The Old Sail Loft, Rye - 01797 229049 ryetic@rother.gov.uk

Rye - The name of Rye is believed to come from Norman French "la Rie" meaning a bank.

The small town of Rye, in East Sussex, England, now stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the River 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; 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 make it a tourist destination, and much of its economy is based on that: there are a number of hotels, guest houses, B&B's 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'.

Medieval maps shows 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.

Rye as part of the Saxon Manor of Rameslie was given to the Benedictine Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy by King Æthelred and this was to remain in French hands until 1247.

Rye, as one of the two "Antient Townes" (Winchelsea being the other) 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 order to defend the town from the French in 1249 as "Baddings Tower" and 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 of the 13th century (particularly 1250 and 1287) were to 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 off-load 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 undertaken to stop the gradual silting-up of the river and the harbour. There was also a constant 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.

However, with the coming of bigger ships and larger deepwater ports, Rye's economy began to decline, and fishing and particularly smuggling became more important (including owling, the smuggling of wool). 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 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 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. Between 1696 and 1948 there have been six ships of the Royal Navy to bear the name HMS Rye.

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.

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 Mer. 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.