visiters. Virginia Woolf briefly owned - but never lived in - the Round House, a windmill in Pipe Passage, in 1919 before moving to her final home, Monk's House in Rodmell. Arthur Conan Doyle resided in Castle Banks House for some time. Diarist John Evelyn spent his boyhood at Southover Grange.

Crime[link]

The fact that Lewes has a Crown Court, and a prison, is reflected by the fact that many notorious people have been connected with the town. During the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland several prominent figures involved in it were in Lewes Prison, including Éamon de Valera (1882–1975); Thomas Ashe (1885–1917); Frank Lawless (1871–1922); and Harry Boland (1887–1922). Others have included George Witton (1874–1942) involved in shooting prisoners during the Boer War.

Lewes assizes saw many important trials. In 1949 serial killer John George Haigh was sentenced to death. In 1956 suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams had his committal hearing in Lewes before being sent to the Old Bailey, London for trial. He was subsequently tried and convicted in Lewes in 1957 for fraud, lying on cremation forms and obstructing a police search. An early case was that of Percy Lefroy Mapleton (1860–1881) hanged for murder and the subject of the first composite picture on a wanted poster.

Twin towns[link]

Lewes is twinned with:

• Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany, since 1974
• Blois, France, since 30 June 1963

Etymology[link]

The name Lewes comes from the plural form of Anglo-Saxon "Hlaew", which means "hill".^[61] This refers to the hills of the South Downs or ancient burial mounds within the area.

See also[link]

East Sussex portal

• Lewes Speed Trials

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lewes
• Lewes District Council

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lewes

Priory School may refer to:

Schools in the United Kingdom[link]

England[link]

• Lewes Priory School is a British comprehensive co-educational school for 11 to 16 year-olds in Lewes, Sussex.
• Priory Community School, a secondary school in Weston-super-Mare
• Priory School, Isle of Wight, a co-educational independent school in Whippingham, Isle of Wight, for 5 to 18 year olds
• Priory School (Portsmouth), a mixed secondary school in Portsmouth
• Priory School (Slough), a primary school in Slough, Berkshire
• The Priory School, Dorking, a comprehensive secondary school in Dorking
• The Priory School, Hitchin, is a comprehensive secondary school for 11 to 18 year olds in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
• The Priory School, Banstead, a Preparatory School for boys aged two to thirteen years.
• The Priory School (Orpington), a large mixed comprehensive secondary school in Orpington
• The Priory School (Shrewsbury), a secondary school in Radbrook, Shrewsbury

Wales[link]

• Priory Church in Wales School, a primary school in Brecon, Wales

Schools in the USA[link]

• Woodside Priory School, a Roman Catholic school in Portola Valley, California, USA, known locally as The Priory
• Saint Louis Priory School, a Roman Catholic boys' school in St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Schools in other countries[link]

• The Priory School (Kingston), Jamaica

Other uses[link]

• The Adventure of the Priory School a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This disambiguation page lists articles about schools, colleges, or other educational institutions which are associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Lewes Priory

Overview of the site from the east.
Monastery information
Full Name	The Priory of St Pancras, Southover near Lewes
Other Names	Lewes Priory
Order	Cluniac
Established	circa 1081
Disestablished	16 November 1537
Mother house	Cluny
Dedicated to	St Pancras of Rome
Controlled churches	St. John the Evangelist, Piddinghoe, St. Nicholas. Iford.
People
Founder(s)	William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey and Gundrada
Site
Location	Southover, East Sussex, United Kingdom
Coordinates	50°52′5.33″N 0°0′29.63″E / 50.8681472°N 0.0082306°E / 50.8681472; 0.0082306Coordinates: 50°52′5.33″N 0°0′29.63″E / 50.8681472°N 0.0082306°E / 50.8681472; 0.0082306
Visible Remains	limited above ground: part precinct wall, hospitium, dorter, rere dorter, first church
Public Access	yes, limited

The Priory of St Pancras was the first Cluniac house in England and had one of the largest monastic churches in the country. It was set within an extensive walled and gated precinct laid out in a commanding location fronting the tidal shore-line at the head of the Ouse valley to the south of Lewes in the County of Sussex. The Priory had daughter houses, including Castle Acre Priory in Norfolk, and was endowed with churches and extensive holdings throughout England. In Lewes it had hospitiums dedicated to St James and to St Nicholas.^[1]

In 1264, during the Battle of Lewes, King Henry III installed his forces in the Priory precinct which came under attack from those of Simon de Montfort after his victory over Henry in battle. Henry was forced, in the Mise of Lewes, to accept the Council that was the start of Parliamentary government in England.^[2]

The Priory is a nationally important historical site but an almost lost monument of mediaeval England, the buildings having been systematically demolished after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII. Some parts of the lesser buildings survive above ground, fenced off within a public park. The Priory has been the subject of academic and archaeological study since the mid-nineteenth century and a recent Heritage Lottery Fund grant has been awarded for repair of the surviving fabric and to improve public access and interpretation of the site and its history.

Foundation[link]

Lewes Priory was founded by William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey and his wife Gundrada, probably in 1081, following their visit to the Priory of Cluny in Burgundy in 1077.^[3] The dedication of the new Priory to St Pancras followed from the presence of a pre-existing Saxon shrine to that Saint on the site. The cult of St Pancras was a strong link between Saxon England and Rome, having been introduced by Augustine in 597 at the behest of Gregory the Great. William de Warenne was acting under the auspices of a Cluniac Pope, Gregory VII. The ambition of the new work and piety of the new order was intended to legitimise and assert the post-conquest regime in England.

The site[link]

A cross view of the existing ruins

Existing topographical and built features delineate the Priory precinct. The precinct comprises a rough quadrilateral of land about 16.1 hectares in area, 520 metres in width, west to east, and 310 metres north to south bounded along the north side by today's Southover High Street and Priory Street. This precinct was comparable in extent to the walled town of Lewes sited on the ridge to the north.

The original context and relationship of the precinct to the natural topography is now far from clear because the tidal valley of the River Ouse to the south has been drained. In the mediaeval period the south side of the precinct addressed the Cockshut Stream and from there a navigable, tidal watercourse connecting to the River Ouse and, hence, the English Channel. The site can properly be understood as a coastal location and was fully enclosed by high flint walls, being vulnerable to sea-borne attack. The Priory buildings were constructed in the western half, the major church and sacred buildings being in the north-west quadrant. The precinct was terraced in section, stepping down to the south with the buildings set at different levels.

The Mount and south-facing wall.

The north-east quadrant has an embankment and wall enclosing its southern side that is of mediaeval date with semicircular buttresses along its eastern extent. This southern wall is a remarkable feature of a defensive, military character. This quadrant is a triple square on plan, the eastern half centres on the conical 'Mount', 150 feet in diameter and 50 feet high that is aligned on a sunken field to its east with banks on all sides known as the 'Dripping Pan'. The ages and original functions of these two man-made features are not certain: they appear to have been built by the Priory and may have been constructed as a salt works on an earlier enclosed. elevated plot. If of mediaeval date or earlier, the Mount would certainly have provided an observatory over the Ouse basin, of defensive importance, and a beacon to shipping navigating across it.

[edit] The buildings^[4]

Modern understanding of the layout and development of the Priory derives largely from archaeological excavations carried out since the 1840s, most extensively by George Somers Clarke. The accepted plan of the Priory was drawn by archaeologist and antiquary Sir William Henry St.John Hope and architect Sir Harold Brakspear in 1906 based upon archaeology, documented accounts and hypothesis. Aspects of this have been better explored by later research and excavation.^[5] The structural bay division shown of the nave is probably wrong, being elongated in a way inconsistent with Romanesque planning modules and different from that of the choir, the Lady Chapel is missing and certain lay buildings are also not shown. This is, nonetheless, the best guide available and a potent diagram.

The buildings accommodated an establishment of around 50 monks at any one time throughout the 12th and 13th centuries as well as lay incumbents and visitors. The precinct buildings were built for sacred and temporal functions and were of ashlar stone faced chalk and flint core construction. Quarr limestone shipped from the Saxon quarries on the Isle of Wight was used in the first phase of construction. Caen limestone, imported from Normandy was used with Sussex marble details for the second phase including the construction of the great church. The Priory had its own masons' yard, it manufactured decorated glazed floor tiles and had a school of sacred painting that worked throughout Sussex.^[6] The calibre of surviving figurative carvings that are displayed at the British Museum is of a highly sophisticated order.

The Great Church of St Pancras[link]

The first Cluniac Priory church was a reconstruction in stone of a Saxon timber church. This may correspond to the single cell structure of which the lower sections of wall and the altar survive, now known as the Infirmary Chapel.^[7] This is orientated to a different liturgical east from the major church (which is 5.5 degrees closer to current magnetic east) but the same orientation as that of St Michael, Lewes, also a Saxon foundation and, interestingly, of St John, Southover. By the twelfth century it had become the practice to orient a church to face the rising sun on the day of the saint in whose name the church was dedicated, in this case, 12 May, to which orientation the major church appears to have been aligned. The major church was constructed after 1140 AD with the west towers recorded as unfinished in 1268 AD. Of this work nothing survives above ground level. The design of the church was based upon that of its mother church at Cluny, then the largest church in the world, now referred to as Cluny III. Comparison with the surviving Romanesque fabric of the daughter Priory of Castle Acre is relevant. The church had an internal length of 420 feet from west door to chancel apse, with an internal vault height of 93 feet at the altar and 105 feet at the crossing. This was the largest church in Sussex, being longer than Chichester Cathedral including its Lady Chapel, and is comparable in scale to the original form of Ely Cathedral or the surviving form of Lichfield Cathedral.

The priory buildings[link]

The reredorter.

These comprised the cloister and chapter house directly south of the church and the dorter, reredorter, frater and infirmary to south and east, of which sections survive above ground, as well as the Prior's lodging and entrance gates to the west of which fragments also survive. The dove house to the south-west was a large building that survived until the early nineteenth century. It is reasonable to assume a pattern of bakeries, fish ponds and other food production and storage buildings in this area of a type and layout identified at Castle Acre and other English Cluniac houses. Subterranean cisterns and drainage courses as well as fresh water conduits have been identified by excavation.

The Hospitium, now St John the Baptist, Southover[link]

This church incorporates the original hospitium. The twelfth century nave arcade, with short drum piers and un-moulded arches perhaps divided the men's from the women's ward. The neo-Norman south chapel of 1847 houses the bones of William and Gundrada de Warenne unearthed in two lead cists by railway navvies in 1845 constructing the Brighton to Lewes railway through the site of the Priory chapter house. On the floor of the chapel lies the original black Tournai marble tombstone from the Priory carved to the memory of Gundreda that had been incorporated into a Tudor period memorial in the church of St Margaret, Isfield.

The precinct walls[link]

The most extensive surviving mediaeval structures are the precinct walls along the north (140 metres) and east (170 metres) sides of the Dripping Pan. Lengths also survive down Cockshut Road bounding the west side of the precinct. Significant secondary walls within the great precinct sub divide the land, notably the south wall of the Dripping Pan. The precinct walls have otherwise generally been removed for housing development, the railway and a car park near the Mount. Fragments of the Great Gate (circa. 1200 AD) exist in a rearranged form adjacent to the east end of St John’s Church. The destruction of the walls has continued in recent years following the grant of Planning Permission by Lewes District Council to Lewes Football Club to demolish a section of the longest surviving extent of the structure along Ham Lane in 2006 for unrealised business objectives whilst a further adjacent length subsequently delaminated and fell in 2008 with repairs started in late 2009.

Dissolution and destruction[link]

The partly undermined remains of the infirmary chapel.

The apple tree, herb beds and east minor precinct wall.

The priory was surrendered to the Crown on November 16, 1537 and its destruction carried out at the direction of the King's secretary, Thomas Cromwell. Cromwell appointed a specialist demolition team under an Italian engineer, Giovanni Portinari, who recorded the task and undertook it with exceptional thoroughness. Cromwell leased the site and retained the Prior's lodgings that he extended as a house for his son, known as the Lord's Place. The site of the religious buildings was levelled and laid out as a substantial knot garden. This was subsequently owned by the Sackville family whose dwelling survived as Dorset House until its sale in 1668 after which it was demolished.

After 1830, residential development took place to the east of St John’s Church along the northern side of the precinct. This construction cut into the Priory burial grounds, most significantly Regency Priory Crescent (originally known as "New Crescent"). Despite its grand façade, this collection of houses is somewhat random at the back with a wide range of rear elevations. The individual gardens of Priory Crescent end at a private lane to the south which is linked to the original path connecting the Gatehouse to the Priory. This Gatehouse was rotated 90 degrees and moved just a few metres from its original location in order to widen the road. The current gate is the smaller arch that pedestrians would have walked through, rather than the larger one (used for traffic such as horses and carts). The builders sold the human bones, teeth and skulls that they excavated whilst digging foundations. Priory Street was built in several stages with Mount Street projected southwards in to the Priory precinct.

In 1845, the London, Brighton and Hastings Railway (subsequently the London Brighton and South Coast Railway) drove their new line through the site, digging down to a track bed level to meet the new Lewes railway station (and constructing a line of railway cottages at the east end of Priory Street. This line bisected the foundations of the chapter house and church apse exposing the foundations and burials including those of William de Warenne and Gundrada. The destruction and collateral damage to the Priory remains was significant and the site was split in two but the construction triggered archaeological investigation. Elements of the fabric and finds are held by the Sussex Archaeological Society in their two Lewes museums and by the British Museum.

Present situation[link]

Despite the disruption caused by the construction of the railway across the site, a substantial protected ruin still stands within parkland, albeit only a small proportion of the original priory building fabric. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the ruins were subject of research and conservation and a popular visitor attraction, but are now fenced off to the public, for preservation. They are set in public grounds known as Priory Fields which are open to the public but peripheral to the town. In the park there are two neo-medieval buildings, a folly tower and a cottage, made from the stone of the Priory, which were built in the gardens of the former Dorset House. A large metal sculpture of a knight's helm (1964) commemorates the Battle of Lewes. The herb garden (also known as the Garden for the Blind) of the Priory, recreated by local historians with various plants that would likely have been in the original, is open to the public at all times.

There was once a minigolf course laid out over the challenging slopes of the infirmary, but this, and the public tennis courts, have been closed by the local authority. Much of the Priory precinct is given over to recreation and sports including Lewes Football Club, currently at the Dripping Pan, the Lewes Bowls Club and the Southdowns Sports Club. The Lewes Priory Cricket Club, formerly at the Dripping Pan, now play at the Stanley Turner Ground, nearby.

A small modern development of relatively simple and attractive housing protrudes east out of Cockshut Road into the precinct. The easternmost of these dwellings overlooks the rear graveyard of St. John's Church, a secluded patch of land including a barn on the site of the original Prior's lodging.

The Priory site to the north of the railway line is in private ownership, formerly occupied by a walled nursery and before that, public gardens, all recently cleared. The standing ruins to the south are separated from the northern site and trapped between the A27 and the railway. Comprehension of the whole from site inspection is difficult and access is limited. The beauty of the situation, referred to by its greatest defender, Walter Godfrey, and reflected in older engravings is often spoiled by traffic noise.

Ashlar stone from the Priory has been used in many later buildings and walls in Lewes, including Southover Grange and gardens and can be identified on walks around the town. Lewes Priory Cricket Club ground is on an adjacent site and Lewes Priory School, nearby, commemorates this ancient foundation.

Notes[link]

1. ^ Liebermann, Felix. The annals of Lewes priory. ISSN 00138266. 
2. ^ Kingsford, Charles Lethbridge (1862-1926). "Carmen de bello Lewensi". edited with introduction and notes by C. L. Kingsford. Clarendon press series. 
3. ^ Houses of Cluniac monks: Priory of Lewes. A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 2. pp. 64–71. Victoria County History. 1973. 
4. ^ Poole, Helen 'Lewes Priory The Site and Its History' : Lewes Priory Trust, 2000. ISBN 0-9530839-1-8
5. ^ Gardiner, Mark; Russell, Miles; Gregory, David. Excavations at Lewes Priory 1985-6 and 1988-9'. Sussex Archaeological Collections, 134 (1996), 71-123. ISSN 01438204. 
6. ^ Baker, Audrey. Lewes priory and the early group of wall paintings in Sussex. Walpole Society, 31 (1946 for 1942-3), 1-44. Publisher= Walpole Society. ISSN 01410016. 
7. ^ Anderson, Freda (1988). St Pancras Priory, Lewes: Its Architectural Development to 1200". Anglo-Norman Studies 11: 1–35. 

Further reading[link]

• Anderson, Freda (1988). "St Pancras Priory, Lewes: Its Architectural Development to 1200". Anglo-Norman Studies 11: 1–35. 
• Victoria County History (1973). "Houses of Cluniac monks: Priory of Lewes". A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 2. pp. 64–71. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=36588. 
• Mayhew, Graham. "lewes priory history website". http://www.cluniac-priory-st-pancras-lewes-de-warenne-foundation-research.co.uk/index.htm. 

External links[link]

• Lewes Priory Trust The website of the charity managing the Priory

Soulja Boy
Soulja Boy at YouTube Live doing his signature dance in 2008.
Background information
Birth name	DeAndre Cortez Way[1][2]
Also known as	Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
Born	(1990-07-28) July 28, 1990 (age 21) Chicago, Illinois
Origin	Batesville, Mississippi, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Stacks on Deck/Collipark Music/Interscope
Associated acts	Arab, Mr. Collipark
Website	thedeandreway.com

DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur.

In September 2007, his single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was initially self-published on the internet, and it later became a number-one hit in the United States for seven non-consecutive weeks starting in September 2007.^[3] On August 17 Way was listed at #18 on the Forbes list of Hip-Hop Cash Kings of 2010 earning $7 million for that year.^[4]

Way has currently released three studio albums and one independent album: his debut studio album Souljaboytellem.com (2007) was certified platinum by the RIAA. However, his next two albums, iSouljaBoyTellem (2008) and The DeAndre Way (2010) did not match the commercial success of his debut, the latter only selling 100,000 copies,^[5] despite the success of several singles across both albums, such as "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" and "Turn My Swag On" (iSouljaBoyTellem) and "Pretty Boy Swag" (The DeAndre Way).

On October 18, 2011, Soulja Boy released his documentary bio pic, Soulja Boy: The Movie.

As of 2011, Way has confirmed he is working on his fourth studio album, entitled Promise, which will be released in July 2012.^[6]

Early life[link]

DeAndre Way was born in Chicago and moved to Atlanta at age 6,^[7] where he became interested in rap music.^[8]

Career beginnings[link]

At age 14, he moved to Batesville, Mississippi, with his father, who provided a recording studio for Way to explore his musical ambitions.^[7] In November 2005, Way posted his songs on the website SoundClick. Following positive reviews on the site, he then established his own web pages on YouTube and MySpace.^[9][10] In March 2007, he recorded "Crank That" and released his first independent album Unsigned & Still Major: Da Album Before da Album, followed by a low-budget video filmed demonstrating the "Crank That" dance. By the end of May 2007, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" received its first airplay and Way met with Mr. Collipark to sign a deal with Interscope Records.

Music career[link]

[edit] 2007-08: Souljaboytellem.com

Soulja Boy performing "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" in February 2008.

On August 12, 2007, the song appeared on the Emmy-award winning HBO series Entourage, and by September 1, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot RingMasters charts.^[11] Way's major label debut album Souljaboytellem.com, which was reportedly recorded using just the demo version of FL Studio,^[8][12] was released in the United States on October 2,^[13] peaking at #4 on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.^[14]

For the 50th Grammy Awards, Way was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song with "Crank That (Soulja Boy)". He lost to Kanye West's and T-Pain's "Good Life".

Souljaboytellem.com received a favorable review from Allmusic,^[13] but received mainly negative reviews from other sources such as Entertainment Weekly.^[15] Several reviewers credited Soulja Boy with spearheading a new trend in hip-hop, while speculating he will likely be a one-hit wonder.^[16][17][18]

[edit] 2008-09: iSouljaBoyTellem

The follow-up to souljaboytellem.com, iSouljaBoyTellem, was released on December 16, 2008, to negative critical reception.^[19] The first single from the album, "Bird Walk", peaked at #40 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the top 20 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart it was performed on the first YouTube Live on November 22, 2008, with an introduction from MC Hammer.^[20] "Kiss Me Thru the Phone", with Sammie, followed, peaking at #3 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.^[21] Chris Brown was originally Way's first choice to sing the hook, but respectfully turned down the offer. Way then tried to do it on his own with Auto-Tune but he found it unacceptable.^[22] It sold over 2,000,000 digital copies in the United States, becoming his second song to reach the two million mark in downloads.^[23][24]

On January 26, 2009 Way released his third single "Turn My Swag On". it topped the US Rap Charts and peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. It has so far sold more than 1,000,000 digital downloads in the United States. It became Soulja Boy's third song to sell 1 million or more downloads.^[24]

[edit] 2009-2010: The DeAndre Way

The DeAndre Way^[25] is Way's third studio album, Way has stated that the album is intended to be his most personal and successful album thus far. When speaking on possible collaborations, he stated he wished to work with artists such as Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West,^[26] Eminem,^[27] among others. The lead single from the album, "POW", was released in January 2009 but failed to garner success and was dubbed a promo single. On October 30, 2009 Way released three mixtapes Paranormal Activity, Dat Piff & Cortez.^[28] Then it was announced on February 18, 2010 that the first single from the album was gone be "All Black Everything" but it was cancelled & was just put on his promotional mixtape Legendary.^[29] The album was titled "The DeAndre Way" but was changed in early 2010 to Dre with a commercial video snippet for "Do It Big" as the first single but it was cancelled as well.^[30] However it was reverted back to The DeAndre Way in July 2010.

But on June 8, 2010, the official lead single from the album was "Pretty Boy Swag". The single has reached #34 on the Billboard Hot 100, number six on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number five on the Billboard Rap Songs chart.^[31] The album's second single was due to be "Digital" but it was just used on his promotional mixtape Best Rapper.^[32] Then it was announced that "Speakers Going Hammer" was gone be the second single, but "Blowing Me Kisses" was released on August 31, 2010 as the second single instead.^[33] On October 13 Soulja Boy performed "Pretty Boy Swag" & a snippet of his third single "Speakers Going Hammer". On October 19, 2010 Way finally released "Speakers Going Hammer" on iTunes the single peaked at #48 on the Hot R&B & Hip Hop tracks Billboard.^[34] The DeAndre Way was released on November 30, 2010 it has so far has only sold 70,000 copies making this Way's lowest selling album. Soulja Boy was to be part of the Summerbeatz tour held in Australia alongside Flo Rida, Jay Sean and Travie McCoy in November 2010, but in lieu of his current album release date Soulja Boy had declined the offer & just embarked on his Who They Want tour.

[edit] 2011-present: Mixtapes and Promise

On January 22, Way released his first mixtape of 2011 Smooky which cover featured a cartoon version of Way on a bicycle doing a 360.^[35] Then On March 17, 2011 Way released the mixtape 1up which cover was based on the Naruto anime Way stated "If I was in a video game, this mixtape would advance me to the next level with an extra life. Power up with the new offering".^[36] On April 20, 2011 Way released his mixtape Juice which cover was based on the Juice the movie Way stated he would also released a mini movie of his own to go along with the mixtape Way stated that he was headed to greatness with the mixtape.^[37] In September 2011, Way confirmed he is working on a new album, called Promise, which will be released in October.^[38] Way also released the cover & title of his second independent album via Twitter, entitled "Skate Boy", which he said would be available in stores November 1, also via twitter.^[39][40]

Other ventures[link]

Stacks on Deck Entertainment[link]

Way founded his record label Stacks on Deck Entertainment in 2004. While Way was signed under Interscope and Collipark Music, he claimed that his label had distribution deals with Universal Music Group and eOne Music.^{[citation needed]}

Current artists

• Soulja Boy (Interscope/Collipark Music/SODMG)(CEO)
• Ja-Bar (TOKE Team/SODMG)
• Arab (Boss Money/SODMG)
• KillaCam (SODMG)
• 350 (SODMG)
• Rashad (SODMG)
• Antonio aka Tony The Deity (SODMG)
• J-Money aka J. Futuristic (SODMG)
• Spinning 9 (SODMG Germany/SODMG)
• M2ThaK (SODMG)
• Calico Jonez (SODMG)
• Riff Raff (SODMG)
• Young Sam (SODMG)
• Agoff (Ocean Gang/SODMG)
• Young L (Ocean Gang/SODMG)
• John Boy (FyreHouse/SODMG)
• Chief Keef (Glory Boyz/SODMG)

Managed DJ's

• DJ Whoogie

Managed Producers

• Soulja Boy
• G5Kids
• Kwony Cash
• R3$ource
• Jay Clink
• Supa Crank It
• Lil Keis

Record production[link]

Way also produces records, including his own. In 2009 Way produced V.I.C.'s single "Get Silly" which went certified Gold & Bow Wow's single "Marco Polo". Way beats often contain the beginning lines "Soulja Boy Tell 'em" But as of late Way has produced beats without using the lines. Also in 2009 Way was also supposed to been producing for Kanye West's fourth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy & Kanye was supposed to been producing for Ways third studio album The DeAndre Way but for unknown reasons neither of them used each other's beats.^[41] On May 13, 2011 Way stated that he had produced & submitted beats for 50 Cent's fifth studio album^[42]

Fashion designing[link]

On March 5, 2008 Way released his official clothing line of S.O.D clothing.^[43] Then also in 2008 Way released his own brand of the popular shoe line entitled "Yums".^[44]

Acting career[link]

In January 7, 2009 Soulja Boy announced that he was supposed to been releasing his own cartoon entitled Soulja Boy: The Animated Series but only one episode was ever released.^[45][46] On April 22, 2011 Way announced that he would be making his acting debut playing the main role as Bishop on the Juice remake & that it would air on BET in sometime.^[47] On July 21, 2011 Way released the trailer to his upcoming documentary about his life entitled Soulja Boy: The Movie that was released on October 18, 2011.^[48]

Personal life[link]

Legal issues[link]

On December 9, 2007, Way was sued by William Lyons (a.k.a. Souljah Boy of Mo Thugs Family) who created the stage name "Souljah Boy" in 1996.^[49]

On October 7, 2009, Way was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia on one count of obstruction, a misdemeanor, for running from police when he'd been ordered to stop while filming a video in an abandoned house. The rapper was released on $550 bond.^[50]

In May 2011, Way and his labels were sued by a local Pennsylvania promoter for failing to make promised payments in connection with a rescheduled concert.^[51]

On October 18, 2011, Way was traveling west on I-20 in Carroll County, Georgia with four other men when their vehicle was pulled over for a vehicle equipment violation. The police officer who made the stop searched the vehicle and found more than five ounces of marijuana. Way was arrested and released on bond during the same day.^[52]

Victim of robbery and battery[link]

On December 30, 2008, Way was robbed and battered in his home. Initial reports indicated that the robbers were six masked men with AK-47s and pistols but on December 31, 2008, video clips surfaced on the Internet of two masked men claiming sole credit for the crime.^[53] Soulja Boy described the incident to MTV News a month later: He had come home very late at night after attending an album release party and was recording songs with friends when the robbers came in pointing their guns.^[54]

Family tragedies[link]

On the night of March 22, 2011, Way's little brother Deion Jenkins was killed in a car crash.^[55] Then on March 24, 2011 Way's older brother threatened to commit suicide.^[56]

Controversies[link]

Way's music has been banned from some school dances for sexual or violent content and/or innuendos. However, he has denied these claims.^[57] In the original YouTube video for "Shootout", Soulja Boy demonstrates his dance while holding a handgun in each hand and pretending to shoot into the audience.^[58]

Nas[link]

On February 25, 2008, Way said in an interview that "Nas killed hip hop and his own career".^[59] Way later apologized for his comments.^[60]

Ice-T[link]

In June 2008, on DJ Cisco's Urban Legend mixtape, Ice-T told Way to "eat a dick" and criticized Way for "killing hip-hop" and his song "Crank That" for being "garbage" compared to the works of other hip-hop artists such as Rakim, Das EFX, Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube.^[61] The two then traded videos back and forth over the Internet.^[62] Rapper Kanye West defended Way by arguing that the younger artist created a new, original work for hip-hop, thus keeping the authentic meaning of the music.^[63] The feud was parodied in a 2010 episode of The Boondocks.

In May 2011, Way's feud somewhat reignited with Ice-T again regarding The film Juice. Way stated he would also released a movie of his own to go along with his mixtape of the same name again somewhat reignited with Ice-T following a statement during Ice-T's interview with Shade 45 in late April 2011. Ice-T stated that Way's role as Bishop, which was famously originated by Tupac Shakur was not an issue. But Ice-T would find the fact that the film being remade is problematic saying ""What?” he said. “But that’s Pac… At some point, somebody gotta stop it. I came out. I made some statements. Man, I don’t know. Do you, dude, do you. If the masses accept it, it shows you the state we’re in… Come on man, you think I’d try to remake Pac’s movie? Good luck though, I'm not a hater...eh." Way himself barraged Ice-T with retaliatory tweets on the same day, joking that someone should "get this guy a hairline." ^[64][65]

Charles Hamilton[link]

On December 9, 2008, Charles Hamilton commented in a interview by saying that Way was making it harder for new artists to be signed.^[66] Way responded by saying "X out the Sonic and fuck with Mario, you might want to got damn eat a mushroom."^{[67][further explanation needed]} Charles Hamilton responded with the diss song "I'm You Last Year With Talent".^[68] Then the diss song "Word Aight".^[69]

Bow Wow[link]

On February 2, 2009, Way challenged Bow Wow to a race in their Lamborghinis and claimed Bow Wow's Lamborghini was a rental.^[70] On February 4, 2009 Bow Wow proved that he owned his Lamborghini and said "its halloween in Bankhead for you everyday nigga..you scared..you all nervous and shit". Way responded on twitter by saying "HE FUCKED UP!!!! IM BOUT TO SHITTTT ON THIS NIGGA!! LOL!!!!!".^[71] On February 7, 2009 both artist sent diss songs to each other such as Way's "Fuck Bow Wow" & Bow Wow's "What I Think About You".^[72] Later that day during a phone conversation both rappers settled their differences.^[73]

Fabolous[link]

On December 28, 2010, Fabolous during a radio interview commented on the claim that Way does cocaine, saying "pretty boy swag but never coke my nose though",^[74] a reference to Way's song "Pretty Boy Swag. "Soulja Boy went on a tirade^[75] on Twitter in response, saying "I ignore dis foo like 5x before this. fuck that. If you send some niggaz to spray me @myfabolouslife at least I die I real nigga fuck you boy." 50 Cent also took to Twitter to say, "leave him the f*** alone before somebody get hurt." Way and Fabolous ended their beef on a radio interview.^[76]

U.S. Military[link]

In September 2011, Soulja Boy released the song "Let's Be Real". One of the lines of the song went: "Fuck the FBI and the army troops ... fighting for what? Be your own man ... I'll be flying through the clouds with green like I'm Peter Pan."^[77] After the song was released, Soulja Boy was highly criticized by the military members and their families, especially in regards to the timing relative to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.^[78][79][80] Soulja Boy apologized, "When I expressed my frustration with the US Army, not only did my words come out wrong, I was wrong to even speak them." He adds, "So, I write this to give my sincerest apology to all members of the United States military services, as well as their families that were offended by my most recent lyrics."^[77] Representatives for Soulja Boy have indicated that the song has been pulled from his upcoming album, Promise, and will not be available for sale. They are also attempting to remove the video from the internet.^[81]

On September 7, 2011, the New York Times cited the U.S. military has announced an official ban on Way's music. Way apologized for the content of the song and has offered to do free performances for American soldiers.^[82]

Discography[link]

Tours[link]

• America's Most Wanted (2009)
• Who They Want (2011)
• The World Is Yours (2012)

Filmography[link]