Lewes – 23 Station Street

There’s a fascinating information board on Station Street in Lewes, detailing the history of the street which was once known as St. Mary’s Lane before the arrival of the railways. It gives details about the history of the street, but also some background about some of the individual houses. This is a great idea, turning what was otherwise just another street in an historic town into something much deeper.

This house is the birthplace of Gideon Mantell and he lived here with his four brothers and two sisters. Mantell started his career as a doctor in Lewes, but it is his work as a palaeontologist that has gained him recognition. Amidst much mockery at the time, Mantell was able to prove the existence of what he named the Iguanodon.

A report of Mantell’s work published in the local newspaper in October 1826. Mantell went on to live in a grander house in Lewes, before later on moving to London.