Free Republic

In June the world will celebrate 800 years since the issuing of Magna Carta. But 2015 is also the anniversary of another important, and far more radical, British milestone in democratic history, writes Luke Foddy. Almost exactly 750 years ago, an extraordinary parliament opened in Westminster. For the very first time, elected representatives from every county and major town in England were invited to parliament on behalf of their local communities. It was, in the words of one historian, "the House of Commons in embryo". The January Parliament, which first met on 20 January 1265, is one of the...

Honor Blackman, best known for playing Bond girl Pussy Galore, has died aged 94, her family has said. The actress shot to international stardom as Pussy Galore at the age of 38, starring alongside Sean Connery, in 1964's Goldfinger. In a statement her family said: "It's with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Honor Blackman aged 94. "She died peacefully of natural causes at home in Lewes, Sussex, surrounded by her family. "She was much loved and will be greatly missed by her two adopted children Barnaby and Lottie, and her four grandchildren Daisy, Oscar, Olive...

Councillor’s 45-minute ordeal may have gone unnoticed had it not been for Lewes schoolgirl It is a common dilemma for any hard-bitten politician faced with a hostile crowd: how best to make a sharp exit to avoid embarrassment? For one 63-year-old Tory councillor confronted with a less than receptive audience during a climate crisis debate the answer was to clamber over some bins and scale a fence. Nancy Bikson was a last-minute replacement for the Conservative prospective MP Maria Caulfield, who was too “busy” to attend climate hustings for candidates in the key marginal seat of Lewes, East Sussex, at...

Did the Battle of Lewes, which saw King Henry III defeated 750 years ago, lead to England's first tentative steps towards representative democracy? As bloodied bodies littered the South Downs, the King hid in a priory. His father, King John, had been forced to sign Magna Carta by England's rebellious barons, now Henry had suffered even greater humiliation at their hands. His victor was Simon de Montfort, the French-born Earl of Leicester, who was fighting for the rights of England to be governed by the English. After the battle, where de Montfort's forces were outnumbered by two to one, he...

Full headline: Does this skull belong to a soldier of the Battle of Hastings? 1,000-year-old remains found near famous battlefield reveal man was hacked six times in the head from behind Remains were found Lewes, East Sussex - around 20 miles from the famous battlefield - on the site of a medieval hospital They belong to a 45-year-old-man who took six sword blows to the top of his head before dying Scientists used radio carbon dating to conclude that the man was probably involved in fighting at the time of the Norman invasion They think he was likely British because...

A former network reporter was recently arrested for DUI here at the beach. Former ABC News political reporter Sam Donaldson was pulled over on Savannah Road by Lewes Police on December 1 for a traffic violation. An officer says that he’d been drinking. Donaldson failed field sobriety tests, and was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. He’s been scheduled for a court appearance at a later date.