Rye, East Sussex
Encyclopedia
Rye is a small town in East Sussex
, England
, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother
, the Tillingham
and the Brede
. In medieval times, however, as an important member of the Cinque Ports
confederation, it was at the head of an embayment of the English Channel
and almost entirely surrounded by the sea.
Rye is officially a civil parish but with its historic roots has the status of a town; at the 2001 census it had a population of 4009. During its history its association with the sea has included providing ships for the service of the King in time of war, and being involved with smuggling gangs of the 18th and 19th centuries such as the notorious Hawkhurst Gang
who used its inns such as The Mermaid Inn
and The Olde Bell Inn
, connected by secret passage way.
Those historic roots and its charm make it a tourist destination, and much of its economy is based on that: there are a number of hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, tea rooms and restaurants, as well as other attractions, catering for the visitor. There is a small fishing fleet, and Rye 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'.
Rye, as part of the Saxon Manor of Rameslie, was given to the Benedictine
Abbey
of Fécamp
in Normandy
by King Æthelred; it was to remain in Norman hands until 1247.
As one of the two "Antient Townes" (Winchelsea
being the other), Rye was to become a limb of the Cinque Ports Confederation by 1189, and subsequently a full member. The protection of the town as one of the Cinque Ports was very important, due to the commerce that trading brought. One of the oldest buildings in Rye is Ypres Tower, which was built in 1249 as "Baddings Tower", to defend the town from the French, and was later named after its owner John de Ypres. It is now part of the Rye Museum.
Rye received its charter from King Edward I in 1289, and acquired privileges and tax exemptions in return for ship-service for the crown. The "Landgate" (the only surviving one of four original fortified entrances to Rye) dates from 1329 in the early years of the reign of King Edward III. It is still the only vehicular route into the medieval centre of Rye and is suitable only for light vehicles.
The River Rother
originally took an easterly course to flow into the sea near what is now New Romney
. However, the violent storms in the 13th century (particularly in 1250 and 1287) cut the town off from the sea, destroyed Old Winchelsea and changed the course of the Rother. Then the sea and the river combined in about 1375 to destroy the eastern part of the town and ships began use the current area (the Strand) to unload their cargoes. Two years later the town was sacked and burnt by the French, and it was ordered that the town walls be completed, as a defence against foreign raiders.
Rye was considered one of the finest of the Cinque Ports even though constant work had to be done to stop the gradual silting-up of the river and the harbour. There was also a conflict of interest between the maritime interests and the landowners, who gradually "inned" or reclaimed land from the sea on Romney and Walland Marsh and thus reduced the tidal-flows that were supposed to keep the harbour free of silt. Acts of Parliament
had to be passed to enable the Rother to be kept navigable at all.
With the coming of bigger ships and larger deepwater ports, Rye's economy began to decline, and fishing and particularly smuggling
(including owling, the smuggling of wool) became more important. Imposition of taxes on goods had encouraged smuggling 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 in Rye - turned to murder and were subsequently hanged.
Since 1803 there have been lifeboats
stationed at Rye although the lifeboat station is now at Rye Harbour
approx 2 miles (3.2 km) down-river from the town. The worst disaster in its history occurred in 1928, when the Mary Stanford Lifeboat
sank with all hands. The incident is recorded by a tablet at Winchelsea
church; and by the folk-song The Mary Stanford of Rye. A new RNLB Mary Stanford
was commissioned by the RNLI two years later and stationed at Ballycotton
on the coast of Ireland.
Between 1696 and 1948 there have been six ships of the Royal Navy
to bear the name .
During the 1802-1803 Napoleonic
invasion threat, Rye, Dover and Chatham were regarded as the three most likely Invasion Ports and Rye became the western Command centre for the Royal Military Canal
. The canal was planned from Pett Level to Hythe
as a defence against a possible French invasion. How a 20 mtr ditch was supposed to have stopped the finest army in Europe, and one which had already crossed all of Europe's great rivers at one time or another, was not clear. In the event, the canal was not completed until long after the need for it had passed.
. But it was Queen Elizabeth I
who gave the town the right to use the title "Rye Royal" following a visit in 1573. King Charles I
described Rye as "The cheapest sea-towne for the provision of fish for our house". George I
whilst returning from visiting his continental possessions in 1726 was grounded on Camber Sands and spent the next four days in Rye, being accommodated at Lamb House
.
cage which was famously used to display the hanged body of the murderer John Breads in 1742, and the pillory
last used in 1813 in the case of a local publican who assisted the escape of the French General Phillipon.
The current Mayor (2010) is Cllr John Breeds
Apart from the Town Council, local government is exercised by Rother District Council (RDC), with its headquarters in Bexhill-on-Sea, and East Sussex County Council, based in Lewes. The Rye ward returns two councillors to RDC.
Since 1983 Rye has been part of the parliamentary constituency of Hastings and Rye, prior to which it had its own seat. The current Member of Parliament
is Amber Rudd
of the Conservative Party
.
reaches the coast. The medieval coastline (see map above), with its large bay, enabled ships to come up to the port. The original course of the River Rother (Eastern)
then reached the sea at Romney to the northeast. 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
and the River Brede. The Rivers Brede and Rother also form part of the Royal Military Canal
between Winchelsea
and Iden Lock. Though not considered isolated, the town is nevertheless situated in the remotest and least populated area of southeastern England, on the edge of Romney Marsh
and within three kilometres of the coast.
The river itself, now flowing southward into Rye Bay, and the environs of Rye Harbour, are managed and maintained by the Environment Agency
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.
port
, a naval base
, a fishing port, an agricultural centre and a market town
. Today, more than anything, Rye depends on its tourist appeal, which attracts traffic from all over the world. The old part of the town within the former town walls now offers a wide range of antique shops, art galleries, gift shops, restaurants and a guitar shop in Lion Street near the church.
Since the last war Rye has also become a renowned centre for ceramic
s.
Rye, apart from its tourist base, continues to operate as a port. There has been considerable investment in facilities for both the fishing fleet berthed at Rye and the commercial wharves at Rye Harbour. Rye fishing boats are code-lettered RX, Rye, SusseX (which registration is also used by the Hastings
fishing fleet) and land fish daily. Some is sold at the quayside though most is sold through the great regional market in Boulogne.
At Rye Harbour, the Rastrums Wharf (which was renovated in the 1980s) has the capacity to take large ships up to 80 metres on a high tide.
Rye also is an important yachting base, offering the only safe haven for many miles in either direction along this section of Channel coast. Yachts may currently moor either at Rye Harbour or at the Strand Quay at the edge of the town There have been numerous plans proposed for a modern yacht marina to be built at Rye, but each has foundered on economic or planning grounds.
system of roads. One of these, the Flimwell Turnpike, took passengers towards London; the second ran from Hastings eastwards through the town. These two roads are now the A268 and the A259
. During the 80's and 90's there were detailed proposals to bypass the A259 route around Rye but the plans invariably met with local opposition and never received any priority in the building programme.
In addition to the hourly 100/101 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
.
Rye has a railway station
on the "Marshlink"
line between Hastings and Ashford. This now provides a through service from Brighton
to Ashford International and connects to the Eurostar
services to Paris
Gare du Nord
and the new high speed Class 395 service to London St Pancras. Gatwick Airport may be reached by rail via Eastbourne
or Lewes
Before the war there was a Summer steamship service from Rye to Boulogne. Rye was also the terminus for the pre-World War II Rye & Camber Tramway, built to serve golf courses and Camber Sands
, closed to the public at the outbreak of WWII, never reopened and scrapped in 1947.
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
.
parish church
with Norman
origins; St Anthony of Padua
Roman Catholic church, rebuilt in 1929; a 1909 Baptist chapel in Cinque Ports Street, replacing the Rye Particular Baptist Chapel
of 1754 (which itself stood on the site of an older Quaker
meeting house); former Congregational and Independent churches; and a Methodist chapel.
and Walland Marsh area as well as being a tourist spot. Rye Farmers' Market takes place on Strand Quay every Wednesday morning. Rye has a well-established reputation as a centre for shops trading antiques, collectors' books and records, and has many art galleries selling works by local artists and potters with changing exhibitions throughout the year.
Rye's general weekly market takes place on the marketplace car park by the station every Thursday. Until the Foot-and-Mouth disease crisis in 2001 (which closed all livestock markets in England) there were frequent livestock sales at Rye.
Rye Castle Museum is located on two sites, in East Street and at the Ypres Castle. One of the tourist websites includes a picture tour of the town Rye Art Gallery was established as a Trust in the early 1960s. Located at 107 High Street it provides a focus for contemporary visual art, which it exhibits alongside heritage artworks from its Permanent Collection.
Rye also stands at the centre of a network of nature reserves, some of national importance. The Rye Harbour SSSI
lies to the south and includes the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve.
The neighbouring Pett Levels and Pools, and the Pannel Valley nature reserve are accessible via Winchelsea
and Winchelsea Beach a few miles to the west, whilst Scotney Lake lies just off the Lydd
road and the RSPB reserve at Dungeness lies a few miles further to the east with the Bird Observatory located in the old lighthouse.
The recent redevelopment of the Rye wharf for the RX fishing fleet has provided modern amenities for the landing and storage of fish. Most is sold wholesale through the regional market in Boulogne, though there is a trend for Rye to develop as a gastronomic centre in the style of Newquay
or Padstow
, featuring the use of fresh local produce from the sea. The annual "Rye Bay Scallops Festival" which takes place each year in February was first proposed by the then Chair of the Chamber of Commerce, Kate Roy, as a means of promoting the "Rye Bay Catch". Excellent scallops (and flatfish such as sole
, plaice
and dabs) are to be had in Rye Bay because of the shallow and relatively sheltered water.
Every year in September Rye hosts its annual two-week "Arts Festival" which attracts a world-class series of performers in music, comedy and literature
On the second Saturday after November 5 the "Bonfire Boys" stage their annual torch-lit parade through the streets of the town, supported by visiting Bonfire Societies from all over the Sussex Bonfire Societies
Confederation. This is followed by a "gurt 'normous bonfire" where the chosen "effigy" of the year is ceremoniously blown-up, and a spectacular firework display. This event typically attracts over 10,000 visitors to the town, and results in the town's roads, and the main roads to London, Hastings and Ashford, being clogged up and closed to traffic from the early evening onwards.
(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. 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.
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
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. The post-Monty Python
film Yellowbeard
also had a few scenes filmed on the cobbled street.
The feature film Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. was filmed in Mermaid street. It starred Gregory Peck and was made in 1951. Mermaid street serves as Hornblower's wife and mother's house in Portsmouth.
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother
River Rother (Eastern)
The River Rother , at 35 miles , is a river flowing through both East Sussex and Kent, England. Its source is near Rotherfield , and its mouth is on Rye Bay, part of the English Channel....
, the Tillingham
River Tillingham
The River Tillingham is a river in the English county of East Sussex.Unusually for that county the Tillingham flows from west to east. It meets the eastern River Rother near the town of Rye....
and the Brede
River Brede
The Brede is an English river in East Sussex. It flows into the Rock Channel and then onto the River Rother at Rye, Sussex. It gives its name to the village of Brede, which lies between Hastings and Tenterden...
. In medieval times, however, as an important member of the Cinque Ports
Cinque Ports
The Confederation of Cinque Ports is a historic series of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex. It was originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial. It lies at the eastern end of the English Channel, where the crossing to the continent is narrowest...
confederation, it was at the head of an embayment of the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and almost entirely surrounded by the sea.
Rye is officially a civil parish but with its historic roots has the status of a town; at the 2001 census it had a population of 4009. During its history its association with the sea has included providing ships for the service of the King in time of war, and being involved with smuggling gangs of the 18th and 19th centuries such as the notorious Hawkhurst Gang
Hawkhurst Gang
The Hawkhurst Gang was a notorious criminal organisation involved in smuggling throughout southeast England from 1735 until 1749. One of the more infamous gangs of the early 18th century, they extended their influence from Dorset, where they successfully raided the customs house at Poole, to the...
who used its inns such as The Mermaid Inn
The Mermaid Inn
The Mermaid Inn is a Grade II* listed historical inn located on Mermaid Street in the ancient town of Rye, East Sussex, southeastern England. One of the best-known inns in southeast England, it was established in the 12th century and has a long, turbulent history. The current building dates from...
and The Olde Bell Inn
The Old Bell Inn, Rye
The Old Bell Inn, also known as Ye Olde Bell Inn, is a Grade II listed historical inn in Rye, East Sussex. It was built in 1390. It has a turbulent history and was once used for smuggling, connected by a secret tunnel to the nearby The Mermaid Inn to the south...
, connected by secret passage way.
Those historic roots and its charm make it a tourist destination, and much of its economy is based on that: there are a number of hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, tea rooms and restaurants, as well as other attractions, catering for the visitor. There is a small fishing fleet, and Rye Harbour has facilities for yachts and other vessels.
A known demonym
Demonym
A demonym , also referred to as a gentilic, is a name for a resident of a locality. A demonym is usually – though not always – derived from the name of the locality; thus, the demonym for the people of England is English, and the demonym for the people of Italy is Italian, yet, in english, the one...
for the people who live in the town is 'Ryers' and in Sussex they are sometimes referred to as 'Mud Heads'.
History
The name of Rye is believed to come from Norman French "la Rie" meaning a bank. Medieval maps show that Rye was originally located on a huge embayment of the English Channel called the Rye Camber, which provided a safe anchorage and harbour. Probably as early as Roman times, Rye was important as a place of shipment and storage of iron from the Wealden Iron Industry. The Mermaid Inn originally dates to 1156.Rye, as part of the Saxon Manor of Rameslie, was given to the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
of Fécamp
Fécamp
Fécamp is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:Fécamp is situated in the valley of the river Valmont, at the heart of the Pays de Caux, on the Albaster Coast...
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
by King Æthelred; it was to remain in Norman hands until 1247.
As one of the two "Antient Townes" (Winchelsea
Winchelsea
Winchelsea is a small village in East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately two miles south west of Rye and seven miles north east of Hastings...
being the other), Rye was to become a limb of the Cinque Ports Confederation by 1189, and subsequently a full member. The protection of the town as one of the Cinque Ports was very important, due to the commerce that trading brought. One of the oldest buildings in Rye is Ypres Tower, which was built in 1249 as "Baddings Tower", to defend the town from the French, and was later named after its owner John de Ypres. It is now part of the Rye Museum.
Rye received its charter from King Edward I in 1289, and acquired privileges and tax exemptions in return for ship-service for the crown. The "Landgate" (the only surviving one of four original fortified entrances to Rye) dates from 1329 in the early years of the reign of King Edward III. It is still the only vehicular route into the medieval centre of Rye and is suitable only for light vehicles.
The River Rother
River Rother (Eastern)
The River Rother , at 35 miles , is a river flowing through both East Sussex and Kent, England. Its source is near Rotherfield , and its mouth is on Rye Bay, part of the English Channel....
originally took an easterly course to flow into the sea near what is now New Romney
New Romney
New Romney is a small town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to be silted up. New Romney was once a sea port, with the harbour adjacent to the church, but is now more than a mile from the sea...
. However, the violent storms in the 13th century (particularly in 1250 and 1287) cut the town off from the sea, destroyed Old Winchelsea and changed the course of the Rother. Then the sea and the river combined in about 1375 to destroy the eastern part of the town and ships began use the current area (the Strand) to unload their cargoes. Two years later the town was sacked and burnt by the French, and it was ordered that the town walls be completed, as a defence against foreign raiders.
Rye was considered one of the finest of the Cinque Ports even though constant work had to be done to stop the gradual silting-up of the river and the harbour. There was also a conflict of interest between the maritime interests and the landowners, who gradually "inned" or reclaimed land from the sea on Romney and Walland Marsh and thus reduced the tidal-flows that were supposed to keep the harbour free of silt. Acts of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
had to be passed to enable the Rother to be kept navigable at all.
With the coming of bigger ships and larger deepwater ports, Rye's economy began to decline, and fishing and particularly smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
(including owling, the smuggling of wool) became more important. Imposition of taxes on goods had encouraged smuggling 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
Hawkhurst Gang
The Hawkhurst Gang was a notorious criminal organisation involved in smuggling throughout southeast England from 1735 until 1749. One of the more infamous gangs of the early 18th century, they extended their influence from Dorset, where they successfully raided the customs house at Poole, to the...
who met in the Mermaid Inn in Rye - turned to murder and were subsequently hanged.
Since 1803 there have been lifeboats
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
stationed at Rye although the lifeboat station is now at Rye Harbour
Rye Harbour
Rye Harbour is a village located on the East Sussex coast in southeast England, near the estuary of the River Rother: it is part of the civil parish of Icklesham. Rye Harbour is located some two miles downstream of the town of Rye....
approx 2 miles (3.2 km) down-river from the town. The worst disaster in its history occurred in 1928, when the Mary Stanford Lifeboat
Mary Stanford Lifeboat
The Mary Stanford Lifeboat was a vessel which capsized in Rye Harbour in 1928.The disaster was the worst for many years. It occurred on 15 November 1928 when the whole of the 17 man crew of the Mary Stanford Lifeboat were drowned, practically the whole male fishing population of the small town of...
sank with all hands. The incident is recorded by a tablet at Winchelsea
Winchelsea
Winchelsea is a small village in East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately two miles south west of Rye and seven miles north east of Hastings...
church; and by the folk-song The Mary Stanford of Rye. A new RNLB Mary Stanford
RNLB Mary Stanford
RNLB Mary Stanford was the Ballycotton Lifeboat from 1930 to 1959. Ballycotton is on Ireland's southern coast, a trade route to the Americas. There are many dangerous rocks and shallows with on-shore prevailing winds. Ballycotton has a long tradition of life-saving. Mary Stanford had 41...
was commissioned by the RNLI two years later and stationed at Ballycotton
Ballycotton
Ballycotton is a village in County Cork, Ireland, situated about 25 miles east of Cork city. It is a famous fishing village and has given its name to the folk band Ballycotton. The village is set on a rocky-ledge overlooking Ballycotton Bay and its sandy beach that stretches for about...
on the coast of Ireland.
Between 1696 and 1948 there have been six ships of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
to bear the name .
During the 1802-1803 Napoleonic
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
invasion threat, Rye, Dover and Chatham were regarded as the three most likely Invasion Ports and Rye became the western Command centre for the Royal Military Canal
Royal Military Canal
The Royal Military Canal is a canal running for 28 miles between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh.-Construction:...
. The canal was planned from Pett Level to Hythe
Hythe
Hythe may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, or to:Placenames in Canada*Hythe, Alberta Placenames in England*Hythe, Essex *Hythe, Hampshire...
as a defence against a possible French invasion. How a 20 mtr ditch was supposed to have stopped the finest army in Europe, and one which had already crossed all of Europe's great rivers at one time or another, was not clear. In the event, the canal was not completed until long after the need for it had passed.
Rye Royal
Rye, being part of the Cinque Ports Confederation and a bastion against invasion on the Channel Coast, has always had close links with the crown. It was King Edward III and the Black Prince who defeated the Spanish in Rye Bay in 1350 in the battle of Les Espagnols sur MerLes Espagnols sur Mer
The naval Battle of Les Espagnols sur Mer , or the Battle of Winchelsea, took place on 29 August 1350 and was a victory for an English fleet of 50 ships commanded by Edward III, with the Black Prince, over a Castilian fleet of 40 ships commanded by Don Carlos de la Cerda...
. But it was Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
who gave the town the right to use the title "Rye Royal" following a visit in 1573. King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
described Rye as "The cheapest sea-towne for the provision of fish for our house". George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
whilst returning from visiting his continental possessions in 1726 was grounded on Camber Sands and spent the next four days in Rye, being accommodated at Lamb House
Lamb House
Lamb House is an 18th-century house situated in Rye, East Sussex, England, and in the ownership of the National Trust.The house has literary connections. It was the home of Henry James from 1898 to 1916, and later of E.F. Benson and Rumer Godden. Benson writes lovingly of both garden and house,...
.
Governance
Historically Rye was an independent Borough granted rights of governance under its charter of 1289, with its own appointed Mayor and chosen Jurats (magistrates). These independent powers were terminated by the Local Government Act of 1973 and, although officially considered to be a civil parish, 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. In the Townhall there is an unbroken list of the Mayors of Rye going back to the 13th century. There are also two gruesome relics of Rye's violent past: the gibbetGibbet
A gibbet is a gallows-type structure from which the dead bodies of executed criminals were hung on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. In earlier times, up to the late 17th century, live gibbeting also took place, in which the criminal was placed alive in a metal cage...
cage which was famously used to display the hanged body of the murderer John Breads in 1742, and the pillory
Pillory
The pillory was a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse, sometimes lethal...
last used in 1813 in the case of a local publican who assisted the escape of the French General Phillipon.
The current Mayor (2010) is Cllr John Breeds
Apart from the Town Council, local government is exercised by Rother District Council (RDC), with its headquarters in Bexhill-on-Sea, and East Sussex County Council, based in Lewes. The Rye ward returns two councillors to RDC.
Since 1983 Rye has been part of the parliamentary constituency of Hastings and Rye, prior to which it had its own seat. The current Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
is Amber Rudd
Amber Rudd
Amber Rudd is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as Member of Parliament for the East Sussex constituency of Hastings and Rye at the May 2010 general election, defeating the incumbent Labour MP Michael Foster.Rudd is an alumna of Edinburgh University...
of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
Geography
Rye is located at the point where the sandstone high land of the WealdWeald
The Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...
reaches the coast. The medieval coastline (see map above), with its large bay, enabled ships to come up to the port. The original course of the River Rother (Eastern)
River Rother (Eastern)
The River Rother , at 35 miles , is a river flowing through both East Sussex and Kent, England. Its source is near Rotherfield , and its mouth is on Rye Bay, part of the English Channel....
then reached the sea at Romney to the northeast. The storms in the English Channel in the thirteenth century, coupled with reclamation
Water reclamation
Water reclamation is a process by which wastewater from homes and businesses is cleaned using biological and chemical treatment so that the water can be returned to the environment safely to augment the natural systems from which it came...
of the bay, brought huge quantities of gravel through longshore drift
Longshore drift
Longshore drift consists of the transportation of sediments along a coast at an angle to the shoreline, which is dependent on prevailing wind direction, swash and backwash. This process occurs in the littoral zone, and in or within close proximity to the surf zone...
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
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
with the River Tillingham
River Tillingham
The River Tillingham is a river in the English county of East Sussex.Unusually for that county the Tillingham flows from west to east. It meets the eastern River Rother near the town of Rye....
and the River Brede. The Rivers Brede and Rother also form part of the Royal Military Canal
Royal Military Canal
The Royal Military Canal is a canal running for 28 miles between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh.-Construction:...
between Winchelsea
Winchelsea
Winchelsea is a small village in East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately two miles south west of Rye and seven miles north east of Hastings...
and Iden Lock. Though not considered isolated, the town is nevertheless situated in the remotest and least populated area of southeastern England, on the edge of Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 mi ² .-Quotations:*“As Egypt was the gift of the Nile, this level tract .....
and within three kilometres of the coast.
The river itself, now flowing southward into Rye Bay, and the environs of Rye Harbour, are managed and maintained by the Environment Agency
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
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
Lamb House
Lamb House is an 18th-century house situated in Rye, East Sussex, England, and in the ownership of the National Trust.The house has literary connections. It was the home of Henry James from 1898 to 1916, and later of E.F. Benson and Rumer Godden. Benson writes lovingly of both garden and 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.
Economy
Rye, over the centuries has successively been an entrepôtEntrepôt
An entrepôt is a trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties, often at a profit. This profit is possible because of trade conditions, for example, the reluctance of ships to travel the entire length of a long trading route, and selling to the entrepôt...
port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
, a naval base
Naval base
A naval base is a military base, where warships and naval ships are deployed when they have no mission at sea or want to restock. Usually ships may also perform some minor repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usually stay on the ships but are undergoing maintenance while...
, a fishing port, an agricultural centre and a market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
. Today, more than anything, Rye depends on its tourist appeal, which attracts traffic from all over the world. The old part of the town within the former town walls now offers a wide range of antique shops, art galleries, gift shops, restaurants and a guitar shop in Lion Street near the church.
Since the last war Rye has also become a renowned centre for ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
s.
Rye, apart from its tourist base, continues to operate as a port. There has been considerable investment in facilities for both the fishing fleet berthed at Rye and the commercial wharves at Rye Harbour. Rye fishing boats are code-lettered RX, Rye, SusseX (which registration is also used by the Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
fishing fleet) and land fish daily. Some is sold at the quayside though most is sold through the great regional market in Boulogne.
At Rye Harbour, the Rastrums Wharf (which was renovated in the 1980s) has the capacity to take large ships up to 80 metres on a high tide.
Rye also is an important yachting base, offering the only safe haven for many miles in either direction along this section of Channel coast. Yachts may currently moor either at Rye Harbour or at the Strand Quay at the edge of the town There have been numerous plans proposed for a modern yacht marina to be built at Rye, but each has foundered on economic or planning grounds.
Travel & Transport
At the latter end of the 18th century, Rye was connected to the Turnpike TrustTurnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
system of roads. One of these, the Flimwell Turnpike, took passengers towards London; the second ran from Hastings eastwards through the town. These two roads are now the A268 and the A259
A259 road
The A259 is a busy road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and part of Kent. Part of the road was named "the most dangerous road in South East England" in 2008.-Description:...
. During the 80's and 90's there were detailed proposals to bypass the A259 route around Rye but the plans invariably met with local opposition and never received any priority in the building programme.
In addition to the hourly 100/101 Dover-Hastings Stagecoach long-distance service there are a number of buses connecting Rye with other towns and villages, including Tenterden
Tenterden
Tenterden is a Cinque Port town in the Ashford District of Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother....
, Hastings and Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
.
Rye has a railway station
Rye railway station
Rye railway station serves Rye in East Sussex, England. It is on the Marshlink Line 18 km east of Hastings providing a passing place between two single track sections. Train services are provided by Southern. The staggered platforms are linked by footbridge...
on the "Marshlink"
Marshlink Line
The Marshlink Line is the name given to services on the railway line linking Ashford with Hastings in the South East of England. The line was part of an original proposal by a company named the Brighton Lewes and Hastings Railway to extend its coast route to Hastings...
line between Hastings and Ashford. This now provides a through service from Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
to Ashford International and connects to the Eurostar
Eurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
services to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
Gare du Nord
Gare du Nord
Paris Nord is one of the six large terminus railway stations of the SNCF mainline network for Paris, France. It offers connections with several urban transportation lines, including Paris Métro and RER...
and the new high speed Class 395 service to London St Pancras. Gatwick Airport may be reached by rail via Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
or Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
Before the war there was a Summer steamship service from Rye to Boulogne. Rye was also the terminus for the pre-World War II Rye & Camber Tramway, built to serve golf courses and Camber Sands
Camber Sands
For historical information on the area, see Camber articleCamber Sands is a beach at the village of Camber , East Sussex, England...
, closed to the public at the outbreak of WWII, never reopened and scrapped in 1947.
Several long-distance footpaths
Long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom
-England and Wales: National Trails:National Trails are distinguished by being maintained by the National Trails organization . , there are fifteen such trails, one of which is not yet complete....
can be joined by walkers in the town. The Saxon Shore Way
Saxon Shore Way
The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England, starting at Gravesend, Kent and traces the coast as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex, in total.-History:...
which starts at Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and traces the coast as it was in Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times, passes through Rye en route to Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
; the 1066 Country Walk
1066 Country Walk
The 1066 Country Walk is a waymarked long-distance footpath or recreational walk in southern England, United Kingdom.- The route :The route commemorates 1066, the year of the Battle of Hastings, and seeks to link the places and the people of that important year...
leads from Rye to Pevensey
Pevensey
Pevensey is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located 5 miles north-east of Eastbourne, one mile inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part of the parish.-Geography:The village of Pevensey is located on...
; the High Weald Landscape Trail
High Weald Landscape Trail
The High Weald Landscape Trail is a 140 km /90 mile route in England between Horsham, West Sussex and Rye, East Sussex, designed to pass through the main landscape types of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . It does not follow the highest ground, and the eastern section is...
goes to Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
; and the Royal Military Canal
Royal Military Canal
The Royal Military Canal is a canal running for 28 miles between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh.-Construction:...
Path follows that waterway to Hythe
Hythe, Kent
Hythe , is a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the District of Shepway on the south coast of Kent. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning Haven or Landing Place....
.
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. The original Rye Primary School was situated just off Ferry Road near the railway crossing.Places of worship
Past and present places of worship in Rye include St Mary's, the AnglicanAnglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
with Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
origins; St Anthony of Padua
Anthony of Padua
Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, O.F.M., was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. Though he died in Padua, Italy, he was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, which is where he was raised...
Roman Catholic church, rebuilt in 1929; a 1909 Baptist chapel in Cinque Ports Street, replacing the Rye Particular Baptist Chapel
Rye Particular Baptist Chapel
Rye Particular Baptist Chapel is a former Strict Baptist place of worship in Rye, an ancient hilltop town in Rother, one of six local government districts in the English county of East Sussex. Built in the 18th century on the site of a decaying Quaker meeting house, it served Baptists in the town...
of 1754 (which itself stood on the site of an older Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
meeting house); former Congregational and Independent churches; and a Methodist chapel.
Amenities
Rye is a local commercial centre for the Romney MarshRomney Marsh
Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 mi ² .-Quotations:*“As Egypt was the gift of the Nile, this level tract .....
and Walland Marsh area as well as being a tourist spot. Rye Farmers' Market takes place on Strand Quay every Wednesday morning. Rye has a well-established reputation as a centre for shops trading antiques, collectors' books and records, and has many art galleries selling works by local artists and potters with changing exhibitions throughout the year.
Rye's general weekly market takes place on the marketplace car park by the station every Thursday. Until the Foot-and-Mouth disease crisis in 2001 (which closed all livestock markets in England) there were frequent livestock sales at Rye.
Rye Castle Museum is located on two sites, in East Street and at the Ypres Castle. One of the tourist websites includes a picture tour of the town Rye Art Gallery was established as a Trust in the early 1960s. Located at 107 High Street it provides a focus for contemporary visual art, which it exhibits alongside heritage artworks from its Permanent Collection.
Rye also stands at the centre of a network of nature reserves, some of national importance. The Rye Harbour SSSI
Rye Harbour SSSI
Rye Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest is a nature reserve located on the western side of the mouth of the River Rother at Rye Harbour, about 1 mile downstream from Rye East Sussex...
lies to the south and includes the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve.
The neighbouring Pett Levels and Pools, and the Pannel Valley nature reserve are accessible via Winchelsea
Winchelsea
Winchelsea is a small village in East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately two miles south west of Rye and seven miles north east of Hastings...
and Winchelsea Beach a few miles to the west, whilst Scotney Lake lies just off the Lydd
Lydd
Lydd is a town in Kent, England, lying on the Romney Marsh. It is one of the larger towns on the Marsh, and the most southerly town in Kent. Actually located on Denge Marsh, Lydd was one of the first sandy islands to form as the bay evolved into what is now called the Romney Marsh...
road and the RSPB reserve at Dungeness lies a few miles further to the east with the Bird Observatory located in the old lighthouse.
The recent redevelopment of the Rye wharf for the RX fishing fleet has provided modern amenities for the landing and storage of fish. Most is sold wholesale through the regional market in Boulogne, though there is a trend for Rye to develop as a gastronomic centre in the style of Newquay
Newquay
Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
or Padstow
Padstow
Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge, ten miles northwest of Bodmin and ten miles northeast of Newquay...
, featuring the use of fresh local produce from the sea. The annual "Rye Bay Scallops Festival" which takes place each year in February was first proposed by the then Chair of the Chamber of Commerce, Kate Roy, as a means of promoting the "Rye Bay Catch". Excellent scallops (and flatfish such as sole
Sole (fish)
Sole is a group of flatfish belonging to several families. Generally speaking, they are members of the family Soleidae, but, outside Europe, the name sole is also applied to various other similar flatfish, especially other members of the sole suborder Soleoidei as well as members of the flounder...
, plaice
European plaice
The European plaice, Pleuronectes platessa, is a commercially important flatfish.- Distribution and habitat :The geographical range of the European plaice is off all coasts from the Barents Sea to the Mediterranean, also in the Northeast Atlantic and along Greenland...
and dabs) are to be had in Rye Bay because of the shallow and relatively sheltered water.
Every year in September Rye hosts its annual two-week "Arts Festival" which attracts a world-class series of performers in music, comedy and literature
On the second Saturday after November 5 the "Bonfire Boys" stage their annual torch-lit parade through the streets of the town, supported by visiting Bonfire Societies from all over the Sussex Bonfire Societies
Sussex Bonfire Societies
The Sussex Bonfire Societies are responsible for the series of bonfire festivals around Central/Eastern Sussex along with parts of Surrey and Kent from September - November....
Confederation. This is followed by a "gurt 'normous bonfire" where the chosen "effigy" of the year is ceremoniously blown-up, and a spectacular firework display. This event typically attracts over 10,000 visitors to the town, and results in the town's roads, and the main roads to London, Hastings and Ashford, being clogged up and closed to traffic from the early evening onwards.
Rye in literature
There are various mentions of the town by famous travel writers between the 16th and 18th centuries, although not all mentions were good. Sir Robert NauntonRobert Naunton
Sir Robert Naunton was an English writer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1606 and 1626.-Life:...
(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
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
(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. William Cobbett
William Cobbett
William Cobbett was an English pamphleteer, farmer and journalist, who was born in Farnham, Surrey. He believed that reforming Parliament and abolishing the rotten boroughs would help to end the poverty of farm labourers, and he attacked the borough-mongers, sinecurists and "tax-eaters" relentlessly...
(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.
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
They include
Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
(1843–1916), the American novelist, who was resident between 1898 and 1916; Rumer Godden
Rumer Godden
Margaret Rumer Godden OBE was an English author of over 60 fiction and nonfiction books written under the name of Rumer Godden. A few of her works were co-written by her sister, Jon Godden, who wrote several novels on her own...
(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
Mapp and Lucia
Mapp and Lucia is a collective name for a series of novels by E. F. Benson, and is also the name of a television series based on those novels.-The novels:...
novels, as Mallards House and Tilling
Tilling (Sussex)
Tilling is a fictional coastal town, based on Rye, East Sussex, in the Mapp and Lucia novels of Edward Frederic Benson .- Town in the novels of E F Benson :...
respectively. In the mid 1980s, Rye was used as a filming location by LWT for its adaptation of the Mapp and Lucia
Mapp and Lucia
Mapp and Lucia is a collective name for a series of novels by E. F. Benson, and is also the name of a television series based on those novels.-The novels:...
novels. The post-Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
film Yellowbeard
Yellowbeard
Yellowbeard is a 1983 comedy film by Graham Chapman, along with Peter Cook, Bernard McKenna and David Sherlock. It was directed by Mel Damski, and was Marty Feldman's last film appearance.-Plot:...
also had a few scenes filmed on the cobbled street.
The feature film Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. was filmed in Mermaid street. It starred Gregory Peck and was made in 1951. Mermaid street serves as Hornblower's wife and mother's house in Portsmouth.
People of Rye
Other residents of the town and environs have included:- Conrad AikenConrad AikenConrad Potter Aiken was an American novelist and poet, whose work includes poetry, short stories, novels, a play and an autobiography.-Early years:...
(1889–1973), American writer. Aiken's former home, Jeake's House, is now a guest house. - Joan AikenJoan AikenJoan Delano Aiken MBE was an English novelist. She was born in Rye, East Sussex, into a family of writers, including her father, American poet Conrad Aiken , her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge and her brother John Aiken Joan Delano Aiken MBE (4 September 1924 – 4 January 2004) was an English novelist....
(1924–2004), children's author, daughter of Conrad Aiken - Tom BakerTom BakerThomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
(1934–), British actor, best known for playing the Doctor in Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
between 1974-1981. - John Christopher (1922–), science fiction author. The 1980s British television series based on his trilogy, The TripodsThe TripodsThe Tripods is a series of young adult novels written by John Christopher, beginning in 1967. The first two were the basis of a science fiction TV-series, produced in the United Kingdom in the 1980s....
, was filmed near his house. - Tom ChaplinTom ChaplinThomas Oliver "Tom" Chaplin is a singer, musician and composer, best known as the lead vocalist of the piano rock band, Keane.-Life and career:...
singer of the band Keane - Monica EdwardsMonica EdwardsMonica Edwards was an English children's writer of the mid-twentieth century best known for her Romney Marsh and Punchbowl Farm series of children's novels.-Early life:...
(1912–1998), children's author who lived at Rye HarbourRye HarbourRye Harbour is a village located on the East Sussex coast in southeast England, near the estuary of the River Rother: it is part of the civil parish of Icklesham. Rye Harbour is located some two miles downstream of the town of Rye....
and set her Romney Marsh novels in the area, renaming Rye Dunsford. - John FletcherJohn Fletcher (playwright)John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
(1579–1625), Jacobean playwright and solicitor. - Radclyffe HallRadclyffe HallRadclyffe Hall was an English poet and author, best known for the lesbian classic The Well of Loneliness.- Life :...
(1880–1943), seminal lesbianLesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
writer. - Monica and Gabriela IrimiaThe Cheeky GirlsThe Cheeky Girls are a pop duo consisting of twin sisters Gabriela and Monica Irimia, from Cluj-Napoca in Transylvania, Romania, but based in Britain. After appearing as auditionees in Popstars: The Rivals, they achieved success in the charts with four top ten hits between 2002 and 2004...
(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 MilliganSpike MilliganTerence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
(1918–2002), comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and vice-president of the Rye Rugby Club. - John RyanJohn Ryan (cartoonist)John Gerald Christopher Ryan was a British animator and cartoonist, best known for his character Captain Pugwash. His brother was Roman Catholic theologian and philosopher Columba Ryan.-Biography:Ryan was born in Edinburgh...
(1921–2009), Although born in Edinburgh, this British Author/Cartoonist famed for his TV cartoon Captain PugwashCaptain PugwashCaptain Pugwash is a fictional pirate in a series of British children's comic strips and books created by John Ryan. The character's adventures were adapted into a TV series, using cardboard cut-outs filmed in live-action , also called Captain Pugwash, first shown on the BBC in 1957, a later colour...
, was a resident of Rye. - Malcolm SavilleMalcolm SavilleLeonard Malcolm Saville was an English author born in Hastings, Sussex. He is best known for the Lone Pine series of children's books, many of which are set in Shropshire. His work places emphasis on place, with the books including many vivid descriptions of English countryside, villages and...
(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 ThorndikeRussell ThorndikeArthur Russell Thorndike was a British actor and novelist, best known for the Doctor Syn of Romney Marsh novels...
(1885–1972), who set his Dr SynDoctor SynThe Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn is the smuggler hero of a series of novels by Russell Thorndike. The first book, Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh was published in 1915. The story idea came from smuggling in the 18th century Romney Marsh, where brandy and tobacco were brought in at night...
novels about smugglingSmugglingSmuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
on the marshes. - Philippa UrquhartPhilippa UrquhartPhilippa Urquhart is a British actress, best known for her performance as Lillian Cartland in the 1980s BBC television drama Tenko.She has worked as a film, television and theatre actress for more than 50 years....
(1940–), British actress. - Sir Anthony van DyckAnthony van DyckSir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
did several drawingDrawingDrawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
s of the town, unusually detailed for him, and probably done to pass the time until a ship to the continent arrived . - The ancestors of JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n reggaeReggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
artist Bob MarleyBob MarleyRobert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
reportedly hail from Rye; his most recent ancestor, great-grandfather Frederick, was born in the town in 1820. - Geoffrey BagleyGeoffrey BagleyGeoffrey Spink Bagley was a British artist, museum curator, politician, historian and Writer.-Official war artists :In 1942, the Wartime Information Board and the National Film Board of Canada hired Bagley as a graphic artist...
(1901–1992) Canadian war artist who settled in Rye post war & then worked to preserve the town's historic mementos and places.