Rye, East Sussex
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rye | |
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  Rye shown within East Sussex |
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| Area[1] | 1.6 sq mi (4.2 km²) |
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| Population | 4108 (Parish-2007)[1] |
| - Density | 2,564/sq mi (990/km²) |
| OS grid reference | |
| - 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 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 small fishing fleet, and the Harbour has facilities for yachts and other vessels.
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[edit] History
- Details of Rye's history may be found at the Rye Castle Museum website [2], from which much of the following is taken
- Further details are to be found at Vision of Britain [3]
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. 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] . Between 1696 and 1948 there have been six ships of the Royal Navy to bear the name HMS Rye.
[edit] Governance
Although officially considered to be a civil parish [6], 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.[7]. The current Mayor (2008) is Cllr Paul Osborne.
The Member of Parliament for the combined constituency of Hastings and Rye is Michael Jabez Foster.
[edit] 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 [8]
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.
[edit] Demography and economy
Rye, apart from its tourist base, continues to operate as a port. The fishing fleet (code-lettered RX, Rye, SusseX) lands fish daily, and some is sold at the Strand quay.
[edit] 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[9]; the second ran from Hastings eastwards through the town. These two roads are now the A258 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 [10].
Rye has a railway station on the "Marshlink" line between Hastings and Ashford.[11]
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.
[edit] Education
Thomas Peacocke Community College is Rye's secondary school. The two primary schools, Tilling Green Infant School and Freda Gardham Community School, will be replaced by a new school in September 2008.
[edit] Amenities
Rye is a local centre as well as being a tourist spot. Rye Farmers’ Market[12] 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 [13]
[edit] 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. [14] 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[15] 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.
[edit] People of Rye
Other residents of the town and environs have included:
- Conrad Aiken (1889–1973), American writer.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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].
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