The mooring for the boat is half way between the town and the open sea in the tidal channel.

RYE - EAST SUSSEX

The name comes from the Anglo Saxon word for an island, for the town stands on high ground well above the surrounding flat country which has at times been submerged by the sea. In Norman times Rye was a port and became a Cinque Port in 1336.

It was razed by the French in 1377 and silting of the harbour caused poverty in the town in the 13th and 14th centuries. With the decline of nearby Winchelsea, Rye revived in the 1 5th and 16th centuries, but from the late 16th century further silting of the harbour led to a decrease in importance; today Rye itself is no longer a port the harbour at the mouth of the Rother is nearly 2 miles away. Rye was notorious for smuggling, which centered on the 13th century Mermaid Inn.

Baddings Tower, a defense post, was sold in 1430 to John de Ypres to raise money, and has since been known as Ypres Tower. The Gun Garden near by was originally the site of a defense battery but was converted to a bowling green in 1649. Lamb House, built in 1722-4, was once the home of the author Henry James. The town hall dates from 1742.

Mermaid Street

CHURCH of St MARY

A large cruciform church on the top of a hill, around which huddles the town. The church is

basically Norman with additions up to the 15th century. Outside, on the north transept, is a

clock whose mechanism was made in 1561 (the exterior was renewed c. 1760). Inside are

Perpendicular screens, the Arms of Queen Anime, stained glass of 1897 by William Morris’s

firm, and monuments by John Flaxman and John Bacon the Younger.

MERMAID STREET

The houses in Mermaid Street are typical of the medieval town of Rye. In this street the

Georgian houses incorporate building from the 13th century onwards, the Old Hospital,

a half-timbered building from the 15th and 16th centuries, is particularly notable.