The Rotary Club of Lewes has been established for over seventy five years. Much fellowship and service has been achieved by many Rotarians over these years. The Rotary motto "Service above Self" has been no idle phrase. The following will tell you how the Rotary Club was established in Lewes, its interests and actions.

We are a Service Club, that is to say our members give freely of their time to  raise money for projects both local and international and also to provide direct help to local people in need.

Our Club presently has over 50 members and is part of District 1250, which has about sixty clubs. We are one of the older established Clubs and we are one of the largest in terms of members. This gives us a great opportunity to serve both at home and Internationally.

Nearly 30 years ago we made contact with the Rotary Club of St. Valery-en-Caux in France and the link with them is still very strong. More recently we made contact with the Rotary Club of Herentals in Belgium and we are confident that this will be as long lasting.

The Foundation of Rotary

The first Rotary Club was formed by Paul Harris in Chicago in February, 1905. Paul Harris and three friends initially met in rotation at their places of business. Membership of the original Club rapidly increased and then spread throughout the world so that there are now about 28000 clubs with 1.2 million members.

Development of the Club

Lewes in the 1920’s was a typical county and country town; the inhabitants had a genuine interest in the welfare of the community. Many of its business and professional men came from long established resident families, traditional in character and sincere believers in the community, but without a common meeting place to promulgate mutually beneficial ideas.

This was changed through the creation of an awareness of Rotary by a Past President of the Brighton Rotary Club who was also Vice-President of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland, Mr. A F Graves. In 1922, Rotarian A F Graves met several Lewes businessmen but they expressed some doubts – "knowing the difficulties of trying to start any new project in Lewes….".

A meeting was held in March 1923 at the residence of the then Mayor of Lewes, Alderman G Holman JP, where a unanimous decision was made that the Rotary Club of Lewes should be formed. Progress was swift and the Charter Night was held at the White Hart Hotel on October 23^rd, 1923.  Membership increased to 25 by the first anniversary - Alderman G Holman was President for the first two years. The Rotary Club soon became involved in R.I.B.I. matters including the R.I.B.I. Conference in Torquay in 1924. Thus a very strong foundation was laid for the Club.

The venue of the Club’s weekly meetings, originally and for 22 years at the White Hart, moved to Holloway’s restaurant before changing to the Elephant and Castle, eventually returning to the White Hart Hotel in 1983.

The Club has provided four District Governors in the period 1987-2000.  In addition, there have been several members serving as Officers and on District Committees within District 1250.
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OVERSEAS CONTACT (TWINNING) CLUBS

St. Valery-en-Caux (Normandy)

An annual exchange between the St. Valery and Lewes Clubs was inaugurated in 1973 and has developed into an annual weekend visit alternating between the two countries – usually held in May. Many long-term friendships have developed over the years. Special events at one Club are usually attended by representatives from the other. The Newhaven-Dieppe ferry enables swift and easy movement between the two countries.

Herentals (Belgium)

Contact between the two Clubs started in in October 1998 and there have been a number of successful exchange visits since. 
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MAJOR ANNUAL FUND RAISING ACTIVITIES

The Christmas Tree of Goodwill

This began in 1948 with trees at many sites throughout the Town. In 1955 a mobile tree and a sleigh toured the residential parts of the Town. Now this mobile tour takes 12 evenings covering virtually all of Lewes. In December 2004 it raised in excess of £4500 towards Christmas vouchers for the needy and elderly in the Lewes area.

The Skittles Tournament

Held annually in the Southover Grange Gardens since 1967, this activity was taken over by the Rotary Club when the previous organisers retired in 1988. Over the six evenings about 120 teams compete on the 16 skittle lanes. The Inner Wheel Club provides hot and cold refreshments and are complemented by a licensed bar. Skittles Week is firmly established as one of the regular annual events in Lewes and provides funds for many charities, including the Town’s Lewes Victoria Hospital. 



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ASSOCIATED CLUBS IN LEWES

LEWES INNER WHEEL CLUB

Founded in 1948, the Inner Wheel Club now has about 35 members and is an association of mainly Rotarians' wives. Originally an afternoon club, there was a change in 1997 to become an evening Club meeting for a meal preceding the business.

At the 50^th Anniversary Lunch, the Members were joined by many members from other Inner Wheel Clubs in the District, and also from St. Valery-en-Caux. The speaker was Mme. Christiane Byrne, past National Representative of the Inner Wheel in France.

During the 1980’s and 1990’s, the Lewes Inner Wheel Club has provided three District Chairmen and given great support for District activities.

LEWES ROTARACT CLUB

Lewes has always suffered from a shortage of persons aged 18-30 owing to so many attending University and subsequent employment away from the Town. The Rotaract Club had therefore suffered a very variable membership since it was established in 1976. Several charitable projects have been funded and in some cases physically created by the Member’s efforts. Although it is not functioning at present, it is hoped that it will be resurrected in the future.

James Gartrell was Chairman of Rotaract in Rotary District 1250 in 1996/97, International Representative on the National Committee 1997/98 and Conference Chairman for the 2000 Rotaract National Conference.

ROTARY CLUB OF LEWES CASTLE

Since becoming chartered in 1988, this Rotary Club, which is an evening Club, has become firmly established in Lewes, with a membership of around 30. 

ROTARY CLUB OF LEWES BARBICAN

Established in 2001, the Barbican is a dual gender evening Club which normally meets each Wednesday. It has around 20 members.

For a Town of 15000 persons, the breakfast, lunchtime and evening Clubs complement each other very well with over 100 active Rotarians, many of whom commute either into, or out of Lewes on a daily basis.