Olympic torch route, day 60: home of a Rodin and an unlikely avalanche

Lewes has moved on since the days when it was scandalised by a Kiss, but it has always been capable of the improbableI have lived in Lewes for only 10 weeks. On day 49 of this Guardian writers' relay, it was described as a fashionable town ? and before my family and I moved here from France, that was my preconception of Lewes too. Well, in my optimistic moments, anyway; at other times I thought pretentious, possibly, and for a north London girl, probably a tad dull.Having lived in France for 10 years ? both our daughters were born there ? my husband and I had very different criteria when we decided to move back to the UK. A country boy from the New Forest, and a city girl who, having spent too many years in the French Alps was desperate to be back in the bustle of London. Lewes was a hard-fought compromise; a town in the country.Ten weeks in, however, I can say hand on heart that Lewes is neither pretentious nor dull, but instead, unusual and intriguing.In 1900, an eccentric American collector living in Lewes, Edward Warren, commissioned Rodin to make him a version of his sculpture The Kiss. This was later left, unloved, in the stables of Warren's home, Lewes House, after a campaign stopped its public display in Lewes town hall on the grounds it might corrupt the morals of young soldiers there. The sculpture has since been bought by the Tate and is currently on loan to the Turner Contemporary in Margate, Kent.The radical Thomas Paine, author of the Rights of Man, which influenced the French Revolution, and supporter of American independence, lived in Lewes for six years from 1768, and is now celebrated in the town.Many notable women have owned houses in Lewes. Anne of Cleves received a home as part of the settlement following the annulment of her marriage to Henry VIII in 1541, and Virginia Woolf bought the Round House, a windmill in Pipe Passage. Daisy Ashford was inspired while living at Southdown House, St Anne's Crescent, to write The Young Visiters. She was only nine years old.But, for me, the most remarkable event was the avalanche of 1836. This was the most deadly avalanche to occur in the United Kingdom, when a snow cornice overhanging a nearby cliff collapsed, wiping out a row of houses and killing eight people. My husband now works in the Snowdrop Inn: a pub built on South Street, the site of this extraordinary event, and named in its honour.Historic is a word that crops up time and again when discussing both Lewes and the Olympics. Today, as we watch the torch relay pass through the town we now call home, my family and I are delighted to become part of yet another historic event.Georgie Butcher blogs at citygirlatheart.comThe Guardian torch relayHelp us tell the story of the UK Olympic torch route as it passes near your home by contributing to our daily coverage? Share reports and observations of the day with us via n0tice? Help us create a snapshot of Britain via FlickrOlympic Games 2012SussexAvalanchesguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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