These now lie in St John's Church, here in
Southover close by, which belonged to the Priory. It was originally a
plain Norman building of which the nave remains, the rest of the
church as we see it, being for the most part either Perpendicular or
altogether modern.
Of course the Priory of St Pancras was not alone in the fate that
befell it at the hands of the Tudor in 1537. The only other religious
house in Lewes suffered a like fate. This was the convent of the
Franciscans, dedicated, as most authorities agree, in honour of Our
Lady and St Margaret. The Friars Minor were established in Lewes
before 1249, and their convent was one of the last to be surrendered,
in 1538.
From St John's Church, the visitor, not without a glance at the old
half timber house close by said to have been the residence of Anne of
Cleves, will pass up to the High Street where, under the Castle,
stands the parish church of St Michael, the only ancient part of which
is the round Norman tower, a rare thing. A fourteenth century brass to
one of the De Warennes is to be seen within. Further west is the
Transitional Norman church of St Anne, with curious capitals on the
south side of the nave.
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