The Barbican House was constructed in the 16th century out of timber, with a stone fireplace dated 1579.[1] During the 18th century the house was enlarged and refronted.[1][2] The house now consists of three floors plus a basement, and is now mainly constructed from red brick.[2] The left front of the house faces the gate of Lewes Castle.[2] A 1907 fire in Lewes High Street which spread for an hour and a half was contained before damaging Barbican House.[1] In 1952, the house became a Grade II* listed building.[2]
The building is now the headquarters of the Sussex Archaeological Society,[1] who also run the Barbican House Museum (also known as the Museum of Sussex Archaeology) in the house.[3] The museum contains pottery from an excavation of the grounds of Battle Abbey, as well as floor tiles from Wilmington Priory, and green tiles from a property in Rye.[4] It tells the history of Sussex life from the Stone Age, and contains a model village of Lewes in the 1880s.[5] In 2020, the museum was believed to be at risk of closure due to Sussex Archaeological Society's lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
