Rye was once an island and has always been a port. The Romans exported iron from Rye. Over the years it emerged as a port of increasing importance. It was involved in fishing, shipbuilding, trade:- fish, timber, wool, wine, luxury goods. . . . Rye was a royal dockyard and shipyard, the naval base for … read more …
First posted in Invasion Coast, Rye Buildings and Defences, Rye Streets, Rye Town History on 13th October 2014
Last updated: 20th April 2017
Nights of Terror: The commemoration of Guy Fawkes’ abortive attempt in 1605 to blow up the Parliament buildings with the King, Lords and Commons in them, has persisted for so long that it deserves to rank among the historic features of the town, although the date on which it was first celebrated is not known … read more …
First posted in Rye Streets, Rye Town History on 9th December 2013
Last updated: 20th April 2017
Tags: Gunpowder Plot, Guy Fawkes, Ry e Bonfire Society
For a fascinating read about life on Hucksteps Row (off Church Square) and Landgate Square about 100 years ago, read Peter Ewart’s A Poor Man’s Rye. Ask for it at the desk of the Rye Library. The thoroughfare leading from Landgate Tower to the foot of Rye Hill has long been a busy one. For … read more …
First posted in Rye Streets on 7th November 2010
Last updated: 20th April 2017
Tags: Rye poverty, Victorian Rye
Once on Watchbell Street: A visitor from the 1840s visiting Rye today would recognise much of it: the Landgate, the street pattern within the walls, Ypres Tower, the stone buildings that survived the fire of 1377, many of the houses, the cobbles, but oh, how much else has changed! Take Watchbell Street as an example: … read more …
First posted in Rye Streets on 5th November 2010
Last updated: 20th April 2017
Tags: 19th c women, Hucksteps Row, Rye schools, Victorian Rye
A poor quarter: This look at Mermaid Street is based on data from the 1891 census. It is known that at this period Mermaid Street was a run-down area, and the fact that it led directly up from the Strand, which was the main port area of the town, suggests it may well have been … read more …
First posted in Rye Streets on 3rd November 2010
Last updated: 20th April 2017
Tags: Hartshorn House, Jeake's House, Mermaid Inn, Rye schools, Samuel Jeake, Victorian Rye
The First Jeakes of Rye: Of Huguenot origin, the family’s first settler in Rye appears to have been a late 16th-century merchant, William Jeaque (a possible corruption of Jacques). His son Henry set up a bakery in the High Street and married a girl from Peasmarsh. Their son, first recorded as Sammewell but later as … read more …
First posted in Literary and Artistic Rye, Notable People, Rye Buildings and Defences, Rye Streets, Rye Town History, Rye Trades and Industries on 1st November 2009
Last updated: 20th April 2017
Tags: astrological diary, Cinque Ports Charters, Conrad Aiken, Hartshorn House, Huguenots, Old Hospital
