1545 French galleys (”Galleys and Franche shippes”) appeared off Rye and the people, and soldiers, rushed to defend it. Extra bows, arrows, pikes, arquebuses and shot were bought in the fo11owing years and eventually the north aisle of the Church was taken over as an arms store. The town even owned suits of armour.

1556 Mary I demanded ‘Ship Service’ and 2 Rye fishing boats were employed to watch the French coast.

1557-8 Mary I’s war with France needed great defence preparations as well as its men and ships being used again. 80 of its mariners were ‘pressed’ for the Queen’s ships, as well as 2 ships being demanded for Cinque Ports service, (called here - ‘dolling’). The Mayor spent time in prison in London because he refused to levy more taxes on Rye people for the war at this time.
A new jetty was built at Budgwell and covered with thorns; Landgate was narrowed and defended; 18 masons were employed on the wall and 51 men were employed digging out the ditch; new portcullises were installed in Land and Strandgate. Men had the job of making hail shot.

1558 Mary I lost Calais: many Rye ships and men became redundant and had to find other trade.

1562 Rye was once more the main departure point for troops, this time for those of Elizabeth I’s Le Havre expedition to France, when she intervened in the religious wars there.

The expense was made worse when Elizabeth refused to make a general licence for privateers at this time, from which Rye had raised much of its money. However the town had a large arsenal of weaponry.
We had an ‘invasion’ of 1500 religious refugees from this time.

1577-1580 At least one sailor from Rye, accompanying Sir Francis Drake, completed the second ever circumnavigation of the world.

1585-88 Camber Castle had further modifications to take the larger guns needed to defend against the Spanish threat.

1588 Rye ships and men were part of Queen Elizabeth I’s fleet which fought the Spanish Armada.
One plan of the Duc de Guise was to land troops from France and Flanders in the Camber.
Among the fleet of five ships and a pinnace was the ‘Towne Shippe of Warre of Rye’, the ’William’, 60 tons. Under the control of Lord Henry Seymour, they took a full part in the fire-ships attack and subsequent dispersal of the Spanish Fleet off Calais.

Once again the town fortifications were improved - at great expense. These included cutting 240 tons of timber to restore the platform at the Gungarden: maintaining the great guns there and at Land and Strandgate; and rebuild the bridge over the ditch at the Postern Gate. At every ‘scare’ great attention was given to water supply of the townsfolk.

A permanent gunner was now employed by the town and there was a ‘gun house’. Rye was ordered to buy muskets by the Cinque Ports, to increase the number of light weapons available.

1589 Rye was chosen as the rendezvous for ships from London, Dover and Portsmouth for transporting the English troops sent to Dieppe to help Henry IV of France. The town was ordered to provide 3 ships, but eventually 2 served.

1596 The Cinque Ports allocation to the Queen’s fleet for the Cadiz expedition was again five ships and a pinnace; ‘The Hercules of Rye’ 100 tons was one of them. Rye was the embarkation point for all of Sussex’s troops.

1597 A list of weapons in private hands is written in the Muster Rolls of 1597/8. It shows that bows and arrows have practically disappeared - but, in order of amount, the townsfolk had calivers, muskets, pikes, bills, swords, halberds and daggers. They possessed armour - skulls, Spanish murrions, corselets, caps, cuirasses, caps and headpieces.

During the last decade of the century, Elizabeth was trying to get the Cinque Ports included into the shire defences.