The Lewes Pound: is this local currency still in use?

The currency was introduced by former Mayor of Lewes Susan Murray in a bid to keep business in the town by encouraging people to spend locally.

So,16 years on, is the pound alive and well or has it dwindled into disuse?

The short answer is yes, the pound is still in circulation and sterling can be exchanged for the local currency at Lewes Town Council from the reception desk at the town hall.

Victoria Gray, from Lewes Town Council, said: “The pandemic led to a downturn in using cash, but they are recognised and popular around the town. They're also very popular with tourists, who often come to get their Lewes pounds at the town hall before visiting shops that take them, which gives them a hint to the most 'Lewesian' businesses in a town that's so proud of its independent shops.”

Nicki Myers says the pound was born out of the Transition Town movement (Image: Annabel Stock, Newsquest) Nicki Myers, project manager at Ovesco, a local renewable energy company, says the pound was born out of the Transition Town movement, a push to enable communities to become more self-sufficient, focus on the local and remove themselves from the “international chain”.

She said: “Lewes was a forceful early adopter of the Transition Town movement – we were one of the second or third in the country. Out of that came the local currency – money stays locally and doesn’t flow out internationally. When you spend on a phone or card, a percentage goes away. The pound was about giving power back to the community.”

Clare Tipple, the owner of one such "Lewesian" business, Riverside Flowers, says that while they don’t benefit from currency as a business, they do still accept it.

She said: “We’re pro the pound. It’s nice to keep the money in the community. Its use has probably suffered as we have become more cashless in general. It’s only really the independent shops which use it now – it’s good to keep them ticking.”

Clare, who is a florist, says she is pro the pound (Image: Annabel Stock, Newsquest) While most businesses say they accept the currency, some mention it can then be difficult to change back to sterling. Some, however, rejected the currency from its inception.

Shop owner Zoe said: “We never took it – if the banks won’t, I won’t. It was initially a bit of a novelty, but we’ve not been asked about it much over the years. There is not the slightest benefit for us.”

Artist and resident Dom Ramos incorporated the currency into his “Lewes Worthies” series, portraits of famous historical residents of the town, which included 18th-century philosopher Thomas Paine, whose portrait is on the pound.

He said: “There was an initial puff as they became a bit of a collector’s item. The problem is that the distribution is so small. If you look at the history of alternative currencies, the ones which work in a bigger catchment area work better.”

Dom Ramos incorporated the Lewes pound into his series about the town's notable residents (Image: Dom Ramos) Adam Bagnall, manager of Harvey’s Brewery said: “We don’t use it much at all – it’s a curiosity. Some people buy it as a keepsake or souvenir. You can count on one hand the number of times someone will use it here in a year.”

At the flea market, a Lewes pound note is retrieved from the old-fashioned till.

“We’ll take it because it’s fun”, says the shop assistant “and it’s only a pound!”