On 22 Aug 2018 at 10:24am Lewes lad wrote:
Heard last night that the lamb of lewes is due to close its doors as a pub in September. And is going to be turned into a gin bar. Can anyone confirm this. ??
On 22 Aug 2018 at 10:30am lamb chop wrote:
Sadly true. What constitutes a gin bar is anyone’s guess but unless they are pouring a vast amount of money into doing the place up, it won’t last either. The Lamb deserves better than this. It’s a great music venue and should be thriving. I feel for the manager who has tried really hard and seems a really decent chap.
On 22 Aug 2018 at 10:36am Ginny wrote:
Tis a sad day, but unsurprising really.
The number of champagne socialist, gin swigging momentum supporters living in Lewes requires an alternative drinking hole.
Sadly the trough isn't good enough.
On 22 Aug 2018 at 11:39am Boozer wrote:
Has any town lost more pubs per head than Lewes?
On 22 Aug 2018 at 12:01pm inthegutter wrote:
Hmmm... there are ~50,000 pubs in the UK, which has a population of ~66M suggesting 1 pub for every 1300 people. Lewes has a population of ~17,000 suggesting we should have 13 pubs to match the UK average. By my count we have 17? 
On 22 Aug 2018 at 12:03pm MG wrote:
Its fate was sealed when Greed King put a clause in its contract that the lamb would never be allowed to serve Harveys: a long, slow, but certain death sentence. In Lewes pubs that serve Harveys survive, while the rest tend to struggle and fail.
I cannot see a gin (or any other spirit-based) bar doing any better than the various short lived wine bars that the town has seen over the years.
On 22 Aug 2018 at 1:03pm Pubman wrote:
Truly sad news. It's been the best venue in Lewes for several years. Scene of many wonderful evenings of brilliant music. Thank you to everyone who has helped it happen.
On 22 Aug 2018 at 2:34pm Rick Blaine wrote:
Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world. The Lamb will be the best.
On 22 Aug 2018 at 3:40pm Amon Wildes wrote:
I wonder if the Snowdrop will continue as a pub? Suspect it will eventually be turned into a house along with the Kings Head too. Not sure any of them will open again as pubs.. But given the number of new flats and houses we will get in the next few years you would think some of them ought to be successful. Maybe Lewes has too many pubs.
On 22 Aug 2018 at 4:06pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
@ inthegutter
We may have more than the average number of pubs per capita, but we've lost at least 5 (Windmill, Pewter Pot, Fruiterers, Crown and Prince of Wales) in the last 25 years or so. With the Lamb going, and the Kings Head and Snowdrop having uncertain futures, that would make a loss of almost 1 pub per 2,000 people!
Mind you, with the amount of new building that has taken place, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the population of Lewes topping 20k by the time of the next census in 2021.
On 22 Aug 2018 at 5:41pm inthegutter wrote:
@ACT
I share the concern, but Lewes still does have its fair share of pubs. While we're losing the Lamb as a pub it sounds like it will still be a licensed venue. We also gained the Patch and the Rights of Man (though perhaps that used to be a pub before?).
The one thing that might save pubs is some kind of minimum pricing.
On 22 Aug 2018 at 5:54pm The Major. wrote:
The Patch? where's that?
Rights of man used to be The Rainbow
John Harvey Tavern is a recent addition too
On 22 Aug 2018 at 9:45pm Local wrote:
Come on, Major. Keep up.
On 23 Aug 2018 at 5:05am The Major. wrote:
Well I had to google that Local. I go past it at least once a day and never knew it had changed its name.
I feel ashamed!!!!!
On 23 Aug 2018 at 1:28pm Observer wrote:
" In Lewes pubs that serve Harveys survive, while the rest tend to struggle and fail."
I'm sure that used to be the case. However I think the beer market is moving away from hand pulled real ale and towards keg craft. Lewes may lag a bit given the strength of Harvey's but I suspect pubs that thrive will be those that cater for the craft market.
On 24 Aug 2018 at 8:30pm Grapevine wrote:
Have heard Waterloo are going to be using Patch"s as there new headquarters
On 24 Aug 2018 at 8:40pm Waterloo wrote:
There just rumour''s.Kind regard''s