Welcome the Coat of Hopes to Lewes

Sunday 4 January, starting at 10am in Brighton and 3pm in Lewes (meet at Cliffe bridge), check for latest details here

Instigated by Lewes-based artist Barbara Keal, the Coat of Hopes is a collaborative community art project carrying people’s hopes in the face of the climate and ecological emergency, sewn into the blanket patches of which it is made.

The Coat has walked nearly 2000 miles to date and been worn by hundreds of people in an ongoing pilgrimage across the UK. At the start of next year, the coat will be walked from Brighton, arriving in Lewes on 4 January.

Anyone is invited to walk with the Coat of Hopes on its 8-mile route from Brighton to Lewes (starting at around 10am – meeting point to be provided by email) and/or be part of the afternoon procession to welcome it when it reaches Lewes.

At 3pm, the Coat will be walked from Cliffe Bridge up Lewes High Street (including stopping off at Lewes Climate Hub) before going on display in Bull House – the former home of Thomas Paine, the radical thinker whose writings influenced the French Revolution and the American War of Independence – to kick off a year-long programme of events exploring themes of freedom, liberty and democracy.

The Coat of Hopes will also visit Lewes Climate Hub 28-31 January — watch out for our January newsletter for more details.

If you would like to join the walk from Brighton, let the Coat of Hopes team know at . For latest details of The Coat of Hopes’ stay in Lewes, visit https://thomaspainelegacy.org/events/

The Coat of Hopes at Bull House

2026 is the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the American Declaration of Independence. The Thomas Paine: Legacy project, which is based at Bull House, is planning a year-long programme of events exploring themes of freedom, liberty and democracy.

Leanne O’Boyle, director of The Thomas Paine: Legacy project says: “On the 10 January 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, writing the extraordinary words ‘We have it in our power to begin the world over again’.

“I am delighted to be working with Barbara Keal and team as the Coat of Hopes returns home to Lewes, encouraging people to think about the future of their own communities.”