Rye Castle Museum

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Introducing the Museum	Views from the Castle
The Harbour at Rye	The Invasion Coast
Smuggling	The Romney Marsh
The Ypres Tower	Education
Trades and Industries of Rye	Shipwrecks
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve	Rye's Hinterland
Rye Town	HELP with using this site

In this section: HMS Rye --- Landgate Square --- Merrythought and Rye Pottery --- Military in Rye --- Monastery --- Old Drill Hall --- The Old Police Station --- St Anthony's and the Sedley family --- Wellington in Hastings and Rye

In 1364, Benedict and Henry Zely, together with William Taillour, the owners of two acres of land on the East Cliff, where the sea had already destroyed some houses, gave permission to the Prior Provincial and the Friars of St. Augustine, to build an Oratory and Manse for their order. These two acres can be identified as being the part of East Cliff that was later destroyed by the sea and to which the present Ockman's Lane used to lead. The Oratory and Manse were built. This was the founding of the first house of the Friars Heremites of St. Austin in Rye. The King let them off a rent of 2/10 ( 14p ) because the Lord Warden reported the property as having no current value and in return the Friars were to celebrate the Divine service for the good of the King as well as those of the donators of the land and for their souls, progenitors and heirs.

Amongst the buildings that suffered from the French raid of 1377, that destroyed most of the town, were the Chapel and Manse of the Austin Friars on East Cliff. As the site was already being undermined by the sea, it was deemed unwise to rebuild on the same site. The Fraternity applied to the Corporation for a new site, which was duly granted in 1379 at a place called "La Haltone". Here the Friars built a new Chapel and other buildings, some of which survive to this day, the major one being part of the Chapel. Throughout this time and until the Reformation, the Friary also acted as sanctuary, in addition to the church of St. Mary's.

In 1538, as part of the Reformation and the suppression of the monasteries, which had begun a few years earlier, the Bishop of Dover came to Rye and formally suppressed the Austin Friary. As mentioned above this body had been established in 1364 and had often been the beneficiary under many Rye families' wills. The Friars were a small body, with a Prior, under the jurisdiction of Oxford, and they apparently resented their suppression. The Mayor was ordered to detain a friar and a priest for defaming the King and Queen. However, their lands and buildings were taken by the Crown.