Rye Castle Museum

Eight Centuries of History The Gun Garden adjacent to the Ypres Tower What we now know as Ypres Tower (13th century)  was the sole defence of Rye   until  Edward III gave successive grants for the building of stone walls and gates.    Even these additional defences were found wanting when the French attacked in 1339 and … read more

by John Burke        Rye historian and novelist and father of Jenny Hadfield, the present proprietor THE FIRST JEAKES OF RYE Of Huguenot origin, the family’s first settler in Rye appears to have been a late 16th-century merchant, William Jeaque (a possible corruption of Jacques). His son Henry set up a bakery in the High … read more

Why ‘Flushing’? There are several theories as to the origin of the name.  The most likely is that the street outside (Market Street) used to be known as ‘The Butchery’ and the old English word for a butcher was a “flesher”.   The original Fleshers Inn,  it is thought, became corrupted to Flushing Inn. The Building There … read more

Almost every building in Rye has a facinating history! Many have parts from two or three different centuries–a 14th century cellar under a 19th century rebuild, a Tudor house behind a Georgian facade…. A shop or school may now be a house, a warehouse a restaurant or part of the Museum. As population pressure has … read more

The Lamb family were the greatest power in Rye for 250 years but their house is probably more famous as the home of the expatriate American writer Henry James and later, the writer E.F. Benson. It is a modest brick-fronted Georgian house completed  by James Lamb in 1723, the same year in which he became … read more

 Slightly adapted from an article in Rye’s Own 161 (December 2007)   Rye’s Oldest Coaching Inn   Gemma Pocock   When I think of Christmas in Rye I always think of The George as this is where the lights are traditionally turned on and by who other than the big man him self, Father Christmas.   The George is … read more

When was it built?   Nobody is quite sure when Ypres Tower was built. It may have been part of a royal castle built sometime between 1230 and 1250, during the reign of Henry III. Normandy had been lost and Henry  feared more attacks by the French. Certainly, in 1249,  he ordered the Constable of the … read more

 The Landgate Tower  By the early 14th century, Rye was one of the most important ports on the South Coast, and with the start of the Hundred Years War with France, was very vulnerable to attack by raiding French warships. In 1339 the French attacked the town, and burnt 52 houses and a mill. It … read more

 With acknowledgement to  L A Vidler,  G S Bagley and Tony and Cynthia Reavell The Town Hall is on the site of at least two earlier Court Halls. The first was burnt to the ground during the French attack of 1377.   Its replacement and the Market Place next to it were in such a bad state of repair in 1742 that the … read more

With particular thanks to Jo Kirkham  (Rye Parish Church), Parish Church Council of St Mary the Virgin, Rye (1289-1989 Welcome to St Mary the Virgin Rye) and Brian Hargreaves for his line drawing of  church from the southeast.  The Early Years The hill on which Rye stands has been dominated by the Parish Church of St … read more