Author: Jim Hollands

Celebrating 700 Years of Rye Mayoral History

Celebrations that Did Not Happen in 1889 and Those That Did in 1989

Early in the 1890’s the names of all known Mayors of Rye were painted on the wall panels of the Town Hall Chamber.

Continue reading Celebrating 700 Years of Rye Mayoral History

Morris Dancers in Rye

Morris Dancers Perform in Rye One of the oldest “revival” sides in the “Morris Ring” are the East Surrey Morris Men. They were one of the six sides who founded the Morris Dance Ring in 1934. Mainly performing dances from the Cotswold’s tradition they dance for their own pleasure and that of their audiences on the village greens and on alehouse forecourts throughout Surrey. Continue reading Morris Dancers in Rye

Jimper’s Book Selling Like Hot Cakes

 

They are used to selling ‘hot cakes’ at Jempson’s Superstore, in fact 71,000 hot cross buns have been cooked and sold in the weeks up to Easter, but Jimper’s book “Jimper’s Journal” from his diaries of the fifties and sixties was going almost as fast. Continue reading Jimper’s Book Selling Like Hot Cakes

Rye’s Water Festival

Rye In Bloom

Rye’s Water Festival

An exciting new event at Strand Quay.

Rye’s very first Water Festival took place from 10am-4pm on Saturday 22nd May. A celebration of Rye’s environmental heritage and its watery past and present was organised by Rye in Bloom as part of its entry in the national Britain in Bloom Competition. Continue reading Rye’s Water Festival

Bring Power Back To The Area

Let Rye, Winchelsea and the villages unite to bring power back to the area.

by Arthur Woodgate

All the recent arguments about the new doctors surgery make one think of the general deterioration of the importance of Rye. Continue reading Bring Power Back To The Area

Bonfire Society Auction 2004

Over £2,000 Raised

A night of laughter, hectic bidding and plenty of banter resulted in over £2,000 going into the Bonfire Societies coffers. Continue reading Bonfire Society Auction 2004

The Three Jims

 

by Jim Hollands.

There were three women in America who worked together as nurses over a period of many years. Dixie, Leonora and Josephine went through many ups and downs together but always remained very good friends. Then, over a period of a few short years, in places as far apart as Rye and Los Angeles they all met men called Jim and started new lives with them. Continue reading The Three Jims

Historical Odds & Ends

When Rye Councillors had the Power

Spelling taken from original manuscripts

1549- Ordered that none of the inhabitants of Rye, young or old should issue out of the town with drums and flags or otherwise, to enter the woods of any man, without his special licence, to gather or cut down any boughs, on pain of imprisonment for three days and three nights. Continue reading Historical Odds & Ends

Smuggling

Reproduced from “Gentle Breezes”

Kent and Sussex were hot beds of smuggling for centuries, and to judge by reports, still are. Originally, wool was smuggled out to France, rather than other goods coming in. The reason was that we produced high quality wool, but had not the means of processing it. The French and Dutch did. In 1622, it was made a hanging offence to smuggle out wool. The government then imported French and Dutch weavers and other trades to process the wool. That is why we have many large houses of Dutch style in our area. Many parishes have their Cloth Halls, The Weavers, and so on. Continue reading Smuggling