INTRODUCTION

Rye Castle Museum is an independent Museum run by volunteers. Its income depends on admission charges and grants from various bodies. It is visitor income that makes the museum viable. It is a registered charity and organised as a not for profit company. There is a Board of Directors, a part-time Curator, a Head Guide and a team of Volunteer Stewards.

Rye Castle Museum has two sites: the Ypres Tower and East Street.

The Ypres Tower is one of the oldest buildings in Rye, being built in 1249 as part of the town's defences. It is the oldest building open to the public in Rye. The Tower has had a chequered history (see Ypres Tower section) and as you look round the inside you can see those changes in the blocked windows and doorways. From the balcony you can look over what was once one of the largest and most important harbours in the country, in the C16th it was the seventh busiest port in the country. It is now farmland.

In the Tower are various exhibits. In one cell there is medieval pottery made in Rye, which was very fine in comparison with pottery of a similar date made elsewhere. This probably reflects the prosperity of the town and also the skills brought from France, when the town was part of the lands belonging to the Abbey of Fecamp, in Normandy. You can also view a very rare smuggler's spout lantern, which allowed smugglers to signal to ships, without being seen by the Excisemen ashore. There is a relief map which shows the development of the coastline over the last thousand years and how the Romans were able to sail over the area now known as the Romney Marsh at high tide and how, by Elizabethan times the navigable area was far smaller and limited to Rye.

The basement has changing exhbitions that appeal to children of all ages. At present there is an exhibition of replica medieval weapons which you can hold and thereby feel their weight. There are examples of armour and also helmets you can wear and then be photographed, if you have a camera with you. You can test how strong you are and see if you could have been a medieval longbowman, by pulling a cord attached to a weight that is the equivalent of drawing a longbow. This is not for the faint hearted, and do be careful if you have any back problems, and generally take it gently!

There is also a re-creation of a medieval herb garden in what was the excercise yard and although this can only be opened on special occasions, it can be viewed from the balcony. However, it is open on the weekend of the Rye Medieval Fair.

The Tower is not fully accessible to anyone with a physical disability, but in 2007 the ground floor will be accessible. The basement and first floor will not, because of the ancient nature of the building. However, during 2007 there will be photographs of these floors available at East Street, which is fully accessible. The increased access to the ground floor is part of major works to be done on the Tower in 2006 to ensure a better internal environment, and is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the EU, and is much welcomed by the Museum.