Rye Harbour
Encyclopedia
Rye Harbour is a village located on the East Sussex
coast in southeast England
, near the estuary
of the River Rother
: it is part of the civil parish
of Icklesham
. Rye Harbour is located some two miles (3.2 km) downstream of the town of Rye
.
The River Rother from Rye seawards, and including the village of Rye Harbour, is under the control of the Environment Agency
. At the village itself there are yacht moorings; a small fishing fleet (coded RX: Rye SusseX); some commercial shipping; and a long-established lifeboat station. There is also a holiday village called Frenchman's Beach alongside the village itself.
The Rye Harbour Nature Reserve
was established nearby in 1970 and it now offers special wildlife experiences to 200,000 visitors a year. It has national and international designations and is home to more than 150 rare or endangered species. There is a manned information centre 500 m south of the village at Lime Kiln Cottage.
The village community has set up a pictorial website, aimed at promoting its history.
Rye Harbour is perhaps best-known for its fictionalisation as "Westling" in the Romney Marsh
children's books of Monica Edwards
.
; it was built on the beachline of the time. The beachline has now advanced a further kilometre southward.
The story of Rye Harbour has thus been shaped by its position at a frontier — not only that with the sea but also of the country. The initial establishment was that of a company of dragoons in 1805, followed shortly after by the first fishermen's huts and the building of the Martello Tower (1809/10). As the Napoleonic wars ended so the smuggling
trade which had long flourished all along the south coast again increased in scope and intensity, leading to the establishment of the Coast Blockade. A watch house was built about 1825 to provide shelter and support for the blockade detachments and still stands, complete with the flagstaff for signalling to shipping.
The harbour is also known for the tragedy of the Mary Stanford
lifeboat. At 6:45 am on the morning of 15 November 1928, the Mary Stanford from the Rye Harbour RNLI
station responded needlessly to a Latvian steamer
in distress. The crew of the Mary Stanford did not know that the vessel had already been rescued by another lifeboat and, in heavy rain and seas, all of the seventeen-man crew of the Mary Stanford were drowned. The reason for this is still somewhat contested. The bodies of all but the Coxswain's son, John Head, were found and buried. A memorial service in honour of the Mary Stanford and its crew takes place every year in the village.
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
coast in southeast England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, near the estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
of the River Rother
River Rother (Eastern)
The River Rother , at 35 miles , is a river flowing through both East Sussex and Kent, England. Its source is near Rotherfield , and its mouth is on Rye Bay, part of the English Channel....
: it is part of the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Icklesham
Icklesham
Icklesham is a village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. The village is located about six miles east of Hastings, on the main A259 Hastings to Rye road....
. Rye Harbour is located some two miles (3.2 km) downstream of the town of Rye
Rye, East Sussex
Rye is a small town in East Sussex, England, which stands approximately two miles from the open sea and is at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede...
.
The River Rother from Rye seawards, and including the village of Rye Harbour, is under the control of the Environment Agency
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
. At the village itself there are yacht moorings; a small fishing fleet (coded RX: Rye SusseX); some commercial shipping; and a long-established lifeboat station. There is also a holiday village called Frenchman's Beach alongside the village itself.
The Rye Harbour Nature Reserve
Rye Harbour SSSI
Rye Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest is a nature reserve located on the western side of the mouth of the River Rother at Rye Harbour, about 1 mile downstream from Rye East Sussex...
was established nearby in 1970 and it now offers special wildlife experiences to 200,000 visitors a year. It has national and international designations and is home to more than 150 rare or endangered species. There is a manned information centre 500 m south of the village at Lime Kiln Cottage.
The village community has set up a pictorial website, aimed at promoting its history.
Rye Harbour is perhaps best-known for its fictionalisation as "Westling" in the Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 mi ² .-Quotations:*“As Egypt was the gift of the Nile, this level tract .....
children's books of Monica Edwards
Monica Edwards
Monica Edwards was an English children's writer of the mid-twentieth century best known for her Romney Marsh and Punchbowl Farm series of children's novels.-Early life:...
.
History
The village is 200 years old, having been built on an extension of the shingle beaches, progressively deposited by the sea over the last 800 years. These deposits limit access to the original open medieval port of Rye, now two miles (3 km) inland from the sea. The village has one of the chain of Martello Towers constructed during the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
; it was built on the beachline of the time. The beachline has now advanced a further kilometre southward.
The story of Rye Harbour has thus been shaped by its position at a frontier — not only that with the sea but also of the country. The initial establishment was that of a company of dragoons in 1805, followed shortly after by the first fishermen's huts and the building of the Martello Tower (1809/10). As the Napoleonic wars ended so the smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
trade which had long flourished all along the south coast again increased in scope and intensity, leading to the establishment of the Coast Blockade. A watch house was built about 1825 to provide shelter and support for the blockade detachments and still stands, complete with the flagstaff for signalling to shipping.
The harbour is also known for the tragedy of the Mary Stanford
Mary Stanford Lifeboat
The Mary Stanford Lifeboat was a vessel which capsized in Rye Harbour in 1928.The disaster was the worst for many years. It occurred on 15 November 1928 when the whole of the 17 man crew of the Mary Stanford Lifeboat were drowned, practically the whole male fishing population of the small town of...
lifeboat. At 6:45 am on the morning of 15 November 1928, the Mary Stanford from the Rye Harbour RNLI
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
station responded needlessly to a Latvian steamer
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
in distress. The crew of the Mary Stanford did not know that the vessel had already been rescued by another lifeboat and, in heavy rain and seas, all of the seventeen-man crew of the Mary Stanford were drowned. The reason for this is still somewhat contested. The bodies of all but the Coxswain's son, John Head, were found and buried. A memorial service in honour of the Mary Stanford and its crew takes place every year in the village.