Rye Castle Museum

 Chairman’s Report         A Year at the Museum       Christmas Grotto Photos  

Chairman’s Report on a Year’s Achievements

At the AGM of the Rye Museum Association on July 28, the Chairman, Jo Kirkham, reported on  the substantial  progress and the wide range of activities during the past year.  What follows is a summary, without the  names of the many people who made so much happen.  A separate Who’s Who at the Museum will follow shortly.

•  The Tower is at last warm and dry and access is easier through the re-opened original door
• A  Buildings Committee is working with our architects to ensure proper care and maintenance of the Ypres Tower–a scheduled monument– through a programme of inspections and reports by professional advisors
• Acquisitions this year include:

A portrait of Thomas Lamb, 20 times mayor of Rye, by Allan Ramsay, Royal Painter to King George III
A document with Rye Seal attached dated 1554 recording the sale of part of St Mary’s Marsh (now the site  of  Rye College).  Donations from Rye Town Council and individuals made possible the successful bid at  auction.
Rye Embroidery made for the Millennium in 2000–now in the Tower
Photographs and memorabilia from Tilling Green and Freda Gardam Schools

• Conservation and Documentation continue to be upgraded to ensure we meet MLA Accreditation Standards
• The Medieval Garden has been replanted and opened to the public, with special displays and a Still Room in the Tower for the herbs
• New Displays, organised by Claire Eden, Curator 2008-2009

Rye Seals  from the reigns of four monarchs
Toys  through the Ages
Victorian Rye
 A Year in the Life of Rye Museuma
 Captain Pugwash (to be expanded)
 Smuggling in the Rye area

• Community Events:

Queen Elizabeth I in Rye 2008 Discovery Day

Bygone Summers

in August which was well supported by Rye businesses as well as the public and raised    £1600.
Discovery Day when Queen Elizabeth I and her entourage attracted a large following along the streets of      Rye   and the Longbowman demonstrated their skills at the Tower
Children’s Activity Days which attracted more and more children and parents
The Christmas Grotto as part of the Rye Festival when children and parents formed a long queue to meet   Father Christmas–and enjoyed bubbles en route
A monthly series of excellent talks and a special visit to Batemans to meet Rudyard Kipling himself

• New Website:   http://www.ryemuseum.co.uk
  This has been relaunched and will be regularly updated. Articles are being edited and new ones written.
• Contributions of Volunteers:  the lifeblood of the Museum!

Thanks to a dedicated band of volunteer stewards both sites–the Ypres Tower and East Street–are open 5    days a week to visitors.  Would you like to join the band?
Volunteers also join publicity and cleaning squads, keep the two gardens immaculate, staff Coffee Mornings,  Craft and Antique Fairs and other fundraising events and help at the excellent monthly talks.
More volunteers help with the Education Programme offering school visits, project boxes for schools, children’s  activity days…and more.

• Quarterly Volunteer Evenings–a chance to exchange ideas and information and get to know other�
   members and staff
• The Rye Museum and Local History Group Journal (latest issue No. 67) continues to appear regularly. Contributions welcome!

….and thats not all! 

How You Can Help

• If you are not already a member, we invite you to join us
• Come to the launch of the Women’s Tower Project and find out what you can do
• Volunteer to be a steward once a month (or more!) at East Street.  You will meet interesting people and learn more about Rye
• Buy a Rye Museum sweatshirt, Museum publications and books from our bookstall
• Offer your special skills:  fund-raisng, publicity, researching, writing and web skills, making coffee or cakes, craftwork, handyman skills…..

  Next:  Prospects for 2009-2010
                Who’s Who at the Museum?

 Chairman’s Report       Christmas Grotto Photos

 HIghlights 2008-2009

March 2008: The Museum opened for a new season, with a special opening at the Ypres Tower celebrating the opening of the
Tower after repair work.

Coffee Mornings: Once a month the Museum holds a Coffee Morning organised by the Muses. During the winter months it is held at East Street, while in the summer months it is held in the beautiful garden of Rae Festing.  Througout the year there is a range of cakes stalls, books stalls, bottle tombolas and much more. The Museum would like to thank Rae Festing for continuing to host the summer coffee mornings.

April 2008: New Curator!
Claire Eden became the new Curator of Rye Castle Museum

August 2008:Children’s Holiday Activity Afternoons
The Museum launched it’s holdiay Children’s Activity Afternoons every Wednesday afternoon in August. The afternoons were a huge success and everybody taking part had lots of fun!

August Bank Holiday 2008: Bygone Summers
On the Saturday of the August Bank Holiday the Museum held a huge summer fundraising event based around the idea of traditional summer holidays. There was traditional Punch & Judy performances, tombola, facepainting, arts and crafts activties, childrens games, a silent auction and an Art Display and sale. It was a great day and raised an amazing £1,600.
The Museum would like to thank all the local businesses and organisations who got involved and donated prizes and funds for the day.

September 2008: New Chairman!!
Jo Kirkham became the new Chairman of Rye Museum Association after Allan Downend decided to retire from the postion. The Museum sends a big thank you to Allan for all his work over the years as both Chairman and Curator.

October Half Term: Tudor Discovery Day!!
The Museum was honoured with a visit from Queen Elizabeth I and her ladies in waiting. She met with visitors and visited both the Tower and East Street. In the afternoon she held an audience with, discussing her life and her famous visit to Rye which led to her naming the town, Rye Royal. There was also arty activities and an opportunity to dress up in historic costume.

October Half Term: Children’s Activity Afternoon!
The Museum held another successful Wednesday Children’s Activity Afternoon

End of October 2008: East Street closed at the end of the season, while the Tower was open at weekends only.

 November 2008: Christmas Craft Fair!
The Museum held a Christmas Craft Fair organised by the Muses. There were a wide range of superb crafts on display as well as many wonderful things to buy for Christmas presents! Thanks to everyone who help organise the event, the stall holders and the customers.

December 2008: Festive Victorian Evening at East Street, Christmas Grotto and Yuletide at the Ypres Tower!
The Museum held a whole host of Christmas events in December. First there was the fantastic Festive Victorian Evening , which included performances by the Hollington Mummers and the Rye Shakespeare Company. A big thank you to all the performers who gave their time for free to help raise funds for the Museum. There was also mulled wine, mince pies and other delicious food provided by the Museum volunteers.

Then there was the Christmas Grotto! This was a free event where children got a chance to come and have a chat to Father Christmas about what they hoped would be under their Christmas Trees on Christmas Day. Each child received a gift. There was also face painting, and hot drinks and mince pies.

Finally the weekend before Christmas the Museum hosted Yuletide in the Ypres Tower, where there was an opportunity to relax and socialise with food and drink.
A big thank you to everybody who helped make these events a success, including the Rye Christmas Festival committee, Peter Cosstick, the Museum’s hardworking volunteers and staff, the Hollington Mummers, Rye Shakespeare Company,  and Ann Bourner and Jeff Eden for the fantastic Victorian and Medieval decorations.

January 2009: New Years Party!
The Museum held it’s annual New Years Party for the members of the Rye Museum Association. There was food and drink, as well as a raffle. However the highlight of the evening was the wonderful performance from Rye Shakespeare Company.
Once again a huge thank you to Rye Shakespeare Company and all the volunteers who helped make the night happen.

January 2009 – March 2009: New Exhibitions!
While the Museum was closed, behind the scenes things were still extremely busy with preparations for the new season being made as well as new exhibitions being installed such as the new historical documents and seals exhibition and necessary conservation work.

 Chairman’s Report     Year at the Museum

Christmas 2008

In December 2008 the Museum held a very successful Christmas Grotto. Father Christmas was in his chair by the fireplace waiting to meet his many little friends. They were welcomed to the Grotto by Mrs Christmas, while Rudolph was outside giving out sweets to the queuing children. After visiting Father Christmas the children could also get their face painted.

The Museum, Grotto and Entrance were decorated with beautiful Victorian inspired decorations, and a ye olde bubble machine!

 It was a fantastic night and all the children were delighted with their presents.

A big thank you to all our volunteers who helped to wrap the presents and prepare for the evening, as well as a great big thank you to Peter for being a fantastic Father Christmas and to Sheila for being a super Mrs Christmas.

Finally a huge thank you to all the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, big sisters/brothers and friends who brought their children along to support us on the night.

This event was part of the Rye Christmas Festival 2008.