The Ypres Tower Museum
The Ypres Tower on a summers day
The Ypres Tower is thought to have been built in 1249 as part of the town’s defences and is the oldest building open to the public in Rye. The Tower has had a chequered history (see History of Ypres Tower) and as you look round the inside you can see some of 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 England’s seventh busiest port; now there is farmland where once there was sea. There are good views from the balcony in all directions, and guides to tell you what you are seeing.
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.
Smugglers Lantern
One object is a very rare smuggler’s spout lantern, which allowed smugglers to signal to ships, without being seen by the Excisemen ashore.
Up the winding stairs you will find the Millienium Embroidery depicting many aspects of Rye life and history, and a map showing the southeast shoreline dense with shipwrecks.
There is also 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. Compare what you have learned from the map with the views from the balcony today.
Children will want to try the popular Captain Pugwash Treasure Hunt (there is another of these at the East Street site) and some of the ‘feely’ activities.
It takes three to pull a Longbow!
The exhbitions in the basement appeal to children of all ages: There are replicas of 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!
Val Gill in Medieval Costume in the Garden
There is also a re-creation of a medieval herb garden in what was the exercise yard. On some days there is a gardener in medieval costume to show you around.
The garden can also be viewed from the balcony. Inside, in one of the cells, there is a Still Room such as ladies in medieval times used for the drying and preparing of the herbs for medicinal, culinary and laundry purposes
The ground floor of the Tower has now been made accessible to those with a physical disability, but unfortunately the ancient nature of the building means that the basement and first floor are not accessible to those who find stairs difficult.
For six views from different sides of the Tower balcony keep scrolling down.
