Rye

Coordinates: 50°57′N 0°44′E / 50.95°N 0.73°E / 50.95; 0.73

Rye
The Ypres tower, Rother, Rye Harbour and marshes seen from the tower of St Mary's church, Rye.
Rye shown within East Sussex
Area[1]	1.6 sq mi (4.2 km²)
Population	4108 (Parish-2007)[1]
- Density	2,564/sq mi (990/km²)
OS grid reference	TQ920206
- London	53 miles (85 km) NW
District	Rother
Shire county	East Sussex
Region	South East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	RYE
Postcode district	TN31
Dialling code	01797
Police	Sussex
Fire	East Sussex
Ambulance	South East Coast
European Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Hastings and Rye
Website: http://www.ryetowncouncil.gov.uk/
List of places: UK • England • East Sussex

The small town of Rye, in East Sussex, England, stands at the confluence of two rivers, although in medieval times, as an important member of the Cinque Ports, it was at the head of an embayment of the English Channel, almost entirely surrounded by the sea. It is officially a civil parish but with its historic roots has the status of a town; it has a population of 4009 (2001 census). During its history its association with the sea has included being involved with smuggling gangs of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Those historic roots and its charm^[2] make it a tourist destination, and much of its economy is based on that: there are a number of hotels and restaurants, as well as other attractions, catering for the visitor. There is a small fishing fleet, and the Harbour has facilities for yachts and other vessels. A known demonym for the people who live in the town is 'Ryers' and in Sussex they are sometimes referred to as 'Mud Heads'.^[3]

History

Location of medieval Rye

Until the end of the Wealden iron industry (and probably in Roman times) Rye was important as a place of shipment and storage of iron, especially armaments. Camber Castle was built by Henry VIII, one of five built to protect this coast.

The medieval map shows that Rye was then located on a large bay: the River Rother (not shown) took an easterly course to flow into the sea at Romney. The town was to become a limb of the Cinque Ports by 1189, and subsequently a full member. One of the oldest buildings in Rye is Ypres Tower, which was built in order to defend the town from the French in 1249. The protection of the town as one of the Cinque Ports was very important, due to the commerce that trading brought. The violent storms of later centuries (particularly the 13th) were to cut the town off from the sea; and, when the River Rother (which had by now changed its course) and the sea combined in about 1375 to destroy the eastern part of the town, ships began use the current area (the Strand) to off-load their cargoes. In the same century the town wall was completed ^[4] as a defence against foreign raiders.

Constant work had to be undertaken to stop the gradual silting-up of the river: Acts of Parliament had to be passed to enable it to be kept navigable. Even so, Rye was considered one of the finest of the Cinque Ports. With the coming of bigger ships and larger ports, Rye's economy began to decline, and fishing and particularly smuggling became more important. Imposition of taxes on goods had already encouraged the latter trade since 1301, but by the end of the 17th century it became widespread throughout Kent and Sussex, with wool being the largest commodity. When luxury goods were also added, smuggling became a criminal pursuit, and groups - such as the Hawkhurst Gang who met in the Mermaid Inn Rye - turned to murder and were subsequently hanged.

Since 1803 there have been lifeboats stationed at Rye^[5] although the lifeboat station is now named Rye Harbour due to its location in the Harbour 2 miles away from the main town. The worst disaster in its history occurred in 1928, when the vessel (the The Mary Stanford of Rye sank with all hands. The incident is recorded by a tablet at Winchelsea church; and by the folk-song The Mary Stanford of Rye^[6] . Between 1696 and 1948 there have been six ships of the Royal Navy to bear the name HMS Rye.

The windmill

Governance

Although officially considered to be a civil parish ^[7], Rye’s governing body - because of its history - is that of a Town Council. That Council has one electoral ward, electing 16 members, one of whom then is elected Mayor of Rye.^[8]. The current Mayor (2008-9) is Cllr Samuel Souster (Labour).

The Member of Parliament for the combined constituency of Hastings and Rye is Michael Jabez Foster.

Geography

Rye is located at the point where the sandstone high land of the Weald reaches the coast. The medieval coastline (see map above), with its large bay, allowed ships to come up to the port. The original course of the River Rother then reached the sea at Romney to the north-east. The storms in the English Channel in the thirteenth century, coupled with reclamation of the bay, brought huge quantities of gravel through longshore drift along the coast, blocking the entrance to the port. The course of the river has also changed over the centuries, so that Rye now stands on the river, at the point of its confluence with the River Tillingham.

The river itself, now flowing southward into Rye Bay, and the environs of Rye Harbour, are managed and maintained by the Environment Agency ^[9]

Mermaid Street showing typically steep slope and cobbled surface

Most of the town lies on the original rocky heights and contains the historic buildings including St Mary's parish church, the Ypres Tower (part of the Town Wall), Lamb House and many of the houses on Mermaid Street, Watchbell Street, and Church Square. The main road skirts the town to the south after crossing the river; before that point there is some ribbon development along the Hastings road.

Demography and economy

Rye, apart from its tourist base, continues to operate as a port. The fishing fleet (code-lettered RX, Rye, SusseX – which registration also used by the Hastings fishing fleet) lands fish daily. Some is sold at the Strand quay though most is sold through the market in Boulogne. Rye Wharf (Rastrums) has the capacity to take large ships up to 80 mtrs on a high tide.

Transport

At the latter end of the 18th century, Rye was connected to the Turnpike Trust system of roads. One of these, the Flimwell Turnpike, took passengers towards London^[10]; the second ran from Hastings eastwards through the town. These two roads are now the A268 and the A259.

In addition to the hourly 711 Dover-Hastings Stagecoach long-distance service there are a number of buses connecting Rye with other towns and villages, including Tenterden, Hastings and Tunbridge Wells ^[11].

Rye has a railway station on the "Marshlink" line between Hastings and Ashford.^[12]

Several long-distance footpaths can be joined by walkers in the town. The Saxon Shore Way which starts at Gravesend, Kent and traces the coast as it was in Roman times, passes through Rye en route to Hastings; the 1066 Country Walk leads from Rye to Pevensey; the High Weald Landscape Trail goes to Horsham; and the Royal Military Canal Path follows that waterway to Hythe.

Education

Rye College (formerly called Thomas Peacocke Community College, and before that Thomas Peacocke School) is Rye's secondary school. The two primary schools, Tilling Green Infant School and Freda Gardham Community School, were replaced by a new school, Rye Primary, adjacent to the secondary institution, in September 2008.

Amenities

Rye is a local centre as well as being a tourist spot. Rye Farmers’ Market^[13] takes place on Strand Quay every Wednesday morning; and a general market antiques, collectors' book and record shops and many art galleries, selling works by local artists and potters with changing exhibitions throughout the year. A general weekly market takes place by the station every Thursday.

One of the tourist websites includes a picture tour of the town ^[14]

Rye in literature

There are various mentions of the town by famous travel writers between the 16th and 18th centuries, although not all to the good. Sir Robert Naunton (1563–1635) mentions it in his book Travels in England, published sometime between 1628 and 1632: he calls Rye a “small English seaport“; shortly after his arrival he takes post-horses for London, travelling via Flimwell. Daniel Defoe (1660–1731) describes the state of the harbour and its approaches, saying that ‘’Rye would flourish again, if her harbour, which was once able to receive the royal navy, cou'd be restor'd … ’’ but that he thought it very doubtful that large ships would be able to use the port again. ^[15] William Cobbett (1763–1835) simply mentions it in passing, saying that this area (that including the Romney Marsh) would be most likely to be where the French invaders might land.

Lamb House

Rye has produced and attracted many fiction writers, some of whom lived at Lamb House, one of the town's historic residences and now owned by the National Trust^[16] They include Henry James (1843–1916), the American novelist, who was resident between 1898 and 1916; Rumer Godden (1907–98), the Anglo-Indian novelist; and E.F. Benson (1867–1940), the English novelist. Both the House and the town feature prominently in Benson's Mapp and Lucia novels, as Mallards House and Tilling respectively. In the mid 1980s, Rye was used as a filming location by LWT for its adaptation of the Mapp and Lucia novels.

People of Rye

Other residents of the town and environs have included:

• Conrad Aiken (1889–1973), American writer. Aiken's former home, Jeake's House, is now a guest house.
• Joan Aiken (1924–2004), children's author, daughter of Conrad Aiken
• John Christopher (1922– ), science fiction author. The 1980s British television series based on his trilogy, The Tripods, was filmed near his house.
• Tom Chaplin singer of the band Keane
• Monica Edwards (1912–1998), children's author who lived at Rye Harbour and set her Romney Marsh novels in the area, renaming Rye Dunsford.
• John Fletcher (1579–1625), Jacobean playwright and solicitor.
• Radclyffe Hall (1880–1943), seminal lesbian writer.
• Monica and Gabriela Irimia (1982– ), the Cheeky Girls who live in cheeky towers in the town.
• Sir Paul McCartney (1942– ), musician and former Beatle. McCartney's children attended the local schools in Rye.
• Spike Milligan (1918–2002), comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and vice-president of the Rye Rugby Club.
• John Ryan (1921– ), Although born in Edinburgh, this British Author/Cartoonist famed for his TV cartoon Captain Pugwash, is a resident of Rye.
• Malcolm Saville (1901–82), author of nearly 80 children's books, largely thrillers and adventure stories. Saville was the creator of the Lone Pine series of books, a number of which were set in Rye, including The Gay Dolphin Adventure and Rye Royal.
• Russell Thorndike (1885–1972), who set his Dr Syn novels about smuggling on the marshes.
• Philippa Urquhart (1940– ), British actress.
• Sir Anthony van Dyck did several drawings of the town, unusually detailed for him, and probably done to pass the time until a ship to the continent arrived^{[citation needed]}.

References

External Links

• Photographs of Rye