10 A Walk Around Rye Look Inside

David Clarke has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998 to be identified as the author of this work. Text, maps and photographs are Copyright © David Clarke 23 March 2018. rd All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted without the prior consent of the author. At the time of writing, all routes follow public rights of way or permitted paths. However, diversions can be made at any time and permissions withdrawn – for which I cannot be held responsible – and care should be taken to abide by any local restrictions after the writing of this walk. About public transport; changes to timetables can be made at any time and it is important to check the service and schedules before your walk. Similarly, landlords leave, pubs close and reopen and their character can change for better or worse for which I cannot take any responsibility. This is an urban walk with little need for walking boots or shoes, even over the cobbles, but you may need sun protection and a hat for hot days and waterproofs for that hint of rain. This walk allows walkers to explore Rye and to help preserve the walk for others, remember to: • Keep dogs under control • Protect wildlife, plants and trees • Take litter home or dispose of it appropriately • Take special care when walking by and crossing roads • Do not play music loudly or create excessive noise History Walks or David Clarke do not accept any responsibility for any injuries or losses which may occur on ‘A Walk around Rye’. Walkers are advised to ensure that their personal insurance cover is adequate and are advised to carry their own basic first aid kit. Some helpful websites before you start: ▪ Stagecoach www.stagecoachbus.com/plan-a-journey ▪ Traveline www.travelinesoutheast.org.uk ▪ Weather Forecast www.news.bbc.co.uk/weather Information about the pubs, beers, contact details and opening hours are shown on the CAMRA WhatPub web site at: www.whatpub.com Rye Heritage Centre, Strand Quay, Rye TN31 7AY Tel: 01797 22 66 96 Web: www.ryeheritage.co.uk This guide contains all the step by step instructions necessary to complete the walk successfully. Cover: St Mary’s Church from the Town Salts 2

History Walks No.10 A Walk Around Rye Proud Rye, sat on a hill and Queen of all she surveys. An island kingdom once surrounded by sea but the winds and the storms won a great battle and the sea retreated leaving the town marooned inland. Rye, with its medieval airs and cobbled streets, its history as a Cinque Port, the smugglers and its people, has been written about and photographed to distraction, after all, it is one of the most picturesque towns in England. There are museums, remnants of fortifications, galleries, old houses, pubs and coffee shops, literary connections and tales of smuggled brandy, tea and tobacco that provide more than enough to keep you amused on any walk. 3

There are guided walks, guided tours, town guides and illustrated maps that provide some sense to the orderly and disorderly streets, twitchels, passages and history but little for the adventurous and inquisitive to wander the history on their own. But, be careful where you walk, for when not sailing the Spanish Main, that dastardly pirate Captain Pugwash may be watching you, home for a holiday to visit his creator, John Ryan. Strategically, the Kent and Sussex coasts were the frontline in the defence of the realm. The coast had had a long history of attacks from the sea, from Saxon pirates, raiding Picts, Danes and Vikings although it was not until the 12 century that the new towns of Rye and Winchelsea came under th attack from across the Channel. Walls and gates and lookout posts were created to defend the towns during the 100 Years War with France but to little effect. Later, Camber Castle newly built to defend the coast, was soon marooned inland by retreating seas. Peace brought trade, wealth and economic development until both the harbours at Rye and Winchelsea silted up and brought an end to a prosperous maritime trade with the Continent. That decline gave rise to seeking alternative sources of income - piracy and smuggling. The streets bustled with merchants and sailors and pirates and smugglers involved in what was considered to a ‘noble trade’ that contributed greatly to the town’s economy. With the advent of the treacherous and murderous Hawkhurst Gang, the romantic ideal of smuggling came to an end. Their twelve years of greed and terrorism ended after they were defeated in a battle with the Goudhurst militia in 1747 and the ringleaders were caught and hanged in 1748 and 1749. As the marsh and levels evolved into agricultural wealth, a new threat appeared from France. With the potential for invasion, a string of Martello towers were built along the coast and the Royal Military Canal (RMC) created to defend against Napoleon’s armies. Many of the towers have disappeared but the expensive folly that was the RMC remains to drain the marsh and provide a scenic route for many local walks. Today, Rye has managed to keep its ancient character and is just about coping with the ever-growing demands of tourism. It is a town for strolling the many cobbled streets with their proud medieval, Tudor, Stuart and Georgian houses, great pubs, a fine church and all the ancient landmarks that make up this unique town. 4

RYE Rye was an island 1000 years ago, sitting at the head of the great Appledore Estuary that stretched far inland, in fact Rye’s name is derived from the Old English ēg meaning ‘island’ but there is mystery as to the origins of Rye before 1000AD. With the island’s sheltered position close to the mouth of the estuary, it was more than likely a home to a small fishing village, an unnamed port that was linked to the manor of Rameslie in the Domesday Book of 1086. Rameslie was Norman, an estate that stretched from Hastings to Rye and granted to the Abbey of Fécamp by Æthelred II in 1005. With such close links, it is unsurprising that Duke William made Hastings his base for the invasion of England. Hastings as a port was already well established along the Priory stream and, with its close links to Normandy, the Abbey began to develop further ‘beach landings’ such as at sheltered Rye, that would allow added trade th with the north French coast. In the 11 century, it was normal for boats to be beached on the shingle at high tide, unloaded and re-floated at the next tide. These landing beaches were often known by the Saxon ‘Stade’ (Hastings) or Danish ‘Strand’ (Rye & Winchelsea). The 12th century established Rye as a borough, King Stephen founded a mint during his reign (1135-54) and Rye developed a fishing industry that would continue until the present day. th In the 14 century, both Rye and Winchelsea became ‘Antient Towns’, limbs under the head Cinque Port of Hastings Cinque Ports - a confederation with privileges including the right to land and sell fish at Yarmouth in exchange for the requirement to provide 2 ships each for the king’s service, out of the total of 20 required from Hastings. Rye was now firmly established as an important South Coast port and the town began to benefit from the wealth created by the sea, both from fishing and trade. 5

The great storms of 1287, that changed the coastline forever and began to drain the Appledore Estuary, left Rye at the head of the navigable Rivers Rother, Brede and Tillingham and became the major port for this corner of Kent and Sussex. Cinque Port status gave Rye and Winchelsea trade privileges, both in fishing and significantly wine imported from the continent. With trade comes wealth and the development of both continued apace. By the mid-13 century, Rye was a naval base, a royal dockyard and a th shipyard with a galley-house (covered slip) extended to fit out seven ships. In 1336, Winchelsea and Rye provided around half of the ships and men of the Cinque Ports, with Rye’s contribution the largest of the confederation – the 240-ton la Michel and the 170-ton la Edmund. The next year, Rye provided four ships for Edward III’s his fleet to combat Philip VI’s invasion of English-held Aquitaine. Seemingly, nothing would halt Rye’s increasing importance but the later stages of the 100 Years War, when the French controlled The Channel, led to sustained French raids along the entire coast, from Folkestone to Dartmouth. Rye was attacked in 1339, with a loss of 52 houses and a mill, and again in 1377. Trade moved away from the south coast and bigger ships demanded the deeper water ports that neither Rye or Winchelsea could provide. Rye’s fishing industry recovered in the late 15th century and enjoyed its peak period of prosperity well into the 16th century. A new quay was built at the Strand in 1480, and a new jetty near the Landgate in 1486. By 1580, after the silting up of Winchelsea harbour, Rye was the largest and most prosperous town in Sussex, home to 1200 tons of shipping, with fishing and cargo boats sailing in on the flood tide. This Tudor boom ended suddenly and by the early 1600s, the port had th slipped into a severe decline that lasted well into the 18 century. The time was ripe for the men of Rye to find an alternative means of income. 6

Wool was in great demand on the continent and it was easier to sell the wool from the Marsh sheep abroad then take it to market in England. The wool was exchanged for brandy, tobacco, tea and other heavily taxed luxury goods and smuggling became an increasing element of the trade that operated through Rye in the 18th century. It would be one of Rye's most exciting periods when it was often seen as the smuggling capital of England. The gates and the steps from the marsh provided entry to the narrow, dark streets and the contraband would be stored in the old vaulted cellars of private houses and inns such as The Flushing, The Mermaid and the Old Bell - many of the cellars are still there but now put to more law-abiding purposes. Between the buildings was a labyrinth of passages and underground tunnels that hid the movement of smugglers and goods from the Revenue Men. Smuggling was a generous employer and, in a couple of hours, labourers and farm workers could earn a fortnight’s wage and we have a Robin Hood picture of smuggling. But with the rise of armed gangs, such as the Mayfield and the Hawkhurst Gangs, it became a far more serious ‘game’ of murder and pitched battles with the Preventative Men. On one occasion, The Rye Revenue sloop Amelia was insufficiently armed to confront three heavily manned Calais sloops, laden with brandy, that were lying off the harbour in 1720. The smugglers unloaded their contraband unmolested and afterwards would hold court in one of Rye’s pubs. At the height of their insolence, arrogance, pride and brutality, the Hawkhurst Gang terrorised the town and after a successful ‘run’ would sit ‘seated at the windows of the Mermaid carousing and smoking their pipes with loaded pistols on the table before them, no magistrate daring to interfere.’ After the demise of the Hawkhurst Gang in 1749 and with shipping on the increase, renewed efforts were made to improve the harbour at Rye. With the onset of the Napoleonic War, development accelerated with a pier and new wharves and warehouses built. Coastal trade increased and became the mainstay of Rye until 1914 when the harbour suffered badly with traffic falling away and almost no use being made of it by the military. Neglect saw the harbour become increasingly unnavigable, a situation compounded after the war by gales in 1921 and 7

1922, and, despite improvement works in 1927-9, the port never reached its pre-war level of trade. At the same time, the fishing fleet also failed to revive from its pre-war fleet of around 50 boats with just two steam trawlers, one sailing trawler and three small motorboats left in 1930. Similarly, the 1930s saw the final days of the much-reduced barge trade along the Rother and Brede rivers. For centuries, Sussex’s poor roads had isolated Rye enabling it to remain unscathed from the developer’s whims that had changed many other south coast towns. By the time that the Turnpike roads arrived in the late 18 th century and the railway in 1851, Rye’s charms within its citadel were secure. The unique medieval streets, for so long ignored and side lined, were now linked to the outside world and they soon came to the attention of writers and artists seeking inspiration. Such creative circles included the authors Henry James, E. F. Benson and Radclyffe Hall and the painter Paul Nash. ‘Motor tourists’ now filled the many hotels to play golf, to sail, to walk, to or just be inspired by Rye’s red roofs. Tourism was born, fuelled by the desire to visit somewhere very special and it continues to this day. THE WALK There is a children’s playground halfway round, the largest public play area in Rye with swings and spring animals and things to climb and slide. If you are walking with children under 12, they may want to stop and play so you may want to stock up on drinks and eats before you start. It is a stop and start kind of walk with so much to see that you do not have to do it all in one day. With time to stop and stare, discover and explore, a coffee here and a drink there and lunch as well, it can soon eat up the time. Best not to rush, there is always tomorrow. 8

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The complete Guidebook to the walk contains history notes, maps and step by step walking instructions to make your life easier to enjoy the rich history of this Walk around Rye About the Author David lives in St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, and walks, talks and writes about walking, local history and all things 1066. He is a member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild and considers that his membership of CAMRA, The Inn Sign Society, The Ramblers and the Long Distance Walkers Association to be a perfect match for walking. He is the author and creator of 1066 Harold’s Way, a 100mile long distance walk inspired by King Harold’s epic march to the Battle of Hastings, 1066. Long Distance Walks 1. 1066 Harold’s Way 2. Three Castles and an Ironmaster’s House Books 1. The Saxon Times History Walks around 1066 Country 1. A Green St Leonards on Sea Walk 2. Battle Circular Walks 3. 1066 Bodiam Castle to Battle Abbey 4. Hastings to Rye 5. Secret St Leonards Walking Trail 6. Pub Walks in Hastings and St Leonards 7. 1066 William’s Way, Hastings to Battle 8. Rock a Nore to De La Warr 9. Pub Walks in 1066 Country 10. A Walk around Rye 11. A Walk around Winchelsea 12. More Walks around Rye 10

History Walks No.10 A Walk around Rye Perched on its hill, medieval Rye fuels the imagination with its unhurried airs and cobbles, its wealth of old buildings – it is a small but beautifully formed town. An island kingdom once surrounded by sea but the winds and the storms won a great battle and the sea retreated leaving the town marooned inland. Rye, with its medieval airs and cobbled streets, its history as a Cinque Port, the smugglers and its people, has been written about and photographed to distraction after all, it is one of the most picturesque towns in England. This guide explores Rye and adds some of the stories of the town to bring the walk alive. Take your time and enter into the spirit of the town – it could take an hour, but it may take all day. ‘A Walk around Rye’ is published by History Walks, Marine Court, St Leonards on Sea www.1066haroldsway.co.uk and printed by Instant Print www.instantprint.co.uk Take your time and embrace the history. £3.00 May 2018 11

For more information about this book and other walks in the series of ‘Short Walks in 1066 Country’, visit History Walks Books and Talks: www.1066haroldsway.co.uk History Walks books are available by mail order from History Walks and from the following stockists: Hastings • Hastings Tourist Information, Muriel Matters House • Old Hastings Preservation Society, History House, Courthouse Street • Hastings Fishermen's Museum, Rock-a-Nore, St Leonards on Sea • The Bookkeeper, 1A Kings Road • Studio 4 Frames, Marine Court Rye • Rye Heritage Centre • Adams of Rye, 8 High Street Battle • British Design British Made, High Street • AHA Stationers, Mount Street Bexhill • De La Warr Pavilion • Bexhill Museum 12