Join Bill Hicks, Tavern Manager for Historic Lewes, as he tells the story of the Sussex Tavern in his presentation, “Sally, Simon, and the Sussex.”
In 1799 Simon and Sarah Marriner took over running the Sussex Tavern that was located in the old Sussex County Courthouse. For 18 years the Sussex was a focal point of the town of Lewes. The people that visited the tavern and the events that took place there weave an interesting tapestry of Lewes at the beginning of the 19th Century.Bill Hicks is a “Been Here,” in Lewes since his family bought a house on Midland Avenue in 1964. A regular visitor to the Thompson Country Store in 1963 and 64, he would always stock up on his supply of penny candy there. He also frequented Clifton’s Newsstand, our Doctor’s Office, for Cherry Cokes and comic books.
Joining the Historical Society in October of 2015 as a volunteer after a teaching career that spanned 30 years and 3 states, Bill knew he had found his home. Coming on as Staff in September of 2020, Bill has served as Museum Coordinator at the Cannonball House and then the Historic Campus on Shipcarpenter Street. Just this summer he became the Tavern Manager at the Sussex Tavern.