Head

[poliphilo]

Very little remains of Lewes Priory. It was the first Clunaic house in Britain and had one of the largest monastic churches. Thomas Cromwell may have been as delightful as Hilary Mantell makes him out to be but it's largely thanks to him that Lewes Priory no longer exists and I find it hard to think well of a man who could smash such a beautiful thing.

This magnificent stone head is in the Lewes Museum. It is one of the few carvings to have survived the wreck.