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ship building
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At times Alehouses could be of considerable concern to the town authorities, because they provided shelter to vagrants and other suspicious persons, including ‘harlotts, hores and comon women’ (sic). Various Acts gave powers to Justices to deal with these, and an Act of 1495 gave powers to suppress Alehouses. Later, an Act of 1552 gave authority to the Magistrates to licence and suppress such premises. In 1581 twelve ‘common dronkards’, were banned from every tippling house in Rye. At this time some of the Inns and Alehouses were: |
Mermaid
Red Lion (burnt down in 1872 and was where the Further
Education Centre now stands)
George and the Swan - both at this time in the Butchery
(now Market Street)
Three Kings in Middle Street (now Mermaid Street)
Blew Anchor (later the London Trader and now the Borough
Arms, at the Strand)
Whyte Vyne (in Longer Street now the High Street)
| There were many others but the principle inns were the Mermaid, the Red Lion and the George. These were often used by the Corporation for its celebratory dinners. However, the Mermaid had closed by the mid eighteenth century. Louis Jennings, visiting Rye in the 1870’s wrote, The Mermaid - still I looked about for the Mermaid Inn, I roamed up and down Mermaid Street, over rough cobble stones, loathe to give up the search. |
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" ...at the helm A seeming mermaid steers"
At last I met an ancient man, who looked as if with a little effort of
memory he might recall the Mermaid, or perhaps be the merman who married
her. "Ah Sir ", said he, with a sigh, "the Inn has long
since closed. How curious you should ask for it. Gone ever so long ago,
Sir".
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Throughout the centuries there were always some unlicensed premises trading illicitly and it was the duty of the constables or Sargeant-at-Mace to bring the offenders before the Courts. The Town authorities realised that fines and license fees brought in necessary income, so, despite pressure from the Privy Council in London to reduce the numbers of Alehouses, the town tended to impose fines that were not too punitive and tried to persuade offenders to obtain a license. |
| The brewers also had an interest in supplying as many outlets as possible. It is perhaps interesting to note that in 1609 four brewers were fined for supplying beer to unlicensed tippling houses, two of which were town Magistrates. |
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A glance at the Passage Book of the Port of Rye, shows that in the year 1635 many important persons sailed from Rye to the continent including merchants from London, Plymouth, Norwich, Hull, Bristol, Exeter and Barnstaple, as well as Scotland and Ireland. Some forty Inns and Alehouses offered their services in the town. However, at times this proved to be a mixed blessing.
