The Stewart May Empire

By Arthur Woodgate

Old House Farm, owned by Ashton Selmes, was swallowed into the Stewart May empire. Ashton Selmes, who was quite a well known farmer and ploughing contractor, also at one time owned the land which is now the housing estate of Brickfield and Park View. It was here, when it was just a green field, he kept his big steam engines, which were a familiar Peasmarsh sight when they were not out on contract. In use they were placed each side of of a field and used to draw the plough from one side to the other. When not in use they were kept close to what we now know as the Bisky Bar. Continue reading The Stewart May Empire

Rye Fishermen at War

 

By Jim Hollands

In Wartime Britain Rye became one of the few ports on the South Coast
allowed to send its fishing boats to sea. The beach boats of Dungeness,
Hastings and Eastbourne were unable to launch, due to the steel anti-invasion
barriers that were erected to stop the imminent German invasion.

Continue reading Rye Fishermen at War

Air Warfare Over Rye

Issue – August 2007

By Barry Floyd

My sister and I were evacuees from London at the outbreak of the war,
on September 3rd 1939, and were accepted as pupils at Rye Grammar
School by the Headmaster, Mr. Jacobs. That first hard winter – – there
were very heavy snow falls in January 1940 and East Kent buses were
unable to reach Winchelsea Beach for many days – – was a phoney one
so far as military activities over East Sussex and Kent were concerned.
The situation changed dramatically by the summer, with the fall of
France and a threatened German invasion of England. Continue reading Air Warfare Over Rye

The Television Man

Jim Snr. had always been fascinated with television. He saw the 1949 F.A. Cup Final, along with a crowd of about 20, including son, Jim Jnr., squeezed into a small room at Jack Ashenden’s house in Cyprus Place. Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Leicester City by three goals to one. He told Young Jim on the walk home that for the next year’s final they would have a television of their own. Continue reading The Television Man

Smells of Yesteryear

 

By John Wallbank (New Zealand)

The February edition of Rye’s Own was opened in early March, and the contents eagerly perused. Just perhaps a little later than all the Ryers that take the time to digest the monthly quota of memories and facts from both the distant and not too distant past. Continue reading Smells of Yesteryear

Rye Town Council 2007

The Rye Town Council of May 2007. Back row left to right : Councillor Ian Potter, Councillor Granville Bantick, Councillor Jonathon Breeds, Councillor Frank Continue reading Rye Town Council 2007

Rye’s First Photographer

Edwin Thomas Gasson of Rye

1827 – 1904

Carpenter, photographer, taxidermist and museum proprietor.

By John C. Pulford

In a family letter written in 1956 by my great, great uncle living in Watchbell street, Edwin Thomas Gasson was remembered as “rather a clever old chap, he used to stuff birds and was a photographer and also did some artistic work in broken china”. Continue reading Rye’s First Photographer

Rye Harbour

RYE HARBOUR This photograph from the Frank Palmer Collection is undated but was probably taken in the 1930’s. The chap, third from the left, is wearing a tamashanta. He and his three companions are possibly golfers waiting for the ferry to take them across the river. The group on the right seem to be fisherman, one is wearing a smock Some of our readers from Rye Harbour might even come up with names and a firm date of when the image was captured.

From the May 2007 issue of “Ryes Own”

All articles, photographs and drawings on this web site are World
Copyright Protected. No reproduction for publication without prior
arrangement.

Local Dialects and Sayings

By Eric Streeton

Ham strung Rabbit. To slit the lower part o a rabbits hind leg,
and to pass the other hind leg through it. Used for carrying purposes.

Handballing. Work done by hand, with out any mechanical aide.

Happen I will happen I won’t. I may or may not.

Harbour duck or shark. A Rye Harbour man.

Harping on. To keep on about something. (Don’t keep harping
on about it)

Has the Vicar been. A cup of tea that is not filled right up.

Having a head like a bushel basket. Having a severe hang over, it
could be a reference to taking a bushel of Hops but in liquid form.
Hedge brishing. Cutting a hedge.

Hedge Brishings. Hedge cuttings.

He’s in a bad liver He’s in a bad mood.

Hodgie pig. Hedgehog.

Hog wash. Some one talking complete and utter rubbish. (Talking
hog wash)

Hop dog. Metal bar for removing hop poles

How yer diddling. How are you. (Reply to how are you.) Bit better
than worse off. ( Could be better). Or, Not to dusty. (not to
bad.)

Howe’s his liver to day. How’s his mood or temper today.

Idden-it. Isn’t it

Jack it in. Terminating your own employment. Or stopping work.

Jad-ick. Jacket.

Jake. Good.

Jasper. A wasp.

Jipper. Gravy.

Jook. Dog.

Kenna. House.

Kettle broth. Bread in hot water with pepper and salt. (I
promise you that this dish really did exist, and I live to tell the
tell) Kettle wedges. Fire wood.

Kifer. Girl or Woman, Who was that bit of Kifer I saw you with
you last night.

Kindling. Fire lighting wood.

Lapsy Lazy, Slow.

Larruping. A good hiding.

Latcherty. Unsteady or not working properly.

Layed up. Unwell and in bed.

Lay up. Hiding.

Lazy wind. A strong cold wind that feels as if it’s blowing right
through you, rather than going round you.

Lew In shelter from adverse weather.

Little Man. Wooden tool shaped like a Electricians bolster, made
of wood. Used to clean sticky soil or clay from, a spade, graft,
or shovel.

Lob To throw.

Lodged Stuck. My kites got lodged up in that tree.

Long net. A net for catching rabbits. (Favoured by poachers.)

Long tail. Pheasant.

Looking like a bit of scolded pork. Severe sun burn.

Mas. Mrs.

Midge. Gnats.

Mort or Mault. Older woman.

Mudlark. Rye Fisherman.

Mung. To cadge

Mutton westkit. (waist coat.) Mutton cloth on a sheep’s carcass.

Mus. Mr.

My ole dogs aint arf barking. My feet are hot and throbbing.

Navvies wedding cake. Bread pudden (pudding.)

Nah. Disbelieving No.

Nettle rash. Reference to any severe rash.

Nitty gram. Avery small amount.

Nifty. Good or nice.

Pug. A ferret.

Pugging. Catching rabbits with the aid of ferrets.

Pun. To compact soil.

Punt. Open decked fishing boat (Hastings.)

Raw throat. Sore throat.

Raw. Cold.

Raggedy arse. A Rye man.

Rake. A lot of something.

Rides. Iron gate hinges.

Roader. Tramp.

Rook. Vicar or parson.

Rook. Defraud.

Roons. Mushrooms.

Rooning. Picking mushrooms.

Sart-er-noon. This afternoon.

Screws. Rheumatism.

Scran. Food.

Scollop. Scallop

Set. Obstinate. He’s very set in his ways.

Sewer. Ditch.

Sham lock or locked. A padlock giving the appearance of being locked
but in reality it is not.

Shant. Drink of beer.

Sheep treadles. Sheep droppings.

Shite Hawk. Seagull.

Slake. To quench.

Slaughter. Mass termination of employment. (Building trade.)

Slummocky Untidy.

Smorning. This morning

Sosseld. Drunk.

Spaddle. Walking on a clean floor, making it dirty.

Spadgers. Sparrows

Sparticles. Glasses

Pea measure. A container filled to capacity.

Slips. Small Soles.

Spile. Fence post.

Spose. Suppose.

Sprog. Child.

Shell. Coffin used by undertakers to collect a corpse immediately
after death.

She’s got more now than my ole Grandmother died with. Description
of a young lady with ample proportions.

Splines. Prongs on a fork.

Snatch. Undertakers collecting a corpse.

Snatched. Being very cold.

Starter. Baby rabbit.

Stab. Where a doe gives birth, not a borrow,

Standing twenty minutes before casting a shadow. A skinny person.
Stalker. Fish too small for market.

Strod. A Y junction in young wood. A catapult strod, a clothes
line prop.

Stretch it’s neck. To break a Rabbits neck. (To dispatch a
rabbit instantly.)

Stuffing your kite. Eating.

Stun. A stone in weight, 14 lbs.

Shelve it out or up. To tip something out of a wheel barrow for
instance. Shelve it out there.

Shucky. Unsettled weather.

Swimey. Sick or giddy.

Swimmers. Dumplings.

Swapping turds for a baked potato. Some one who wants something
for nothing.

Tin tan. Unsteady – rocking about.

The channel. The river Brede.

The sun’s casting long shadows now. On-set of Autumn.

The love of a good woman, will draw you further than gunpowder will
blow you.

The sound of Rye’s Quarter boys, will draw you further than gunpowder
can blow you.

Thick of hearing. Slightly deaf. Are you listening to me, or
are you a bit thick of hearing.

Thistle spud. Tool for removing thistles.

Trashed. Scared – Frightened.

Tree Rat Squirrel

Truck. Backchat. Don’t put up with any of his ole truck.

Truck. Ferret.

Trucking. Rabbiting with a ferret.

Truss. Part of the tomato plant that the tomatos grow on. (Now
called a vine)

Twang. Unpleasant taste.

Twittering on. Relentless chatter.

Web. A long net.

Webbing. Rabbiting with a long net. Favored by poachers.

Willockey. Unwell.

Westkit. Waste coat.

Yole. Hello.

Yog. Fire.

You will never have money as long as you have a hole in your back
side. I remember my Father telling me as a young man, that I was
a bad manager of money.

Last but not least is this one. I have seen this in print, but my
very first employer on leaving school was Bob Collins at Winchelsea
and very often quoted this one to me. One boy is a boy. Two boys
is half a boy. Three boys is no boy at all.

Foot-note: I got a lot of pleasure putting this little lot together,
and will be putting together a small selection of Building Trade Words
for a future edition. Eric
Streeton