They Took Over The Town Hall

Slightly adapted from an article in Rye’s Own 161 ( Dec 2007)  

Seeds of revolt

By 1825 the Lamb family had dominated politics in Rye for 100 years, providing the Mayor 23 times out of the 25 since the turn of the century, Most of the jurats and freeman were either family or supporters. This had been achieved by the ‘Freeman’ system introduced in the days when Rye played a very active part in building, maintaining and manning the Cinque Ports Fleet. There were about 40 Freemen of Rye and only a Freeman had a vote. 

To become enfranchised there were only two ways. By birth as the eldest surviving son of a Freeman or by election.  One citizen a year was voted in as a Freemen by Jurats and Freemen on Mayoring Day.  It became a natural thing for other educated men who resided and had businesses in Rye to protest against a system that was not democratic and given to corruption.  In that year of 1825 a movement began in Rye which eventually led to ‘greater democracy  over the whole country. 

Leaders of the revolt were the Meryon Family, descendents of French Huguenots and trade rivals of the Lambs. They were assisted by William Holloway, later to write Holloway’s History of the Town and Port of Rye and Dr. Charles Lewis Meryon of London.  Holloway and Dr. Meryon’s researches supplied the historical ammunition on which the forthcoming campaign would be based. 

On the 4 May 1825 over  fifty ‘Men of Rye’ as they named themselves, applied to a King’s Judge and were granted the right to take the oath of allegiance and be admitted to all rights and privileges belonging to the town. Their names were enrolled. They requested to be admitted to future meetings of the Corporation but their request was refused.  On the 15 May over twenty more householders took the oath and had their names enrolled. 

Two elections, Two mayors

Nothing more happened until 28 October. Early that morning the men of Rye made th eir way to the spot in the Churchyard where  the old cross had stood and where, tradition had it, elections had previously taken place. Among the party were two Freemen, John Meryon and William Prosser. who  owed no allegiance to the Lamb’s as they had been admitted as Freemen by birthright. An election was held with Mr. Meryon voting for himself and Mr. Prosser voting for Mr. Meryon.  John Meryon was nominated as Mayor of Rye. 

No one knows how much the Lamb administration knew of the ‘goings-on’ at the sign of the old cross but the following Monday when they met to vote in the Rev. William Dodson,.(a non-resident Freeman related to the Lambs by marriage) as the new Mayor, the Meryon party were there and demanded that their man  be sworn in as Mayor. All hell broke loose. The request was refused by the retiring Mayor, William Phillip Lamb, and amidst the hubbub, Mr. Whitton, the Men of Rye’s solicitor, swore in John Meryon as Mayor.  John Meryon and his party then retired from the Chamber and Rev. Dobson was elected by the supporters of the Lamb’s. 

John Meryon returned to the Town Hall on 7 September and his party requested that Mr. Dobson swore Meryon in as the true Mayor of Rye. This request was refused but the fun was not to end there. 

On Tuesday, 18 October, the  Men of Rye gathered in Market Street to enter the Town Hall.  They  were admitted ; we know not  by whom. Suffice to say that John Meryon, accompanied by his 12 jurats, all clad in scarlet robes, entered the Hall and barricaded themselves in. Shortly afterwards . Dobson and his jurats arrived and demanded the bench be vacated to them but the boot was on the other foot and they were refused entry. They retired to Mountsfield Lodge, the residence of W. P. Lamb, to consider their position. 

For six weeks ‘Mayor’ John Meryon resided at the Town Hall, doing the work of the council.  He administered justice and even held an inquest on a man who had hanged himself

The short Mayoralty of John Meryon and his jurats came to an end when a King’s Court order required them to hand the Town Hall back to the legal Mayor.  They vacated the Chamber leaving all intact but important information _,had been gleaned from the papers held at the Town-Hall,  including proof of a pact that had been signed by five jurats as far back as 1758  to ensure the Lamb faction would always win elections.- 

This was but the start of the battle. A newspaper “he Rye Gazette, claimed by some to be a ‘scandalous rag,, fought on the side of the reformers.  But despite the pressure to extend the franchise, progress was very slow because  new Freemen came mainly from friends and supporters of the Lambs . There was  still a great discontentment among sections of the Rye community.  

Last reading of the Riot Act

The discontent was amplified in 1830 when local farmers, who were unhappy about the new lock being built to dam off the Military Canal,  were supported by the people of Rye and, in a desperate show of their disenchantment with the system as much as in support of the farmers, did £3,000 worth of damage (a huge sum in that time) to Scots Float Sluice. The Riot Act was read and bullets were fired over the heads of the rioters before they dispersed. This was the last recorded time the Riot Act was read and thaccompanying guns actually fired in England. Whatever the justification it proves that Ryer’s are  very determined lot when they are roused.

Change was demanded throughout the Cinque Ports by this time and soon the whole country was following Rye’s lead and demanding reform.

End of a dynasty

In 1832 William Phillip Lamb became the last of the family to lead the Corporation, the dynasty reached back over 100 years to 1723 when James Lamb was elected Mayor of Rye. During those years a Lamb had occupied the Mayoral seat no less than 73 times!  It all came to an end with the Reform Act of 1836. The men of Rye saw their efforts bear fruit and a wider franchise resulted in a fairer society.

A Celebration Reform Dinner was held at The George Hotel where Colonel Evans told the assembled guests, which included many of the original ‘Men of Rye’ that “The odious system is destroyed. The Nation’s liberties are won. Words cannot adequately express the feelings this happy event inspires.”

John Meryon never became Mayor but forty six years later another member of the Meryon family, Charles Pix Meryon, did. Just one year after the death of Reform leader William Holloway in 1870, Charles was elected Mayor and was to become the longest incumbent of Rye’s Mayoral seat in the history of the town. He was elected for nine consecutive years and only vacated the seat on his death in December 1879.    Cherles had married Mary Brocket( 1827-1906) in 1866 in London.  Unfortunately a single child died young so there was not another Meryon to carry the name.

End note:

 There is more to be told in future posts about the Meryon family of  Rye,, in particular Dr Charles Meryon, physician and companion to Lady Hester Stanhope, niece  and companion of Prime Minister William Pitt  the Younger (who became Warden of the Cinque Ports) during many of her yearas intrepid traveller in the Middle East where she was known as ‘Queen of the Desert’;     and  Dr Edward Meryon,  an eminent physician who made a systematic study of muscular dystrophy (Duchenne’s disease) some years before the man after whom the disease was named. (Many think it should have been called Meryon’s diseease.)   As for Charles Pix Meryon, he did not die a poor man. His  executors were William and Edwin Dawes who valued  his estate  at £46,199 10s 2d.’   Charles’  widow Mary  resumed her maiden name in 1896 to become Lady of Spains Hall in accordance with her father’s will.
With acknowledgements to William Holloway’s History of Rye and Leopold Vidler’s New History of Rye.

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 Rye’s oldest Coaching Inn, originally established in 1575. The George was not always in this position in the town, it moved to its current site in 1719. It has been gradually added to over the years and now consists of a series of interconnecting buildings all surrounding a central courtyard.

The current ballroom was built in 1818 as an assembly point for farmers who came to market. This grand room has catered for many political meetings and civic functions. Here it was where the great “pro-Rye” movement of the town celebrated when the Parliamentary Reform Act came into power, allowing a fairer system of democracy giving all men of Rye a chance to vote. Many banquets were held in this imposing room over the years and one’s mind can easily travel back in time and imagine the finery of the ladies and the elegance of their gentlemen in the days of Empire when Britain ruled vast areas of the world and the wealthy had the wherewithal to afford the very best clothing and jewellery.

The George has many special features including the original fireplace which can be seen in the Tap Room.  The Gill Parliamentary clock still takes pride of place on the wall dating to the 1700s. These large face clocks get their name from an Act of Parliament that put large taxes on clocks, pricing them out of range of the average man in the street. Parliamentary clocks were installed in Public Houses and Inns for the benefit of the masses who could not afford the tax. It was a sure-fire way of attracting customers. 

A cupboard resembling a dumb waiter is actually an 18th Century wig store, I don’t think many people will be using this today.

The George has entertained many people,  not just town’s folk :   three King Georges, Wellington and the Mayor of London . . . .    Around 1778 the first long distance coach, the Diligence, embarked on 16 hour journeys between Rye and London.  At the beginning of the 20th Century a certain room within The George was used as a masonic lodge, but over time The George became run down, being sold between different hotel groups.

In 2004 Alex and Katie Clarke purchased the famous Inn and after a whole 12 months of renovation it re-opened in 2006.  The George has been brought up to date but still retains its atmosphere and history. So when Father Christmas switches the lights on at the Christmas Festival, just take a little thought as to the great history The George has to offer our wonderful historic town.

 There’s lots so keep scrolling down!  The newest Local History posts are available under Said About Rye   and Notable People,    There are three sets of  new photos taken at recent events under Ryc C\stle Museum –> Events  

 News Flashes

• The Talks Programme for the coming year is now available.  Click here and get out your diary!
•  Click on Events and Photos  at right for photos of the Let’s Build a Roof and Captain Pugwash Birthday Party events on 3rd July and an unusual Wedding in the Medieval Garden of the Ypres Tower.
•  There will be no Coffee Morning in September.
  The main reason for the break is that there will be so many Rye Festival and other events in September. We will reesume our popular monthly Coffee Mornings in October.
• Exploring Rye with Brian Hargreaves  The book  is out and available at both sites as well as in town.  It includes nearly 100 of Brian’s splendid drawings of Rye buildings and details.  Price:  £5.50.

Reminders:  The Ypres Tower is now open all day.

The East Street Museum is open all day on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays only.   Please note however that it can be opened by special request during the week.  Please contact the Museum: 01797 226728, or info@ryemuseum.co.uk   

We run entirely on the good will of volunteers    If you aren’t already a volunteer steward do think about joining us!     See the note below under On Being a Volunteer.   Also below:  About our Museum Sites and additions to the Rye Museum website.    

Recent Events 

 July 3 

 The two events on this day Let’s Build a Roof and the Captain Pugwash 60th Birthday Party were captured on camera.   Go to Events at right for summaries and photos.   A third set of photos — of a wedding in the Medieval Garden will appear shortly.   

DO COME AND SEE THE NEW CAPTAIN PUGWASH DISPLAY.   There are information sheets to tell you more about John Ryan and Captain Pugwash;  thanks to Anthony Kimber of the Rye Art Gallery for sharing these with us.    You will also want to visit the Rye Art Gallery where you will find Pugwash cartoons and other artwork of John Ryan.    The celebration is a joint Rye Museum and Rye Art Gallery effort.   And the Museum is now selling Captain Pugwash books!  Click here for titles and prices.   

July 13th Visit to Bexhill Museum   

Visiting other museums always generates ideas for our own and that was certainly the case with our group visit to the newly refurbished Bexhill Museum.   Julian Porter, Rother District Curator,  was our guide,  explaining the history of the museum’s development as well as showing the various new exhibition areas: the Costume and Social History Gallery and the new Motoring Gallery.  The eclectic natural history and other cultures exhibitions were  of special interest to some of us as was the accessible archive sections with its many files and interactive computer displays.    While we  were admittedly jealous s of the space,  funds and full time staff possesed by that Museum,  we did enjoy the visit and collect some ideas for use here in Rye.   We ended the afternoon at the De La Warr Pavilion for an excellent tea and a look at their exhibitions, in particular the 60 sculptures of the artist Anthony Gormley in 12 poses making up the Critical Mass roof-top exhibiton.  

Watch out for the announcement of next year’s museum visit!   

Earlier posts give details of earlier events.

About our Museum sites 

 Ypres Tower site

The latest addition at our 13th century  Tower is the Rye Tower Embroidery, an informative (and amusing) history of the castle commissioned as part of the Ypres Tower bid for Lottery money  and created by 20 members of the Rye Stitchers over the last four years   It’s a splendid piece of work worth a special visit/revisit to the Tower.       

A reminder of what else is in the Tower     

In the dungeon there is a display of Arms and Armour, with helmets to try on, and swords to try and wield.  On the ground floor are cells once used for prisoners: one still reminds visitors of  the stark conditions endured by prisoners but another now displays  Rye pottery and a third has become a Still Room  with herbs and spices from the Middle Ages (complementing  the Medieval herb garden in the old exercise yard).  The splendid new addition of the Rye Tower Embroidery now holds pride of place above the ground floor fireplace.     

On the first floor there are beautifully sewn scenes of Rye: the Millennium Embroidery as well as  a relief map of the surrounding  countryside over the centuries and a map showing the scores of shipwrecks off our coast.    From here you can go onto the lookout, designed for looking out for the enemy!  You can look down onto the Medieval Herb  Garden which you can visit later, and across to the Women’s Tower which we are currently raising funds to repair so it can house more of our exhibits.   Built to keep the women and children prisoners when they were separated from the men in 1837, it is thought this may be the only such prison left in the country.     

What is in the East Street Museum?     

There are  displays on many aspects of Rye’s long and prestigious history:   as a  leading Cinque Port,  its shipbuilding, trading and fishing industries;  politics (there are seals from five reigns),  education,  celebrations,  the town’s celebrated pottery and mosaic ware,   domestic life and pastimes . . .   A popular feature is the town fire engine complete with wooden wheels, leather buckets and hoses used between 1745 and 1865.   There are paintings and photos as well as artefacts.    An enlarged and relocated Captain Pugwash display has just been launched (see above).  Judging from the length of time some of our visitors spend here and the comments in our visitors’ book, our Museum is well worth visiting.     

For more on this site, click on Museum Sites at right.     

Publications

The list of Museum books, booklets, maps, postcards and DVDs has recently been added to the site.  Click here to see it.   We are not at present able to provide a postal service, but the full range of titles is available at the East Street site and our topsellers at the Ypres Tower.   We have just added Captain Pugwash titles to our stock,   Scroll down for more Book News.     

 On being a Volunteer

Far from being onerous,  stewarding  offers a chance to meet  interesting visitors and become better acquainted yourself with our exhibits and Rye’s history,  so if you would be willing to help out, please contact the office  info@ryemuseum.co.uk or ring 01797-226728.  You may also want to ask about other ways to help, for example by joining the Rye Muses who organise events which help raise funds, or the Education Committee, or the Gardening group or . . . . .  The full list of possibilities is quite long!    

Women’s Tower Project:  Have you bought a brick (or two?), a stone (or two?)

There are still bricks and stones waiting to be sponsored.   Do you have a sponsor’s certificate yet?   You may collect as many as you like!     Rye Town Council at its meeting of 26th October voted to contribute £5000 to the Women’s Tower Project and the process has already begun:  English Heritage has approved plans; we have paid for architects’ plans with the RTC grant;  proper recording, preservation and storage of items kept in the Women’s Tower is  nearly completed . . . .     

 We are most fortunate to have the  services of Linden Thomas,  a  professionally qualified and experienced  conservator,  recently retired to  Rye, to carry out the important work of looking after the items we will want to display in the restored tower elsewhere) and ensuring they are properly documented and cared for.     

If you too would like to be part of this project and have not received a leaflet providing details and a form, do visit either of the Rye Castle Museum sites or contact the Museum  ( 01797-226728 or info@ryemuseum.co) You would have the satisfaction of knowing you had helped to save a special building of our town so it can not only be used by Ryers but also provide yet another attraction for visitors.      

Rye Museum Website   

There are now nearly 100 articles and some improvements to design and navigation.  (Just added, for example are two pieces on E F Benson by Allan Downend, and another on Geoffrey Bagley, largely by Rosemary Bagley under Notable People), plus more photos under Events.    More to come of course,  so be sure to visit– and revisit.   Click on any of the Local History headings and you will be taken to a page headed by a list of subtopics already available.    The newest will always be on top.   Sample the lot, or click on one that interests you.     If you have writing/editing/web  talents or information on some aspect of Rye’s history you would be willing to share, please let us know!  jlfloydeltc@gmail.com      

We are 100 years away from Edwardian Rye.   One new ‘post’ on the site will give you  an idea of the changes in Rye since then,,  Click here to see it.   

Book News

Exploring Rye with Brian Hargreaves  is now available at both museum sites.  Nearly 100 precisioned line drawings of Rye buildings and details!  Price:  £5.50.

The Museum is now stocking Captain Pugwash books.  Click here for titles and prices.   

Do you have your copy of  Rye in World War II?  This was the subject of  Jo Kirkham’s Address at the 2009 Remembrance Day Service at St Mary’s Church, Rye.   Following requests from a number of people for a printed version of the address,  an illustrated booklet  is now available at £3.50.      

Copies may  be purchased at the Rye Heritage Cente  or  at either of the Museum sites.   All proceeds will go to the Women’ s  Tower Project so that this part of Ypres Tower, home of the Rye Museum, can be restored and re-roofed  and brought into active use.  

New looks at Rye

A lovely little book for all Ryers:  John Griffiths’  Shapes, Colours and Materials: a look at buildings in Rye, Rye Conservation Society. £6.99.   Buying through the Museum helps the Museum!       

Do you have these yet?

These both deal with Rye before 1660–the result of years of research, deliberately complementary,  must-haves for anyone seriously interested in Rye’s history.  Both available from Martello Bookshop–or ask at the Rye Library     

Gillian Draper, Rye: A  History of a Sussex Cinque Port to 1660, Chichester: Phillimore, 2009    

David and Barbara Martin, Rye Rebuilt: Regeneration and Decline Within a Sussex Port Town, 1350-1660. Romney Marsh Research Trust, 2009

On July 3rd, students from Rye College staged a very successful event at the Ypres Tower as their contribution to the Women’s Tower Project.   Twenty-five  students, mostly from years 8 and 9, came to share their acting, singing, writing and selling talents with the Rye community and a number of visitors to the town.   There were performances of their version of the John Breads story, Murder in the Churchyard (complete with slaughter of  pig,  the murder and the hanging of butcher John Breads);  three ghosts read, sang and frightened people climbing the Tower stairs,  all the cells were occupied by prisoners, one of whom screamed at her murderer so loudly it brought more passersby to the Tower,  and a commanding  gaolkeeper paraded  the prisoners singing mournful folk melodies outside the Tower now and again.   The students had even provided mouldy bread, the prisoners’ meagre diet (+ ale) if they washed their hands and feet.

There were sales of a short story collection produced by the students – inspired by the history of women prisoners, and of cards, artwork and bookmarks, also  created by the students,  plus games a raffle and a well-stocked cake stall.  The cakes had also been made by students.  The one raffled had a splendid icing depiction of the Women’s Tower on top.    The whole afternoon was a truly wonderful effort and many visitors remarked on their pleasure in seeing young people

 so supportive of this important Rye project – and bringing such life to the Tower.    We hope to see Rye College students there again!

Can you match the brief descriptions just given to the photos?   The churchyard murder,  the hanging of the butcher and the murdered prisoner are included.   

 This was the subtitle of a 1973 Down Rye Way column  by the then editor of Rye’s Own, Christopher Davson.  And as you will see from what follows,  Geoffrey Bagley really was ‘ extraordinary’.      

  The article  begins:    

 It was with some trepidation that your reporter stepped aside from Church Square into one of Rye’s many secret corners  [the Bagley home] to offer, on behalf of Rye’s Own   and its readers, respectful congratulations to our Honorary Freeman designate.  Geoffrey Bagley will be the only living Freeman of the Town, and the first to receive this rare honour for 15 years.  And was he not also a former Mayor, Baron and Speaker of the Cinque Ports Confederation, County Councillor, Honorary Curator of  Rye Museum . . . .  [and he might have added prolific author on aspects of Rye, cofounder of the Rye Society of Artists, and much more].     

 The article goes on to summarise the many achievements of Geoffrey Bagley’s pre-Rye days (see the article by Rosemary Bagley below) and then reports that   wanting to concentrate full time on his painting he  ‘chose Rye as a nice quiet place for an artist to settle down and paint in’  and ends with a story which might make   Ryers lament still  more that he is no longer with us:    

Well, he has settled down, and the annual Royal Society of Artists exhibition at the F.E. Centre proves to us that [despite all his other activities] he still paints.  But some people do not have it in them to stay quiet!  After only about 5 years Bagley rose up in wrath.  The then Vicar of Rye and the Rye Town Council wished to place the tombstones around the churchyard walls of St Mary’s and ahve mown grass.  To oppose this a committee was formed on which Geoffrey served; the plan was defeated.  Geoffrey was then asked if he would be willing to stand for Rye Town Council.  He agreed and was duly elected .  

The Churchyard was saved, but Bagley was launched on a new public career from which he could not turn back as there were other threats to Rye.    He moved on from the  Rye Planning Committee and three happy and popular years as Mayor  to East Sussex County Council on which he served for 12 years, much of them as Chairman of the County Records Committee. And he saw to it, there, that the County Planning Officers treated Rye with proper respect and indeed love.    

Rosemary Bagley provided a more detailed account of the multiple impressive careers of husband Geoffrey Bagley in a 2002 Rye’s Own article (No 144, January 2002). It is slightly adapted here, with one of the line drawings by GSB which accompanied it.    

Geoffrey Spink Bagley 1901- 1992

 Beginnings 

Geoffrey  Spink Bagley was born on 3rd November 1901 at Pontefract, Yorkshire, the son of architect Frank Spink Bagley and his wife Elizabeth Husband.  The family interests ranged from industry and glassware to locomotives.  After Wakefield Grammar School, Geoffrey began architectural training but soon transferred to the Nottingham School  of Fine Art, and in 1924 moved to London to share a studio with Bernard Hailstone who was to become a well-known  portrait painter and wartime artist.  After a precarious free-lance existence as a commercial artist with exciting periods of poster  design and book illustration he was offered a job with Batten Ltd, engravers, the Toronto  design specialists.  This led to association with the then internationally known ‘Group of Seven’ and the opportunity to improve his painting skills with gifted artists.  The varied Canadian scenes (French Canada, Labrador Coast and the sub-Arctic) provided plenty of material for his work.   

Geoffrey  Bagley as Canadian Artist 

In 1934 he became Art Director of a famous firm of fine-paper manufacturers, Howard Smith Paper Mills Ltd. in Montreal– they supplied the paper for Canadian bank notes –and he became more involved with typography and printing design.  He quickly began to win awards and by 1939 his work was being shown in Chicago, New York, the National Gallery of Canada and elsewhere.    But with the outbreak of World War II he became Staff Artist to the Canadian government’s Wartime Information Board, producing posters for propaganda purposes and for recruitment to the Royal Canadian Navy.  Later he was appointed to the National Film Board of Canada as Art Director of their Graphics Division.  During the war period he also recoreded life on the North Atlantic Convoys for the Canadian Navy.  A large collection of his work 1939-45 including paintings, drawings and documentation was donated  to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa in 1985, the 75th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Navy..    

Geoffrey Bagley as Artist of Rye  

Courtyard, Mermaid Inn by Geoffrey Bagley

While seconded to the Royal Canadian Navy as an official War Artist, there were opportunities to visit England to compare notes with his opposite numbers in the Crown Film Unit of the war-time Ministry of Information — and these probably influenced his decision to  return to live in England.  He settled in Rye in 1948, to pursue ‘straight’ painting, lithography and drawing. He explored the area, discovering Romney Marsh with its ever-changing light and fascinating collections of churches which he painted many times.  These paintings show his appreciation of church architecture and skill as a draughtsman.  He loved Dungeness with its collection of boats, shacks, various forms of habitation and flotsam and jetsam on the beach.  He had a particular love of the sea and everything connected with it.    

His other love was Scotland with its mountains and locks and he spent many painting holidays amongst this varied scenery.  And he was still pursuing special interets in the study of rococo art and architecture in Germany, Austria, France and northern Italy.   

Geoffrey Bagley and the Rye Society of Artists  

Geoffrey had by now become acquainted with Wally Cole and Leslie Davie and a number of talented artists.  In 1951 a decision was made to hold an exhibition in part of the Boy’s Club in Mermaid Street, Rye.  They chose to call themselves the RX Group, RX being the registration of the local fishing fleet.  A year later they joined iup with other younger artists and together formed the Rye Society of Artists and held their first exhibition at the Further Education Centre in 1952.     

Geoffrey was involved with the RSA for forty years, being a founder member, regular exhibitor and one-time Chairman. His work has been exhibited many times over the years.  In Rye, for example, there was a joint exhibition with Leslie Davies at the Easton Rooms in 1971 and a Retrospective Exhibition at the Stormont Studio in 1982 entitled Ships, Nudes and Architecture.   

  What was called at the time the ‘final accolade’ to a man who achieved so much in his lifetime was the Retrospective Exhibition held at the Stormont Studio, 16th October – 20th November 1993, which was attended by over 2,000 people. Here was displayed his mastery and skill in working in all media:  oil, watercolour, pastel, crayon, charcoal, pencil, scraperboard and litholgraphy.     Some of the works displayed are included in the permanent  collection of the Rye Art Gallery.     

There has in fact been yet another exhibition since , this time of his work as a commercial artist in Canada (1930-1945) at the Turtle Fine Art Gallery in 2004.   The exhibitions have sometimes surprised people familar only with his civic achievements in Rye.  

Net Houses, Hastings

Geoffrey Bagley as Museum Curator, Mayor and Civic Leader, Historian and Writer

Apart from his painting, Geoffrey found time to re-establish the Rye Museum and serve as Honorary Curator for 38 years. The Museum won a National Heritage Award in 1975, mainly due to Geoffrey’s meticulour attention to accuracy and detail and his artist’s eye for display.    

In 1956 he was elected Mayor of Rye and held that post for two further years.    He was also a Speaker of the Cinque Ports, a County Councillor, a JP and as we learned at the beginning of this article, in 1973 he was the last person to be elected a Freeman of the Borough of Rye.  He  served on numerous committees. In 1956, the first year of his mayoralty, he was also President of the Rye and Winchelsea Rotary Club, being named  a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International in 1989.  He wss a Trustee of the Rye Art Gallery.    

Among Geoffrey’s most lasting contributions to Rye are the publications pertaining to Rye and its environs which he wrote and illustrated.  The list of these is long and includes:  

Book of Rye, The
Connoisser’s Guide to Rye, A
Edwardian Rye
Old Inns and Ale Houses
Pictorial Guide to Romney Marsh, A
Prospect of Rye. A
Rye Church Clock
Story of the Ypres Tower and Rye Museum, The William Holloway  

The Book of Rye  was presented to the Duchess of Kent when she visited Rye in April, 1982   

The Ypres Tower’s Medieval Herb Garden was the setting for the unusual Anglo Saxon  and Fantasy wedding ceremony of Rhiannon Bennett and Graham Chillingworth on  Friday 30th July 2010.  The men wore tunics and armour and the Bride and bridesmaids bright faery dresses,  while many of the guests chose to dress in similar fashion.    A pony and cart delivered the Bride. 

Rhiannon and Graham wrote the ceremony themselves, which was kindly officiated by Sarah Pearson.  They incorporated a number of  Viking traditions, such as the exchange of sword and key: the Bride presented the Groom with a sword to use for protecting the family home and to give to their first born son, and the Groom gave the Bride a key, showing that what is his is now hers.

Another Viking tradition  they incorporated was the drinking of the Bridal mead. In Viking times, couples weren’t considered legally married until the Bride had presented the groom with a cup of mead, which they would then both drink, symbolising that they were now one in the eyes of the Gods.

Along with the historical traditions, the ceremony included two readings, one from Vincent Van Gogh’s letters, and another by the poet Edward Monkton, as well as live music including ‘Free Bird’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd played on the violin as the processional and an acoustic version of ‘Dance me to the End of Love’ which was played during the signing of the wedding scroll, in place of the marriage certificate.

After the ceremony, everyone proceeded to the grass by the side of the castle to watch the couple jump the besom. This is a pagan tradition where the couple jump over a broom, symbolising jumping into their new life together.

The Ypres Tower and the Herb Garden provided a beautiful, historical and spiritual setting for the ceremony and  made this a truly amazing  occasion, especially as it was such a wonderfully sunny day!

These photos were taken on the occasion of Captain Pugwash’s 60th Birthday Party held at the Rye Museum East Street Museum. where there is now a new Captain Pugwash Corner.   As you can see, it was a jolly occasion,  attended not only by Captain Pugwash (aslias Ray Prewer) and young pirates (aka Jo Kirkham’s grandchilddren) but Rye Mayor John Breeds and his wife, local MP Amber Rudd, and many members of the Rye Museum Association.

The most important person on the evening was Mrs Priscilla Ryan who was involved from the beginning with the creation and development of her husband’s much loved pirate and his mates for the long-running TV  series as well as books.     The Ryan’s daughter Isabel who helped with the animations for the TV episodes was also able to attend.

If you are bringing children to the museum,  don’t forget to ask for the popular  Captain Pugwash quiz! 

 (There’s lots so keep scrolling down!  The newest posts are available under Said About Rye   and Notable People.)     

News Flashes

The Talks Programme for the coming year is now available.  Click here and get out your diary!

Click on Events at right for photos of the Let’s Build a Roof and Captain Pugwash Birthday Party events.  on 3rd July.

There will be no Coffee Morning in September.

The main reason for the break is that there will be so many Rye Festival and other events in September. We will reesume our popular monthly Coffee Mornings in October.

Exploring Rye with Brian Hargreaves

The book  is out and available at both sites as well as in town.  It includes nearly 100 of Brian’s aplendid drawings of Rye buildings and details.  Price:  5.50

Reminders:  The Ypres Tower is now open all day.

The East Street Museum is open all day on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays only.   Please note however that it can be opened by special request during the week.  Please contact the Museum: 01797 226728, or info@ryemuseum.co.uk   

We run entirely on the good will of volunteers    If you aren’t already a volunteer steward do think about joining us!     See the note below under On Being a Volunteer.   Also below:  About our Museum Sites and additions to the Rye Museum website.    

Recent Events 

 July 3 

 The two events on this day Let’s Build a Roof and the Captain Pugwash 60th Birthday Party were captured on camera.   Go to Events at right for summaries and photos.   A third set of photos — of a wedding in the Medieval Garden will appear shortly.   

DO COME AND SEE THE NEW CAPTAIN PUGWASH DISPLAY.   There are information sheets to tell you more about John Ryan and Captain Pugwash;  thanks to Anthony Kimber of the Rye Art Gallery for sharing these with us.    You will also want to visit the Rye Art Gallery where you will find Pugwash cartoons and other artwork of John Ryan.    The celebration is a joint Rye Museum and Rye Art Gallery effort.   And the Museum is now selling Captain Pugwash books!  Click here for titles and prices.   

July 13th Visit to Bexhill Museum   

Visiting other museums always generates ideas for our own and that was certainly the case with our group visit to the newly refurbished Bexhill Museum.   Julian Porter, Rother District Curator,  was our guide,  explaining the history of the museum’s development as well as showing the various new exhibition areas: the Costume and Social History Gallery and the new Motoring Gallery.  The eclectic natural history and other cultures exhibitions were  of special interest to some of us as was the accessible archive sections with its many files and interactive computer displays.    While we  were admittedly jealous s of the space,  funds and full time staff possesed by that Museum,  we did enjoy the visit and collect some ideas for use here in Rye.   We ended the afternoon at the De La Warr Pavilion for an excellent tea and a look at their exhibitions, in particular the 60 sculptures of the artist Anthony Gormley in 12 poses making up the Critical Mass roof-top exhibiton.  

Watch out for the announcement of next year’s museum visit!   

Earlier posts give details of earlier events.

About our Museum sites 

 Ypres Tower site

The latest addition at our 13th century  Tower is the Rye Tower Embroidery, an informative (and amusing) history of the castle commissioned as part of the Ypres Tower bid for Lottery money  and created by 20 members of the Rye Stitchers over the last four years   It’s a splendid piece of work worth a special visit/revisit to the Tower.       

A reminder of what else is in the Tower     

In the dungeon there is a display of Arms and Armour, with helmets to try on, and swords to try and wield.  On the ground floor are cells once used for prisoners: one still reminds visitors of  the stark conditions endured by prisoners but another now displays  Rye pottery and a third has become a Still Room  with herbs and spices from the Middle Ages (complementing  the Medieval herb garden in the old exercise yard).  The splendid new addition of the Rye Tower Embroidery now holds pride of place above the ground floor fireplace.     

On the first floor there are beautifully sewn scenes of Rye: the Millennium Embroidery as well as  a relief map of the surrounding  countryside over the centuries and a map showing the scores of shipwrecks off our coast.    From here you can go onto the lookout, designed for looking out for the enemy!  You can look down onto the Medieval Herb  Garden which you can visit later, and across to the Women’s Tower which we are currently raising funds to repair so it can house more of our exhibits.   Built to keep the women and children prisoners when they were separated from the men in 1837, it is thought this may be the only such prison left in the country.     

What is in the East Street Museum?     

There are  displays on many aspects of Rye’s long and prestigious history:   as a  leading Cinque Port,  its shipbuilding, trading and fishing industries;  politics (there are seals from five reigns),  education,  celebrations,  the town’s celebrated pottery and mosaic ware,   domestic life and pastimes . . .   A popular feature is the town fire engine complete with wooden wheels, leather buckets and hoses used between 1745 and 1865.   There are paintings and photos as well as artefacts.    An enlarged and relocated Captain Pugwash display has just been launched (see above).  Judging from the length of time some of our visitors spend here and the comments in our visitors’ book, our Museum is well worth visiting.     

For more on this site, click on Museum Sites at right.     

Publications

The list of Museum books, booklets, maps, postcards and DVDs has recently been added to the site.  Click here to see it.   We are not at present able to provide a postal service, but the full range of titles is available at the East Street site and our topsellers at the Ypres Tower.   We have just added Captain Pugwash titles to our stock,   Scroll down for more Book News.     

 On being a Volunteer

Far from being onerous,  stewarding  offers a chance to meet  interesting visitors and become better acquainted yourself with our exhibits and Rye’s history,  so if you would be willing to help out, please contact the office  info@ryemuseum.co.uk or ring 01797-226728.  You may also want to ask about other ways to help, for example by joining the Rye Muses who organise events which help raise funds, or the Education Committee, or the Gardening group or . . . . .  The full list of possibilities is quite long!    

Women’s Tower Project:  Have you bought a brick (or two?), a stone (or two?)

There are still bricks and stones waiting to be sponsored.   Do you have a sponsor’s certificate yet?   You may collect as many as you like!     Rye Town Council at its meeting of 26th October voted to contribute £5000 to the Women’s Tower Project and the process has already begun:  English Heritage has approved plans; we have paid for architects’ plans with the RTC grant;  proper recording, preservation and storage of items kept in the Women’s Tower is  nearly completed . . . .     

 We are most fortunate to have the  services of Linden Thomas,  a  professionally qualified and experienced  conservator,  recently retired to  Rye, to carry out the important work of looking after the items we will want to display in the restored tower elsewhere) and ensuring they are properly documented and cared for.     

If you too would like to be part of this project and have not received a leaflet providing details and a form, do visit either of the Rye Castle Museum sites or contact the Museum  ( 01797-226728 or info@ryemuseum.co) You would have the satisfaction of knowing you had helped to save a special building of our town so it can not only be used by Ryers but also provide yet another attraction for visitors.      

Rye Museum Website   

There are now nearly 100 articles and some improvements to design and navigation.  (Just added, for example are two pieces on E F Benson by Allan Downend, and another on Geoffrey Bagley, largely by Rosemary Bagley under Notable People), plus more photos under Events.    More to come of course,  so be sure to visit– and revisit.   Click on any of the Local History headings and you will be taken to a page headed by a list of subtopics already available.    The newest will always be on top.   Sample the lot, or click on one that interests you.     If you have writing/editing/web  talents or information on some aspect of Rye’s history you would be willing to share, please let us know!  jlfloydeltc@gmail.com      

We are 100 years away from Edwardian Rye.   One new ‘post’ on the site will give you  an idea of the changes in Rye since then,,  Click here to see it.   

Book News

Exploring Rye with Brian Hargreaves  is now available at both museum sites.  Nearly 100 precisioned line drawings of Rye buildings and details!  Price:  £5.50.

The Museum is now stocking Captain Pugwash books.  Click here for titles and prices.   

Do you have your copy of  Rye in World War II?  This was the subject of  Jo Kirkham’s Address at the 2009 Remembrance Day Service at St Mary’s Church, Rye.   Following requests from a number of people for a printed version of the address,  an illustrated booklet  is now available at £3.50.      

Copies may  be purchased at the Rye Heritage Cente  or  at either of the Museum sites.   All proceeds will go to the Women’ s  Tower Project so that this part of Ypres Tower, home of the Rye Museum, can be restored and re-roofed  and brought into active use.  

New looks at Rye

A lovely little book for all Ryers:  John Griffiths’  Shapes, Colours and Materials: a look at buildings in Rye, Rye Conservation Society. £6.99.   Buying through the Museum helps the Museum!       

Do you have these yet?

These both deal with Rye before 1660–the result of years of research, deliberately complementary,  must-haves for anyone seriously interested in Rye’s history.  Both available from Martello Bookshop–or ask at the Rye Library     

Gillian Draper, Rye: A  History of a Sussex Cinque Port to 1660, Chichester: Phillimore, 2009    

David and Barbara Martin, Rye Rebuilt: Regeneration and Decline Within a Sussex Port Town, 1350-1660. Romney Marsh Research Trust, 2009

“Rye Royal”
The Visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
August 11, 1573

 from Samuel Jeakes, Charters of the Cinque Ports  “wrote in 1678″

Queen Elizabeth, in 1573, who, from the noble entertainment she had, accompanied with the Testimonies of Love and Loyalty, Duty and Reverence she received from the People was pleased to call it “Rye Royal.”

from William Holloway, Rambles Through Rye  (1863)                                                                                        

. . . . . as we are close by let us turn our steps to that quiet sequestered hollow in which now lies the well known as Queen Elizabeth’s, overshadowed with those old oaks, the probable descendents of the primeval Forest of Anderida, a well, the existence of which has been recognised from A.D. 1247 to A.D. 1863, more than 600 years.

That Queen Elizabeth halted by this well* I will not dispute; but that she drank I do very much doubt as Her Majesty’s favourite morning beverage was the best ale she could procure.  Here probably she halted to receive the Mayor and Corporation, who came out to welcome Her Majesty. all clad in scarlet robes, from whence they conducted her to the town through the Postern Gate, then standing at the foot of Conduit Hill, on which occasion our good Queen Bess was so highly gratified with their loyal conduct, and their most royal appearance that she dubbed the old town “Rye Royal”.

The inscription on a stone at the head of the well is as follows:

1588
E.R.
M.Gaymer’Maior

But this is a mere ignis fatuus only calculated to lead the benighted traveller astray: for the Queen’s visit was on August 11, 1573, when John Donnyng was Mayor and the discrepancy we can onlybe  accounted  for by supposing that the Corporation conscience (if a Corporation has a conscience, which is doubtful, if it be true, as some affirm, that a Corporation has no body to be kicked, and no soul to be damned) after a slumber of 15 years, awoke to a sense of its error, when they thought they might as well kill two birds with one stone, and at one and same time, and so recorded the Queen’s visit to the well and the destruction of the Spanish Armada, A.D. 1588.